Spring Tasks!

      There are number of small tasks to do upon returning to SDak. in the sprig.  Some of them reverse what was done in the fall.  To avoid weathering over winter, I put my implement trailer in the garage. It blocks access to two tractors so garaging it waits till late fall. Soon I'll take it out and it will remain outside until fall. Before removing I waterproof the deck. That was today's task.

    While doing the waterproofing a memory suggested itself.  Serving my Marine enlistment I was stationed for a time at Camp Pendleton in southern California. Ed and I were office clerks (secretaries) in a rifle company. He was the typist and I the file clerk. Sgt. Borovika was the office manager, married and living off base.  When he rented a new apartment in town he recruited Ed and I, and perhaps another, to help paint the newly rented apartment. 

     At the apartment I was dutifully painting a bedroom. While I was painting Borovika approached, and watched me paint for a few minutes. After observing me a couple of minutes he said, "Al, why don't you go buy the beer." 😀 Such was his opinion of my painting skill.

      Borovika transported us to the painting site in his Corvair. That's the car later made famous as "unsafe at any speed." Driving down Coast Highway 101, it was a four lane highway with traffic only separated by a painted white strips. Borovika was driving 60 mph+ in the center lane. Immediately in front of us an approaching bus crossed the center lines toward us in our lane and swerved back to its side a few feet in front of us. This was 1961 or 62, so we had no seat belts.

    Back to my day's task. When the original trailer deck began to fail I added a layer of three quarter inch, marine (appropriate right?) plywood over the original floor. That is what I was treating today with waterproofing. The Lowe's salesman convinced me to buy a better product than what I'd previously used. The previous product needed to be applied annually. The new one is good for 5 to 10 years. When told that I said to the salesman, "Imagine how old I'll be then!" 😉

Takk for alt,

Al

The trailer awaiting waterproofing.

Pray for rain!

       Perhaps this is a repeat. "During a prolonged drought a local church scheduled a meeting to pray for rain. When the prayers gathered, only one man brought an umbrella." 😀

     The South Dakota drought map, see below, indicated that Brookings County, home to The Little House, is in severe drought. UFFDA!  There was very little snow locally this winter and no rains this spring. So, added to the farmer's woes of low commodity prices, high fuel and fertilizer costs, there's another worry. Shades of my childhood when it seemed every summer we were anxiously waiting for rain.

     Kaia, with her fresh haircut, to avoid being a  burr magnet, is living the good life running in the fields. She flushed a rooster pheasant near the cemetery this morning. Doesn't get any better than that for her. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Brookings county is on the east edge, the 4th county down.

Good News! Bad News!

     Last fall, shortly before Thanksgiving, I parked my truck in the shop for the winter. Today it started immediately! That's the good news. When it was parked it had only a quarter of a tank of gas. That's the bad news. At today's gas prices it will cost $110. to fill the tank. 😝 Well, that's the price of a hobby farm.

   When the local banker was queried about farmer stress he replied that most farmers had contracted earlier for fuel and fertilizer.  So, for this year, they  may be OK. Farmers who have cattle are fortunate because beef prices remain elevated...bought hamburger lately?

   Some of my land is in the Conservation Reserve Program, (CRP). This is government program to conserve land by planting grass and keeping it out of crop production. The contract specifies that at mid-term of the contract, ten contract year in my case, a maintenance process is to be done. Consequently, I was planning a controlled burn. With no snow this winter, and no rain this spring, it is so dry that there is a county wide burning ban in effect! Better luck next year.  

   Why does Kaia's fur relate to a thermostat?  Kaia is a springer spaniel, noted as a long haired breed. Her last haircut was in October. Consequently, since early January she's been fully furred. For her comfort the thermostat has been lower than my comfort zone. With her grooming today I can turn up the thermostat!

Takk for alt,

Al

Soon I'll be wandering this grassland to eliminate invasive cedars.

Where's Al?

      Perhaps a "Where's Al?" app should begin, similar to "Where's Waldo?"   I get phone calls, "Where are you?"  Not being able to resist I answer, "Here?"  "Where is that?!"  "Here, where I am."  You get the drift... 

     Enough of that!  Kaia and I are in The Little House, arriving this morning. The best route out of the city for me is Highway 62. It's a four lane artery that is often congested. Leaving at 6:00 am this morning, traffic was moving at posted speeds, or higher with no congestion. 

    Kaia met her vet appointment in Brookings, and much to her chagrin, got her annual shots. Weighing in at 49lbs, ten years old, she's healthy and hasn't slowed down much.  Now she'll live the good life of running the fields, after the confinement of an OFH apartment. But, first she'll get a grooming in the morning. With her long hair she'd quickly overheat and be a burr magnet. The groomer is exceptionally quick doing a complete field cut in twenty minutes!

Takk for alt,

Al

Friendly neighbor installing a new storm door on The Little House.

Wrong!

        As the bearer of a bit of macular degeneration I'm on a six month rotation of eye exams. The good news is that today's exam revealed healthy eyes and no advance of the m.d. Equipped with a new prescription for glasses I stopped at the V.A. to order glasses. Last time I did this I walked in with no wait. Not so today. The queue lasted and hour. While waiting I kept repeating to myself, "the wait is worth it for new glasses free." After all, what's an hour in a retiree's life. In two weeks, or so, the glasses will arrive by mail. So far so good!

      Then is was off to COSTCO.  In my imagination the Monday after Easter would be quiet at that super store! WRONG!! It was the busiest I'd experienced, but, not much of problem because it's huge and prepared to handle crowds. The big disappointment came in the frozen vegetable aisle. Five pound bags of  frozen peas and mixed vegetables in my freezer keeps me eating healthily. Alternating between the two bags, I get vegetables in my diet daily. But, THERE WERE NO FROZEN PEAS!. Uffda. I'd rather have gotten peas and not the mixed. 

    This what passes for excitement in my life!

Takk for alt,

Al

The women in this picture have all died, leaving behind three brother's-in law.

HAPPY EASTER!

     How can you tell it's Easter Sunday?  One clue was when the pastor announced, "Ushers, there is seating available in the front row." 😁My proclivity for arriving early is appreciated by the family when I've saved a pew.

    Easter Dinner with family reminds me of my privileged position as the family old guy. What a nice perk to just show up, enjoy the family and a delicious meal. Totally grateful for such a blessing.

Takk for alt,

Al

Book...

   Norwegian author Knut Hamsun, 1859-1952, was the one who pioneered stream of consciousness novels. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920. Now,  Norwegian author, Ingvild Rishoi, follows in Hamsun's tradition.

   She's much acclaimed for her novel, Brightly Shining. But, it's her book of three short stories about which I write. Winter Stories, published in 1914 and translated into English in 2019. The protagonists in these stories, as is true in Hamsun's books, are struggling. A blurb on the book jackets mention that it "contains the right combination of hardship and hope. Struggle is a given with surprising turns of unexpected goodness. Rishoi creates sympathetic characters living on the fringe of society. One more author in Norway's robust literary life.

Takk for alt,

Al