Dear Dave, I have been busy keeping myself busy. I would call the recent events in my life, selfsustained puttering, however we can talk about that later if time allows.
I feel like Mother Nature has been playing Scrabble with the seasons of weather. It’s like she was trying to fit a “Q” into the mix and created a season that doesn’t really exist. Since that time, she has been using the season over and over to try and make it a part of our regular weather vocabulary. I would submit as evidence the deluge of rain on frozen ground from 2022, a transition from winter to summer-without spring-of 2023 and what this wonderful period of time is called that began last November and continues today. I would call it winter but that word does not contain a “Q.”
This time of year is what many refer to as meeting season, Dave. You have better than five decades working in the agriculture industry so I know you are familiar with this time of year. February will be a good month as I will assist Angie Peltier at the private pesticide workshop. Peltier is from the University of Minnesota and is an Extension Educator: she is a good example of the extremely smart people I get to meet regularly. What I like the best is that most of these learned people need some help and so they quickly familiarize me with the whatever project I help them with and some of the background I need to be helpful.As result. I get short courses in several different interests.
Later on in February, our office will sponsor a workshop on farm transition. My hope is that we will see two generations of farmers working together to hand the farm from one to the other. That said, we’ll take any number of generations. After that, Dave, we should be ready for spring work such as seed inspection and seed sampling. Our nephew, Jamie, and I also have planned a trip to exotic Carrington to see you in mid-February. I always like to celebrate Presidents day abroad.
Now, back to my self-sustaining biome of needless puttering, Dave. I recently purchased a nice little four wheeler and was so proud of it. I hurried one day to find a straw bale for some wild turkeys who decided to spend the winter fertilizing our front deck. As I quickly backed into the shed to load the bales, I heard a crash that I can best describe as the opening sound of crashing glass from the Billy Joel song, “You May Be Right.” I had shattered the atv fender assembly. I decided to glue the whole mess back together. Lisa used her puzzle skills to arrange the pieces for me and then taped them in place. The epoxy makes the place smell like someone is getting a hair permanent but it worked.
Part-two of my mission to support the repair community occurred as I lifted a large item with the loader tractor and attempted to pull the trailer out from under the suspended load. The trailer wouldn’t move forward and I assumed the impediment was a lump of ice. I applied some horsepower and broke past the obstruction which, surprisingly. was the aluminum fender of the trailer against a tractor tire/ I didn’t even turn the truck off, I just headed back to get the trailer repaired.
Anyway Dave, let’s enjoy the calm before the spring and all three of us will plan to ring in Washington’s birthday with breakfast at the Chieftain in Carrington.
Tell everyone hello, you’re little bro’.
