What Currency?

I owe, what I can't seem figure out is how to pay my debt. We've got some what I have to say are really great neighbors. I've mentioned before that we've gotten help in the form of heavy lifting, dirt moving and gravel spreading, but I may not have mentioned that some weed spraying and concrete removal have been accomplished as well. Today a JD4330 shows up with a field mower on the back and made short work of a rather large area that needed the exact type of mechanism used.

Now every time these fine folks show up and make short work of what Margie and I figured to be a rather large job, we offer to pay for fuel, chemicals, or whatever we can, but our benefactors just smile and drive off into the sunset. I know that chemicals and fuel cost money, so here I sit trying to figure out what I can do to repay some of their kindness and helpfulness.

I'm thinking that if I can convince them to train me, I'll gladly offer free help in exchange. Maybe I can run a tractor when time is short and much needs to get done, be a gofer, truck driver, or whatever. I've driven some pretty big equipment when I was in the Air Force and have a proven record of being able to be trained, so maybe they would take the chance on an unpaid helper trying to learn the ropes.

I guess I just want to be as good a neighbor to them as they are to us, and since they won't let me pay for their expenses to take care of my property, maybe I can repay them by lending a hand when things get hectic. Only problem, to be helpful, I need to be fully trained before the help is needed.

Then again... they may feel that trying to train a city slicker to do farm work is a lot more work than the work that could be accomplished without training said city folk. In which case the only currency they seem to accept is a heart felt Thank You!

Bad Odds

I've heard the term "odds" used in association with probability statements numerous times. For example, we often hear about the odds of winning or loosing associated with gambling of all types. One description I found that makes about as much sense as anything... "Odds are an alternative way to express the likelihood that an event will occur". So good odds to me would mean that something is likely to occur, and bad odds? Well... you get the picture.

Blackie, our modified Jeep TJ (Wrangler) has a soft top. For those of you familiar with Jeep soft tops, you know that the canvas door skins with zippers don't last forever. Zippers it seems, just were not made to go around corners as they are asked to do on Jeep tops, and replacement of these "door skins" as they are called is necessary every couple of years when the zippers fail. There are numerous manufacturers of replacement door skins as well as the Jeep dealers themselves, and I'll tell you that I cringe every time I have to dig for a couple of Franklin's to keep the weather on Blackie's exterior.

We live in Nebraska, not exactly known for the number of Jeeps on the road, let alone soft top Jeeps, so what odds would you give for finding soft top Jeep door skins brand new at a garage sale in Cambridge? Don't forget to factor in that within the last 48 hours, a discussion had taken place about the need to get some new skins ordered before the old ones give out?

BAD ODDS is what I'd say! When we lived in the Denver area, a city well known for the number of Jeeps on the road, the odds of finding brand Jeep TJ door skins at a garage sale would be about the same as me trying out for the Denver Broncos. So of course the Cambridge yard sales held yesterday yielded exactly the above mentioned door skins at an incredible price.

What are the odds of that happening? Pretty long I imagine, but just more proof to me that us City Slickers are supposed to be here.

The Acme Automated Snowthrower Returns

The Acme Automated Snowthrower (see blog archives if you are not familiar with this) and his wife showed up and put his shovel manure and barn repairman attachments on. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't keep up with the 77 year old by any stretch of the imagination as he seems to be able to work in the worst of conditions and not be bothered one bit.

The temperature in the shade showed 101 but that didn't slow Tom down one bit. He was on a mission, possessed with the notion that in two days, the rotted sill plates and studs on the old barns south and west sides would be dug out and replaced. Day one had him with a pick digging through the crust to expose the concrete foundation. Day two we're off the to lumber yard for supplies and then the fun began in only 99 degree heat.

I suppose most of you locals don't notice the humidity around here much, but for someone that has spent most of his life in the southwest US, I'm not used to it one bit. We jacked up the walls, removed the rotted sill plates, drilled and installed new retainer bolts in the foundation, installed new sills, cut off the rotted studs, and fashioned cripple type supports and got it all done in 2 1/2 days. Father in law is amazing! Thanks Tom!

