Last night there was a very light frost in low lying areas. Predictions are for lower temperatures tonight, though not likely a killing frost. Farmers worry about frost in September before crops mature. This mid-October first frost is very late.
It's very dry, it's been weeks since the last rain. It's so dry that some farmers are eschewing fall tillage because the dry soil is hard on equipment. A local electrician reports finding no moisture when digging for electrical work. I've given both my evergreen tree and lilac bush a good drink.
Weather talk is the resort when the writer lacks original thought.😀
Takk for alt,
Al
Today's random photo is in the Opera House in Budapest. Hungary.
Who needs periods? Not Norwegian Jon Fosse who wrote 670 page Septology without one. Fosse, the winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize for literature apparently has been writing in that style for years. It matters little reading his stream of consciousness books. Michele lent my his Aliss At The Fire, first published in 2004, and also written without a period... it doesn't matter.
Unlike Septology, which now may be my favorite book ever, replacing Suskao Endo's Silence, is brief, at only 107 pages. One sitting was enough to complete it. Should one want to tackle reading Fosse before attempting Septology, which I read twice for benefit, either Aliss or The Shining are brief books. Perhaps The Shining is the better of the two.
In 2002 Aliss still waits for her husband to return from boating on the fjord in 1979. While she waits family history is played out in her imagination. It was an eerie read because a friend in Norway, Knut's, brother was lost in similar circumstances. It's a very thought provoking book which will ruminate in my mind for a ling time.
I recommend it and reading Jon Fosse.
Takk for alt,
Al
By nature I'm a very linear person. Typically I read one book at a time, unlike others who have several books going simultaneously. However, I started a lengthy book but was moved also to read Sigrid Unset's Kristen Lavransdatter I: The Bridal Wreath. Naively thinking it was a single book, and not a trilogy, I first bought the second book. When I discovered my mistake it made me even more keen to read book One. Unset received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928, and this book passes the test of time.
The books tell the story of a rich woman's life in thirteenth century Norway. While many of the customs are unfamiliar the human emotions and personal foibles are not. The book has been in continuous print since its first publication testifying to its enduring appeal.
Kristin is raised in a Norwegian manor house. It was personally intriguing to me becasue in our travels in Norway Joanne and I stayed in a manor house near Opdal, Norway. Our hosts were her second cousin and wife. Many of the place names in the book were also familiar from our travels in the country.
Reading Kristen engaged me from the outset and became even more compelling. Fortunately I have volume two so I can read on. These are books I'm finally reading that should have been read long ago.
Takk for alt,
Al
PS In the time in which the book is set daughters were clearly the property of their fathers until they were married. Even in our day there was vestige of this is in the wedding ceremonies when thee question was asked "Who gives this woman to this man?"
More digging has revealed the scope of the rock. (see yesterday's blog) It's dome shaped and digging has revealed that it's more than a rock, it's a boulder! With a surface of about four feet across it is clear I'm not going to get it out of the ground. The next step is conversation with the farmer who hays the land to see if he has an excavator.
Recovering the boulder is a possibility. Apparently its been farmer over as long as that land has been under the plow. So just leaving it is an option. Yet, now that it's uncovered it doesn't seem proper to just leave it. 10,000 years it has rested there, time to move?
Takk for alt,
Al
On the surface it was about the size of two dinner plates. Probing around it with the rod I use to pry out rocks revealed a much larger rock. Returning with a shovel and a crow bar I went to work. After clearing the dirt off the edges and top I found a place where the crow bar could get purchase for a pry. Pry I did without even being able to make the rock wiggle. The tip of the iceberg analogy fits for obviously this is much larger than revealed by its surface. . How did farm tillage implements avoid this stone? Because the top is rounded perhaps they slid over it. 10,000 years ago a glacier deposited it on this hillside and there it has been ever since. Now it is something for me to play with. Working until I tire I leave it assured that it will remain until I return.
This experience made me think of my grandfather, Lars Negstad. He began homesteading in 1885. On the land were many large rocks, much too large to be moved with horses. With my Dad when I was a boy I saw a flat rock with hole through it in a rock pile on the farm. When I asked Dad about that hole he explained. His father would chisel a hole deep into the rock, fill it with black powder, ignite the powder and fracture the rock. The pieces could then be removed. This was before dynamite. Even as a boy I recognized the labor it would take to chisel a rock so I asked Dad how long it would take. He said he probably could do it in a day. It boggles my mind to think of the labor and tedium to accomplish this, pounding for a day on a chisel. It also explains the sledgehammer we had on the farm with the working surface rounded into a mushroom shape.
Takk for alt,
Al
The field that holds the stone.
Kaia and I drove to The Little House today. Assessing the harvest it appears that all the soybeans are harvested and perhaps 20% of the corn. Maybe the corn needs some drying. Many combines working in the corn fields. With this dry spell the little pond across the street is now a mudflat. It's 80 degrees as this is written and fortunately no hurricanes in sight.
Takk for alt,
Al
There are six camels in the pasture, two yaks, and many cattle and horses.
Leviticus 19:33-34, "When a foreigner lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The foreigner living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God".
In an exceptionally fine sermon at Grace University Lutheran Church, Sunday, Barbara Lundblad, asked in effect why this Biblical text is not a part of the current political debate. Yes, one might well ask. Beware of those who only take the parts of the Bible with which they agree.
Takk for alt,
Al
Ever since I became an inmate of the OFH there has been an HVAC issue with my apartment. In the spring, when the building system changes from heat to A/C, my A/C blows hot air. In the fall when the boiler is started, setting my thermostat to heat results in cold air blowing from the vent. A call to maintenance brings Bill, who does something in the ceiling of my closet and then the system works, that is, until the next change of season.
