By RACHEL RIETSEMA

Staff Writer

Mayor Steve Bailey brought the Geneva City Council meeting to order on June 14. All councilmen except Taff Worrell were in attendance.  

Janell Tufte made a motion to approve bills payable, minutes and the financial report. Rich Weckwerth seconded and the motion carried.

Discussion soon turned to Geneva Bar & Grill’s request to hold a street dance on Saturday, July 23. No one opposed to the idea. Permission was granted. 

Bailey then noted that the city pool opened up on June 13. He went on to tell the council about the pool’s recent break-in. Shortly after the actual incident, city maintenance man Steve Nielsen, came to Bailey’s house with the bad news. 

Two life belts were stolen and damage was done to the door. Bailey called it in, so the break-in is officially on record. Nielsen already fixed the door.

Anyone interested in the pool services are encouraged to come out this summer. The cost is $50 for a family, which includes lessons as well. 

By CAROL JOLLY

Staff Writer

June 3rd was a day that many students were anticipating across the nation. It was the last day of school for the 2010-11 educational term for many. That was no different for NRHEG Elementary students in Ellendale, with excitement mounting, because soon it would be their time to relish the lazy days of summer.

Many NRHEG students earned special recognition for their individual achievements of their outstanding performance, and those students were honored at a special awards ceremony on Friday morning.

Those awards included: A and B Honor Rolls, Accelerated Reader, Honor Choir, and 6th-grade Science Fair participants.

A Honor Roll:

4th Grade: Alexis Anderson, Alexander Buckmeier, Olivia Christopherson, Lawren Deml, Caitlin Goette, Jack Hogstad, Rachel Horejsi, Lexie Ignaszewski, Tyler Jacobson, Ellarose Jameson, Aubrey Johnson, Jazzlyn Johnson, Sierra Johnson, Mackayla Knutson, Dalton Kraay, Ross Lenort, Sydney McCamish, Elizabeth Miller, Sophia Mrotz, Caitlyn Nelson, Atom Oquist, Sydney Schlinger, Jacob Schuller, Tanner Smith-Vulcan, Hailey Stenzel, Jake Stork, Karenna Strom, Jadyn Surat, Spencer Tufte, Michiah VanSyckel, Hailey Westrum, Brooke Wobschall, Laura Worrell and Dennis Wrobleski.

Award winners have been announced for 2011 NRHEG spring sports.

They are, by sport:

Girls' Track and Field

• Most Valuable Track Events — Danielle Krueger

• Most Valuable Field Events — Jill Kalis

• Most Valuable Track and Field — Carlie Wagner

• Most improved — Anna Schlaak

• Rookie of the Year — Hailey Schuller

• Captains — Jill Kalis, Alearah Neumann

Boys' Track and Field

• Most Valuable Track Events  — T.J. Schiltz

• Most Valuable Field Events — Tony Wacholz

• Most Valuable Track and Field — Evan Ferber

• Most improved — Kyle Bayerkohler, Ross Chester

• Rookie of the Year — Hunter Eustice

• Captains — Evan Ferber, Kyle Bayerkohler

By JODY WYNNEMER

Staff Writer

Several members of the NRHEG Panthers baseball team have traded their uniforms for the colors of the New Richland Jazz, and despite losing a close ball game in their opener, are now on a five game winning streak.

Rochester Lourdes 5, Jazz 3 (10 innings)

Jazz pitcher Sam Lundberg pitched the entire 10 innings of the ball game June 7 giving up 10 hits, walking four and striking out six. Matt Dahle went 2-3, while Johnny White, David Lassahn, Jake Stalock and Tyler Sorenson managed one hit a piece at Legion Field.

“It was a good battle to start our season,” said Jazz coach Jon Meyer. “We had runners in scoring position several times late in the game and never took advantage of it.”

Jazz 8, Dodge Center 2 (Gm 1)

Lucas Meyer, Eric Sorenson and Lassahn all pounded out two hits to lead the Jazz to their first victory of the season in the opening game of a double header with visiting Dodge Center. Mitch Akemann was on the hill for a six-strikeout complete game, allowing only eight hits and walking four.