There is a lot of work left to do on the barn. I'm in the process of tearing the doors off the front of the barn to provide better support for new and replaced doors. I've got a lot of trim and siding to replace too. My neighbor owns several farmsteads in various states of repair, and he stopped and told me where I can get some siding to match the old stuff on the barn that rotted. By the time we get done with the old building, it will look pretty good I hope.

Perfect Timing

I see that McCook got 4" of rain yesterday, and we got a little over an inch at our place north of Cambridge. Our farming neighbor spoke of needing rain just a couple days ago...he had just finished up his wheat harvest, and while at a local eatery we heard the same thing... "sure hope it rains, the corn is lookin' kinda stressed". One of the other patrons asked the farmer if his wheat harvest was completed...the reply was "yesterday".

So my thought is that farming is much about luck and timing. Reduced water allotments for irrigation weigh heavily on the minds of the locals and the weather is a conversation topic almost everywhere we go. If you love to gamble, being a farmer might fit right into your personality... no rain, no crop, no money, you're out.

Maybe the perfect timing luck of the farmers around me is rubbing off. In our war with the weeds, the light MAV - mechanized assault vehicle (riding mower) has become a casualty. When I last started my scheduled counterattack, one of two main hydraulic pumps that control vehicle movement completely failed leaving me with a quickly expanding enemy and little effective way to fight off the attack.

We contacted a local business about reinforcements and struck an agreement for an almost new MAV including the surrender of the 20 year old MAV. It was to be delivered into service last week, but one thing we've learned about some businesses in this area, you can count on getting exactly what you want...just not exactly when you may have understood it was to happen.

To be fair, I think the fellow we bought the mower from is one busy guy. Besides civic duties, he's also a repair guru and works on all types of equipment. I think he has to prioritize his work to be helpful to whoever needs his services the most at the moment, and though this concept was new to us coming from the city, we fully understand and accept it. Few city businesses perform a wide range of services like we've encountered in rural Nebraska.

Though a few days late, the new mower got delivered a day before the rain came giving me plenty of time to hack the heck out of the advancing enemy. To help pay for the equipment, our economic stimulus check is on the way just in the nick of time. Maybe some farmers perfect timing luck was left on the farm for us to use, or it's rubbed off on us from our neighbors, or just maybe we're just being taken care of by the Highest Power. I think that would explain "perfect" timing best.

Truck Stop

I mentioned the other day that I got my first ride on a tractor, and it's happened again... another first ride but this time in a combine. The combines have been hard at work around Cambridge working over the wheat fields, and it was another real thrill for me to ride along to watch the big cutters operation.

Watching that big wheel out front and learning that you don't just drive a combine, you operate it was a bit surprising to me being a city slicker. I had always figured a combine was pretty much like a large lawn mower and you could just point it and enjoy the view. I learned real fast that there is a lot more than that involved!

I have a feeling my neighbors think I'm a bit nuts or perhaps just a big kid for wanting to ride along during harvest operations. Still, there is a lot I want to learn about Ag and farming operations, and I seem to learn real well through the observation method so until they tell me to leave them alone, I'll keep askin'.

Here comes the truck stop part of the story...

Part of the afternoon's fun was a trip to the Bartley grain elevator in a powerful if not comfortable semi loaded with wheat. Now I'm not a stranger to the cab of a truck... I drove just about everything the US Air Force had, and I spent many a day behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler hauling equipment into remote locations, but a delivery to a grain elevator was something completely new to me.
It wasn't really any different than I expected, other than the line of trucks waiting to dump their cargo. When we neared the elevator, the line of trucks ran through the elevator yard and past the railroad tracks on the county road. It happened to be one of those hot days in the upper 90's, no clouds, breeze, or air conditioning in the truck.

