Category Archives: Science

2025, animals, Business, Family, Farming Update, gardening, History, Nature, pets, Science, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather

Thinking Ahead

December 27, 2025 xdfben 54 Comments

This week’s Farm Update from Ben

I took a walk on Christmas morning. Me and the dogs, out through the fields. Saw a bunch of pheasants, tree’s I need to cut down, and lots of deer tracks. The header photo is from our walk.

Weatherman Mark Seeley has a weather forecast and article on the back page of The Farmer magazine. In the last issue, he talked about January of 2006 being the warmest January in MN weather history. “January 2006 started a remarkable trend of warmth in Minnesota. Fifteen of the 19 Januarys since that time have brought warmer-than-normal temperatures to the state. Of further note, seven Januarys since that of 2006 also rank among the warmest 20 in state history.” — https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/january-2006-started-warm-and-never-wavered

There are many reasons to be appreciative of the deep-freeze cold we normally get in winter. It kills off harmful bugs, it helps breakdown the soil for better working conditions in the spring, helps break up compaction layers in the soil, it helps keep stored grain in condition, to name just a few benefits. The worst thing is repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. That’s hard on certain crops, like alfalfa. Ice sheeting, and the repeated freeze thaw or a lack of snow cause winter kill. I bet you master gardeners have examples of the problems repeated freezing and thawing can cause in the gardens. Not to mention how tough the warmer temperatures are on cattle that have a winter coat and are prepared for cold. Respiratory issues can really become rampant.

We’ve had this one chicken living in the garage all winter. During the day she has taken to perching on the bottom rung of a sawhorse and looking at herself in a mirror.

And then the other night, there were 5 chickens in the garage! OK, seriously, the poop from the one chicken is gonna be bad enough come spring, and at least she’s over in a corner. Having five of them: one in the rafters, two more on recycling containers, and one on the dogwash wall are too much.

The next day I kept the garage door closed. I figured they’d just go back down to the coop. Three spent the night around the corner perched on the bird seed containers. Why have they moved up here in the first place? I don’t know what their problem is. I’ve got several spending the night in the nest boxes where they lay their eggs. They’re not supposed to do that either. They’re not too crowded as some are in the right side space, some are in the left side space (and they all pile up on top of each other for some reason), some are up in the rafters, and the rest are in the main coop area. I did add another board in there if they need another place to perch. Is it too many roosters? I think we have 5 roosters these days. And maybe 55 hens? I don’t know exactly how many, they are too hard to count. Really 2 roosters would be a good number. There’s a couple that seem extra ornery to the chickens. How come they never get picked off by coyotes?

Christmas day late afternoon I forgot to shut the garage door in time and had to chase out 3 chickens. Yeah, even being Christmas, I chased them out. I had given them extra corn and layer ration in the morning. They’re fine. The one in the corner, she’s earned it, she can stay.

Out in the shop, I added a metal top to the work bench. Dad built this work bench after the shed was built, so maybe in 1982 or 1983. When I started on the shop project two years ago, the guy doing the insulation wanted me to pull the bench off to redo the insulation behind it. I said no. Dad had put styrofoam and fiberglass insulation on that wall before he added the bench. I tore the top four feet off the wall as part of the shop project. The old insulation was pretty bad. Yeah, I probably should have redone the bottom four feet too, but I was already in over my head on this project and didn’t think I could handle any more. Hindsight you know. The bench is pretty well built, and the top is 2×8 boards with a gap between them. Stuff is always falling into that gap. Maybe it was Dad’s way of cleaning off the bench, to sweep the dirt and dust into the gap. Which then ended up in the bolt storage he had underneath. A couple weeks ago, I lost a screw down that gap and I decided that was it! I am covering this! I bought two sheets of 16 gauge steel (about 1/16th inch thick) 2′ x 4′ from a big box store. ($70 each! Jeepers!) Thanks Obama! (That’s a joke you know) And I rounded over the front edge. I need to get some different screws to hold it all in place, but it looks real professional. I’m glad I did that.

Kelly helped me get the last screen back in the 630 grill and I have that all reassembled.

Needs an oil change yet and it will be ready for next summer’s work and projects. Next summer’s project I think will be rebuilding the belt pulley assembly. Clyde probably knows what a belt pulley is. You’ve seen pictures of back in earlier days, a long canvas belt ran between the tractor and an implement to provide power before the advent of power-take-off on the rear of a machine. That’s the belt pulley.

Not my photo. Courtesy of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmpuWNcqF2s

On the 630, that belt pulley is also the hand clutch assembly. And it rattles like some of the plates inside there are broken. I remember Dad adjusting it once in a while, but I don’t recall him ever pulling it all apart. The tractor also hasn’t had a working tachometer / speedometer / hourmeter for as long as I can remember. A few hundred dollars will get me a new gauge, new cable, and I don’t know yet if I’ll need a new gear inside the governor assembly or not. It’s all only money.

