Category Archives: work

2025, Farming Update, Food, Government, home, Uncategorized, work

Randomness

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

And we thought it was cold during the last cold spell.

Not much happening on the farm this week. The sun is sure getting stronger, and the chickens stand on the south side of the shed, in the sun, out of the wind, against the white steel, and they don’t venture much further. They even laid a few eggs.

I’m having a hard time feeling motivated lately. Every now and then I get to a point where I feel like the Earth is going to fall into the sun, so what’s the point anyway.

Sigh.

And then I get up and go do something.

It could be the political climate, it could be the cold weather, it could just be the same old routine day after day. Have you noticed? Even though there’s a lot going on, and every day is different, the routine is still the same.

And coffee. Evidently, I’m a coffee drinker now. One day I bought a bag of coffee. Wait, back up—Why didn’t this group tell me there was different flavors of coffee?? I spent a day researching coffee flavors, and then I was determined not to buy a coffee maker because I wasn’t sure how committed I was to all this, so I tried various methods of making coffee without a coffee maker, and I researched egg coffee, and reusing the grounds, and strainers and filters, and I spilled a lot, and I made too many cups, bowls, and pans dirty… and then about the fourth day I bought a $10 coffee maker at Menards.

Sigh.

And a bag of small bag of Highland Grog coffee.

Sigh.

When we say we had “one cup”, are we actually referring to the volume measurement of one liquid cup? Because my travel mug is roughly two cups, and if I have two in a day, am I having four cups of coffee or two? This morning I made about three circles in the kitchen trying to figure out what I was doing first or next. I just haven’t gotten this whole coffee making process figured out yet.

Sigh.

There’s a spot in the yard where I get a real good echo off the barn and chicken coop. I stood there one day and yelled ‘Hello!’ a dozen times. I’d get two good echo’s off that and it was kinda fun and I enjoyed myself.

Out in the shed, I’ve gotten a cabinet mounted, and I’m working on the bolt storage shelves.

I saw a truck from a concrete company on the road the other day. I took a photo of it at the stoplight and was able to contact them for an estimate on adding more concrete in the shed. $13,000 for a flat slab 25’x50’. Well, that’s not a ton of money. I mean, it’s still $13K, but that’s hardly anything! Oh, it’s not going to happen this summer. I’ve said before, just because crop prices are up one year, doesn’t mean we should go crazy buying stuff, because you’d still have to make that payment next year. That’s how this whole shop project started: crop prices were really good in 2022 and I felt like I had money and I signed a contract for concrete in 2023 and began my shop. Here we are in 2025 and I’m still paying off the shop.

People may be curious about the agricultural environment in this administration…well, there’s lots of speculation. Prices are holding steady for the most part for corn and soybeans. They vary a few cents up and down every day based on talk of a trade deal with China, or good weather in Argentina. And I’ll say again, it’s such a global market, tariffs will send a price down, but bad weather in Brazil will bring it back up. It’s kinda crazy. I have a little corn in storage at the elevator, I put it there last fall, knowing I always need cash come spring, and hoping the price will have gone up enough to offset what I’m paying for storage of it. $0.06 / bushel / month. So, maybe today I win, and tomorrow I’ll lose. I’ll need the money either way.

This weekend at the college is the physics department club doing their demonstration show fundraiser. They physics kids are nerds as much as the theater kids are. They’re a good group though, and even though the show hasn’t changed too much in the 15 years I’ve been doing this, the audience kids seem to like it.

WHAT’S THE BEST ECHO YOU’VE HAD?

2025, Business, Government, Uncategorized, work

Legislative Attire

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I recently found out that this Thursday I have to testify in person in Bismarck at a Labor committee hearing regarding a proposed bill that my regulatory board opposes. Our ND legislature is in session right now. The proposed bill involves lumping all the mental health regulatory boards, now independent, self funding, and self sustaining volunteer boards, into one board run by the state.

I have never done testimony like this before. One of my board colleagues is writing the testimony. He has done this many times before. It will be no longer than three pages, because if you go on too long the legislators start looking at their phones and stop paying attention. We have a good strategy and have had several emergency board meetings to plan.

I have two major concerns regarding this experience: What should I wear, and will the sciatica in my left leg cause some problems (problems as in giving out from underneath me and causing me to collapse on the State Capitol floor). My colleague who is writing the testimony works for an agency that provides long term residential services to developmentally disabled individuals. Rather tongue in cheek, he told me he has access to lots of wheel chairs and could bring one to Bismarck. He thought me being wheeled in would elicit sympathy for our cause. I told him it wasn’t THAT bad, thank you, and I would bring a walking stick if I thought I needed one. I told him I could also it to club legislators who were difficult.

