Category Archives: Seasons

2026, Family, Farming Update, Kids, Seasons

Second Summer

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This week’s farming update from Ben

Sure has been beautiful weather. I’ve seen just a couple fields of soybeans standing yet, a lot of corn has gone out. The dry weather has been perfect for the farmers with cattle on that make round bales out of the corn stalks. It’s been dry and they haven’t had a rain threat and it’s really been nice for that work. 

On Wednesday we had two groups from possibilities out for hayrides. It was much nicer weather than the previous week but some of the clients still expected hot chocolate and while I am out doing the ride, Kelly is making hot chocolate. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. Tuesday morning daughter and I saw a bald eagle as we were headed in, and then Wednesday on the hayride, they got to see another bald eagle.

Friday morning we did another group, a little windy but certainly warmer than they would’ve had last Friday. It can’t last forever, but it sure is nice while it does. This group also had hot chocolate.

After the hayride, I loaded up some scrap metal on a trailer and hauled that in. Finally got one thing off my list. Then I picked up the fence scrap that I tore out last weekend, the cattle panels, and an old bulk tank that had been used as a water tank, loaded that on the trailer and will get that delivered at some point.

Going to the scrapyard, I followed a combine and a big tractor about 2 miles on a busy county road. It was quite a line going at 20 mph. Corn heads come in different widths, and a six row corn head, at 30 inch rows, is about 15 feet wide. That’s pretty much a full lane of traffic. Anything bigger than that and they take the head off before driving on the road. Many farmers have 12 row corn heads. There’s a few 16’s and 18’s. But that’s a lot of weight, and a lot of corn coming in, and you need a pretty big machine that can handle all that. The big thing now is folding corn heads. So on a 12 row head, three outside rows on each side fold up over the middle making it about as wide as the machine itself and then they don’t have to take it off to travel on the roads. They’re very popular for the convenience factor. Seems like they’re also very expensive. Google tells me a slightly used 16 row folding head is listed at $254,500. Honestly, when you think about the engineering involved to make it fold, it’s pretty impressive.

Photo courtesy John Deere
FB image. Head folded and traveling. They do seem to obstruct vision a bit.

After the Wednesday hayride, I needed to put the wagon back in the shed. Because of where other machinery was parked, I had to make an S curve backing into the shed. If you look at this photo, the purple line was my intended route. And the green line is how it really went. 

I do like to challenge myself…
There’s a big difference between backing a 2 wheel trailer vs a 4 wheel wagon. Two wheels are easier. 
When I was a kid, there was a tractor rodeo at the fair. It involved backing things up, two and four wheels. Around corners, and into spaces and Dad really wanted me to do it. I refused. Eventually I got pretty good at backing things up, but it takes practice and I didn’t have it at 14. I’ve never like competitions.
And judging by the green lines, I’m out of practice again. After Friday’s ride I put the wagon back in the shed. I did better. Practice makes perfect.

I’ve kinda run out of music in the theater shop lately. I just can’t find anything really interesting to me. Nothing turning my crank. 
I did some Latin Jazz, I did Rush, I tried Johnny Cash and nothing is really floating my boat this week. I’m saving the soundtrack of All That Jazz for next week. That will be tech week. “Nothing is personal during tech week.”

HOW ARE YOU AT BACKING UP?

WHAT SHOULD WE FOLD?

2026, Food, holidays, home, News, Seasons, Uncategorized

Anyone’s Guess

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Well, it is that time of year when people try to predict how severe or mild the coming winter will be. Winter is coming, you know!

Our Arikara Indian friend from Twin Buttes, ND likes to use buffaloberries for prediction. Buffaloberries, aka Shepherdia or Bulberries, are a pictured in the header photo. They are tasty, tart, native berries that grow on shrubs that make lovely jam, jelly, and pie. You can order plants for your yard. Deer, elk, and bison love them. Our friend Bruce says the more productive the buffaloberries, the harsher the winter. I haven’t had a chance to ask Bruce what he has observed as yet. I trust his judgment, but it may only be relevant for north central North Dakota.