I’ve done my crop rotation maps for next year and got the acres figured out. Talked with Nate at Meyer’s Seeds and I’ve got until January 16th to lock in the early order discount pricing on oats, corn and soybean seed. I was approved for $43,000 in loans for chemicals and fertilizer from the Co-op. That doesn’t include the loan for seed. I’m really hoping I don’t need all of that loan as the crop prices aren’t that good. The first few years I farmed I stressed out a bit more about the crop loans. Of course 35 years ago I probably spent $10,000 on everything and it was still big money. Now days it’s just part of the deal. I don’t stress over it so much.

I thought for sure Kelly and I were gonna win the lottery the other night. And what would we do with all that money? As the old joke goes, keep farming until it is gone!

EVER BEEN THROWN OUT? TOLD TO LEAVE? EVER THROWN SOMEONE OUT?

I know tim will have a story….

2025, Business, crops, Farming Update, Government, History, Music, Science, Technology, Theatre, Uncategorized, Weather

INTEREST-ING

December 13, 2025 xdfben 60 Comments

This week’s farming update from Ben

Brrrr. We are hardy Minnesotan’s but it’s still cold out. Hope you can stay inside and warm for the weekend.

Honestly, how did people do it 100 years ago? Or 500? Or 1000??

We have so much to be thankful for.

I got my corn check from the co-op last week and put it in the bank. And this week I paid off the loan I borrowed from a month ago to pay the bills. And the co-op emailed about setting up the loan and credit for 2026 crops. Easy come, easy go. Repeat. I spent some time this week comparing interest rates. It’s kinda hard to find out what the actual Prime rate is. Course it varies by bank and how much money you have. And it was kind of interesting how that works. One of the companies the co-op uses does Prime minus 0.5% until August, then Prime + 0.5% until Feb of 2027. Another company has different rates on some of the products and zero interest on some, but then Prime +2% on fertilizer. In the end, it doesn’t amount to that much money. It would be a different story if I was spending $450,000 at 7.5% interest. (That’s $33,750 @ 7.5% if you’re curious. Now we’re talking real money!) And the government is going to bail me out with the poor prices on soybeans. So they say. I don’t know what that’s going to amount too yet. It won’t be $33,000 I can tell you that. I’ll bet I can take off a couple zero’s there and be more like it. I always say the difference between me and the big farms is a couple zeros on the expenses and the income.

I’ll fill out the forms this weekend and figure out next years crops. Samantha, the agronomist I work with at the co-op sent out a rough worksheet of next year expenses for my planning purposes, and I’ll get things ordered and prices locked in by mid January for the best rate.

Yesterday on the blog we were talking about things from the past. I had a guy at the farm the other day who had a front wheel drive car and was almost stuck on the bare, but snow covered driveway. He clearly didn’t know how to drive on snow. His wheels were spinning and he blamed the posi-traction. I can still hear my dad’s voice “DON’T SPIN YOUR WHEELS!” Our mantra in winter back in the day of rear-wheel drive cars. “Sit heavy! Don’t spin your wheels.” And my family jokes that Dad would say, “NO TALKING! BE QUIET BACK THERE!” I don’t remember that, but I’m sure it was so Dad could hear the wheels not spinning. Shift to low, back up to the garage so you can get a run at it, and don’t spin your wheels. And the guy got out. Our driveway is long and starts right off with an uphill “U”. (So right, “get a run at it” but you’re making a corner at the same time. You learn a lot about friction doing that.) Then you’ve got a flat 75 yards to gain some speed before the next uphill corner to the left. Most people, if they get around the U, can make the next corner. Although there was some days I had to back up 50 yards and get a run at the second corner again. But a front wheel drive car? Dude. Learn to drive. I remember years ago, the guy who would come in to breed the cows. He had a little tiny car. Rear wheel drive. He couldn’t get out. And he turned around and went backwards really fast around both corners. I was very impressed. But he made it.

Last weekend Padawan called me about 10:00 at night to see if I would help pull a friend of his out of a ditch. So I went. Because we’ve said Padawan is our second son, so, that’s what you do for your kids. The friend had a new sporty little car. Still had the temporary plates. Skidded on the snow and slid into a ditch. Another kid who needs to learn how to drive. He was only a little stuck. Pulled him out with the truck.

Haven’t had much time to work in the shop this past week. Concerts at the college, homework, (had the last ‘in person’ class. I have a couple tests to take yet and some online lectures to watch. Last day of classes is next Friday) And I’ve been moving snow.

Our mailbox is out on the highway. It’s on a swinging post so the snow launching off the snowplow doesn’t damage it, the box just swings out of the way. Meaning it WHIPS the mail out into the ditch…More than once we’ve found the mail under that pine tree behind the mailboxes. Sometimes we may not find it until spring. Hopefully it wasn’t the check we’ve been waiting for. There are three mailboxes as there used to be three homes down our road. The third, unused mailbox our neighbor named “S. Lamb”. The sacrificial lamb. Our neighbors are very witty.

The choir sounds really nice this year. It’s a new conductor and he’s doing a great job with the students. At rehearsal I heard him ask the kids, “Are you ready for the concerts Friday and Saturday?” And they responded, “Thursday and Friday!”

