StillwatersIowa

Our spring weather here in southern Iowa has been on the dry side with variable temps. A week ago Saturday we hit 94 degrees. Early yesterday morning we dipped under 20 in places. Any kind of fieldwork this past week has worked beautiful. Years ago Jan threw out some peach pits along the edge of the yard. They grew. They must have been Missouri peaches because this tree tends to get it's buds froze off every year. Last year Jan put a kerosene heater under it on cold nights. When it produces, it grows amazing peaches. Early yesterday morning it was cold. The kerosene heater wouldn't light the night before. So it was time to do something. I went and got my favorite knipco heater, a chair, and a cup of coffee. The stars were bright during my devotions. The eastern sky turned from gray to purple to yellow. Did the peach buds survive? Stay tuned. Because of activities in the Middle East our grain markets have followed crude oil and are at 12 month highs. With a good crop these price...

The concept of "spring break" is often associated with warmer destinations during late March. However it's also a time for making preparations back home. Preparations for spring and things growing. It's a week when kids are home from school, hopefully growing as well with experiences and responsibilities. Mike, Kasey, and Alex worked on cleaning, rebuilding, and fixing terraces on a rented farm, with a dozer and backhoe. We have been getting seed in for months. Spring break is when it starts to get delivered to our customers. For years we delivered with pickups, then tied down on open trailers. Now even the smaller orders go out in Karl and Kristin's enclosed trailer and semi. Staging deliveries can sometimes be a family event, especially during spring break. With the fallout from the Middle East war, shortages, volatile markets, and weird weather across the country, there seems to be a feeling looming of harder times coming. With supply chains under pressure, mak...

Jan and I enjoy each other's company. That means we appreciate listening to each other as much or more than talking. There is no better time to do both than on a road trip. Listening is such an action word. Two Saturdays ago we went to an Angus bull sale of our friends, Brent and Teresa. They live and farm near Dexter. Brent built his own sale barn on the farm. We farm Brent's Uncle Ron's farm that his grandfather had bought and started farming in 1940. After the sale we drove and stayed in to Colby, Kansas, a rural farming community of around 5500 folks in the northwestern part of the state. On Sunday morning we drove south along the Kansas/Colorado state line as we listened to three different church services. We saw more outside corn piles in that dryland country than in Iowa.  After a stay in Gallup, NM, we got up early Monday morning for our last 750 mile drive to Yuma, AZ. We stopped mid morning for a cup of coffee in Sedona, AZ. Sedona is known for red rocks, new age ...

The night motel manager in Yuma, AZ and I were outside watching the eclipse of the moon turn red early Tuesday morning (3/3/26) when I received a call from brother Doug telling me our mother had passed away. As I thought about Mom in glory, the song, "Hymn of Heaven" came to mind; "And on that day, we join the resurrection, and stand beside the heroes of the faith". She is also with her husband Harry, son Dan, and great-grandson Ryker. We as siblings and our spouses spent time together remembering, grieving, celebrating, and planning her funeral. Our spouses are absolutely part of our extended family; Beth and husband Dan, Bill and wife Julie, Doug and wife Ginger, Donna and husband Roger, and I and my wonderful wife Jan. Our parent's clan has grown to around 100 souls, and still growing. Mom's funeral was held at church yesterday (3/7/26) on Jan and my 51st wedding anniversary. Our son-in-law Brian (Becky's husband) was the pastor. He read several of mo...