Grassland Birds!

       When I left The Little House for the OFH last fall I gave KK permission to hunt on my land. In thanks for being allowed to hunt she's been trapping pocket gophers there. Perhaps that's why I didn't find any today. which is good news.

      Pausing to take in the view 

I was serenaded by many birds. Can you guess what came next? Yup, I activated the Merlin Bird App recorder and in 20 minutes recorded 20 varieties of birds. 

    This is what I heard: Goldfinch, Northern Yellow Warbler, Vesper Sparrow, Crow, Marsh Wren, Brown-headed Cowbird, Grasshopper Sparrow, Canada Goose, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Mallard, Common Yellowthroat, Dickcissel, Sora, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Bobolink, Song Sparrow and Pheasant.  It was an ideal spot to find grassland birds with over 600 acres of contiguous grass. Squared off it would be a mile on each side.  600 is very conservative estimate of its reach. 

Takk for alt,

Al

When I was a boy we called Bobolinks 'skunk birds' because of their color.

 

• The Bobolink is one of the world’s most impressive songbird migrants, traveling some 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) to and from southern South America every year. Throughout its lifetime, it may travel the equivalent of 4 or 5 times around the circumference of the earth.
• The species name of the Bobolink, oryzivorus means “rice eating” and refers to this bird’s appetite for rice and other grains, especially during migration and in winter.

• It may not seem like it, because seeing a Sora takes some effort, but the Sora is the most abundant and widespread rail in North America.

Furnace to A/C

       While enjoying some nice hot weather sitting on the front steps the rooster  across the street serenaded. That made me wonder what the Merlin Bird App would do with a chicken. Nothing, as it turns out because it kept crowing while I recorded and the App didn't register it. There was a number of birds calling so I kept the App open for six minutes.

     These are the birds recorded: Pheasant, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, House Sparrow, Chimney Swift, Song Sparrow, Grackle, Eurasian Collard-Dove, American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, and Common Yellowthroat. A nice feature of the App is that it plays back the bird songs. Press on American Goldfinch, e.g., and it plays the Goldfinch recording, while showing a file video of the bird.

Takk for alt,

Al

A bird best identified by silhouette, the smudge-gray Chimney Swift nimbly maneuvers over rooftops, fields, and rivers to catch insects. Its tiny body, curving wings, and stiff, shallow wingbeats give it a flight style as distinctive as its fluid, chattering call. This enigmatic little bird spends almost its entire life airborne. When it lands, it can’t perch—it clings to vertical walls inside chimneys or in hollow trees or caves. This species has suffered sharp declines as chimneys fall into disuse across the continent.

Lucky Ones!

         On the eve of Memorial Day, it's a reminder that Ed and I were lucky ones who completed our enlistments unscathed. On frequent visits to the VA Hospital I encounter many with permanent disabilities, that I assume are service related. Then, too, are the myriad who died serving the country. Too those in both categories I tender deep gratitude for their sacrifice.    

Takk for alt,

Al

Ed and I posing at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, 1962, when we were promoted to corporal.

Rain report!

      What's more exciting than checking rain gauges after a much needed rain? So, that's what we did, Kaia and I. So what did the gauges reveal you ask?  They received .7", which effect was amplified by the gentle, slow nature of the rain. Hard rain on dry surfaces can run off.  Yesterday's gradual rain over several hours all soaked in. The previously dry surface now is saturated to compliment the sub-soil moisture. Yes, it's a gift for which I'm grateful.

    Pretty much summarizes the excitement here!

Takk for alt,MI uni

Al

This commercial sewing man a spot on Bangkok, sidewalk.

The Gift Of Rain

      Actually The Gift Of Rain is the name of a book that I enjoyed. It's set in a city in Malaysia, Penang, where I spent some time. But, the title of this post refers to today's rain. The rain began at 6:00 am as forecast and it been raining all day. No storm, just a gentle rain over several hours. Excavating rocks a few weeks ago demonstrated good subsoil moisture. The rain will moisturize the surface which is very helpful. The first crop of alfalfa has not yet been cut. This will boost that cutting and energize the plants for the second cutting. Corn, soybeans, if they didn't freeze, pastures and trees all benefit.

     With the rain falling it was a good day to work in the shop. Kaia sat in the truck and watched me. She's resting today and, with a call to her, she joined me in the shower. Pretty much what passes for excitement here.

Takk for alt,

Al

Think I'll buy another Cornish Game hen for the air fryer.

Cumulative

      Kaia is tired and so am I. Several days in a row of cutting cedars has tired my body, though my back is fine. With time in the field Kaia makes up for her shortened winter runs. From the time we arrive until we leave she runs vigorously. It's as if she thinks, "free at last, free at last." Most of the time she keeps me in sight. If she runs out of sight of me she soon returns to see where I am. As long as I am moving she runs. If I stop for awhile she comes over. When I head for the truck she beats me to it, the door opens and she leaps in. 

     Should I trust tomorrow's forecast? The prediction is for rain most of the day! Here's hoping. There is a project awaiting the shop. That would be a good rainy day activity. Well, rain or no, it would be a welcome respite from cutting cedars.

