Practical History

 Every day each and every one of us is a part of history. History is a timeline of activities and facts. When we add practicality, relationships, and heart, to history we have a story. A story can have characters, events, struggles, and triumphs. My goal with these Sunday morning stories is to give you a picture of our week. Of the blessing of family. The day to day of a farming operation. The struggles and triumphs of friends. The goodness of God. And a window into my heart. Last evening Cassia and family brought pizza to the field on the northeast edge of Oskaloosa.

Our path in life has peaks and valleys, ups and downs,  just like this county line road between Mahaska and Poweshiek counties.

Our lives (our story) have been influenced by those who lived before us. By their values. By their hard work. By their determination to make our country a better place for for those who followed. This abandoned farmstead is south of Montezuma.

Now we have the responsibility in our place in history to give our future generations a chance to live their stories with the same values, freedoms, and opportunities we have been blessed with. Elijah is driving combine for his families operation. His parents are Mark and Stacy. Thanks for the picture Stacy.

We started adding fertilizer this past week for next years crop. Thanks Alex. On more marginal farmland we add rye to the fertilizer for a cover crop.

We have also been doing some tillage as time allows. Tillage has evolved over the years (a story for another week).

However the emphasis is still on harvest, especially on combining soybeans. We have had beautiful weather. The markets are working up as China and other countries have been buying grain.

Feeding the world takes fuel to keep things running. This 750 gallon portable fuel tank made by LDJ manufacturing (Loren, Jean, and crew) goes to the field full every day and doesn't quite get the combines and grain cart tractors full. This fuel tank also carries DEF. DEF fluid is liquid nitrogen that the industry is injecting into late model equipment to get the diesel to burn cleaner. That's why you don't see black smoke coming out of the exhaust of newer equipment.

Part of my duties this week was to help harvest soybeans with our smaller combine. This is the combine I have our grandkids learn to drive. It's also the combine we share when someone needs a loaner.

Well it's getting some age on it, and like me it's getting to be high mileage, with around 4000 engine hours. So once in awhile even though it goes through the shop in the off season it lets us down with a breakdown. Kudos and thanks to Randy, Dean, and Kyle from Van Waal for keeping us going. Also thanks to Cody from Zeiglar for helping out on our Cat combine.

Both breakdowns on our smaller, older combine required parts from a parts warehouse in Milan, Illinois. A big thank you to Josh, our parts man and friend, who helped me drive to the warehouse during the night to pick up a rebuilt hydrostat and hydraulic pump (yes, expensive). BJ also drove to Atlantic early one morning for Cat parts.

So yesterday since I had a self inflicted breakdown on our smaller grainhead we switched our third combine back to corn and did some custom work near town. Thanks Devin for running graincart. Also thanks to Devin's parents, my sister Donna and her husband Roger, for helping us move, pulling combine heads from farm to farm a number of times.

It's probably sounding like a broken record to you all however I'm always grateful for meals the gals bring, and family and help time during harvest. Also thanks to landlords Marv and Jean who had us join them for a meal while we were harvesting there.

During Bible history Jesus used practical stories to make a point. They are called parables in the Bible. His stories always pointed to a purpose. The stained glass above the sunroom doors in our home, made for us by our son-in-law Brian's parents, Loren and Barb from Maurice, Iowa, tells a practical story about Jan and I's history.

 

Last Sunday evening some of our family got together for a wiener roast, family devotions, and sharing. So what's our purpose in history (His-story)? We are to add practicality, relationships, and heart, to our part in history, and create stories that honors God and blesses others. Thanks so much for stopping by.