The scurs were on the money last week with their rainy forecast. Unfortunately the windshield washer was a little sticky on the Weather Eye so some places received excess precipitation. Will the new heater knob the scurs ordered from Budach’s arrive in time for a happy ending to the school week? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with a slight to moderate chance of showers as the day wears on. Highs in the low 80’s and lows in the upper 60’s. Mostly sunny and warmer for Thursday becoming mostly cloudy by evening with a moderate chance for a shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Partly sunny, dry and cooler on Friday with highs in the upper 60’s and lows in the low 50’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60’s and lows near 50. Mostly sunny on Sunday and continued dry with highs in the low 70’s and lows in the low 50’s. Monday, partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. Highs near 70 and lows in the low 50’s. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. The normal high for September 8th is 76 and the normal low is 53. We slip back below 13 hours of daylight on September 6th, the first time since April 5th. The scurs have no doubt that the Vikings will be undefeated yet on Saturday. It’s Sunday they’re worried about.

The Full Moon for the month lands on the 8th and is known as the Full Harvest Moon. The brightness of the moon allowed farmers to work long into the night before they put headlights on the horses of course. It was under this moon that many of the staples common to the native tribes were harvested. The Ojibwe called this Full Rice Moon and the Sioux called it The Moon When the Plums are Scarlet. Indeed, the wild plums at the ranch are scarlet, those that have remained hidden from the birds. We generally refer to it as the BLT Moon however.

Abundant precip fell this past week over much of the area putting farmers’ worries about having enough moisture to finish the crop to an end. The month of August at the ranch we tallied 5.6” with another .41” falling on Sunday and actually recorded for September 1st. In town the rainfall for the same period was 6.95”. The pattern of an extremely dry August the past several years has been broken. Now the biggest concern becomes having enough heat to finish although we have made some positive strides in that direction. Worrying about it won’t change it however. Most corn remains in the R5 dent stage and R6 soybeans are becoming more common with the exception of the replants of course. The rains should help keep the potential yield in play on both crops as we get closer to the finish line.

There were some large flights of dragonflies noted the last couple weeks of August then again over the past weekend. Many of those spotted at the ranch appeared to be green darners. This is interesting because this species actually migrates south to the Gulf states. Dragonflies are an important link in controlling winged insects although they may get more credit than they deserve for controlling mosquitoes as adults anyway. As Jeff Hahn at the U points out, most mosquitoes generally show up at dusk and afterwards. This doesn’t mean however that they won’t grab one should the chance arise during the day.

The white-lined sphinx moths arrived at the ranch over the weekend too. A few weeks ago one of the large green hornworms was seen feeding on some prostrate knotweed and purslane outside the Mall for Men. Was wondering when the moths would appear and first saw one working over some of the bouncing bet (an escaped ornamental) in the road ditch as I gathered the mail. The next night several were flitting between the salvia and four o’clocks in the small garden. Meteorological fall has arrived.

The orioles hung around through Labor Day so we’re holding our breath hoping they’ll stay a while longer. There were more Baltimore types than we’d seen since back in May. With their frenzied activity it’s no wonder they eat so much jelly. The hummingbirds too have been numerous and hungry. When they’re not at the feeders they’re after the plants and vice versa. Lots of squeaking as they chase after one another, rest a few seconds then do it all over again.

The lawn has taken off making it necessary to do some routine maintenance on the mowers. Both Howard and Whitey were up to an oil change so I obliged them. This is akin to cruel and unusual punishment for a Border Collie however. I left Ruby and Fudgie inside as I didn't want waste oil spilled all over the place. Unable to bite the tires as the machines were started to warm them up, I could hear much snarling and gnashing of teeth coming from the house. I could also see through the window a lot of commotion as Ruby ran frantically from the couch to the door and back. Now if only we could channel that energy into operating the mowers as opposed to just herding them then maybe we’d have something. Wishful thinking I’m afraid.

See you next week…real good then.

Tracy-to-Tollefson connection results in 193 yards, three touchdowns

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

If you were in a fantasy football league involving area high school players, Spencer Tollefson would have been a good guy to have on your squad last Friday.

The NRHEG senior hauled in five pass receptions for 193 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers blew out Sibley East 32-12 in the 2014 football opener at Arlington.

“We were very pleased with our team’s effort tonight,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork. “Sibley East plays a very physical brand of football and have a great deal of size on their line of scrimmage, and we handled it well.”

The NRHEG volleyball team lost 3-1 to Alden-Conger in its season opener Tuesday, Aug. 26 at Alden. Game scores in favor of the Knights were 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22.