Takk for alt,

Al

The scenery is good while I hunt cedars. After purchasing this 160 acres (a quarter section it's a half mile square) I constructed five dams to hold water for wildlife. This is the largest. Muskrats tunneled through the dam and it washed out. Two years ago it was repaired and now there's this nice pond.

No gym membership!

      A few days ago while I was cutting cedars out of the pasture fence when a neighbor stopped to chat. "Cedars and pocket gophers, never ending." he said. I replied "Yes, and I'd add rocks to that."  With the tree swallows nesting in the boxes by the pasture fence, not wanting to disturb them, I've move on.

     That moving on is to cedars in a different venue. Now it's cedars in open grassland. With something like 300 acres in grass there is a lot of ground to cover. Tuesday a heavy Carhart jacket was swell, and even wearing leather gloves, my hands got cold. Today, I quickly shed the light jacket, and then the outer shirt, wearing no gloves, I still got warm. 

   There was frost here last night. The low registered on my thermometer was 34. Brookings, 15 miles away, announced 28. The dry pond across the street was very frosty this morning. Corn is probably OK but soybeans are a question.

Takk for alt,

Al

I have extra pruning shears if anyone wants to volunteer to accompany me searching for cedars.

Another Day, Another Book!

      Looking for something to read one day, I opened Kindle. There I found an unread book. Much of it I then read, and, since it is short stories, I put it aside to read Lighthouse Keepers. Returning to it yesterday I discovered there was only one story left.

    It's by a Thai author and it's set in Thailand. Sightseeing by Rattawat Lapcharoensap often references places in Thailand that are familiar to me. Also, the lives and situations described match the experiences of my time teaching and living with a Thai family. 

     Thai names are typically multisyllabic (note the author's). Thai mothers give their child a short nickname at birth. Some of my acquaintance's nicknames with their meanings are; Gai=chicken, Max=stapler and Poo=crab. Nicknames were very helpful when I was teaching. The first day with a new class I'd write each student's nickname on a 3X5 card. Then I could quickly memorize them and I used the cards for roll call at the beginning of class. It was very helpful to call students by name.

    The book is a good read that you'd likely enjoy if you can find it.

Takk for alt,

Al

Good Book!

       A subscription to WNBA League Pass brings myriad WNBA games to my computer. Games that are not available live can be replayed. Replay has the advantage of speed. Games are seldom less than two hours and with fouls, timeouts, etc., can go much longer. Replaying games takes about an hour as timeouts, free throws, etc., are skipped. The down side of access to all these games is that it cuts into my reading time.

     The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter, Hazel Gaynor, is a historical novel, which I didn't realize until finishing it. It's a retelling of the heroic rescue of survivors of a shipwreck on the coast of Scotland in 1838.  Grace Darling became famous for accompanying her father, in the gale that wrecked the ship, to reach the survivors clinging to rocks. Never had a woman participated in such a dangerous rescue. She helped row into the wind and controlled the boat while her father brought the survivors on board. When her courageous efforts became known she achieved fame far and wide. This part of story is historical.

   Gaynor creates the novel as she imagines Darling's negative reaction to her fame. It makes good reading. She also creates a fictious descendant of Sarah Dawson, one of the persons rescued from the shipwreck. This, Matilda, is placed in a lighthouse with a relative, in Newport, R.I. She was sent from her home in Ireland to America in 1938. While not historical, except for a hurricane that devastated the East Coast, it makes a good novel.

    It's a tale well told and I recommend it.

Takk for alt,

Al  

Birds!

       While I was sitting on my steps enjoying a nice day, birds were serenading me. So, turning on my Merlin app, I recorded them. This is the variety singing to me: Chipping Sparrow, Eurasian Collard-Dove, American Redstart, Song Sparrow, Pheasant, Chimney Swift, Brown-headed Cowbird, Tree Swallow, American Goldfinch, Robin, Starling, House Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Grackle, and Baltimore Oriole.  The Grackles get very nervous when Kaia approaches the Lilac bush. Likely there nest with fledglings.

Takk for alt,

Al

Plans Change, again...

         Sometimes old stories stick in my mind. This one is decades old, and it's brought to mind by something current. A solitary Indian man lived in a teepee by a white settlement. Sam, a white man would visit the Indian every day to get the weather forecast, which was often accurate. One day Sam asked for the forecast and the Indian said no forecast today. Sam "Why no forecast today?"  Indian "My radio's broken."

       Seldom have I changed plans based on a weather forecast. Today's events are a reminder of why. Yesterday's forecast was for a day of rain today totaling 1". It was predicted that the rain would begin at 9:00 am and continue through the day. This morning that forecast was changed to rain beginning at noon. Now it's predicted at 5:00pm with a total of .35".  Perhaps we'll get a sprinkle if we're lucky.

      Looking at the forecast yesterday I planned a day inside today! Ya, then...I should have known better! So, I'll post random picture and call it good.

Takk for alt,

Al

For over ten years I volunteered in a Hmong Charter school. This is one of my students in her traditional dress.

Plans change...

       Working diligently, or perhaps more accurately, sporadically, to remove the cedars from the pasture fence, that was today's plan. Strung along this fence are seven nesting boxes. Most years they fill quickly with tree swallows, though not last year. Last year a wren filled most of them with twigs. No twigs this year but still several boxes are unoccupied. The last cedar cut from the fence was close to an unoccupied box. Today, returning to that site to remove another tree, I saw swallows by that box. Late arrivals? 