Regarding attire, it used to be a rule that that women legislators had to wear dresses to the Capitol when the legislature was in session, and I was worried because if that extended to people testifying, it would be a problem for me. I haven’t worn a dress in ages, I have no workable stockings, and I really didn’t want to drive to Bismarck in this cold in a dress and heels. I was relieved to hear that I just need to dress in “Business Casual”. I have yet to decide what that means for me. Whatever I decide, I will dress in warm clothes, given how drafty the Capitol can get.

Any cleaver Baboon suggestions regarding attire or costuming that I should consider? What would be your considerations if you had to give public testimony to a legislative body or commission?

2025, Fantasy, Kids, Nature, Travel, work

Where in the World is YA?

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The photos above were taken from YA’s hotel room in Banff. 

It’s still a little bizarre that YA now works in the same travel division as I did for 33 years, albeit in a different department.  She designs website and mobile apps for group travel; when a client purchases a mobile app, she accompanies the group to provide onsite support for the app.  She seems to enjoy it.

I know people who have retired from the industry and many of them have really missed the travel.  I would even call it grieving in a couple of cases.  I wondered if I would feel the same, but I have not.  I’ve always felt extraordinarily lucky to have had my job and visited so many fabulous places; I even fantasized about making a life in many of those places.  My favorite destination was almost always the last place I’d visited. 

Banff is a gorgeous place and I’ve been there twice, both at this time of year, when there is snow and the air is clear and brisk.  Seeing YA’s photos did give me a momentary pang but it was replaced with a great feeling of gratitude that she is getting to have some of these experiences – experiences that certainly enriched my life.

Any place you think would be nice to visit in January?

2025, animals, books, Food, work

Not a Chance

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In a conversation yesterday afternoon, YA was telling about some woman online who has quit her job to be an influencer.  Apparently this woman is garnering a lot of negative attention right now and shedding followers like a Samoyed in summer.  She then went on to suggest that I could become an influencer.  When I stopped laughing (quite a bit later), I asked her what I could possibly influence.  She said baking or book reviews. 

While I do think my baking is usually top notch, I am not meticulous.  A co-worker way back in the day said once that “done is better than perfect” and if I have a motto in life, this is it.  I also do not think that I am a discerning enough reader to do book reviews.  I like what I like and would be the first to admit that I’m probably not consistent in how I allot my praise or criticism.

My comment to YA was that I’d be ashamed to leave the house if my job title were “social influencer”. 

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

2024, Family, Health, Medicine, Uncategorized, work

I Got a Few Thoughts

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Today’s post comes from Ben.

Our scale is broken. It doesn’t show the weight we want it to show. Especially after a day of wandering around the shop trying to find my tools. And swearing. Evidently swearing isn’t an aerobic activity no matter how loud or flowery I get with it. Humph. Who knew?

How many rings have you got? They weren’t always a big deal. 1886 is when Tiffany and Co introduced the popular diamond setting, then after WWII, De Beers created the ‘Diamonds are Forever’ slogan and now I have 4 silicone rings. My everyday ring, two middle ground rings, and the dress ring that Kelly gave me which says “Adventure is Out There”. Sometimes I wear it so you can read it, sometimes so I can read it. Depends how I’m feeling. When we got married in 1990, we had the real gold bands with diamonds. Kelly had the engagement ring plus wedding band. I have a silver band with tiny diamonds in it, but I wouldn’t wear it farming. So, then I got a plain silver band. And I wore it for a lot of years, and I put it in my pocket one day while working on some machinery and trying to fit my hand up in a tight spot and I didn’t want to get my hand stuck up in there by my ring. And then I forgot about it for a few days and then it wasn’t in my pocket anymore.

I’m still hoping to find it someday.

My brother-in -law wore his ring on his pinky, snagged it on a railing when jumping off something, ‘degloved’ his pinky (peeled the skin off, right down to the bone) and then had to get his pinky amputated. And that’s why we wear silicon rings now. Plus, they’re cheap and come in fun designs. Kelly has several as well.

HOW MANY TIMES DOES / DID YOUR PHONE RING BEFORE THE MACHINE ANSWERED? DID YOU DO FUNNY MESSAGES?

or TALK ABOUT YOUR RINGS.