Last night my heat vent blew cold all night. Today's call to maintenance and an email to the chain of command got results. A repair person came and announced that a valve was installed backwards and that he would return Wednesday with the needed parts.😀
So there are two wins. Finally the system will be fixed and I don't have to pay for it!
Takk for alt
Al
This OFH consists of two buildings Lexington Landing I, and Lexington Landing II. II is newer and all independent living apartments. I was built first and has independent living, assisted living and memory care. I is my home. Both buildings have guest apartments.
When I called for a guest apartment reservation both guest rooms in my building were booked. Fortunately, room was available next door so that is where Paul and Roseanne are staying. Roseanne has Sinai connections. Both of her parents, one a Halvorson and the other a Mathison, grew near Sinai. However, that is not how I first knew them. They were students at Augustana a year behind me, Paul was a year behind me in seminary, so we were acquaintances. Bonding came later.
In 1968 I was called to Mohall, ND., and a year later was called to Berthold, ND. We were separated by about 50 miles most of which was a gravel road. In spite of that we were together a lot, became good friends and never again lived in proximity. We've visited but mostly we've connected by phone. Paul's sister lives a few blocks from the OFH and they will move there tomorrow.
Recently they moved into an OFH in Tacoma, WA. It will be fun to compare notes on our living situations. Entertaining is so easy here, put them in the guest suite and bring them to the dining room.
Takk for alt,
Al
PS Paul is the other reader of this blog.
This is another one of those days with no original thoughts. A very pleasant day and perhaps that's the problem, no challenge to solve and therefore no deep thoughts. My neighbor is reading a book How The Rules Of Physics Lie, he probably has deep thoughts. He very likely does, because he's a retired university philosophy professor. There are many big minds in the OFH.
Takk for alt,
Al
The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia, is today's random picture.
Prices for corn and soybeans are low. Perhaps slightly above a farmer's break even point. Inputs now are so expensive farmers need both good yields and prices for profit. Part of the reason for the current low prices is Trump's China trade war which he said are "easy to win." Trump imagines that tariffs are paid by the exporting company but in fact they are paid by consumers. With Trump's China trade war China shifted to buy more agriculture products from South America costing American farmers loss of market. Those losses continue today.
Now North Dakota State University has released a report showing that future additional American tariffs will be costly to American farmers. Trump continues to advocate for more tariffs. This is a quote from that NDSU report.
"If the next president slaps new tariffs on imports from other countries, those trading partners will likely retaliate with their own tariffs that could cost the U.S. billions in lost agriculture exports.
That’s according to a recent analysis from North Dakota State University (NDSU) researchers who looked ahead at the possibility of a trade war to come based largely on former President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals. In a “worst-case scenario” that targets China with the highest tariffs, soybean exports could drop 67% — or more than $15 billion — since China is the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans." Minneapolis StarTribune October 4, 2024
To read the report click on the blue print.
Takk for alt,
Al
Today's random photo is with the kangaroos in Australia.
Don't think "offerings" as in church. Previous blogs have mentioned that there are many events offered at the OFH. Weekdays are filled while Saturdays and Sundays there is much less scheduled. The monthly newsletter that was published with articles and schedules has been replaced with an online app called Wellzesta Life. That works well for me becasue I can also access it while I'm at The Little House. In addition to the postings on Wellzesta, print-outs are posted in the mail room. If this is not sufficient each day the daily schedule is posted in the elevators. (See below.)
My Sinai neighbor must have been been checking Google Maps, Street View of Sinai. He was amused to see that I'm pictured in the Street View. (See link.) That means from almost anyplace in the world I can be viewed. So my question is "How can I monetize this?" 😀
Takk for alt,
Al
https://maps.app.goo.gl/21dkF5Xv6LbU6QN67?g_st=im
The Old Folks really tries to make life interesting for the inmates. In addition to the full line-up of exercise, craft and other classes there are lectures and concerts. About once a quarter there is a fancy dinner of multiple courses. A modest $45.00 fee is charged. Un fortunately I'll miss the next one.
Today there was a food truck in the parking lot from 11:00 until 2:00. It offered hot food. My $11,00 smash burger was very good. There were other items on the menu like a brisket sandwich, french fries and smoked mac and cheese.. Tables were set up for dining convenience. Unfortunately it was windy and a construction crew was using a noisy generator. I do appreciate the OFH making such things possible. Out with friends for a happy hour, I missed the evening concert in the building. Often I've said "this is the easiest living I've ever had." It's even easier than the Marines. 😀
Takk for alt,
Al
The company standing in formation, Okinawa, 1961 or 1962. I'm in the back row, second from the viewer's left.
Today's mail brought me an invitation to a Fall Conference, Alleviating Isolation in Older Adults. Perhaps I should go...to see what I can do for others. This invite served to remind me of how blessed I am. Surrounded by family and friends, both here at the OFH, and in The Little House On The Prairie, isolation is not an issue. Much appreciating my solitude it is adequate, but, a myriad of relationships keep me connected.
Everyday posted in the elevator of the OFH is a list of daily activities. Today there were exercise classes, a movie and about a dozen activities. One caught my eye. 11:00 Staff Food Eating Contest, MPR (Multi-purpose room.) Thinking, 'this I've got to see' I joined a sizeable group of inmates curious to see what this was about. There were two events. In the first nine staff members volunteered to see who could eat two cobs of corn fastest. One woman clearly outdistanced the rest. The M.C. said "Perhaps she was fast becasue she's from South Dakota." 😋 The second contest challenged the volunteers to quickly eat a plate of chicken wings. The chicken lost 😉.
Such is the demanding life of this inmate of the OFH.
Takk for alt,
Al