“Our bats came alive in this game,” said Meyer. “It was a nice win with a good team effort by all.”

Is June still the most favored time for weddings? Just counting up the wedding anniversaries coming up this week, I come up with 30 couples married in June between the dates of June 23rd and June 30th. Included in that time span is my mother and dad’s 60th wedding anniversary, my aunt and uncle, Phyllis and Eugene Hagen’s anniversary, my cousin, and Barb and Dale Mrotz. My daughter, Kimberly, and her husband, Mike, just celebrated their wedding anniversary on the 17th of June. My grandparents, Richard and Christine Hanson, were married on my grandmother’s 19th birthday on the 19th of June in the year 1919.

It seems nowadays that many weddings dates revolve around when there is a place available for their wedding, or more than likely the place they would like to have for their reception. Very few receptions are held in the church anymore because of space, and many have now added a wedding dance as big part of the festivities.

In yesteryears, when there were one or few caterers, it was often the neighbors, women’s circles at the churches, or friends who prepared and then served the refreshments after the wedding. The size of weddings makes a difference of course as to where the couple plan to hold the wedding. They are limited to how many guests they can invite, as couples don't want to invite more to the festivities than what was available for seating.

Weddings have become more costly. The bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses are just about always purchased now instead of being hand made. Some dresses are long, some are short, and some are in between. The groomsmen most generally wear rented tuxedos. The wedding cakes and flowers are purchased as well.

The wedding cakes are almost extinct. The elaborate cakes of 50 some years ago would be priceless now. Many of the cakes during that time period were often made by a friend or neighbor lady who specialized in making decorated cakes. My aunt, Helyn, made my mother’s wedding cake and my aunt Phyllis' wedding cake. 

My aunt’s cake took a case of eggs to make the angel food for all the various sizes of layers that made up her wedding cake. The cake was high and beautiful and had a decoration on the top. Most often a replica of a bridal couple adorned the top of the weddings cakes during that time period.

Orpha Sommers, who lived north of Ellendale, made my sister’s wedding cake. Kaye still maintains it was the most beautiful thing at her wedding. It was many tiers high, with a bubbling fountain in the middle, and had columns that separated the layers. Eight heart shaped cakes surrounded it. The cake was chocolate with white frosting on top. 

Amy Thompson and Orla Christensen baked their share of wedding cakes. Mrs. Amos (Beverly) Farr’s cakes were decorated with bridges and dolls dressed as bridesmaids on stairs. They were decorated into the sides of the cakes or crossed over from one cake to another in a double cake.

Many bridal couples now have a small cake that graces the serving table, and serve sheet cake that is much easier to serve. In fact, cupcakes seem to be the cake of choice today, maybe because no cutting is necessary.

Mrs. Gudvangen from Albert Lea made the flowers that graced my mom and dad’s cake, including roses, pansies and whatever. She had nimble fingers and sat and talked and pinched and twirled the fondant into the delicate flowers for atop the cake. Mrs. C.F. Peterson, who lived south of Ellendale, arranged the flowers on the altar, the decorations all from her garden. It was to be a start of a vocation she never imagined, but she loved flowers.

Wedding flowers are most generally purchased for weddings now, not like those earlier years when they were grown in their families’, relatives’ or neighbors’ flower gardens. My aunt, Phyllis Hagen, had bouquets of orchids that came directly from Hawaii, arriving by rural mail carrier at noon for the afternoon wedding that day. That's faith in the U.S. mail!

Weddings have also changed a great deal in regards to "setting." Back in the earlier years, they were held at the home of the bride, the parsonage, city hall, or the Little Brown Church. The largest share of them are now held in churches, but quite often one will receive an invitation for a wedding that may be held indoors, outdoors, on the beach, on horseback, in airplanes, or at the local justice of the peace. 

Some pick holidays or birthdays for the date of their wedding so they won't "forget" their anniversaries. Time can be from early morning, afternoon or evening and candlelight hours. Surprisingly, some have even been held on Halloween, like Rose Mangskau’s parents, who said they couldn't think of anything trickier to do.

Music, too, has changed, especially when you look back at music played during receptions, from no music, to local music, to old time or country bands, to today’s DJs.

