StillwatersIowa

If you've been around small kids you have heard the phrase, "Is it my turn yet?" when others are doing something. Below Jackson and Jayden are watching Uncle Mark work on cleaning up a dirt pile and thinking he is making them dirt bike jumps. Thanks for the picture Emily. Malaki and Jackson were exploring in the parts room above our shop office. In a container of carpenter tools they found these two old hand saws and asked what they were. After being told, they decided to try them out by sawing on Grandpa's pallet. :) Farmers made headlines a few days ago when a presidential candidate belittled the expertise of our occupation. Less than 2% of folks in our vocation feed the world. Although we have been trying, I think it's our turn as this generation of farmers to enlighten our urban citizens about where there food comes from. And how it's being done in a stewardly, efficient, productive, and economical way. Thanks for the picture Alex. This past W...

We work well as a team. Even with three year old Jayden giving orders from on top of the welding bench. And his five year old brother Jackson spraying the shop floor with a garden hose while 8th grade cousin John runs the power washer wand. I'm not a real detail oriented person (it's probably one of my many weaknesses) when it comes to managing help. If the shop floor is dirty, and the dirt is heading in the general direction of the door to the outside, I'm good. What drives me on a Saturday morning? I love seeing different generations and different families working together for a common cause. In this case, a clean shop. Even when Uncle BJ dares Jackson to spray Grandpa with a garden hose. And he does! Below BJ and his son John are working together changing oil in their track hoe. I've had fellows tell me about jobs where they were micro managed by an employer, a fellow worker, or a father. Even to the point of telling them which direction to sweep the floor. ...

A picture often speaks a thousand words. A five year old feeling important, with his home in the foreground, returning from helping pick up pizza for Saturday evening supper. Thanks to a father who has given his son a sense of duty. Thanks for the picture Kurt. There are three things that come to mind this morning that kids need to thrive. They need to feel loved. They need to have a purpose, (a sense of duty). And they need to have a world that's bigger than just their own. Meaning that they shouldn't be made to think they are the center of the universe but that they have a care and concern for others. Jacob helped us move firewood to our house yesterday. Jacob comes with his Dad on Saturdays to help out. Most of us know that giving kids chores help them learn responsibility. Working with them on those chores helps them feel included. Rewarding kids after the completion of those chores with a thank you and a pat on the back helps them feel they had a part in a pro...

We have a large container of Legos at our house. When those Legos are all picked up and put away our house is the tidiest. We can walk around safely. I can rock in my Lazy Boy without hearing and feeling a crunch underneath. However sitting in the container is not the purpose of those little building blocks. Especially on Mondays those Legos, strung all over, complete the imaginations of these little people. And when that container is empty those blocks are accomplishing what they were designed for. It's a good habit to keep your fuel tank topped off, especially this time of year. If your driving a diesel, you need to remember to treat the fuel with an anti-gel in cold weather. However if you promise yourself that tank of fuel will never get empty, you're not going anywhere. You're not accomplishing anything. Your security in that full tank accomplishes you nothing. I'm probably sounding like a broken record but we are still emptying grain bins as the roads all...