StillwatersIowa

The Memorial Holiday is for remembering. We remember those who gave their lives serving in the armed forces. We also remember people close to us who we have lost. I'm sure all of you can relate to a loss you're thinking about and remembering this weekend. Roger lost his life serving our country. I never knew him. He died two years before I was born. However he was My dad's cousin and best friend and I was named after him. John was a young man who used to work for us. His parents were our landlords who we owe a great deal of gratitude to for trusting us to rent their farm. John was in his early twenties when he was killed in a car accident on a Saturday night coming home from Tulip Time. Frances was the oldest of ten children. She married and had three children of her own. Her middle child, Jan, is my wife. My fondest memories of my mother-in-law are her helping me pour concrete, helping me tile, and her reminding me to pay my property taxes on time because she always said,...

If you think about it I'm sure you answer a fair amount of questions over the course of a week. I know I do. Some questions have easy answers. Some take more thought. Yesterday was a quieter day because of the wet weather. I was watching John and Gideon ride and after a while I told them, "I'm going to the house for a little while to talk to Grandma" to which John asked, "Do you want me to be good Grandpa while your gone?" I was asked if I would go to a preschool graduation as a grandparent. Talk about making you feel old! I had a good time. With Jan recuperating from recent knee surgery I get alot of questions about what she is up to and how she is doing. Some questions don't just have a yes or no answer like, What is an acceptable stand of corn to keep for the year, or should I treat my soybean seed, or when should I start my second pass of roundup on my corn crop? Some questions need to be answered by more than one person like, Who are we going to pla...

As I reflect back on the past week I see there were tough moments and tender moments many times in the same event. This is Adi who went with me last Sunday to visit a friend on Mothers Day in an assisted living home. She loves Rosies mirrored closet doors. We had a customer in Powshiek County who wanted some pastureland planted. The tough part was getting this outfit out of the mudhole. After an attempt with another large tractor a wrecker finally had to be called. The tender part of this story is no one was injured when a log chain broke and shattered the back window of the tractor trying to pull this out. Elliot is having a tough time fishing. The only thing he caught was himself. The tender moment for me was wondering what his older brother Ezra is thinking while watching him. Hitting the bucket while changing oil on this RoGator is a tough job because of all the obsticles under the motor. Have you ever wished a manufacturing engineer was around during one of these times? I can'...

I had the privilege of meeting former Pennsylvania congressman Rick Santorium early this week as he came to Iowa to share his point of view on conservative values and his possibility of running for president. Among other things we had a good discussion about growing corn. It was good getting to know you Rick. Speaking of corn this early April corn finally showed it's point of view after waiting on warm weather to imerge for four weeks. A majority of Iowa's corn went in this week. It seems like it happens faster every year. Soil conditions were good. We just continue to need warm weather. Of course after the corn is in it needs sprayed. With technology like auto steer, height control, and auto shut off, the sprayer can literally now spray day and night. Thanks for being such a good tender driver for Karl this week Cornie. You know the corn is in when people start coming for soybean seed. Friday and Saturday were non stop for treating and moving out soybean seed. This has been th...

Good Friends - Last Sunday we celebrating Easter together as extended family. Here first and second cousins are playing and enjoying the afternoon. Good Old Days- Last Wednesday I took the afternoon off and went with my son-in-law and some Sully friends to Clarion, Iowa for a visit to see a collection of old machinery. This is an old Buckeye tiling machine. Good Job- Friday evening the preschoolers through fourth graders including six grandchildren at Osky Chr. Grade School performed a musical describing the Bible story of David and Goliath. Good Experiance- Brian and his friend Randy stopped by Saturday morning after turkey hunting to say hello and show us their gobbler. Good Land- I was dozing on this farm yesterday. I've heard folks say that the courthouse is sitting on the highest elevation in our county. My Garmin may be full of beans but it shows this spot just a little higher. This picture was taken from a hill overlooking the North Skunk River basin. Good Name- I took ...