Most bridal couples were younger back in those "early days" than what you may find now, which may have had its advantages as they were not "set" in their individual ways. Many young people today are inclined to further their education and get established before they get married now.

Family, size, location, or month of marriage probably had less to do with the success of marriages as the bride and groom themselves. At any rate, the guests have an enjoyable time renewing old friendships with relatives and friends, as well as meeting many new people during the wedding and reception.

Hopefully, the wedding celebration can go on as couples celebrate 10, 25, 50, 60 and 75 years or more of anniversaries of that special day when they were first named husband and wife.

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, June 23rd: Ralph & Alyce Randall, Carlie (Thompson) & Joseph Sevcik, Greg Bartsch, Ann Farr, Amanda Wacek, Rhonda Reichl, and Rebecca Schei

• Friday, June 24th: Rhyan Rebea Fritz, LuAnn Hanson, Gordon Hanson, Joel Butler, Andy Sommers, Mary Harty, Sheryl Berg, Rick A. Miller, Curt & Carole Schember, Julie (Krieg) & Brian Hove, Valerie (Tobiason) & Scott Quiring, Stephanie (Morris) & Brad Hendrickson, Jennifer (Pence) & Juan Ortega, and Danielle (Cook) & Travis Johnson

• Saturday, June 25th: Paul & Deb Wallace, Brad & Jannell Tufte, David & Lori Lembke, James & Mardelyn Thompson, Boyd & Jeanene Reese, Brady Nelson, Rachel Lerum, Michael Bell, Hugh O'Byrne, Brady Nelson Heimer, Marilyn Nelson, Boyd Reese and Steve Lunning

• Sunday, June 26th: Michelle Marie & Marissa Ann Leeman, Tony Muri, Richard Holmes, Michelle Davidson, Tiffany Olson, Ray Jepson, Pennie Ladlie, Tristan & Michael Ingvaldson, Chuck & Ann Southworth and Tom & Wilma Arbogast

• Monday, June 27th: Eugene & Phyllis Hagen, Carlyle & Judy Hagen, Jamie & Kim (Weckwerth) Farr, Stormi Hagen, Mary Groth, Karrie (Newgard) Moen, Marge Trandem, Michelle Vangen, Milton Nelson and Sandi Serdahl

• Tuesday, June 28th: Warren & Bonnie Nelson, Jenny (Broskoff) & Chris Dutton, Danielle (Wagner) & LuVerne Zacharis, Amanda (Reese) Beavens, Shane Reese, Margaret Dobberstein, Zack Kromminga, Sara Hoyt, Sara Jensen and Noah Peterson

• Wednesday, June 29th: Donald Hope, Nate VerHey, Courtney Haugen, Jacob Peterson, Brenda (Janka) Tschann, Jane (Jensen) Bratten, Berniece Whelan, Barb & Dale Mrotz, Brent & Valerie Christensen, Brent & Michelle Meiners, Wally & Marge Wobschall

• Thursday, June 30th: Tamara & Jeff Busho, Susan (Schmidt) & Jon Anderson, Ann & Brent Wiersma, Nate & Kristine VerHey, Julie Vanden Heuvel, Robin Eder, Nathan Robertson, Donna Reichl, Steve Jensen, Barb Wright, Lorrie Kelly and Roger Shaunce

• Friday, July 1st: Keralyn (Paulsen) Powers, Eugene Hagen, Mary Edwardson, Linda O'Neil, Joanna Ruth Vermedahl, Maureen Wayne, Jill Hanson, Chris Ihrke, Jason Churchill, Marjorie Otterson, Deb Schimek, Rachel (Eaker) Lee, Gary Carlson, Tristan Bangert, Robert Christensen, Roger & Joyce Wayne, Heather (Krause) & Dion Quiram and Frank & Marilyn Cuden

With each passing year, grow stronger, grow wiser, and grow richer in spirit. May the year be filled with new discoveries.

This past Memorial Day weekend, I headed north with my wife, Jean and two oldest grandsons, Trevor and Taylor. Whenever I go north with them I already consider it a great trip. With the weather outlook spotty at best, we ventured north and arrived at the cabin late at night. It rained pretty much the whole way up and to say it was a miserable drive would be an understatement. Once there, we unpacked in pretty much record time and turned in.