Individually for NRHEG: Ryann Hagen 13 kills, three digs, two ace blocks; Marnie Wagner seven kills, four digs; Maddie Wagner six kills, six digs, two ace blocks; Abby Wacholz six kills, nine digs, two ace blocks; Anna Stork three kills, one dig, one assist; Cassidy Sletten three kills, two assists, one ace block; Alyssa Esplan 15 digs; Anna Lundberg 18 assists, three digs; Hailey Schuller 20 assists, three digs.

The Panthers hosted WEM Tuesday. They play Thursday at Blooming Prairie and in a tournament this weekend at Minnesota State-Mankato.

The NRHEG High School cross country teams opened the 2014 season at the Stewartville Invitational Thursday, Aug. 28.

The boys finished 12th among 16 schools with 348 points. Jordan won with 65, followed by Lake City with 85, LaCrescent 92, Kasson-Mantorville 150, Pine Island 167, Rochester Home School 171, Byron 188, Zumbrota-Mazeppa/Kenyon Wanamingo 190, Winona Cotter 223, Blooming Prairie 239 and St. Charles 238. Kingsland, Lanesboro/Fillmore Central, Bangro and Austin Pacelli did not field full squads.

Remembering the life of Eleanor M. (Hinkley) Fjone

A Celebration of Life Service for Eleanor M. Fjone was held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday,  September 2, at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea. The Reverend Richard Spande officiated. A light luncheon and a time to greet the family immediately followed the service. Interment was in Hartland Cemetery. Eleanor died on Friday, August 29, 2014 at Mayo Clinic Health Systems, Albert Lea. She was 96.

Eleanor was born on March 27, 1918, in Freeborn, Minnesota, the daughter of George W. and Julia M. (Jacobson) Hinkley. She graduated from Freeborn High School.

The Waseca County History Center will open its doors on Saturdays, 12-3 p.m. in addition to regular hours during the run of its current exhibit, “Collecting Herter’s”. The exhibit previewed on Friday to area sponsors, participating Herter’s collectors and All-Event Fundraiser ticket holders, then to the public on Saturday and Sunday, August 23 and 24.

For a time, Herter’s, Inc. was known to every serious and amateur sportsman in the country and beyond as the ultimate source for anything a guy would need to fish, hunt, camp, trap, canoe, or snowmobile. Between 1937 and 1980, George Herter merchandized with an entertaining catalog that gave Brown Printing its start, printing over one million catalogs annually at its peak. Herter’s, Inc. was included in the Minnesota Historical Society’s 150 Things About Minnesota exhibit during the Minnesota Sesquicentennial celebration in 2008.

100 Years Ago – 1914

• A train known as the Great Northern Flyer has made 89 consecutive runs between St. Paul and Seattle and has been on time each trip. A really remarkable record.

• School will open on Sept. 7th. All pupils should be present on that day for enrollment, assignment of places and of work. The high school assembly room is being enlarged to accommodate the increasing high school enrollment for the coming year. A room is being prepared in the basement to be used as a laboratory. Other changes are being made so that when school work gets underway every foot of space in the basement and first two floors will be utilized.

There are many times when a person is out enjoying the outdoors that things just don’t go as smoothly as one would like.

I can remember years back when a friend of mine was heading out early in the morning for the deer hunting opener and he bagged a deer sooner than  expected. 

It seems that on his way to the hunting area, a deer ran out of the ditch and he struck it, taking out his radiator.

Another time, a couple of hunters had just registered their deer and as they were heading home to hang them, a deer ran out of the ditch and into the side of the vehicle. I’d guess if you were a superstitious person, you might take that as a sign.

Over the years I have seen, heard about or experienced first hand some not-too-cool incidents while fishing. More than one of those instances occurred while on a family vacation at Spider Lake. During the first part of the week my son Brian, the oldest, would go out with me at the break of dawn until about Wednesday when he would usually opt to sleep in like his brother. My usual trend on these vacations was to hit the lake early, return to camp about 8 to clean fish and have breakfast. After breakfast we would load the whole family into our little boat and fish for about three or four hours. On one of those occasions I was on the lake at the crack of dawn enjoying the solitude of an early morning sunrise when I tied into a nice sized pike. I fought the fish for a couple of minutes before I was able to coax it to the boat. As I maneuvered the fish towards my landing net, it must have gotten its second wind because it lunged downward and then came straight up, exploding out of the water, but I finally managed to get it into the boat. That pike was determined to fight me all the way and when I tried to remove the hook, the fish went berserk and shook the lure loose, which flew at me like a slingshot driving the treble hook into my hand. The hook was embedded so that I couldn’t cut the end off nor crimp the barb. I tried everything to extract the hook, all the while trying to keep the boat from drifting into shore. I eventually decided to bite the proverbial bullet and rip it out with my needle nose pliers. After such an ordeal there is always enough free advice at camp to go around that makes removing a hook sound easy and painless.