“Good. What time is the concert?”

“7:00”

“Good. What time are you going to be here?”

“6:00”

“Good. Saturday and Sunday concerts, It will be fun!”

“THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!”

“Good.”

Clearly, he’s worked with teenagers before.

HOW YOU GONNA STAY WARM THIS WEEKEND?

HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WOOD HAVE STAYED WARM 500 YEARS AGO?

2025, education, Family, Fantasy, Media, Mysteries, Science, Stories, Technology, The Future, Theatre, Uncategorized, Weather, work

Artificial What?

December 11, 2025 xdfben 32 Comments

(Header photo by Word Press’ Artificial Intelligence, version 3 !)

My summer Padawan is always telling me “I asked Chat GPT about…”

I just can’t get over that. He’s asking a computer for relationship advice. I guess it’s faster than asking Ann Landers… And then he tells me he likes it because it’s giving him the answers he wants to hear. Well of course it is! I am just so astounded that he’s taking relationship advice from this thing…and because he’s asking it ‘why doesn’t she love me’ questions, of course it gives him reasons she’ll come back. I told him to ask it ‘Why won’t this girl leave me alone’ and see what it says? I get the typical teenage “Yeah, but!” answers from him.

Man, am I glad I’m not 19 anymore! Mostly.

So I asked Chat GPT to write a blog and I gave it some pretty general guidelines; farming, theater, and teenage love.

It did pretty good! I had to laugh, it wasn’t at all like I write, because why would it be, but it was a very nice short story of “…slipping into a classroom still smelling faintly of hay and diesel that makes you feel both out of place and perfectly rooted at the same time.”

Then boy meets girl, they go to a show, and, “ We slipped into seats near the front, shoulders brushing, her laughter lighting up the dim room like a sparkler. I couldn’t tell you much about the plot of the play—something about family, love, mistakes—but I remember how she leaned in during the quiet moments and how the stage lights reflected in her eyes.”

Oh my gosh. I’m gonna start asking this for sweet nothings to whisper in Kelly’s ears!

So I refined the request a few more times. I asked for more humor and less metaphors. I hate metaphors like a hole in my head.

It gave me this:

Being nineteen and in a relationship during winter in Southeast Minnesota is a test that should earn college credit. The farm turns into a frozen obstacle course, the wind rearranges your face, and every chore takes twice as long because everything metal turns into a hand-freezing punishment device. Romance does not thrive in these conditions.

My girlfriend says we need to “communicate more,” which is hard to do when the chickens start yelling at dawn and demand full attention. She thinks the chickens respond better to her voice, which is true only because she gives them treats and I hand them feed like a government-issued ration. She insists this is evidence of my lack of warmth. I insist it is evidence that chickens are extortionists.

The grain farm does not help our relationship. Every time we plan a date, something breaks. This week it was the old tractor. The tractor has the personality of a stubborn old man who refuses to stand up without complaining first. I spent three hours crawling under it, dropping tools, and discovering new ways to swear. She sat nearby on a bale of straw, scrolling through her phone, occasionally offering advice that made sense only if the tractor responded to positive energy.

The real villain of December is Christmas music. The month starts, and suddenly every speaker in existence blasts nonstop jingles. She says it “puts her in the spirit.” It puts me in a state of irritation that could power the whole farm. The worst part is that she sings along. She sings loudly. She sings off-key. She claims my dislike of holiday music is a sign of emotional instability. I claim her playlist is a threat to public safety. This topic has caused more arguments than the chickens, the tractor, and the weather combined.

But we’re nineteen, so we keep trying. Some evenings we sit in the shop, surrounded by tools, feathers drifting around, both of us exhausted. She talks about her day. I talk about which piece of machinery betrayed me. Sometimes she laughs at my tractor stories. Sometimes I almost tolerate her humming.

Our relationship may not be smooth, but we are still standing, even in January temperatures, even with demanding chickens, even with that cursed playlist. And honestly, surviving December together might be proof we’re tougher than we thought.

Not bad. But I want to know why there are feathers in the shop?? Are the chickens living in the shop or did I drag that many feathers in there on my clothing?? Sometimes walking around the college and I’ll find a dry chunk of “dirt” in the hallway with a chicken feather sticking out of it. Yeah, that’s probably mine. But how did the computer know that?

THINK ABOUT AUTOMATION IN YOUR LIFE. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE NEVER EXPECTED?

ASK AI (OR ANN LANDERS), TO WRITE SOMETHING.

2025, Business, crops, Farming Update, History, Nature, Science, Technology, The Future, Theatre, Weather

Straight Screens in Curved Holes

December 6, 2025 xdfben 47 Comments

This week’s farming update from Ben

Guess it’s winter on the farm. I even wore a T-shirt under my sleeveless shirt one day.

I don’t think the chickens have come out of the pen all week. They peer out the door, but none of them has much interest in actually going outside. I picked up one chicken that was still living out in the pole barn and carried her back with the rest. And the garage chicken has moved down with the rest. For body heat I presume. Found 4 of the 7 chicks. It’s unfortunate it worked out the way it did for them. I’d have liked them to get a little bigger, or the weather to stay a little warmer, or momma to take a little more care of them a little longer. Any of those options would have served them better.