    Not wanting to disturb the nesters, the small area unfinished will wait until the birds have migrated and the cattle gone home. With the fence not available I repaired to a grassland to look for invasive cedars. There were a few to be found. That's good news because last year there were many in this area. With many acres of grass there's no lack of hunting ground for cedars.  

Takk for alt,

Al

There is much grass in which to search for cedars.

Better to try...

     Better to try and fail than to not try at all. With the news that there will be no goose fencing of my corn I made my own effort. Water borders the entire long side of the rectangle field. Last year the predatory geese used a single path to invade. Too lazy to attempt a long fence, I fenced off the path today. Tall stakes with bottles and cans on top to rattle and swing in the wind augment the fencing. If it will work remains to be seen. But, I tried...

Takk for alt,

Al

The grass is green in the field that was burned a month ago.

30 to 50

      What a day!   Even behind the tree rows the wind beat me up. After removing one large cedar that had sprouted immediately below the fence and had grown up intertwined with the wires, and a few small ones, I gave up. The soil trading farms from a 30mph wind gusting to 50, reminded me of mother's story. She said, "During the dust bowl years, during the worst dust storms, it would get so dark I'd have to light the lamps at noon."  The wind was blowing 30mph, today, with gusts to 50! The air was unsafe for sensitive groups.

      The wind is a danger to newly emerged crops, especially soybeans. The wind whipped soil and grit can damage the new plants. Corn has a growing point that doesn't emerge for a few days. If frost or wind damage the corn plant when the growing point is underground the plant will recover. Not so, with beans. If beans freeze, or are damaged by wind too severely, they die.

    Rain is in the forecast for the weekend.  Let's hope....

Takk for alt,

Al

Fondly remembering my 1954 Austin Healy 100. One on the internet is listed for $110,000. I didn't pay that much.

Evidence!

      Wandering that field a few days ago, the peninsula in Lake Joanne, looking for gophers and finding none, there were cedars. Today I went back to remove the cedars, twelve in all. It is a gorgeous day, windless after yesterday's hurricane, and finally warm enough to be out in shirtsleeves. 

    Finishing with the cedars I walked back to the truck on my neighbor's side of the property fence. What did I find? Pocket gophers heading for my land...actually within five feet. Gopher mounds are a clear indication of the direction they are moving and they were on a line to my property. This is clear evidence that they do invade from populations on the neighboring property. Never seen above ground they do their distance moving at night. Suddenly dirt mounds will appear long distances from established colonies, as  was true in this case.

Takk for alt,

Al

Today's random photo is the Church of the Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Retreat!

      Marine lingo is full of bravado: e.g. "We're surrounded, good, they can't get away from us now!" Or, "We never retreat, we just attack in the opposite direction." Today I retreated without shame.

    When there's a 25mph wind with gusts to 35 it was time to catch up on some chores. Busy for several days, things were hastily deposited in the garage. As a refuge from the wind it was perfect. Now it's all ship shape and tidy again until another spasm of activity disturbs it's order.

     A washer and dryer were included with the purchase of The Little House, nineteen years ago. Had they not been included I would have added them. With the organizing in the garage complete it was time to do laundry, another escape from the wind.

    Entering the butcher shop gave me opportunity to congratulate, Doug, the butcher. His wife, Heidi, gave birth to a baby boy last week. They now have four children, a girl and three boys. One of the boys is named Shadrack so perhaps this son should be Meshack...but not so. Not wanting to leave empty handed, I purchased three ribeye steaks for $78.43. Why three, you ask? Josh next door does them on his grill and his son, Drew, also gets one.

Takk for alt,

al

I love the sign above the door: GARAGE.  Built in 1907, long before .com, so why the dot?

Well, that didn't work!

     Today's plan was to walk some grassland surrounded on three sides by Lake Joanne. It's a peninsula that is seeded to native grasses, bordering a neighbor's grassland that is rife with pocket gophers. These pesky critters don't stay home. They frequently go looking for greener pastures and invade my property. Today's walk was to see if any have invaded. None had.

     With water so accessible I hoped to keep Kaia on dry land. Why? you ask. When we were burning that CRP ground recently Kaia hit the water and emerged a total ball of mud. Hoping to avoid a repeat of that, I struck on a strategy. Filling her water dish by the truck I though, perhaps not being thirsty she'd stay out of the water. What happened? She drank heartily from her dish and then ran right into the water! Actually, she was in the water at least three times. Fortunately she came out clean...no mud.

   On one venture into the water she chased a duck, which flew away. When she's gone after geese on the water they swim just out of her reach. They lead her far out in the water until she finally gives up and returns to land.

Takk for alt,

Al

Kaia, the wonder dog.

Gravity in play!

      

    Where oh where did my agility go?  It's certainly gone. Proof of the loss comes when attempting to cross a pasture fence. Seeing some cedars growing in the pasture, crossing the fence was mandatory if I was to reach those trees. The fence, at this point, was a on a sidehill slanting away. With the gift of gravity I easily rolled under the fence. With that accomplished, I made short work of the cedars, well, perhaps slowly cut them down. 