Another incident that I had while fishing alone on Spider almost ended badly. I had decided to go out in the evening and do a little casting and I believe I had every fishing pole that we owned along with me. On one of the casts I managed to unknowingly hook another rod lying behind me and fling it over my shoulder into the water; luckily it was still attached to my lure and I was able to retrieve it. That is one of those things a person does that causes him to look around to see if anyone was watching.

Camping with the family was never uneventful because it seemed that something always happened to make things interesting. One weekend we had decided to go with some friends to Hickory Hills for the weekend. Now, getting ready for any camping trip always seemed to offer its own challenges. This particular time as I was attempting to put the pickup camper on the truck, the jack broke and I couldn’t get it to crank up. After a lot of sweat and some “McGyvering,” I was finally able to get it to work. Once we were at the campground I was cranking the jacks down and as I furiously turned the handle to make up for lost time, it came off, striking me in the forehead and almost putting me to the ground while leaving a nasty gash. I’ve often wondered if my boys thought they were watching a cartoon because they were speechless at first; then when they figured I was going to make it they began to laugh. I didn’t see the humor in it at the time, but they still bring it up from time to time and after all these years, I can finally see a little humor there.

One of the camping excursions we took with a group of friends was really an exercise in futility. A friend of mine had told me about this campground on Elysian Lake that was in a farmer’s pasture and camping was on a first-come, first-serve basis, or so we thought. After getting a late start on Friday evening, we had to set up our tents in the dark. After we had finally finished and stepped back to admire our handy work, another camper walked over and informed us that we were in someone else’s spot — so much for the first-come, first-serve theory. After we had torn down the tents and moved them in total darkness we realized that we had no firewood. In as much as we were the men and were gatherers of all things outdoors, the three of us set out in the farmer’s pasture in search of firewood. We only managed to find a few straggly branches, some cockleburs and the farmer’s Holstein bull. Upon returning to camp almost empty handed, except for a few sticks along with some cuts and scratches, we found that the girls had a nice fire going. It seems that fellow felt bad for telling us to move so he gave them a bunch of firewood. Topping off the weekend of pure enjoyment was the fact that the walleyes we were told would bite from shore were actually 4-inch bullheads that would bite a minnow almost as large as they were.

We tented, we camped in campers but no matter what, I always made sure that I had a fishing pole and tackle box along because you just never knew when the opportunity would present itself. Those were all fun times with memories that make us shake our heads and laugh when we look back and wonder how we did it.

Until next time; there is still plenty of summer left so take some time to enjoy the great outdoors with a weekend camping trip, do some fishing or just spend a day at one of our areas lakes.

Please take a little time to remember those who served and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.  

The Waseca Warrior Benefit (the benefit for Tom Block and a time to recognize and honor him for his sacrifice that he has made) is happening September 6 from 3-12.

Opening ceremony will be begin promptly at 3 p.m. followed by great music, local talent, kids activities, silent auction, food vendors, and beer garden. 

There are a number of opportunities to volunteer for this event. Please spread the word. For more information contact Adam Leach at 507-461-0838, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Who are you? Most of us answer that question by telling others what we do – but that really isn't who we are, is it?

Everyone responds in the expected way, but how should we really answer that question? Shouldn't we describe our interests, our characteristics, our talents, or spiritual gifts? But even that doesn't tell anyone who we are, not really! 

So who are you? The world tells us our value is found in our business and financial successes, in our prestige and popularity, but does it really?

If you believe in evolution, you are the result of a chance collision of molecules and have evolved from mammals. 

If you read Genesis, it tells you God designed you from a lump of clay to be responsible for the lives we need to live.

If you go to a chemist, he will tell you the human body breaks down as follows: 65% oxygen, 18% carbon, 10% hydrogen, 3% nitrogen, 1.5% calcium, 1% phosphorous, 0.35% potassium, 0.25% sulfur, 0.15% sodium, 0.15% chlorine, 0.05% magnesium, 0.0004% iodine, with traces of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum and arsenic. The total value of all of this comes to less than one dollar. 

On the other hand, surgeons are now able to use body parts from other humans to bring improved health and even life to their patients. But is man simply matter?

What is the value of a dollar bill in the hands of a millionaire? What is that dollar worth to a homeless person who has nothing? To someone who needs a body part - a new lease on life? A dollar is 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes or 4 quarters; its value isn't determined by the owner, but by the maker!

