StillwatersIowa

Yesterday are memories. Have you ever gone to a childhood home or school and thought Wow, this is much smaller than I remember? Tomorrow are hopes. When I was Jayden and Lane's age I was always wishing I could be older. Today are opportunities. We are to use every today we have to take advantage of our opportunities. Each of us has a predetermined number of todays left. Let's make some memories. Memorial Day is a time when we remember those whose time on earth is past. Many of those who have passed had served us in one way or another. Many we knew. A parent. A spouse. A child or grandchild. Others we didn't as they gave their best for us while fighting for the freedoms and opportunities we currently still have in this country. Most of those we remember died having courage. I think the current culture in our country would benefit from more courage and less fear. Yesterday, on a cool early morning when the Des Moines River was steaming because the water temp was warmer than t...

 One of the less desirable jobs related to field work is picking up rocks that work their way to the surface. Dealing with rocks varies from farm to farm. I can think of three ways rocks show up. Freezing and thawing soils. Erosion. And tillage. Not taking care of rocks in a field can damage our farm equipment. Not taking care of rocks in our lives can damage our purpose. Below Jackson, his brother Jayden, and cousin Malaki are holding rocks for Grandpa. Last weekend we went to Indiana for a graduation. On Saturday we visited and stayed with fellow farmers and friends, Ken and Cheri. Ken farms in central Indiana where rocks are a constant struggle. They pick up the larger smooth rocks every year. No till has slowed rock troubles. Jan mentioned she enjoys landscaping her yard with rocks. So after going out to eat we stopped at one of his many rock piles and loaded up a bucket full. Last Saturday in West Lafayette, Indiana the Purdue Boilermakers graduated over 5500 students. However...

Greetings from Cisero, Indiana. More about that next week. You've heard the joke about what the 4x4 sticker means on a farm truck. 4 weeks of planting in the spring. 4 weeks of harvesting in the fall. And 44 weeks vacation. 😏 Well, this morning's stories are about "following through" after planting season with just a few of the projects that happen as we look forward to summer and prepare for fall. Below BJ is helping run a tile line to catch the overflow water from our pond. To follow through is to keep one's word. To finish a task. In short, to simply do what you say. To act with integrity. Mark is using his trackhoe on a farm near What Cheer for my brother Doug to install an old railroad tanker car used for a creek crossing. Thanks for the picture Doug. It's a good feeling to have crops in. However we need to follow through by cleaning up and repairing equipment, getting ready for the next time it's needed. Below Alex sharpened the mower blades on Jan...

 Tractor pulling was popular back in the day. It was something I enjoyed and competed in. I'm sure Jan was home with small children. I don't remember winning. However there are two events that stick in my mind. One was an out the gate pull (full 300' pull) at the Harvey Celebration Days on the newly graded clay that was soon to be (current) Hwy 92. The other was an evening at the Monroe County Fair in Albia when I was complimented by a competitor. Thanks for the picture. There was a pace tractor and the speed limit in the farm class was 5 mph. While the pace tractor took off at the speed limit, a contestant would idle down (sandbag) and wait for the pace tractor to get out of the way. With the sled load getting heavier and the pace tractor ahead a ways, the puller would open up the throttle, let the smoke roll, and try and use speed for momentum down the track. In tractor pulling idling horsepower is not a lack of strength. It was a choice not to use it until the right time...