     When I was finished with a number of cedars it was time to return to the truck. Back at the fence gravity reminded me that it is more difficult to roll uphill. But roll uphill I did and didn't risk getting my feet tangled crossing the fence. "Where there's a will there's a way" someone said. It's sometimes true at least.

   That's about what passes for excitement in my life!

Takk for alt,   Opps forgot to hit Publish yesterday...so will count it for today...my bad!

Al

   The current book I'm reading is about lighthouses. It reminded me of this one near Melbourne, Australia, which Amy and I climbed.

Bad News!

      Last year the wildlife food plot near water became a pasture for geese. Perhaps a fourth of the corn remained standing when the geese were finished. During their molt the geese are flightless and walk in search of food. Finding my corn they had a feast. They even ate the water hemp leaving the ground bare.

    A wildlife official told me that they would fence the geese out this year. After planting the corn I told him I was ready for a fence. Today, the man in charge of the fencing called me. He said fencing was only to protect farmer's soybeans, so I'm not eligible. 😖

   That creates a dilemma.  It's a half hour drive by tractor to the field. Is worth the multiple trips to salvage a little bit of corn? Or, should I just abandon the effort?  Too bad that I'd planted the corn, then the decision not to plant would have been easy.

Takk for alt,

Al

    

Silly Dependency!

      At dinner/suppertime last night I overloaded a circuit, knew better, and tripped a breaker in the electric panel. It's also the circuit for my internet equipment. Re-setting the breaker was easy but the router would not reload. Quickly it became apparent that I'm internet dependent. How silly, but true. 

     Some years ago, as I looked locally in South Dakota for a copy of the Minneapolis paper, it dawned me to subscribe to the online addition. With that subscription I frequently read the Minnesota, and U.S., news in Thailand. A habitual person, the morning paper is a staple. Up at six, Kaia out the front door, breakfast and then a mug of coffee while I read the paper. No internet and the routine is kaput.

    At 7:30 I called the internet provider and at 9:30 a technician was at my house. Prompt service for sure and I can resume my habits, dependency or not...so there!

    After lunch/dinner it was warm enough to ride a tractor. Riding a tractor I did and planted my corn. The physical test I'd planned wasn't possible. Last year I lifted a 60lb bag of corn unto a six foot tractor fender. "Can I still do that?" I wondered. It remains to be seen because this year a bag of 80,000 kernels (Ed, tells me that's actual count.) was only 45.5lbs. There was no challenge hoisting it to the fender. 

Takk for alt,

Al

PS Spotted the first goslings of season. There were three with mom and dad and very small, so newly hatched!

Dinner vs lunch!

       Supper vs dinner! What was the genesis of the nomenclature split for the names of meals? During childhood on the farm, lunch was the refreshment between breakfast and dinner, the noon meal, and between dinner and supper, the evening meal. Mary, who grew up in Minneapolis, but was now a farm wife, invited Joe, the hired man in for the noon meal calling it lunch. "Lunch" he said "It better be more than lunch!" In the OFH, lunch is at noon and dinner in the evening.

     They call it 'dinner' and, with a standing offer to join them, who am I to argue? A common human trait I've observed is the common reluctance to respond to verbal cues. Frequently I've dropped in conversation something like "when I was in Thailand." What happens? Most typically it goes nowhere and the talk moves on. The dinner invitation is every Wednesday at the bank and some from the butcher shop also attend.

   One of the bank employees grew up in the Philippine Islands. Frequently we compare notes on life in the Philippines compared with life in Thailand. This exposes the other diners to information about both countries that they would never ask about. Today, it led to a group conversation about these places that lasted for an hour.

    How about you?  When someone drops a clue in conversation do you pick up on it, or just move on? 

Takk for alt,

Al

PS In response to Michelene's comment/question about the size of the cedar tree pictured. It's an illustration of the problem of not removing cedars as saplings. Today, I trimmed the branches that were intruding on the fence but left the tree standing.

Gifts of a gift.

      Much too cold to ride a tractor today it was time to resume a project left over from last fall. If it wasn't picking rocks, what would you guess?  Both of you, my readers, have often read about my contention with cedar trees. Cedars are problematic in various ways, encroaching on grassland, growing in road ditches and infesting pasture fences, to name three. Today my project was continuing the removal of them from a pasture fence. This land's deed has been in my name for many years, 30?, why wasn't this finished long ago? My bad! Or "better late than never!"

     Rows of cedars were included in the tree rows planted for wildlife cover as a gift. The gift of that gift is the sprouting of cedar saplings in unhelpful locations, see paragraph above. Cedar berries are consumed by birds who defecate the seeds while sitting on the fence. You get the idea.

    Though I do sit-ups every morning, the stoop labor of cutting cedar sprouts quickly tires my back. Working until my back said "stop" I cleared one section of fence this morning. Tomorrow I'll do another. Timing is important because soon my renter, Scottie, will move his cattle to the pasture. Then he'll electrify the fence. If either of you have ever encountered an electric fence  you can understand that cedar removal will rest until the cattle go home in the fall.