I got the starter put back on my 630 tractor and it started right up. I can’t get over how quiet it is now. Evidently having a hole and crack in the exhaust manifold is like a hole in your muffler. It’s surprisingly loud. And repairing it was very educational and gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. My dad would be so pleased. That thing has been cracked and loud for as long as I can remember. For a tractor from 1959, it’s getting some much needed attention.

I’m still working on some cosmetic repairs. I have new screens for the front grill and I picked up a cheap spot welder to repair part of the hood. Welding class from 12th grade comes through again!

Dad must have run into something to dent it and break off all the welds on one side. And now I need to figure out how to fit this straight piece of corrugated screen into the slots and curves on the corners.

I know it bends, it is just a matter of fitting it all together.

I worked on it for a while one night and decided this was something to ponder and come back too. The dogs all run into the shop and get a drink, and I played ball with Luna while Bailey gets in my face. Humphrey likes having a warm place to lie down and he’s happy. But the others get bored after a bit and Bailey pee’s on the floor and out they go. Kelly lets them back into the house. Out in the shop is my happy place. Have I mentioned that? As I closed the toolbox and turned off the lights, I thought to myself, this has been 35 years in the making. We took over the farm when we got married, 35 and a half years ago. And I’ve been collecting or buying tools and gaining experience since then. If I had it sooner, I wouldn’t appreciate this so much. Or I’d want something bigger.

=====================

At the college I’m getting ready for Holiday Concerts next week. My friend Paul is designing again, so it’s fun to have him back in the shop.

I added a few more LED lights over the stage. Just some plain LED wash lights. They don’t move or wiggle, they just change colors. Over the stage are pipes called ‘battens’ and they’re all counter weighted so they’re balanced as they come up and down. Called “flying in or out”. Our stage has 19 battens. Three are for lighting (called ‘Electrics 1,2 and 3′ front to back). Several are curtains, and some are open to hang scenery. The counterweight is achieved using metal bricks that weigh about 15.5 pounds. We add or subtract them to balance whatever is hanging. When I added the lights to the 1^stElectric, I had to add 8 more bricks. This is the main lighting batten. I counted 58 bricks. 899 pounds. This batten is rated for 1000 lbs.

These are the counter weight bricks. The yellow brick is empty base weight.

img_5108-1 — The First Electric and it’s 23 various lights.

*********************************************

I read an article in a farm magazine recently about the next generation of autonomous farm equipment. The technology is out of testing and is available for sale.

A little background: As with all technology, this has been coming for a few years. First it was the GPS mapping. Then row sensors so machinery could follow the rows by themselves. Then the machinery started to incorporate the equipment and technology to put all this together and the tractor could follow a line through the field. Then it was automated so that the tractor could raise and lower an implement, slow down at the ends, and all the driver had to do was make the corner, find the next line and hit ‘Go’. From there, multiple implements or tractors could talk to each other. The tractor could pull up next to the combine, and the combine would take control of the tractor and unload at a constant speed. So simply removing the driver really wasn’t that big of a leap, it was kind of the next logical step. That said, I’m not sure I’m ready for a driverless car yet.

This information is from an article in Successful Farming Magazine from November of 2025, called ‘How Farmers Are Using Autonomous Equipment to Do More with Less’. It cites labor shortages, changing weather conditions meaning smaller productivity windows, or maybe just not having enough time in the day to get it all done. Some of the jobs open to autonomy are planting, spreading fertilizer, tillage, or pulling grain carts.

Wanna know what it costs?

There are two big companies: John Deere and AGCO. John Deere doesn’t list prices.

AGCO:

Capabilities: grain cart duties and tillage; planned for 2026

Compatibility: AGCO and PTx’s OutRun system is compatible with 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors. Compatibility with Fendt tractors is to begin in 2026.

OutRun for tillage has a $54,000 one-time hardware cost and a $9,000 annual recurring payment; OutRun for grain cart has a $55,000 one-time hardware cost and a $15,000 annual recurring payment.

If using the same tractor and base OutRun Intelligence kit for both grain cart and tillage, it has a $65,900 one-time hardware cost and a $15,000 annual recurring payment.

Carbon Robotics:

Capabilities: tillage, mulching, mowing, and LaserWeeder

Compatibility: Carbon ATK is compatible with John Deere 6R, 8R, 8RT, and 8RX model tractors. Installation takes under a day, with no permanent modifications. Carbon ATK is a $60,000 one-time add-on kit that Carbon comes out and installs.

John Deere:

No price listed

Sabanto:

Capabilities: mowing and seeding

Compatibility: The Sabanto autonomous kit is compatible with 2015–2024 Kubota M5 Series tractors; 2015–2024 John Deere 5E, 5M, and 6E Series tractors; and Fendt 700 Vario tractors. The kit costs $70,000, and is available on cab and open-station models.

https://www.agriculture.com/how-farmers-are-using-autonomous-equipment-to-do-more-with-less-11838003

[Whistle]

First off, I don’t even have a tractor new enough to put this on. Second, [Looking at my bank account]… Nope, there is nothing to say here.