The next morning, the rain had stopped and we decided to head to one of our favorite nearby lakes to do a little fishing. The day was windy and partly cloudy, but the rain held off for most of the day. Trevor manned his favorite seat in the front of the boat as we trolled the shoreline in search of pretty much any fish that we could entice into biting. Trevor likes casting to the shore or edge of the weedline, when we slowly back troll, the type of fishing I prefer about 85% of the time. Over the years, I have done a lot of fishing and have found that most of the fish I catch early on are with live bait. We opted for a scoop of fatheads rather than taking out a loan for a dozen shiners.

The thriftiness of their grandpa was one reason for the bait of choice. I have to say that I’ve always had luck with fatheads when using them to tip a jig or a spinnerbait. My favorite way to fish them is to use a Beetle Spin tipped with a fathead and trolled slowly. 

It may be an old fisherman’s way of fishing, but it still is pretty effective today. On this day however, it seems that the fish were more interested in artificial lures like Rapalas or Trevor’s Clown colored Husky Jerk.

Last year, the pike were not as aggressive as this year and we caught some nice northern, a couple of crappie and lots of nice bass. Trevor and I seemed to have the market cornered on northern, with me running a distant second in the catching department. Taylor boated some nice bass. That day we caught quite a few northern, but kept only three between 25 and 27 inches because Grandma said she wanted us to catch enough fish for a meal.

I sometimes think that Trevor is destined to be one of those guys riding around in a fancy bass boat winning big time tournament bucks. He never ceases to amaze me with his fish catching prowess, and if they aren’t biting, he is constantly looking for that right combination that will put fish in the boat.

By the time we were ready to leave the lake and head back to the cabin, the wind had started to pick up even more and the clouds were once again rolling in. Once back to the cabin, I showed the boys how to take the “Y” bones out of a northern. Trevor tried his luck on the smallest of the three and did pretty well for a first-timer. 

Although Taylor seemed to show interest, I could tell that it would be a few years before he would want to tackle it. Just as we finished cleaning the fish, it started raining and we headed inside the cabin.

One good thing about an afternoon rain is that it can give a guy the chance to catch a little nap. It rained off and on all afternoon, and we all benefited from that with a nap. Once the rain subsided, the boys were ready to fish our lake and they headed down the hill. 

Grandma prepared the fish for supper. They weren’t gone all that long before Taylor came running up the hill and said “grandpa I just caught a 13-inch crappie and that means I hold the family record for this lake.” He had a good reason to be excited because that was indeed a dandy crappie.

The boys went on to catch a lot of crappie in the two days that followed and on the last night they got a little selective. We decided that they should keep enough fish for a nice meal for their family to have when they get home. Trevor had caught two bluegills that were pushing a pound and they kept 8 crappies that were over 11 inches.

Now I have to say that the meal of fish we had on Saturday night was awesome! I know some will argue that we were “only” eating northern and not the king of freshwater fish - the walleye but I don’t think that there is a fish swimming that would have tasted any better than those pike. Out of the lake and into the pan – it just doesn’t get any better!

One of the perks of having those two boys go north with us is that they are willing to help with any chores that need to be done. After each of their Grandma’s fine meals, they always thank her for the good meal. They know what side their bread is buttered on!

When we bought our little place up north, the realtor told us that there were no fish in the lake. We were okay with that because it is a great location, plus there are so many other lakes close by that hold plenty of fish. For a lake with no fish, we’ve gotten quite a few meals out of it and there looks to be abundance for years to come.

What sold us on this little piece of God’s Country were the wildlife and the peaceful beauty of the landscape. The boys like to hunt as well as fish, and there are plenty of ducks on the lake in the fall. The woods have a pretty good grouse population and our six acres border public land. The cabin is rustic; in a way, it’s almost like going back in time. We have no running water, no electricity and we built the small A-frame cabin ourselves on the land that we’d cleared. That feeling of satisfaction is priceless.

I guess in some ways it makes a person feel like a pioneer. There are times I wonder what it would have been like living in that part of the country years ago. I imagine going up there and not doing a thing but enjoy the wildlife and the peaceful beauty of the outdoors world.