    This pasture fence is host to eight? nesting boxes for bluebirds. While the bluebirds have never found them, tree swallows have. "Not a problem", as young people say, swallows need homes, too. The field road to the field of recent tillage passes them. With swallows noted by only one box I wondered if wrens had stuffed the other boxes with twigs, which they do to foil competition...avian dogs in the manger.  As I was approaching one house to check, a swallow flew into it carrying a feather in its beak for nest building. None of the boxes were stuffed with twigs.

    Swallows have been around for several days but, perhaps, the main migration is just now occurring. Swallows feed on insects on the wing...both bird and insect flying. Consequently, their arrival is timed to follow an insect hatch. Last spring cold weather delayed the emergence of insects and many purple martins perished for lack of food.

Takk for alt,

Al

A nesting box that a wren has packed with twigs.

This picture illustrates a cedar grown into the pasture fence. 

Tillage finished.

      With the plowing completed Saturday, and twice disking it today, I did a little experiment. The cost of gasoline for the plowing was $33. Deciding to compare the disking gasoline cost, it was $23. The good news is that the adjustment Tim did to the timing on the tractor improved its performance. Previous to Tim's adjustment the tractor tended to run hot when under heavy load. Plowing and discing were a good tests and the overheating problem was solved. Thanks, Tim!

    The soil is prepared for planting. Now the wait is for weather fit for tractor work on an open station tractor. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Disc and tractor in a different field. I also pull a three section harrow behind the disc when preparing a seed bed.

Family History.

      While living, where geographically I explain "as near the junction of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota", Cathy came to live with us as a foster daughter. Because her family of origin disintegrated we became her legal guardians. The other foster children who lived with us had other guardians. 

      Cathy was very intelligent, mature and possessed exceptional common sense. Parenting her was a dream. First in her extended family to graduate from high school she married Tim. Cathy and Tim continued to live in the community where she had come to live with us. Tragically she died from breast cancer twelve years ago. Tim and I have remained in close contact and almost every year he makes the 350 mile drive to visit me. 

     Last fall, when Tim heard of my plans to rent an excavator to remove rocks he intended to come and help. Winter intervened before we got it done. So, he came last week. He has worked both as a mechanic and a heavy equipment operator. He said running the excavator removing rocks was fun. After a five minute orientation at the rental place where we rented the excavator, he was good to go. He climbed into the cab and drove it up on the trailer. In the field with the rocks it was clear that he knew what he was doing.

  With his mechanical skills he was keen to work on my tractors. He put points and condenser in one. In another he adjusted the timing and replaced the fan and alternator belts. Another tractor's battery was dead. Arlington, about 15 miles away, has an Interstate Battery warehouse. They sell blemished batteries for half price, so I paid $80. for a new battery instead of $160. Then, Tim helped me switch batteries between tractors. Finally, he restored the function of the back-up camera on my truck.

   Perhaps this seems exploitive but he's happiest working on projects with another guy. Since, the death of his brother, with whom he was regularly engaged, he's happy for these experiences.  And I? Grateful for the relationship and appreciative for the help!

Takk for alt,

Al

   

Ya, then...

     Tim left this morning for his ND home. I'll have more to say about his visit.

     With the temperature in the 60s I ventured out with tractor and plow. Now with the plowing finished Monday looks warm enough to finish the tillage. Then the first warm day I'll plant the corn. 

   Why this brief blog so late? Blame the WNBA and my absent mindedness.

Takk for alt,

Al

it's Late!

   Involved watching the Lynx final pre-season game. they beat Toronto, time slipped away. Tim and I had a fruitful day of machinery repair. All's well and I'll write more tomorrow.

Takk for alt,

Al 

10,000 year old gifts!

       Does the title "10,000 year old gifts" tell you the subject of this post?  Glacial deposits would be another description. Long ago glaciers swept this area bringing rocks from Canada. When the glaciers melted rocks were left behind, many of which live on my land. Previous owners  of the property were not diligent rock pickers. Using rock picking as a substitute for gym membership I'm trying for rock removal. In that process there were many rocks too large for me, or any of my machines, to handle.

    Enter Tim, from North Dakota. His planned visit to assist with rock removal, and socializing, was foiled by the season's first snowfall last November. Yesterday he arrived and today we rented a mini-excavator and went rock hunting. Smaller rocks were loaded on to the trailer for addition to a rock pile off the field. One large rock was deposited at a fence line. Another was pushed into a wetland where it'll be a roosting site for ducks, pheasants and smaller birds. Then there was  big ben! It was so large the mini-excavator had no hope of lifting it out of the ground.  Tim dug a deep hole next to it, pushed it in and covered it. There it may remain another 10,000 years or more.

   All in all it was a good days work advancing the task of rock removal from this land.

Takk fir alt,

Al

k

The mini-excavator on the trailer.

A large rock.

One that's too large to lift, "rest in peace" big ben.

Birds return!

     At the cemetery I recorded these birds this morning: Franklin's Gull, Song Sparrow, Pheasant, Red-winged blackbird, Robin, Grackle and Chipping Sparrow.

I came across this good description..."The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conserve farmland for future generations while providing habitat for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, and improving water quality."  It was a CRP field that I burned last week.

   Servicing the corn planter this morning I was reminded of sage advice Mark gave me when I acquired it many years ago. It's likely a product of the late 1950s. Corn kernels (seeds) are placed in a round metal box. In the bottom of the box is a plate with serrated edges. As kernels drop into the serration, and as the plate turns, one kernel at time drops into a tube leading to a disc that creating a small furrow into which the kernel drops. A device then covers the seed.