2024, Farming Update, Theatre, Uncategorized, work

Oh, And One More Thing

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben

I got a lot done this past week. Last Saturday I finally got the snowfence up. You know, I can’t figure out why 100’ this year, doesn’t fit the same posts as 100’ did last year? Which didn’t match the posts from the year before that! Sometimes I think I’d like to put wood posts at the ends of the sections, but seriously, it never lines up the same way two years in a row and I just don’t get it. We put in 500’ this year. Plus, another twenty feet in a different location that can drift. I guess I am expecting it to snow this year.

Sunday, I moved a bunch of equipment around; I got the lawnmower cleaned up and put away (I used it to mow a path for the snow fence. It wouldn’t work when I tried a month ago, because the grass was too green and wet. But now it was all brown and dried out and cut much better). Moved the scrap metal tote inside the shed, and stuff like that. And then I finally built a little door for the chickens, so I don’t have to leave the big door open six inches for them. Ready for winter!

On Monday, the contractor showed up and started tearing out trees and reshaping a waterway. It’s not the best timing for dirt work, but by spring either I’m gonna have the gully in the field where it’s been running, or in the waterway where it’s supposed to be. To fix it, they had to tear out a LOT of trees. Tree’s that have come up in the last 60 years. Which meant the area didn’t drain properly. It looks a lot different.

Before :

After:

There is one GINOURMOUS brush pile!

This photo doesn’t give you any perspective. It’s HUGE This whole project came about when I hired the contractor to bury the ash from an area where I’ve been having brush piles for years and years. And then I asked if he could reshape the waterway, which turned into tearing out trees IN ORDER to redo the waterway.

And I finished the steel inside the shop. It turned out really well. I have a few details to finish yet, and the outside steel, and the electrician will have a lot of work to do, but it really is a functional shop area. I don’t often think about if my Dad would like whatever it is I’m doing. But the shop and the waterway, I really think he would approve of those things. Friday night Padawan, still in shorts, was able to put his car into the shop to work on it. I’m kinda glad I can offer him a place like this. I have been spying on them with the shop camera. My goodness, two teenage boys can be so annoying to be around.

I’m beginning to clean up the shop area. I don’t need the scaffolding anymore, and I need the room, so I dragged that outside and disassembled it. PHOTO

Holiday concerts at the college this week too.

Pretty soon I can get the 40’s station back on my car radio. The one they take off in November to play TWO MONTHS of Christmas music. Bah.

PICK A HISTORICAL FIGURE TO BE ANNOYING WITH. WHAT ARE YOU TWO UP TO?

2024, Health, Uncategorized, work

Peer Support

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I was on my way to work the other day, driving behind a small, blue, rather dented up vehicle that was driving way too fast and was tail gaiting the slower vehicle in front of it. The blue car and I both turned into my work parking lot, and I saw that the driver was one of our Peer Support specialists.

Peer Support specialists have two qualifications to be hired at my agency-they need to be high school graduates, and they need to have successfully overcome their own addictions and mental health issues. They work directly with our clients, providing support, sobriety tips, and rides to appointments. They visit clients in jail, accompany them to court, and give them sage advice. The Peer support specialists are very proud of themselves, and it is kind of funny to hear them announce at staff meetings the good news that their felonies have been expunged from their records.

I was thinking the other day that Baboons could provide quite wonderful peer support in helping others with a myriad of skills. Gardening, cooking, writing, home repair, art projects, pet care-we could help novices and those struggling with learning how to do new and unfamiliar things. We are a talented and kind bunch.

Who are some of the natural helpers you have encountered? What would you like to help people with? Who have been your biggest supports?

2024, home, Uncategorized, work

The Good Plumber

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Monday night we noticed that the kitchen faucet was listing drunkenly to one side. It was an all in one, pull down faucet we had installed about 20 years ago. Something that stabilized the faucet rotted away under the granite counter. The faucet still worked, and there were no leaks, but it needed replacement, so on Tuesday I phoned Daryl.

Daryl is a plumber who has helped us out for 30 years. He really loves being a plumber. He is retired now and has handed his very successful business to his son. Daryl works for his son part time. We have Daryl’s personal cell phone number. I phoned him. Daryl met me at home Tuesday afternoon and told me the kind of new faucet to get. We bought one at Ace Hardware Tuesday night, and Daryl came over on Wednesday afternoon to install it. It is beautiful and works like a charm. You can see it in the header photo.

There are some other minor plumbing things we need done, such as replacing the mixer in the main bathroom shower. That was installed by Daryl about 15 years ago. While he was at the house Tuesday I showed Daryl the shower problem and he asked if we had kept the manual and UPC from the box the mixer came in. I had it, and, sure enough, there was the UPC, cut out and stapled to the manual by Daryl when he installed it. He gave me detailed instructions as to what internal mechanisms to order, and to let him know when I got the parts so he could install them. He has lots of tips to get these companies to honor their warranties, too, as he wants to save us money.