It didn't take long for the lineup of grain haulers to move through the scales and onto the grates where the grain was dumped. It appeared to me to be a well organized ballet of trucks and spotters that moved with the simplest of hand signals and accomplished a lot of work without a word being spoken. Still, it takes a bit of time for several hundred bushels of wheat to fall out of a truck, so the line movement was more like rush hour in Los Angeles.

Please help us fight cancer! Visit Hoag's Heroes Relay for Life Web Site.

I need a band!

A couple nights ago, we were to Arapahoe to see the 43rd US Army Band play in town park. What a treat! The guys and gals did an outstanding job entertaining the crowd with some fun and inspiring music. Of course part of the reason behind the Army band concerts is recruiting, and a comment that recruiters were available to answer any questions was made. How great is that! Have an organization with what seems like unlimited funding offer entertainment with the background agenda finding new recruits.

I need a band! Why? Because it might help me enlist the help of a different kind of soldier. No, this isn't about weed warriors for those of you that have been following along for some time, this is about making donation to help the American Cancer Society.

Relay for Life is about to happen in Furnas county, and I ask you to dig into your pocket a bit and help Hoag's Heroes. Our Relay "team" is small and we don't know many folks to ask to sponsor us. Every penny you donate goes to the American Cancer Society to help fight this dreaded disease.

I can't speak for anyone else, but my motivation for helping in the fight against cancer is that even though I beat it, I wouldn't wish it on anyone and will do everything I can to help stop it so you or someone you know doesn't have to.

So strike up the band, and please go to our ACS Relay For Life web page and make a donation. You will be helping someone that doesn't know they need the help... yet.

Bioluminwho?

"Broken Arrow" was a movie title that was defined within the movie, as well as being rather a well known term outside the military community. In the movie, a broken arrow was described as the loss of a nuclear weapon, and the person being told what a broken arrow was replied..."I don't know which is worse, losing nuclear weapons, or the fact that it happens so often there's a term for it".

We've got terms and definitions for just about everything. Here's an example...

Bioluminescence - the emission of light from living organisms, or the light emitted by same...

We've got an abundance of Fireflies at our place that turn the lawn into dazzling displays of twinkling lights on a nightly basis. I remember catching these little creatures when I was a kid growing up in Omaha, but I've not seen Lightning Bugs since we moved to Colorado when I was 15. I suppose the humidity and altitude isn't favorable for them there, but seeing them again in Nebraska is really a treat for me, especially since there are so many!

The reason for the light show is it's part of their mating ritual, and it appears there is a lot of lovin' going on with the display of thousands of lights blinking on and off. They kinda remind me of a darkened concert hall with people holding up butane lighters, though I have no idea how that idea ever got started.

Fireflies are not only entertaining to watch, they are incredibly efficient producing their light. Nearly 100% of a Fireflies light is given off as light compared to a standard electric light bulb that gives off only 10% light and 90% heat.

Chemoluminescence is what makes glow necklaces and glow sticks work, and is mans invention/imitation of bioluminescence. Personally, I think Fireflies got it right and mankind is still stumbling along in the dark pretty much.

The Combine Waltz

I've spoken recently about dances of the midwest. Someone brought up the point that dancing with a rattlesnake might be better called something other than a Snake Dance, so I'll try calling it a Hoe Down in keeping with the dancing theme.

We've seen combines toiling in fields around our place the last couple days now, and at the 4th of July barbecue we were at last night the topic of combine price came up. Not cheap! So when I came across the following internet links about a combine demolition derby, I was inspired to blog...

Video link... http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0006.html?bcpid=86195573&bclid=86272812&bctid=1631265560

Picture link... http://www.lindwa.com/2008derbylineup.html

Let's see now... $180,000 for a combine these days I heard at the barbecue, and that doesn't include what you need to get the job done. Gotta have either a corn or wheat "head" on the thing that raises the price a few thousand.

Put a bunch of these old field warriors in a pen and let 'em dance? Priceless!