   Mark warned me, that in winter, spiders spin webs that choke off the tubes where kernels drop to the soil. Today three of four tubes had spider webs closing the entrance. His advice saved much trial and error frustration.

Takk for alt,

Al

In response to comment's questions:  I don't know if $300. is a good price. My 80,000 kernels plants 8 acres. The old planter's rows are 38" apart. Now corn is planted at 30", 15" even narrower rows. Thus, 80,000 would not cover many acres. Assume a farmer plants 1000 acres his corn seed will cost a lot. Kernels are so uniform I assume the 80,000 is arrived at by weight.  Seed corn sales is now measured by kernel count. 

This picture of the planter shows the round seed boxes. A pole on either side drops (theoretically) when turning to scratch a line to follow as one returns across he field so rows are evenly space.

Rural life!

      When I was five miles from The Little House yesterday on my return from the OFH a sheriff's deputy blocked the road. "They finally got me"  was not my first thought. He said the road was blocked at the next intersection. Assuming accident I detoured to reach my destination. Did he say "accident" or did I assume it? Well, it was an accident but not like I imagined. It was a very 'rural' accident.

   The hired man of the local bto, (big time operator), was on a tractor pulling an implement across the highway. As he crossed the highway at the intersection the implement imploded such that it could not be moved. There it sat impeding traffic until a repair part could be fetched from town. What the failure was I haven't learned. My guess is that it was a broken axle. The good news is that it wasn't the type of accident that endangered life and limb. 

    Food plots for wildlife are what I plant. The state fish and wildlife agency provides free seed for those plots. It's leftover commercial seed from a seed corn company. 80,000 kernels came home with me today. It would sell for approximately $300. One field still needs tillage.

   The local grain elevator sells gasoline. The price they charge is a per centage higher than what they paid. The price remains the same until the gallons purchased are sold. Then, if the price they pay for the next supply is higher the pump price reflects that. Last week the pump price was $3.36, today it was $3.85.

Takk for alt,

Al

The Little House...

      Kaia and I have discovered that if we leave the OFH at 6:00 am we can transverse Minneapolis and Eden Prairie at posted speeds. That gets us to The Little House about 10:00, and so here we are. It was a good stay at the OFH.

    The local flora are rejoicing. Why? you ask. Rain, blessed rain, 3" by one report. Farmers locally have done quite a bit of planting so this moisture assures germination of the planted seeds. Pastures, hay land, trees, shrubs, flowers, thistles😕...all need moisture.  It doesn't end the drought but may signal the beginning of a wetter period...we hope. It's great for the grass which was burned last week. It would be interesting to know how many gazillion thistle seeds were consumed in that fire. Even three inches was not sufficient for the pond across the street to show water. This is the first significant rain of 2026, and there was very little snow last winter.

Takk for alt,

Al

Until I'd visited these mangroves in southern Cambodia I always envisioned them as large trees with huge trunks.

Haying...

   Peter commented on haying. In response to his question in a comment, a wide variety of grasses can be hay. In my childhood we had some ground too steep to farm. It grew a combination of native grasses and invasives like smooth brome. We hayed that land. One difference is that alfalfa keeps growing after it is cut. In my youth we got two cuttings of alfalfa. Now, in these wetter, warmer years farmers routinely cut three crops, and some times four, in a season. Kentucky blue grass makes good hay but the quantity is limited and it doesn't re-grow enough for a second crop. Cereal grains, and especially oats. make good hay.

    In my years in north-western North Dakota many farmers I knew were active during the prolonged drouth of the 1930s. One thing that would grow during those dry years was Russian Thistles. You may know them as 'tumble weeds'. The famers  said that they used these thistles for hay. Of course, they were harvested green, well before they came loose and blew in the wind.

   Windrows typically mean hay or grain that been cut and left in a swath. Shelter Belts were multi-row tree belts. Many were planted in the early '40s, after the dust bowl years. Dad and his siblings planted about two miles of these tree belts. Much later single rows of trees were planted also to control soil erosion. Most of my tree planting have been multi-row belts primarily for wildlife.

Takk for alt,

Al

"See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground
Lonely but free I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn
I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds
Drifting on and on
Moving on and on
Wandering on and on"   Roy Rogers

WNBA Returns!

     The WNBA season has begun with pre-season games. Via the portal of a modestly priced WNBA League Pass all games are available either via live stream or replay. It's half-time of the New York Liberty and Indian Fever game which I'm watching. Fever lead by a few points. For a WNBA nut such as I, it's fun to see familiar players and many new faces. With the new WNBA contract many established players timed the end of their contracts to coincide with the new terms this years. Consequently, it was basket upset as many of them switched teams.

   The new contract was recently ratified and that made a very short time for teams to practice. Practice is important as new players are integrated. This years crop of college recruits are particularly gifted. Some of them will become starters with the teams that drafted them. One of those is Olivia Miles, a point guard drafted #2, by the Lynx. After four years at Notre Dame she played a fifth year at TCU. 

   Recently I upgraded my Little House internet connection to enable live streaming the games. The new internet connection at the OFH is more secure but no faster than the old.

