Growing

Life and living things rarely stand still. In our activities and efforts it seems things either grow and move forward or slip and move backward.

My friend Wayne is trying some very narrow row corn. The concept is to get more corn plants and still have spacing. Generally the thicker you plant the weaker the stalk. Canopy helps weed control. The ag industry is still trying to get the harvest part perfected.

Our youngest grandson Malaki is very much part of growing life. He is six weeks old already and starting to get his own personality. He comes over in his car seat on the Ranger with his Mom, Kristin.

Jackson is a year and a half old and is also growing. He loves to help his Dad, Kurt.

The older grandkids are out of school now for the summer. It's easy to come up with jobs for them on wet days. It's a little tougher in dry weather when all the grownups are in the field.

The fact that the boys outnumber the girls around here more than two to one make the girls special and it's fun when the granddaughters come help as well.

Well, the little kid toys are sorted, arranged, moved, and ready for Mondays with Grandma at the new house. Any guesses how long the sorted and arranged part will last?

Last Tuesday and Wednesday everyone helped pack up and get rid of empty seed boxes and return unused seed.

Even though it's quite wet the guys have started mowing hay and even wet baled some. That's when you bale around 30-40% moisture and then store them in a sealed white bag.

Mike likes to bow fish. One day he came back from the pond here on the yard with two fish in one shot.

In 2006 Jan had our pond stocked with small crappie, hybrid bluegill, catfish, and walleye. We weren't sure if the walleye would grow but tried it since our pond is deep. Friday Mike caught a walleye. It was close to 2 feet long. 

Things are progressing at Kurt and Emily's new place west of Leighton. Saturday Emily and her family were busy painting.

Kurt was outside putting in lot fence. Fencing is less work when you have the right equipment. Although we dug a few holes this track hoe could push in a 12 inch post effortlessly.

In the last couple of years between family, friends, and acquaintances, we have lost seven folks in their fifties, including two more this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to not only those with recent losses but also those who are still learning to get along without their loved ones during holidays and special days.  

Many folks today do grow old. However we never know when our lives and purposes are finished here on earth. That's why we need to remember to treat everyday and everyone with value.

In a race everyone tries harder on the last lap. Since we're not for sure when our race is over we need to continue to try and move forward and grow into what God intends us to be.