Until next time; enjoy a picnic in one of our parks, do a little fish’n and enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors!

Remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can keep enjoying the freedoms that we have today.

I realize by the time you read this, Father’s Day will be past. However, this week I felt the Twins could easily play without my accurate or inaccurate observations.

Many columnists devote their column to Father’s Day and I thought why not do the same for the fathers out there, and since this is a sports column it is likely there are more fathers than mothers reading it.

I have throughly enjoyed being a father and a son and who knows, perhaps this column may someday find its way to a great grandchild who may relate to my time in the 20th Century.

My father grew up in Southeastern Minnesota on a small farm near Racine and as a little boy went fishing. I suppose for trout, but I imagine for anything he could catch. And perhaps his father did also.

In any case, fishing was important to my dad. I went fishing with him and mom when little before we moved to Ohio during WW II. I remember my father complaining that there were no decent lakes in Ohio. We moved back to Minnesota after the war and made up for the lack of fishing with a vengeance. Every summer, my dad would get a week’s vacation; we’d pack up, tune our ‘38 Chevy, take our dog Sandy, (no kennel for her), and head "Up North."

The first years were spent on Lake Koronis near Paynesville. For my father there was only one way to fish: trolling with a Prescott Spinner and minnow. It worked, we caught fish, a four-pound walleye for me one year. My dad never caught many fish; he was too busy running the motor, trolling, baiting our hooks and making sure my mother and I had a good time.

The next years were spent at Lake Ida near Alexandria where northerns were abundant and a little boy was really impressed when he caught a northern pike.

The fishing trips were the high point of the year for me and I think maybe for my dad. It began a tradition, for when we had twin sons I was bound and determined that we would go fishing. My Kay wasn’t so sure for we were a young family and didn’t have much money. But I was determined and every year I would save our small tax refund and with a little other money make our way "Up North" to Spooner, Wisconsin.

The first year our boys were young and hadn’t started school. We put on life jackets and went fishing. I remember those days with affection and in my mind’s eye see them as pleasant sunny days with no wind and my boys watching me skip stones on the lake. "Frow stones, Daddy, frow stones."

Each year I would buy the boys Zebco 202 reels. One year we bought very light bamboo fishing rods. Once a little bigger than normal bluegill snapped the fragile rod and we chased the rod and fish all over the lake with our boat until we caught it.

Occasionally there would be a county fair and we’d take the evening off and go to the fair. The rides were fun and thrilling enough that you didn’t go until you had given it a little bit of thought. We had a good time at Spooner each year for twelve years.

One of our sons has continued the fishing tradition and I’m sure he and his sons have built good memories. I know they have. I’ve seen the pictures. My hope is that we can all go fishing one more time. But if we don’t, my wife and I are satisfied and have wonderful memories.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

“How do you like the pie?”

“Filling.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I mean that I just lost one in the pie.”

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: I’m happy when an antsy driver zooms past me. I’d rather he be ahead of me than behind me.

Things I’ve learned

1. Boarding an airplane makes a person need to go to the bathroom.

2. Into each life a little rain must fall. Especially if the roof leaks.

3. Wife isn’t fair.

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

I came into the house as a boy who loved exploring the world by getting as much of the world on me as possible. I’d been investigating one of the sloughs that dotted our farm and it was impossible to do that without becoming covered in mud.

Mother had guests as I tramped into the kitchen. I looked like a wild boy raised by crawdads. Apparently, a guest raised an eyebrow because my mother said loud enough for all to hear, “Dirt doesn’t hurt.”

It’s on my resume

I was a college student during the day and worked at a gas station nights. It was a full-service enterprise. I pumped the fuel of choice for happy motorists. I checked the air in the tires, measured the engine’s oil level, inspected the radiator, gave directions, told jokes, and washed the windshield and the windows. That’s how I got the job. The fellow before me was fired because he wouldn’t do windows.

Café chronicles

It was nearly noon when I walked into the restaurant. Once seated, I became all too aware of the fact that I was the only customer in the establishment. Did everyone else know something I didn’t know? Maybe the cook went out for lunch. A waitress took my order. Time passed and the waitress returned with a plate and asked me, “Are you the turkey?”