  Life is good!

Takk for alt,

Al

Lynx star, Napheesa Collier #24, is recovering from surgery and will not play until June.

Ya, then....

     This is one of those days with no original thought. However if I don't post one or both of you will wonder about my welfare. It's the good life that I'm living in the OFH. Good to connect with family and friends. Perhaps a random picture with give something worth seeing.

Takk for alt,

Al

While in Melbourne, Australia, Amy and I visited a game reserve. Surrounded by kangaroos, they were looking for treats.

Life in the OFH!

     Being resident in the OFH allows for helpful people connections. An important friend made a significant drive to join me for lunch today. The gift of friendship is a a beautiful thing.

    Tonight three of us inmates of the OFH went to to Cossette's for dinner. Cossette's is three floors of delectable Italian food. In addition to three floors of dining there is a HUGE, delicatessen with cold cuts, baked goods, desserts, etc.

    The OFH practice is that when inmates expire their picture and obituary is posted on a credenza in the lobby. All three of us at dinner have a lively sense of humor. Tonight the focus was on the dear departed's picture's and obituary's on the credenza. The idea was hatched that we should be prepared for our demise and have a preferred photo on file with the employee tasked with preparing the credenza memorial. To that end my picture was taken. (See below)

Takk for alt,

Al

  

Old Folks Home!

     Kaia and I motored through dust storms to the OFH this afternoon. Ye Olde car thermometer registered 90 for a bit. Terribly windy, I lucked out with a gentle breeze yesterday for the burn with red flag days fore and aft.

   While I was absent  Brittany cleaned my apartment. I nicknamed her "Sparkle" because the place sparkles after she cleans. While I'm here Beth will clean The Little House. Once I did some dusting and when it all came back I gave up the enterprise. Yes, I'm spoiled and happy to be so.

     The OFH now offers secure WIFI. The router was installed in my apartment while I was gone. Luddite that I am, I figured out how to access the internet with it and I am using the secure connection as I type this. The router is a white tower on the top of my roll top desk.

Takk for alt,

Al

Fire bug!

         Much of my grassland, about which I often write, is in a Federal Government program called the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  Contracts are offered for ten or fifteen years. Participants agree to a number of things:  plant native grasses, control noxious weeds, do not plow or mow, the exception is in drought years haying is permitted, and do a mid-term restoration process. The choices of restoration methods are light discing, haying or burning. It's mid-term in one of my contracts, thus the following.

     Of the three restoration methods, burning is most effective. The primary desired grasses are native, late summer varieties. Before the advent of the plow frequent prairie fires swept the plains. So, a controlled burn, replicates the effect of prairie fires. Controlled, meaning only the field in question is burned.

     Today we burned a twenty-five acre CRP field. It went well, burning the grass but nothing else. To ensure this control I disced a fire break around the perimeter. USDA, administers the CRP program. Before burning they required I completed a compressive Burn Plan. Permission to burn from the local fire chief was necessary because there is a county burn bane in place. It was also necessary to inform the Brookings County Sheriff.

    One of the positive effects of burning is inhibiting invasive grasses that tend to take over. One of those grasses is smooth brome. The fire helpfully burns off the thatch that's accumulated over the years. It also consumes thistle seed that's blown in.

   Key players in the project today were two representative from Pheasants Forever, who supplied the 'know how' and significant physical help. Also, my nephew and my Sinai friend were invaluable. They both brought ATVs with water tanks for spraying hot spots. Were Pheasants Forever personnel not available I would have hired the local fire department.

Takk for alt,

Al

The pictures show before, during and after.

Half Day Man!

     Very few of the tasks here are urgent. Consequently, I've developed a pattern of working? half days. Being in a pattern of arising at 6:00, working is typically in the morning. That allows for an afternoon nap, because I believe you aren't likely to sleep well at night if you don't practice in the daytime. That practice, plus a clean conscience, are helpful for night time slumber.

    With temperatures in the 20s this morning it wasn't tractor weather.  By mid-afternoon the temperature was 70 so I did some late afternoon tillage. It was 7:00 pm by the time I finished and got back to the house.   Why am I tired?

Takk for alt,

Al

Fortunate!

         The man's cap said "Marines".  It also said "Vietnam."  Ed and I were fortunate. By accident of birth we were too young to fight in the Korean conflict. By that same accident of birth we were too young, barely, to be sent to Vietnam. Ed, with a year left of  duty after my discharge, did honor duty accompanying the bodies of Marines killed in Vietnam to their families.

       Neither conflict would have been easy. In Korea the Marines were engaged with the Chinese in the frozen north thanks to General MacArthur's stupidity. Duty at the "Frozen Chosen" would have been horrific. Even as a young person I didn't like cold and the thought of combat duty in extreme cold gives me the shivers.

     Would duty in the tropical heat and mud of Vietnam been any better?  Our accident of birth allowed us escape of both conflicts. Too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam. Thankfully, we escaped both.