Woolybears. The caterpillars that develop into Isabella Tiger Moths. Well, if the black stripes on them are near the front end of the caterpillar, winter will be early. The more black stripes, the more snow and the harsher the winter. The more brown stripes, the more mild the winter. I wonder through, what if the woolybears all have different stripe allocations? Which one do you believe?

I think I have a better source of prediction. Saturday we noticed a house down the street that was having a Christmas light service install their lights. I had no idea such services existed. Humbug Christmas Light Services was on the job. We don’t put up Christmas lights, but how nice for people who want lights but who can’t manage ladders. I think the earlier the lights go up, the earlier the first snow.

What do you think we should use as winter prediction? Be creative. Do you put up outdoor Christmas lights?

2026, animals, Family, Nature, Seasons

Early Hours at the Zoo

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When YA was four, we had a nice day at the zoo.  As we went through the Minnesota Trail, there was a beautiful lynx right in the middle of its habitat.  YA was mesmerized; she stood right in from of the glass and stared at the lynx.  The lynx stared back; they literally had locked eyes.  The two of them stood still like that for a good five minutes.  YA broke eye contact to look to me and at that point, the lynx bolted for another part of the habitat.  I probably should have realized at that moment that YA had some animal whisperer talent.   Maybe it started that day – the lynx has always been one of her favorite animals.

We get emails from the zoo so we were aware that there were two lynx kittens born at the zoo in late spring.  The email announcing that the kittens were out for viewing came a couple of weeks back; YA has been on me ever since to get to the zoo. 

Yesterday, since I had Blevins in the afternoon, we zipped down to Apple Valley at opening time, 9 a.m.  The plan was to go see the lynx first, then see other stuff, then circle back to the lynx before heading home.

Going in the cool morning was great!  All the animals were up and about (except the beavers).   We even got to see the two martins, who are NEVER awake normally.  The wolves, who are usually all sacked out in the back of their area were up, rolling around and even coming right up to the windows!

Saw the red pandas, the sloth (who is usually sleeping when we’re there), all the otters, the caribou, the big moose.  Even the prairie dogs were all up and working on their breakfast.

We did go back to the lynx – the kittens had found a way to climb up to the top of their habitat and were looking down at all of us.  Even though we could hardly see them and they weren’t doing much, YA had us stand there almost 10 minutes.

All in all, it was a glorious day at the zoo.  I think we’ll probably head out early and get there at opening from now on!

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

2026, Family, Food, gardening, Seasons, Weather

A Cooking Day

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A cool wet morning yesterday was perfect for some time in the kitchen.  Especially since my tomato plants are still going gangbusters.

Normally I look for easy recipes but for some reason I was drawn to a complicated Macaroni & Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes and Chilis that I found in my Tomato cookbook.  It had several steps that needed to be combined at the end, which always spooks me.  I’m usually fairly casual about cooking so having to get everything to come together at one point isn’t my favorite modus operandi.  But with nothing else on my to-do list, I thought I could handle it.

Part of the recipe was a layer of roasted tomatoes; the recipe called for big tomatoes but I have tons of cherry tomatoes, so I looked up an alternative recipe.  I made this first and as the tomatoes were roasting, I laid out all the other ingredients on the counter.  It felt like I was doing a cooking show!   Then the poblanos got roasted over the gas flame; it’s so much fun to hear the peppers popping and sizzling!  Added the peppers to the tomatoes with a couple large cloves of garlic.

Next up was the cheese sauce; it’s been quite a while since I made a roux and then a cheese sauce from scratch.  SO much cheese – sharp cheddar, fontina and parmesan.  And so much stirring!   Managed to get the pasta cooked so that it was done right when the cheese sauce was ready.  (leaf-shaped pasta that YA and I found at Trader Joe’s last weekend.) 

Laid the tomato/poblano mix in the bottom of my 8” square cast iron, then layered the mac and cheese over that.  Then came the breadcrumb topping – breadcrumbs and melted butter – and finally popped the whole thing in the oven for 25 minutes. 

Looking at this description, it doesn’t seem as complicated as it felt at the time.  The whole dish, including roasting the tomatoes and peppers, took about an hour and a half.  I had thought it would take longer.  I managed to clean as I went, so there wasn’t a massive mess when I was done.