It is kinda cool! I can see the advantage for some farmers. Kelly suggested I could have the tractor doing fieldwork while I was at the college. Yep. Suppose Bailey would still get in the tractor without me? From the video’s of the systems I’ve seen, the operator is monitoring it from his phone or tablet. Inside the tractor you set the field and boundaries. Then once you’re out of the tractor, depending on which system you’re using, either you start it remotely and the tractor honks and the lights flash and it uses all the exterior cameras to make sure you’re not around, and off it goes.

If it “sees” something not right, it will stop and alert the operator, who can view the cameras and decide the best course of action.

Crazy stuff.

JOKE DAY! SHARE A JOKE:

Q: WE WERE SO POOR—

A: THAT FOR BREAKFAST WE HAD ORDINARY K.

2025, books, Movies, Science, space, Travel, Uncategorized

Sci Fi

October 23, 2025 reneeinnd 15 Comments

I have never been a big fan of Science Fiction books or movies. I like Star Wars and Star Trek, but I really don’t consider them real Science Fiction, as they just seem to be Westerns that happen hundreds of years from now.

As I was contemplating the recent 550 mile drive from Dickinson to Luverne, I thought about one of the few Science Fiction books I love from my preteen years, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle, in which she describes people traveling through space using a tesseract, which is instantaneous travel by making folds in space and time. It would have been been so great to just roll up the Great Plains and get to Luverne instantaneously instead of driving eight hours! I suppose would have gladly accepted an offer from Scotty to “beam me down” to Luverne as well.

What are your most favorite and least favorite Science Fiction stories and movies? Where would you like to be teletransported?

2025, Automotive, Mysteries, Science, Technology, Theatre, Uncategorized, work

RANDOM THOUGHTS for an OCTOBER DAY

October 16, 2025 xdfben 47 Comments

I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how I alternate between hating people and enjoying people. I’m in my hating people phase. Seriously, is everyone an idiot driver? I feel like my driving karma has been off for about a month. One morning, a car at an intersection sat there missing options to go. I honked. They looked in their mirror and said something to me. Without finger gestures. And then at another intersection, I got the green arrow and someone from my right made a LEFT HAND TURN ACROSS ME on his RED light! I honked. He honked back. Jeepers.

Idiots.

If it’s related, making me one of those idiots, I’m having a heck of a time parking correctly lately. I pull in, then have to back up and straighten out and pull in again to get in there straight. I’m not sure if the lanes and spaces have gotten smaller or the car is bigger, or my depth perception is off. But parking seems like it used to be easier. Just another first world problem.

I threw away a cardboard box the other day. Packing material and everything that was in it. There was a shipping label on the side from August of 2007. I threw away that box, one of two identical boxes, so I could save a different box complete with it’s packing materials. And I chuckled to myself and told myself I’d only have to save this new box for a few years. Full disclosure, they’re boxes that moving lights came in for the college. Of the four lights I got in 2007, they’re old enough now, if one does need repair, I’ll just put it in the back of the car and take it to a place in the cities for repair. And once the new one gets through it’s warranty period, I really could throw that box out too. But will I?

HAVE YOU STOPPED SAVING CARDBOARD BOXES?

IT’S VENTING DAY. WHAT’S MAKING YOU GRUMPY? (and not the feds; The orange menace is a gimme. We can do better.)

2025, animals, Farming Update, Kids, Mysteries, Nature, Science, Seasons, Stories, Travel, Weather, work

THEN THIS HAPPENED

September 6, 2025 xdfben 56 Comments

This weeks Farming Update from Ben.

When I started the rough draft of this blog Thursday, I didn’t have much farm stuff to talk about. Now Friday afternoon and I’ve got a few farm related things.

I needed some straw bales for Friday. First of the 2025 crop to be used and climbing up into the straw pile and trying to hit the truck bed was a challenge.

**Trying to aim under the rafter and get the bales in the truck bed.**

We hosted daughters group, PossAbilities, and gave them a wagon ride through the fields. Kinda cold and windy, but they had blankets, Kelly made hot chocolate for them when they returned, and they enjoyed it.

I hauled in the scrap iron on Thursday. The wagons I pulled out of the trees and scrapped last week.

The net weight of the scrap was 3200 lbs.

The cranes are always fun to watch. My goodness, the amount of scrap is overwhelming. Juxtaposed with such a pretty blue sky!

I took secondary roads there, and I took gravel back roads most of the way home. I saw two Bald Eagles eating something that left a pretty good sized red spot in the field. I saw more of those ‘Bigfoot’ silhouettes. A few farmers are starting to chop some corn, and lots of guys are doing 3^rd or 4^th crop hay.

A couple months ago when our fridge died, we purged a lot, and moved a lot to the basement chest freezer and spare fridge downstairs. I still haven’t figured out why the new freezer section upstairs is so empty. What happened to all that stuff?? I thought we needed it? Isn’t that a story for our times…”But, I need that!” No, evidently, no you don’t.