Takk for alt,

Al

This picture of me sitting on my bunk shows how little space there was between them. The ropes were threaded through gromets on canvas and then around aluminum tubing which formed the perimeter of the bed. It was actually quite comfortable. My M-1 rifle is hanging beside me. It was issued to me after boot camp and I kept it until we left Okinawa for the States and my discharge. You ask: "Why are you wearing tennis shoes?"  It was the Battalion Commander's idea to go easy on the surface of the ship's deck. It amused the sailors. Admire my nice haircut.

ed

Blow Down!

      That's a first!  With 25 nesting boxes to supervise, mostly the problem is wrens stuffing them with twigs to eliminate competition. Cattle have knocked down a couple. This time it was the wind blowing down the dead tree on which the box was mounted. Fortunately the tree fell box side up so it wasn't damaged. Now it's placed on a live tree so little chance of it falling. It wasn't occupied so now it's ready for a migrant.

      The few minutes I spent in the grassland exposed to the wind was sufficient. Twenty nine degrees with a plus 20mph wind makes me uncomfortable very quickly. Do what needs to be done and quickly retreat to the truck.

Takk for alt,

Al

Asked if I cook I reply, "I don't cook, I prepare meals."  This is an example. The entree, in this case a Cornish Game Hen, is done in the air fryer. Frozen vegetables are done in the microwave. Spinach salad with blue cheese dressing completes the mean. 

It happened!

       As the weatherman predicted the temperature swung. It was 70 degrees at bedtime and 39 at breakfast. Not that it changes anything, but I much prefer hot to cold. Then there was Joanne going out in sub-zero weather wearing a wind-breaker.

     Convening the family for dinner, there were eight of us tonight. As the convenor I choose the time and place. It turns out that none had been at tonight's venue since last November when I last convened them. Though I suggested others could convene there were no takers. It's not difficult, I just group text, time and place, they RSVP and I call in a reservation.

Takk for alt,

Al

1954 Austin Healy, 100...it would be fun to have again.

Temperature Swing.

       The temperature today is 82. The predicted daytime high tomorrow is 42. We live too far from the moderating effect  of the ocean.

    Realizing the high temperature tomorrow I opted from some tillage work today. Operating an open station tractor in cold weather is not on my list of desired activities. The 25mph wind with gusts to 35, was bad enough, but cold??? forget it. So, I worked until there was equipment failure. L asked "Why do you have so many break downs?"  "Well, all my equipment is 50 years old, or older."   

    Filled my truck with gas today. The total? 101.33$   It could have been worse because it was 3.40$ per gallon. That's the lowest price I've seen in awhile.

Takk for alt,

Al

Saw a version of this in Marine Boot Camp

 

Field Work!

     The warm dry weather, 70 something, made ideal conditions for chopping the cornstalks in my fields. There was much left-over corn in one field. Deer nose under the corn husks and feed on the corn as far as they can reach. On longer ears there are a few rows of kernels beyond their reach. Chopping the stalks shatters the kernels and spreads them on the ground. Now, birds and deer will feed on the shelled corn, and the occasional full ear.

   Wildlife feasting on this corn is helpful to me. If the kernels were tilled into the soil, in the process of planting the new crop, their germination would be problematic for the planted corn. Corn does not like to be crowded so their presence would inhibit the growth of the corn which was planted.

  One field had a significant amount of left-over corn. The ground was yellow with corn kernels. The other field  had none. This is the field that was grazed by the geese last summer. My effort there was essentially recreational chopping. South Dakota Fish and Wildlife personnel will fence the geese out this year.

Takk for alt,

Al

Ye olde stalk chopper!

Wildlife News.

   "Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All except one, and her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan."   1744

   The Little House has been a winter refuge for many ladybugs and a few boxelder bugs. Their presence is a clue that the house is not air tight. Mostly I just move these harmless critters aside. When the temperature reached the 70s I scooped up 40? and transferred them outside. While insects may not have feelings it appeared to me that they flew happily away. Harmless, they just wanted a warm place to wait out the winter.

   The pond across the street from the house has been dry since last fall. Drought, you know. In spite of that the frogs are signing. They must have emerged from the ground to sing their spring song.

Takk for alt,

Al

 

The pond across the street when there was water.

Christmas in April.

      A few years ago I posted a few bluebird houses. Gradually the number of houses has expanded so that they number about 25 now.  Never has a bluebird been spotted near them. However, they have proved very popular with tree swallows. That's fine, because the swallows also need nesting space. Sella gave me two, nicely decorated, for Christmas. Today I placed them on posts.

    After mounting the first one on a pasture post I moved on to do the second. Near the post I planned to use there was a battalion of invasive cedars. Before mounting the box I spent an hour cutting the cedars. With that task complete I mounted the second box. As I was leaving the pasture there were several swallows flying around the first box. None of the boxes a quarter of a mile north had any birds. This leads me to believe that these swallows had just arrived. 

   Occasionally cattle will knock a box down, it's happened twice. Wrens are a bigger problem. They are so territorial that they will stuff boxes full of twigs to deny their use by other birds. Last summer, in one line of eight boxes, six were filled with twigs. That's disappointing because it denies other birds their use. 

  While I was doing these tasks a meadow lark was serenading me. A flock of pelicans flew over, newly arrived back from wintering in the south. Both the lark and the pelicans made me glad. 

Takk for alt,

Al

If you look carefully as this newly posted box you can read "Sella Rocks" at the top.

A box that wrens have stuffed full of twigs.