Cedars, my old friend....

      The cattle had tranquil summer in the pasture. A few weeks ago, they went home. That means the electric fence is turned off. Wow! Do I hate getting shocked by it, almost knocks me down.

    With the fencer off, once more I have access to the cedars that have grown up in it. Perhaps I can finish clearing it this fall. It's punishment for ignoring them for many years. Weeks of idleness means that, once again, I need to work myself back into shape. It shows me all the way it's harder to bend. Still, it's better than a gym membership.

   Odie chased up a flock of pheasants, while I was wrestling cedars. I won, and the end of this fence row is in sight. In the future I'll look for them while they're small. It's what passes for excitement here.

Takk for alt,

al

 

Just because we were aboard ship didn't mean we were excused from running. Marines can be seen running in the background, on the carrier deck.

Sinai History.

      Sinai has always been a very small town. Likely the population never reached 200 and now the sign on the edge of town says, POPULATION 120. It was founded in 1907, so it's not very old either, when a railroad was laid out from Sioux Falls to Watertown. But, perhaps it had a unique feature for having its own telephone company.

    As customers of that company in my boyhood, we had a crank phone on the wall. Customers were grouped in local 'lines'. The lines were not private. Each customer had a unique ring. Ours was four shorts; if the phone rang quick four short rings we knew to pick up. All the other customers on our line would also hear the rings and could pick up and listen in. To call anyone on our 'line' we just had to crank their ring. Beyond our line we had to call "Central" in Sinai and ask to be connected. To call Arlington, 7 miles away was a long-distance call.

   Central, besides being a switchboard was a dispenser of news. When there was a battery of short rings it was Central calling everyone. Announcements like these were common: "There will be a bridal shower at the church, (there was only one church), tonight at 7:00 for Evelyn Husby, everyone is welcome." "School is closed today because of the blizzard."

   When I left for Boot Camp in 1959, wall phones were still in use. Returning after my enlistment rotary dial phones were in place. There were still party lines but only the customer being called could hear their ring. One enterprising local customer wasn't to be denied the pleasure of 'rubbering'. She discovered if she set her phone on a radio turned on but not on a station the radio would static when anyone was called, and she could listen in on the call. Two young guys knowing that she'd get up to listen when they called early on duck hunting morning to be sure both were awake employed this dialogue. "Good morning." "Good morning, beautiful day." Then they'd hang up.

  There's vestige of the old phone company in local phone numbers. Local landlines with an 826-preface come from the old phone company.

    A Facebook page is entitled "You know you're from Sinai, if... ", It's open source on which anyone can post. In a recent post, I suggested that John Eastby, grandson of the phone company founder, write the history of the company, newly retired he has a PHD in...history.

Takk for alt,

Al

This looks like the phone in our house. The crank is on the far side, earpiece on near side and mouthpiece in front. 

Delay continues!

       It's fascinating to see the difference in drying now in November compared to mid-summer. After the recent significant rain cornfields are still too muddy for harvesting. No rain is predicted for the next week. Likely combining will resume in that time.

     It looks like the local co-op elevator doesn't anticipate buying much more corn. They've pulled the auger elevator away from the big pile of corn that's on the ground. Though it is possible that they have shipped enough so that there is storage in the bin.

    The ground was white with frost this morning. That's the first I've observed. Most cattle, except dairy cattle, are outside 24/7. As nights cool, they grow heavier coats to tolerate winter temperatures. A few years ago, there was a very early blizzard in Western South Dakota. This was before livestock had their winter coats. Many died of hypothermia. That's not a danger this year with this very late frost and no real cold weather yet. 

     What's true of cattle is also true of the local camels, currently eight. They grow a very thick coat which peels off in sheets in the spring. Some enterprising person could spin this fleece and knit something from it.

Takk for alt,

Al

Four camels grazing in harvested corn, called corn stalks.

From a friend and worth posting.

 Here’s a fun little fable for you:

A powerful, famous leader feels… wary. He thinks people are out to get him, to undermine him, to ruin everything he’s built. Who’s after him, exactly? He doesn’t know. But he’s pretty sure there’s a plot, and he’s pretty sure he can bring the conspiracy to light.