It smelled heavenly and tasted heavenly as well.  YA liked it as well, which isn’t always guaranteed.  I guess this means I’ll have to keep this recipe in our roster for another cool rainy day!

Any foods you’re trying to eat up (or put up) this fall?

PS: The left-hand photo is before it went into the oven and the right-hand is the finished product.

2026, animals, home, Nature, Seasons

Summer Frolic

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It’s been so dry here this summer that hint of possible precipitation gets me all worked up.  So, when there was a forecast for rain for yesterday morning, I was happy to hear it, even if it meant getting a bit damp doing my errands.  When it didn’t rain… well, grumpy-city!   

Time to cave and set up the sprinkler.  I did the backyard first and about 20 minutes later, as I was putting something in the recycling on the back porch, I looked out the back door and saw a good handful of sparrows having a frolic!  It was so cute.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture – the dog barked before I could get a shot.  But here is a video that looked a lot like the scene in the back:

(This is a bit long for what it is… won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t watch it all the way through!) I’m not sure why I was so taken with this.  Maybe because we are barraged on all sides daily with such ugliness, seeing something sweet and unspoiled is even more special.  I know, I’m getting a bit mawkish here, but it was just one of days!

Anything sweet and unspoiled to report in your world this week?

2026, Food, Seasons, State Fair, Travel

It’s That Time Again!!!

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You all know where I am, right?  That’s right – the VS State Fair Fest has begun!

Tickets purchased (actually bought them in November for last year’s price).

Blue Ribbon Coupon Book purchased.  Both YA and I have added our post-it notes.

Food list assembled and printed off.  This includes traditional items that we like every year (corn, cookies, crepe, Hawaiian shave ice, etc.) as well as new foods. 

Trial drive to parking lot done.  I do this every year to make sure there isn’t any surprise road construction.

Turtle bag “packing list” updated… actually just printed out this year – we didn’t make any changes from last year.

Turtle bag packed (bandaids, Tylenol, pad/paper, address labels, collapsible container for cookies, coupon book, cash…).

Depending on what time you’re up and reading this, I’m either feeding the dog/cat before I leave, driving to St. Paul, waiting in line, on the Park & Ride bus.  Once the bus gets to the transit hub and I get through the entrance, who knows what the day will bring for me!

You’ll have to talk among yourselves today.  Anything planned for YOUR day?

2026, Food, Seasons, State Fair, Uncategorized

That Time Again….

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Yesterday I got an email from MPR inviting me to download an e-book titled 2026 Minnesota State Fair New Foods e-book.  I signed up and they sent me the e-book within a few minutes.  Gotta love computers.  The email also said starting Saturday I’ll be getting the Minnesota Today Weekend Edition newsletter.  If there’s any State Fair news, that will be fine, otherwise it will get discontinued.

I don’t really need to have three weeks to get prepared for State Fair.  We have all our tickets already.  I have a little checklist for things to take.  But after getting the e-book, I couldn’t help but do a little more.  So I printed out the actual tickets (back-up in case the whole cell-phone-wallet thing doesn’t work) and downloaded the two fair apps.  One is the official Great Get Together app and the other is called Minnesota on a Stick.  We don’t use these heavily but every now and then they come in handy with show times and locations of various food stuffs that we’re looking for. 

My state fair t-shirts are all folded nicely in one section of my t-shirt drawer.  Back before I was retired, I would wear one every work day in August.   Guess I can still do that, just at home.  I have 11 shirts at this point – short sleeve.  I also have one long-sleeve with a loon on it, but I’m not wearing that in August, so I don’t count it. (It doesn’t even live with the other fair shirts; it lives with my long sleeves.)

I probably won’t be able to keep myself from going to Cub in the next day or so to get our Blue Ribbon Discount Coupon books.  And I might have to print out my checklist!    Good grief.

Any big events coming up for you?  How long do you need to get ready to hear VS drone on and on about state fair this year?

2026, crops, Food, gardening, Seasons

Cherry Tomato Delight

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Saturday night was the first downpour we’ve had in a while.  So it didn’t surprise me when my tomatoes, which are really tall for the first week of July, were sagging over, taking their tomato cages with them.  I don’t usually have to shore up tomatoes this early in the season, but …. gotta do what you gotta do.   As I was pushing my stakes in, I found two ripe cherry tomatoes.  Two.  On the 5th of July.  I have never ever had ripe tomatoes this early.

