StillwatersIowa

Back in the late 1970s we were needing a 2nd tractor. With the help of my father-in-law, and borrowing his idea, we built "The Hybrid". The front half is a 1957 1 Ton Chevy truck. The back half is a 1937 Graham-Bradley tractor, which were sold by Sears- Roebuck at the time, which owned the Bradley factory. Production lasted only two years and Graham switched to wartime production. The Hybrid was part of our farming operation for years. Our kids learned to drive it when they were still looking through the steering wheel. In their teen years they would drive it to school or town and get in trouble. Finally the motor went bad. It has been sitting under the trees in the coal mine hole for 25 years. This winter we decided to drag it in the shop and re-invest some time and resources into it. Our helper, Jim, put in a motor and radiator he had laying in his shop from his dirt track racing days. We ordered doors and fenders from LMC Truck parts in Kansas. Jim is patching holes in the...

Two weeks ago this morning Jan and I left for a week of rest and relaxation. We went to Grand Cayman Island just south of Cuba and stayed at the London House with other farm couples. One week ago this morning we attended and worshipped at Sunrise Community Church near Georgetown in Cayman. They are a group of around 300 and meet in a prep high school. After church, coffee, and fellowship we drove along the ocean. Around 15 miles out of town we stopped by a young man waiting along the highway. He said he was waiting for a bus which was quite unpredictable on Sundays. So Jan and I took him back to town to his job at Burger King. Our new friend is Lorenzo.  This past Monday as we were returning home and landing in Indianapolis we flew over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Upon landing all my messages loaded on my phone. One was Kristin had made cinnamon rolls and Karl was hoping for some help getting his hog shed ready for new pigs first thing Tuesday morning. Kudos to Dean, Jim, Alex...

Kish asked his son to to go look for their donkeys. They had gotten out again. Saul took a hired hand and searched for three days without success. Finally the hired hand suggested they go see the prophet Samuel since he was known as "The Seer", and had insight on many things. I Samuel 9. Is 2025 going to be a good year or a bad one? Who decides? It could be a great year. Do our attitudes make a difference? I heard a pastor say in a funeral message this past week to find God in the mystery of the circumstances we face. Ezra, Elijah, Elliot, and Jackson washed the last combine on Old Year's Eve. BJ and John continue to pattern tile for neighbors. Mike starts a terrace in the morning and finishes it that same day. Otherwise frost gets deep in bare dirt. Ezra and I took a load of 1st cutting alfalfa to the Amish auction in Drakesville yesterday for BJ. Do you have any goals for our new year? I'm not talking New Year's resolutions or business objectives, both of which ...