One of the things missing from the upstairs freezer was the last loaf of chocolate chip Amish friendship bread I had made back in March. Most of us freeze and savor those summer time flavors in January. Here in September I’m remembering last winter. I didn’t think I’d have thrown it out as I know the chocolate is bad for dogs. The chickens would have loved it, but I just didn’t remember doing that. Took a month, but I found it in a bag in the chest freezer and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s not as dried out as I thought it might be, and I look forward to baking more this winter.

When I was researching how to remove those old tires last week, I saw one video where the guy talked about using diamond tipped cutting blades. The cheap abrasive cut-off blades I can buy at big box stores wear away quick. They’re about $3 each, but as the name implies, ‘abrasive cut off’, meaning they wear out as fast as they’re cutting. Cutting off the 16 tires I used 4 small, 4” wheels, and one 7” wheel. So I went shopping online for diamond tipped wheels. An “Indestructible” wheel comes in a 5 pack. Well, Huh. You see where I’m going with this? If… then why…?

I ordered a 3 pack of diamond tipped cut off wheels. We’ll see what happens when I get to the next set of old tires.

(There might be a photo here if I remember to go out to the shed and take a photo)

I REMEMBERED!

**Abrasive disc on the top, diamond disc on the bottom**

Kelly and I have a joke that I can’t find anything if you’re going to put it under my nose. This morning it was my cell phone. It was 6” away from where I was looking. No wonder I couldn’t find it. I had to borrow daughters phone to call mine and track it down. I was the kid with my mittens attached to my sleeves…Why is that getting worse instead of better?

We’ve talked before about that magic ten minutes in the morning. Every. Morning. It was later than usual one morning. Daughter and I got in the car to leave and she says “I was pretty fast this morning, wasn’t I.” Uh. Not really. But I don’t know why. Maybe it was petting the dogs longer than we should have. Which seems like a pretty good excuse. One night she was mad at me for not letting her do something. She begged and pleaded and then stormed off yelling “YOU’RE NOT MY REAL DAD!” I replied, “Actually, biology has nothing to do with this.” and then I got the giggles. She didn’t think it was so funny but a few minutes later we talked it over. She gets over stuff quick. I like that.

Last weekend Kelly and I attended a wedding in St. Paul. It was at a relatively new wedding venue called Le VENERÉ. A pretty nice place. Newly remodeled. The Groom told me when they toured it in February it was full of scaffolding. It is an old building with a really cool stone foundation. They had a 1920’s ‘Speakeasy’ theme and encouraged people to dress the part. I wore sleeves. And after looking up 1920’s styles, just decided to order a cheap 1970’s style ruffled shirt like I had in high school. It came with a bow tie that wouldn’t fit around my fat neck, so I just wore it on my sleeve. Kelly and I drove up Friday and had a weekend vacation. We had a great time at the wedding with friends.

**The groom and I. He is a former college student.**

OXYMORONS?

2025, animals, Business, Family, Farming Update, gardening, Music, Nature, pets, Science, Songs, Technology, Uncategorized, Weather

What Mystery is this?

August 16, 2025 xdfben 46 Comments

The weekend farm report from Ben

Welcome to the sick house. We all have colds. You should buy stock in tissues. My head is all fogged up so who knows what may come out in this…course that hasn’t stopped me running heavy machinery.

After last week and breaking things, I made some progress on repairing things this week. And I don’t think I’ve broken any more. Yet. (Never say never). I replaced the lift cable on the bale elevator and got that repaired. On the hay wagon I got the remaining pieces of the wheel bearings out of the hub, meaning I got both the inner and outer bearing race removed, which, thankfully, had identification numbers on them, and a local place could use that to find the correct bearings. We double checked dimensions and I got four bearings; a set for both back wheels and the plan is to have one of my padawans help me install on Saturday. It will be a good experience for him to ‘pack’ grease into a bearing. It’s not hard, but there is a process, and it is messy.
It’s supposed to be hot on Saturday, so I’m planning a shop day. We’ll put the old John Deere 2 cylinder tractor, the 630, in the shop, drain the coolant and replace a radiator hose, take off the carburetor (for one of my friends to deep clean) and we’ll see what else we can get into. I’d like to replace the exhaust manifold, and those bolts will be difficult to remove as I’m not sure they’ve been out in 50 or 60 years, and through innumerable heating and cooling cycles. I’m told to heat the area red hot, let it cool for a few hours, then smack it with a hammer. That may work on some of the bolts, but on two of them, the heads are broken off, meaning the usual method is to weld a nut to the broken off bit. I’ve never tried that. I’ve seen it done successfully, just never tried it. We shall see.

Looks like we’ve lost 1 baby guinea. Still got 11.

Some of the baby guineas. They’re pigeon sized.

And they sure get around. Often when I leave in the morning, the three mom’s and them are half a mile up the road, hanging out on the edge of a corn field. By evening they’re all back home. Weird. And there’s been one pheasant hanging out around the barn.
Now that the oats is out and straw baled, I’ve been mowing the edges of those fields. Cutting down weeds I couldn’t get to while the crop was growing. And I mowed the new waterway. The barn swallows sure loved me doing that. It was fun watching a couple dozen of them flirting around.