So he takes every precaution he can. He surveils the people he suspects. He investigates his adversaries. 

Then one day it all collapses on him. Because in his quest to protect himself, he overstepped the law.

The thing that ruined him…was him.

If you haven’t picked up on it, this isn’t a fable. It’s history. Richard Nixon, Watergate: a cautionary tale against paranoia – a word which, in Ancient Greek (πράνοια), meant “madness.”

But other kinds of madness exist. In 1982, sociologist Dr. Fred H. Goldner wrote this:

“Pronoia is the positive counterpart of paranoia. It is the delusion that others think well of one. Actions and the products of one's efforts are thought to be well received and praised by others. Mere acquaintances are thought to be close friends; politeness and the exchange of pleasantries are taken as expressions of deep attachment and the promise of future support.” 

He calls it a delusion. And maybe it is. But which delusion would you rather have?

Abraham Lincoln knew his political opponents were talented, brilliant men. Forces to be reckoned with. Forces that could very well ruin him. The kind of forces Nixon feared.

So Lincoln did the delusional thing: He invited them into his Presidential cabinet. And some of them went on to become his most loyal and trusted advisors.

Paranoia and pronoia. Both can break you. But only one is a prison of your own making.

Copyright © 2026 Gapingvoid Culture Design Group, All rights reserved.

Takk for alt.

Al

Revision!

      Upon my arrival here yesterday, I opinionated that corn harvest was half done. Now, being here a bit longer, I'm revising that estimate. It looks like harvest is more complete than that. The local grain elevator, after successfully marketing corn last year, has again purchased much corn which is stored in the long white bags on the ground.

     The rain gauge behind The Little House registered 5" since I left ten days ago. It's great timing for a significant rainfall. Beans are safely harvested. Rain doesn't s impair corn. The corn husk sheds the moisture. There is some harvest delay while the ground dries. Decreased sunlight and lower temperatures preserve the moisture. The ground is not yet frozen allowing the water to soak into the soil. Moisture is essentially banked in the ground for next year's growing season. Alfalfa fields and pastures are recharged before freeze-up. Frost doesn't penetrate as deep in wet ground. Trees, too, are strengthened by fall rains.   

    Takk for alt,

     Al

Bags filled with corn.

Mass Die Off!

      The windshield wipers were on the whole trip from the OFH to The Little House. Sinai has recorded 4.5" in two days not counting today's rain. Tomorrow I'll check my gauge to see what's accumulated in 10 days. Minnesota corn harvest is almost complete. Locally it's about half done. Yields are very good, in the 200+ bushel per acre range with moisture at 14%. That means no artificial drying is necessary saving time and money. It's been too wet to harvest since Friday. For the first time this year getting stuck is a hazard.

    In the 10 days of my absence boxelder bugs did a mass 'die off'' in the house. They don't bother me; I just gently move them out of the way. Joanne didn't like them. Kaia ate any she caught. Odie hasn't revealed himself.

Takk for alt,

Al

Look familiar?

Run away to join the circus!

      Boys running away to join the circus is a thing of the past. Perhaps some boys actually did join a circus. At least it was familiar trope in the past. It was a way get out of town and not be easy to trace.

    Across the street from the Disc Golf Course, in which Odie runs, is a permanent big top. It's for Circus Juventas, which is non-profit that teaches youth circus entertainment skills. Evy and I attended once. The performance was professional level. It even included high wire.

   This morning at 6:00 am as Odie and I approached the car to return to the OFH, he ran over the hill in pursuit of a rabbit(?). He didn't return. When a bit of time had passed, I made the necessary calls; St. Paul Animal Control and Pawsboost, an online lost pet site. Then I drove the area crisscrossing the neighborhood in hopes of spotting him. I left a towel where the car had been parked in case he returned there. That worked years ago when I was separated from a dog in a huge hunting area. Nothing...imagine my devastation. He is chipped and my phone number is on his collar.

  At 9:00 a woman called and said she had Odie at Circus Juventas. He was sitting at the door when she came to work. He'd run away to join the circus.  You can imagine my relief. 

Takk for alt,

Al