I usually pull out the cookbooks looking for tomato recipes in late July, early August.  But I have the perfect recipe for these two darlings.

First of the Season Cherry Tomato Delight
Ingredients
Two perfect cherry tomatoes
Salt (optional)

Instructions
After harvesting the two cherry tomatoes, rinse thoroughly
Pat tomatoes dry
Open mouth
Pop the first tomato in
Chew
Repeat

Serves just one

What summer produce are you looking forward to the most?

 

 

 

2026, books, gardening, home, Nature, Seasons

Is It Summer Yet?

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In looking for my packing list on my pc last night, I found a Word file titled “From Books I Like”.  It’s only a couple of pages long and I would not have remembered that I have this document if I hadn’t stumbled upon it.  It has a few quotes from books that I’ve read; one of the quotes is that wonderful metaphor about the town from The Egg & I by Betty MacDonald that I’ve written about before.  Then there are two other quotes from Michael Perry’s Off Main Street.  One is another transfixing metaphor….

“Summer is a seducer.  After bundling through another tight-lipped winter, after enduring the mounting frustration of spring’s titillating dance of veils, we gape as summer comes sliding down her blazing ecliptic like a woman down a banister.  She laughs with her head thrown far back; she throws her hands high in the air, releasing fistfuls of butterflies.  She belly dances through the cornfields until the dust rises like a charmed snake, hanging in fat curls, leaving you cotton-mouthed.  She makes the fox pant, she drives the hawk to think air.  Weaker creatures curtain themselves away to complain.”

Fairly appropriate as I’m enjoying the beginning of spring/summer this week.  My major gardening push is done so now I can enjoy my yard without massive effort.  Bird feeders are full, hummingbird feeders are out (although I haven’t seen any hummingbirds yet).  YA and I have new Adirondacks in back as one of our old ones gave up the ghost a couple of weeks back.  Windows open.  No fans down from the attic yet although I have had my overhead fan going a couple of times in my bedroom.  Did my twice-a-year laundering of  my bedding and allergy covers.  Swapped out my spring/summer wardrobe for my winter one.  Aaaaahhhhhh.

Of course, unearthing these quotes on the pc makes me wonder if I have other files like this started and squirrelled away.  Suppose I’ll have to take a look one of these days!

You enjoying anything in particular this week?

 

2026, Family, gardening, Nature, Seasons, Weather

Spring Yard Disaster

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As of yesterday afternoon, the biggest part of my gardening year is over.  Clean-up from the fall, spring weeding, mulching, flower baskets planted and veggies planted in the bales.  Phew!  

It took way longer this year than usual.  Part of this was the weather.  We had spectacular weekends but then I wasn’t following through because Monday – Friday was too cool.  I do not like to garden when I’m cold and I certainly don’t want to wear a coat out there either!  Then the mess from the fall was much bigger than usual.  And all my fault.  A triple whammy, in fact.

My gardening season came to an abrupt end the day after my birthday last August, when I blew out my first knee.  Then right about the time I might have gotten to some fall clean up, the other knee went.  That meant that apart from some watering (most of which YA took care of), I didn’t do ANY fall clean up.  No dead-heading the late summer flowers, no cutting back peony stalks, no raking (although YA is a little bitty bit).

The second problem was last year’s mulch.  For reasons that pass understanding, I chose big chunky wood chips last year.  As we were spreading them about last spring, I was thinking I’d made a mistake, but it didn’t become clear how obnoxious these wood chips were until we were cleaning up this spring.  They didn’t seem to have broken down at all and were a mess to work around/with.

Then there was the Creeping Charlie fail.  Normally I do a great job of weeding the Creeping Charlie menace but last summer, I was busy in July, thinking I would just do a big push in August.  But, then…. well, you know.  My nemesis ground cover didn’t give a fig about my knees so there was way more weeding needed this year on that front before the mulch could go down.

I’m feeling quite relieved… there will, of course, be plenty of gardening going forward, but not the three/four hours a day grind we’ve been going through.  Time to enjoy!

When was the last time you “shot yourself in the foot”?