You can kinda see the barn swallows fliting around.

On Wednesday this week I drove to the twin cities to pick up some lighting stuff for the college. I have mentioned before that my favorite Bob Dylan song is ‘Tangled up in Blue’. I don’t often listen to song words or meanings, but that one appeals to me. I love a good story, and one of love lost tugs at my heartstrings. I was aware of two versions of the song, Dylan’s and Joan Osborn’s. Then I heard of this guitar player who was recently in the cities by the name of Billy Strings, and he does a cover. So I started looking for his version. It’s on YouTube, but not Apple music yet. However I found several other versions.

I spent half the trip up, and the entire trip back listening to these different versions of the same song. The differences were really interesting to me. I really like the rhythm of the song, the tempo, the structure, and, depending on the version, the instrumentation or harmonies. A group called Grain Thief has a bluegrass version. The Indigo Girls have a section that drops into a solid blues verse. KT Tunstall’s gritty, throaty voice gives it a different vibe. Then there’s Mary Lee’s Corvette, who I hadn’t heard of before this, and she’s got a good rocking version. Jerry Garcia’s Band has a version complete with guitar jam. Bob Malone does a ROCKING bluesy version that I really liked (And a solo piano version available on YouTube). Robyn Hitchcock is just guitar and piano with a very folk / blues sound. A few are simply guitar, one starts as piano before adding the full band (and I really like a song that grows like that.) There was one version that seemed to be punk rock or something. I only got 20 seconds into it before deleting. Overall, the different guitar sounds, the slightly changed lyrics, the interpretation of each artist was fascinating to me and I still am not tired of this song after listening to it 58 times.

We have these fuel barrels for the farm: a 300 gallon barrel of gasoline that’s up on a stand so it’s gravity fed. And a 500 gallon for diesel fuel that’s electric and has a pump. The automatic nozzles like you use at the gas station don’t work on gravity feed, the only work with a pump, so it was a big deal when, however many years ago I got a used barrel from a neighbor and went from gravity to a pump on the diesel barrel. I rented a trencher and ran an electric line across the driveway from the shop to the barrel and then could buy one of those automatic shut off nozzles. When I needed to refill the tractor the other day, I started the fuel flowing, went to the house to grab a snack, and got back to the tractor two seconds before the fuel stopped. I remember a few times with the gravity system and we used a big square nut to hold the lever up and then I would go to the shop and get distracted and I spilled a few gallons… I appreciate not having to worry about that anymore.

The header photo and that hole in the ground? I dug up the cover of the septic tank. Bailey helped.

We got the tank pumped out. It’s been on my ‘to-do’ list for a couple years. Also got a riser installed so the cover isn’t 2 feet underground anymore. Digging it up on Thursday I was thinking that is going to be a really good thing.

SIMPLE CONVIENCES YOU APPRECIATE?

AND MUSIC-

FAVORITE COVER SONG?

2025, animals, Business, Family, Farming Update, gardening, Health, Kids, Nature, pets, Science, Seasons, Stories, Technology, Weather

ONE OF THESE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

August 9, 2025 xdfben 21 Comments

The weekend farm report from XDFBen

ONE OF THESE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Wow, Man, what a week again. Thursday night I hit a gumption trap so hard, I had a rootbeer float and popcorn for supper…

We have baby guineas! I had seen one sitting on a nest behind the machine shed a few weeks ago, and we talked about getting the eggs into an incubator but never got too it. Next time I looked the nest was empty and there were broken eggs. Momma was nowhere to be found, and we feared the worst. A week later I saw her and a bunch of chicks heading into a corn field. Typically, guineas are not the best moms. But this group seems to ‘community parent’ and they’re doing surprisingly well.

As you can image, the real world is a tough place for a little chick. They could fall into a hole, they could get eaten or lost. It’s a tough place. But yeah, they’re doing well and getting big enough they might just make it. They’re not quite pigeon sized, and they hop and flutter and there’s always that one that’s six feet away and running to catch up.

I cut down a bunch of box elder tree’s growing over a fence down around the barn yard. Treated all the stumps. Then tore out the old feed bunk augers and cement bunks. Don’t need them anymore and it will help open up the yard.

Dad built the first silo in 1968 and installed these augers. When the second silo was built in 1976, the whole feed bunk was turned 90 degrees and the cement bunks installed. Then it was 1978 when I stuck my leg into this.

The augers I stuck my leg in. Hard to visualize from this picture how it was set up when working. I’m just really lucky.

As I tore it out, I thought about that. I don’t harbor any resentment. These bunks fed a LOT of cattle over the years and provided for two families. They served their purpose well.

I put the forklift extensions on and used the loader forks to lift the old bunks out. I expected animals to be living under them, but nope, nothing. I’ve been asked why I’m doing this, and to what end? Just to clean up. There is no end goal. It would never be used again, why save it?