To your friends you may be any number of things - good or bad. Some might see you as a successful businessperson, a loyal friend, a volunteer, or any number of things that money can't buy. 

The world is always going to be different to different people - and will never be what it was before. We can learn from the past, but we know we must move into the future. If we don't like it, it is up to us to make it likeable.

Human worth isn't based on possession, achievement, physical beauty, strength or popularity. Human worth is what you really are made of and that must be emotional integrity.

If you fill your mind with gratitude for what you have instead of concentrating on what you don’t have, you can fill your mind with thoughts of gratitude. You can't be hateful when you are grateful.

We can't all be great or responsible, but we can all make a difference. 

There is power in generosity, in doing things for others. Or you can be selfish and do something because it makes you feel good. It has nothing to do with how another reacts.

I think of Dacoda’s smile. It's beyond value. I think of Annie who has complete love for her child. She is grateful that she has Kaiden because "he has done so much for her." I think of Lenard who accepted Kaye’s gift of a nickel because that was all she had. How happy she was and how disappointed she would have been if he had said, "No, you keep it." Do we always look at gifts for what they really are?

Sometimes when I get overwhelmed with things I must do, I stop to realize how good it makes me feel if I can contribute something for the happiness for others.

It hurts me when I see those in high places do things they shouldn't because it shows disrespect to others, especially children.

You can wipe out a lifetime of good by making a foolish mistake.

He knew better - first by breaking the rules of entry and second of providing beer to a minor. Yes, he confessed and said he was sorry but the damage was already done. Is anything OK as long as you don't get caught?

I feel insulted when I see that there are those who dispose of garbage along the highway. Such a little thing? No, it is a big thing. Is it too much to ask that one carry a bag for garbage until they reach a stopping place where it can be disposed of properly?

Life is short - gifting it with kindness should be such an easy thing to do.

The simple act of sending a picture or a note, or telling a mother her baby is beautiful, or just saying hello to someone you don't know, doesn't costs that much. Or a visit to someone who needs it - like the elderly - gives value to you and hopefully the one who receives it has a brighter day.

It isn't who you are or what you are, but how you make others feel that is important. The Chinese have a saying: When someone shares something of value with you, you have an obligation to share it with others. A society grows great when old men plant trees - whose shade they know they'll never sit it.

I admit to grief and a feeling of loss over the untimely death of Robin Williams. He gave so much to everyone. Death often shows up to remind us to live life more fully. When someone you love dies they truly never go away. You feel them everywhere - in the wind, in voices, in every little encounter and their spirit lives with you so you can call yet another angel by name.

Knowing that we're created in God’s image is proof of our value. Scripture actually has a lot to say about who we are. Let's discover just who we really are - and whose we are!

Some of our readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. Also if you have an idea for a story that you think would be of interest to our readers, please contact me.

If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like include, or news to share please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, August 28: Mitch Helmers, Larry Motl, Bev Newgard. Waynetta Peterson, Rosy Fisher, Lorraine Christensen, Justine Randall, Marlys Van Kampen, Tammy Johnson, Gerritt Molenaar Sr., Jacquelyn Jensen, Linda Kelly, Marvin Thomspon, Jim & Fran Ladlie

• Friday August 29: Mark Lee, Eunice Smith, Barbara Klinger, Cheryl & Brian Boettcher

• Saturday, August 30: Brett Richards, Joel Born, Danielle Cook, Katie Cleven Richards, Staci Hohansee, Donna Demmer, Everett Jensen, Grace Paulson, Craig Schwartz, Eva Elayna Thomas

• Sunday, August 31st: Carole Schember, Judy Deml, Terry Walterman, Kari Hohansee, Jerry Flugum, Tony Holmes, Connie Misgen Evenson, John Tasker, Heather Reese, Nancy Bottelson, Garrett Avery, Ron & Karen Huber, Melissa & Tyler Moe

• Monday, September 1st: Jim Motz, Payton Thomspon, Daryl Nelson, Jody Farr, Catherine Carlson, Gregory Ray, Dianna & Matthew Beckman, Adam & Lalya Lang, Jim & Marian Motz

• Tuesday, September 2nd: Krista Paulsen, Brent Broulik, Barb Grunwald, Dean Richards, Logan Callahan, Peyton Moore Ayers, Randy & Barb Horan, Christine & Tom Krause, Amy & Jeff Conley

• Wednesday, September 3rd: Marie Carroll, Lori Ingvaldson, Joanne & Mitch Wayne, Dick & Paulette Nelson, Tatum Wilson

Wherever this year takes you, may you find happiness along the way.