No need for gym membership!

      In reference to picking rocks I've often remarked that 'it's better than a gym membership.' Well, so is cutting invasive Russian Olive trees. Like invasive cedars, their berries are consumed by birds and where they defecate the seeds, Olive trees take root. These trees have sharp spines on their branches. Unlike coniferous, such as cedars, they are deciduous and as such quickly regrow when they are cut. This necessitates the application of a herbicide, such as Tordon, to the stump to prevent regrowth.

    Their are many advantages to being a senior adult. Today I experienced one of those advantages. After cutting about a dozen trees my back was tired. There are still more to cut. But, they aren't going any place, so exercising my senior privilege I quit.

Takk for alt,

Al

Russian Olive tree.

" Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive,^[2] silver berry,^[3] oleaster,^[3] or wild olive,^[3] is a species of Elaeagnus, native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced species.^{[4][5]" Wikipedia} 

Sixty-six years ago!

         Sixty-six years ago, Ed and I were into two weeks of Marine Corps Boot Camp, San Diego, CA. We were wondering what we'd gotten into. Two weeks down and ten more to go of Boot Camp, and then what? Both of us were housed in the same quonset hut barracks. (They have now been replaced by two story, concrete buildings.) Some memories remain even after all this time.

     Before our enlistment there had been fatalities in a night march at the Boot Camp in Paris Island, S.C. Following that incident the rules were changed so that Marine recruits could not be disturbed by drill instructors between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am. Reveille was at 6:00 am via a recorded bugle call.

     That doesn't mean that we slept until 6:00. Awakening in the dark we dressed without lights, made our bunks to specs and fell out for roll call, fully dressed, promptly at 6:00. Our first morning we made the mistake of staying in bed until reveille. A drill instructor burst into the hut and found a recruit still lying on his top bunk. He grabbed the recruit's mattress and threw the mattress and recruit to the floor. We quickly learned not to dawdle. 

   Ah, yes, that was the life!

Takk for alt,

Al

One of the things we learned was how to leave the ship the hard way!

Medora North Dakota

      Last Night's houseguest was returning to IA from a hunting trip in North Dakota. He camped in Medora and hunted west of there near Beach, about 10 miles from Montana. His quarry was sharp-tailed grouse. Medora is a tourist destination in the North Dakota Badlands by the Little Missouri River. It's in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  His stay brought back a memory. 

    Some years ago Joanne and I motored from Minneapolis to Medora for a wedding. It was summertime and hot. The wedding was held in the courtyard of the Cowboy Hall of Fame. That courtyard is surrounded by a solid fence about six feet high so thee wasn't a breath of wind. Guests were seated at picnic tables in the shade of umbrellas. The bride and groom, Kimberley and Daniel, and their attendants, were in full sun with the temperature in the 90's. As the presider I thought the best thing for me to do in this circumstance would be to keep it brief, and I did.

Takk for alt,

Al

Medora, North Dakota.

The courtyard of the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Company!

       Kaia and I don't entertain very often. But tonight we have a house guest. Ray is on his way back to Calmar IA., near Decorah. He's been grouse hunting west of Williston, N.D. So The Little House is a convenient stopping place. Kaia thinks the extra petting is just fine. However, she was not very welcoming to Baily, Ray's German Shorthair. Given Kaia's experience of living in a kennel her first six years I'd expect her to be more tolerant of other dogs. It's always nice to have house guests.

Takk for alt,

Al

"The presence of absence"

        Edna St. Vincent Millay's phrase "the presence of absence" came up in conversation today. In writing about my grief over Joanne's death seven years and five months ago, I often referenced it. In conversation with a widow, whose husband died two weeks ago, she mentioned it. During his working years he travelled much. She said now it seems he's just travelling and then the reality of his death hits. She has powerful experiences of the presence of absence.

      Joanne's death continues to grieve me. But the grief is of a different intensity as time passes. There are fewer grief 'triggers' that throw me into sadness. Likely that's a factor of having experienced them so many times that their power wanes. It saddens me when I think of all that she is missing. Shortly after her death on April 12, I noticed buds on a hedge and it struck me that she's now going to miss the re-birth of spring. At some point being single and living alone became 'normal'.

   Grief abounds in this life it's our opportunity to be there for those who suffer.

Takk for alt, MI

Al

Joanne, Lars and Mai-Evy.

Harvest!

       It's perfect weather for soybean harvest which has begun in earnest. The only weather event which would help would be a killing frost to decimate the green weeds. It's dry and warm with no heavy rains to cause the danger of getting stuck. The one yield report that I have heard was in the mid-sixties, which is excellent. Combines with 40 foot headers make quick work of fields.

    The big dairies have been chopping corn for silage. Corn is still too wet to combine. Perhaps much of the soybeans will be harvested before farmers turn to corn harvest. It's a stretch of exceptionally fine weather. Locally harvested beans go to the soybean crush plant in Volga. That plant elevates the price farmers receive for their crop. It's a short haul to Volga which saves farmers on transportation costs.

Takk for alt,

Al

This is a picture of a semi-mounted mower, the subject of a previous blog.

Tractor Follies!

      This post follows on yesterday's where the failure of the tractor's hydraulic system was reported. Disconnecting a semi-mounted mower, the mower bolts to the drawbar of the tractor and has one trailing wheel, is a bit of work. Attaching it to another tractor is also labor intensive. Contemplating this process I decided to give the original tractor hydraulic system a try. When I did it showed signs of life! Adding a quart and a half of hydraulic fluid to the system made it work as designed 😀. No need to switch the mower to another tractor.

   What follows is an essay about tractor stuff so if that's not of interest you're excused from reading further. Some years ago I went to Alton's auction. On his sale was a 1950 M Farmall tractor.  With no intention of buying it I raised my hand as the bidding stopped below and I it's value, and I was the successful bidder. I already owned in a1941 M, I had bought on his brother, Laverne's, sale. You may remember a picture of Joanne driving it.

    This 1950 M had some after-market improvements. Oversized pistons increased its horsepower. These M's came with a five speed transmission. An after-market addition manufactured by M & W Co., made it a nine speed. The nine speed wasn't operative at purchase but Tim & Derrick helped me fix that. Another after market addition was a live hydraulic system, live because it works even when the clutch is depressed, which has now failed.  The tractor came with a narrow front end, front tires close together, which I replaced with an after-market Schwartz wide front. With four new tires it's my pride and joy. It starts and runs beautifully.  Other than mowing I have no use for it so I'm happy that it still has purpose. 

   So there is way more that you need to know about a 75 year old tractor!

Takk for alt,

Al

PS The Sinai Bank had a customer appreciation lunch this noon. At the lunch was Marvin, the local old tractor mechanic expert. Sitting with him at lunch I asked him about the failed hydraulic pump. After lunch we went to look at it and the tractor's radiator was leaking. Uffda! The good news is that the can of Stop Leak I had on the shelf worked and the leaking stopped.

I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The 1941 model on which Joanne was pictured had a better paint job.