The oats got harvested Friday and Saturday. Yield wasn’t very good, the oats didn’t even fill a semi. Ended up at 735 bushels, meaning about 31 bu / acre. According to the oat people on FB, oats has been all over the place this year. At least the test weight was 34.6 meaning the elevator would take it. Wasn’t heavy enough to be food grade, nor was it enough bushels to mess around with.

Lots of straw! I ended up with 900 small square bales. Put 700 in the barn.

The hole in the middle is where the elevator was.

I had the three teenage boys helping and I couldn’t have done it without them. They were great. The one doing the most work, number 3, (and treated as the odd wheel out by the first two for some reason), had a broken toe (dropped a barbell weight on his foot). Ah, the teenage mentality.

I baled 3 loads of straw on Monday, the boys came out Tuesday and we unloaded the first two, just throwing them into the empty barn. Then we put the elevator up and unloaded the third. I baled three more loads Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday, I started back at the college. You know what that means. Sleeves.

The boys came out at 5PM and we unloaded those three loads. 700 in the barn. Full enough. Haven’t had it this full in a few years. The boys rode in the wagon and we went to the field to bale up another load. And to stack this one as it will sit for a few months until the neighborhood berry farm is ready for it. I’d put one kid in the tractor with me, and the other two stacked on the wagon. I only hit one kid with a bale. He moved! I was aiming to the side and as the bale kicked, he stepped to that side. Oops. He was OK. Straw is light.

I’d have them rotate positions so they all got to ride in the tractor (and the AC) and they all thought it was pretty neat in there too.

Number 2 and 3 Padawan’s stacking in wagon. Number 1 is in the tractor with me.

Pretty proud of themselves. I couldn’t have done it without them.

I noticed on Friday, one of the rear wheel bearings on a wagon is gone. So that wagon is out of service until I can get new bearings. Hopefully it hasn’t damaged the wheel hub or axle.

And then Wednesday night, backing the stacked wagon into the shed, and the front wheels are not aligned. What the heck?? Tie rods are bend. Jeepers. Not sure when or how that happened. And I moved it a bit more to back it in and one wheel goes completely sideways. Well heck.

So, I pulled that wagon in backward to at least get it under cover and out of the way. More repairs. Add it to the list.

AND THEN- Thursday evening and I’m taking down the bale elevator and the lift cable snapped and it all fell to the ground. Words were said. It didn’t break anything. It was about 8’ up and I was lowing it to transport height of about 6’ when it dropped. I dragged it to the shop and Kelly and I worked on it for an hour. Gumption traps were hit several times until I blocked it up with an old pallet and we called it a night. So that’s three things. I should be done now for a while. Right?

Corn and soybeans look great! We have reached the point we cannot make any more management decisions to help the crop. The last thing done was aerial application of fungicide. Now the crop just has to finish out the season. One neighbor called me upset about aerial application too close to his house. I understand that and will take steps in the future to create a buffer zone. However, by the time it gets from me to the agronomist to the company to the pilot, I’m not sure what will actually happen. Not an excuse, just warning him a lot is out of my control.

DID SOMEONE HAVE THEIR EYE ON YOU AS A CHILD?

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR TEENAGE SELF?

2025, Business, Health, Science, Technology, Uncategorized

Lifetime Guarantee

Image August 5, 2025 Chris Norbury 36 Comments

I’ve been thinking about this term for a long time. What exactly is a lifetime? How good is any guarantee? And do I own any thing (product, device, appliance, clothing, etc.) that has been sold to me that came with a lifetime guarantee?

After all, a lifetime for a human can be less than a day to more than 120 years. Mosquitoes and many insects have lifetimes measured in days. Tortoises can outlive humans by a factor of 2, if the experts are to be believed. And Redwood and Sequoia trees live for four centuries or longer.

But let’s focus on human lifetime. Mine in particular. We bought the bathroom scale shown in the title photo from Brookstone at Southdale most likely, wayyyy back in the 1980s. It is battery operated, and I use it nearly every day to weigh myself. I’m weird that way. I think monitoring my weight daily helps me cut back on calories or exercise more to keep my weight roughly the same over the years. Not for everyone, but it works for me.

Lately, after easily 40 years of usage, the battery is showing signs of dying. I’m not positive, but I see larger than normal daily fluctuations in my weight. Normal is 1-2 pounds. Lately, I’ve seen several 3-5 lb. jumps or drops. I eat and exercise about the same amount every day other than an occasional restaurant or dessert pigout. So maybe the battery is at the end of its useful life.

I don’t even think Brookstone is around anymore, but if they were, and the battery died, would they honor their lifetime guarantee on this scale? Or did I miss the fine print in the sales literature saying something like “Lifetime guarantee or 40 years max, whichever comes first”?

No matter, the scale has been reliable and troublefree for decades, so if it dies, I’ll get a new scale that might be relatively cheaper because I won’t have to worry about getting a “long-term” lifetime guarantee. 20-30 years is about the best I can hope for.

MY QUESTION:
Tell us about any products you’ve bought that came with a lifetime guarantee and have actually lasted far longer than you ever would have expected.

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