It is so refreshing and hope-instilling to run across people like Daryl who do their best and love what they do. After this I think our plumbing needs will be met until we move., but it is reassuring to know I can phone Daryl in an emergency.

Who would you phone in an emergency? Who are the Daryl’s in your life?

2024, Family, Uncategorized, work

Well, That Explains It!

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Tuesday at work I had a giggle during a meeting with the crisis team for a case I was involved with. Two of the crisis team members are locals who grew up in a small community about 10 miles from here. A third crisis team member asked why the client’s family member involved in the case was acting in a particularly unhelpful way. This family member also was from the same community as the two crisis team members. The crisis team members replied “Well, you know, she was a Hapsburg before she got married!” (name changed to protect privacy) as though that explained everything about the family member’s behavior.

The funny thing about that exchange is that it did explain everything! One delightful thing about working in a sparsely populated rural area for 36 years has been getting to know all the quirks and peculiarities of local families. By local, I mean people who live in an 80 mile radius of where i work. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree out here. It isn’t even necessarily pathological. It’s just that if someone is a so and so from Belfield or a such and such from South Heart, they often act the same as the other members of their families, and you can predict how they might respond to you. “Oh, she was a Hapsburg” gives us all sorts of information to know how to proceed.

What is your family known for? Any interesting peculiarities or quirks? Where do you look to for answers?

2024, animals, Family, Farming Update, Uncategorized, work

Heatin’ Up

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

It’s that time of year that the butter in the kitchen is hard. I haven’t turned the heat on yet, even though we did have a hard frost earlier in the week. 21° at our house. I had pulled a few plants into the garage, unhooked the hoses, and I have the pressure washer in the feed room with a bucket over it, which is good enough for now. Starting to think about what needs to be picked up and moved before we take the next drastic turn into winter. But I’m not gonna talk about that. Yet.

Got the soybeans out on Saturday.

The yield was a little below average which is what most guys were saying. And the prices are down to so that’s not helpful. Remember, prices are all based on the Chicago Board Of trade (CBOT) and then the local elevator subtracts an amount called the “basis“ to cover their costs like shipping and operational expenses, which gives me the local price. Every morning at 6AM, I get an email from DTN (I don’t know what that stands for) and the subject line at least tells me if corn is up or down for the day. Most of the time that’s all I need to know because I don’t market my grain throughout the year, other than maybe a few thousand bushels that I might hold onto until March or June (depending on the yield, the price, and if I can pay all my fall bills)

I think all farmers are using operating loans of some sort for all the spring inputs, and some of those are due in December, so I just sell everything right away. Typically harvest time is when the price is lowest, but if I store grain at the elevator I have to pay for storage. I don’t have bins at home and if I did, I’d still have to dry it, keep it in condition, and ship it, so there are always expenses. The best local price is hauling it to the river. Around here a lot of guys deliver to Winona or ethanol plants but they’re talking of hundreds of thousands of bushels.  Even if the price went up a dollar, my 5000 bushels, that difference, isn’t gonna make or break me. It’s hard to justify storage and the time it takes to make a difference. And that’s why I sell everything in the fall.
Remember, every farm is different, and everybody does it their own way. Farmers may not have a lot of cash, but we have good credit ratings!

So- corn on Friday was $4.06 on the CBOT, and soybeans rallied $.20 to $9.88, they were down yesterday because it rained in Brazil. Remember it’s a global market.
At the local elevator, the basis on corn is $.43, the basis on soybeans is $.65, meaning the local price is about $3.65 for corn and $9.25 for soybeans. Soybeans in November 2025 are priced at $10.32. I could contract some soybeans for a year out and make a dollar more, however even this year I had less than 2000 bushels so it’s really not that much money. And If I don’t produce enough to cover what I contract, I have to make up the difference. I always say, a few more zeros on both sides of the equation and we’re talking real money! There is a lot more to marketing that I don’t know.

I have a heater in the shop! We had to do some redneck engineering to move a pallet rack, and Kelly and I had to coordinate hand signals for part of it. No one yelled, and we got it moved. Only once did she have to give me a hand signal of her own…


The thermostat isn’t hooked up so it’s kind of hotwired, and it’s powered by an extension cord hanging off the wall at this point, but I have a heater in the shop!

Still got the four ducks. And they can all fly!  

DO YOU TALK WITH YOUR HANDS?

GOT ANY HAND SIGNALS