I didn’t know how to answer that question. Everyone else knew what I did not, so I qualified as a turkey, but I didn’t order turkey. I had ordered a beef commercial.

I waited alone for my beef commercial.

Destructive forces at work

I stepped on an anthill the other day. I didn’t mean to. There were so many of them that it was hard not to step on one. I felt guilty about it. They are such industrious creatures, poring over blueprints before laboring long and hard in building a home. Then along I come and step on it. I could almost hear tiny ant voices saying, “Oh, man!” I suspect that once an anthill is completed, the ants begin worrying about the Big Foot in the sky.

The Underdeck Zoo

My wife and I have a deck on our home. For those who live in the country, a deck is a word meaning “zoo.” One day, there was a chipmunk, groundhog, skunk and raccoon under the deck. True, the raccoon was dead, but it still made its presence known. The star of the show was the chipmunk. It scurried up the downspout of an eaves trough in order to escape humans. There it could have hidden unnoticed by human eye. Except that once inside the spout, it chipped loudly. A chip amplified by the downspout.

Nature notes

The boy told me that hotdogs were growing in a marsh. Cattails grow in wetlands. The spikes resemble hotdogs, but each one is thousands of tiny flowers. Native American tribes used them for bedding, pillows, bandages, and diapers. Modern Americans have used them for insulation, lifejackets, and soundproofing. The leaves of cattails are used to weave baskets, mats, and chair seats. Cattail marshes provide nesting habitat for rails, bitterns, coots, wrens, sparrows, and blackbirds. Muskrats feed on and use cattails to construct their houses that Canada geese often use as nest sites. Cattail marshes act as natural water filters.

From the mailbag

Alan Walter of Carrollton, OH writes, “While widening an entrance to an abandoned field at my farm, I got into old woven and barbed wire that was installed in the 1960s. It was smashed to the ground and rusty but still too strong to break by hand without considerable effort and multiple back-and-forth bending cycles on each strand. Why is it that things that you'd like to rust away won't and things that you don't want to (like your truck) do?”

Meeting adjourned

Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.” Be kind.

The beach, with lifeguards on duty daily from 1 to 6 p.m., opened Saturday, June 11th. Everything was ready for the season opening except one thing. The weatherman had used all his warm days earlier; thus, a cool opening!

Don Ingram, the summertime resident Assistant Postmaster at Beaver Lake, is celebrating his 90th Birthday. There will be an open house from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hormel Nature Center in Austin with lunch being served. No gifts please (I think postal regulations ban the legality of gifts). If you so desire, a card would be great (if you’re unable to attend, mail the card to Don at 525 2nd Street SW, Pine Island, MN 55963). This great event is Saturday, July 9th. Can 90 candles fit on a cake? Attend and you will find out.

During my early morning walks, the wild turkeys hold gobbling practice at the east end of the parking lot at Beaver Lake. If you’re in the car and you hear turkeys gobbling, honk your horn and watch the turkeys put on a display.

Just east of the volleyball court in the park at Beaver Lake, a purple figure is hung in a tree. I think it’s a Viking football player that has been hung in effigy. Do you suppose this has something to do with the Vikings being invited to leave Minnesota if a new stadium is built as bait by the inviting group?

Water, water everywhere. Almost three inches of rain at Beaver Lake Wendnesday, June 15th. Fishing was very good the evening before. I caught 14 nice sunnies off the dock.

Genie was at a long weekend ladies retreat in Jasper, Arkansas. I’m supposed to mow the lawn while she is gone. She comes home and the lawn is really long. I tell her it was either too warm or too cold or too wet or too windy to mow. She “politely” tells me the real problem was I’m too lazy. (The lawn has now been mowed – by me!)

How bad are the cracks in the road on Highway 30 from Ellendale to New Richland? They are so bad that there was a major traffic jam in front of the Alan Dobberstein farm on Highway 30 last Thursday morning. I was on my way to New Richland when I saw all kinds of flashing lights ahead. I parked and walked up to the lights, where I saw Andy Mucha, John Schultz and Barb Dobberstein directing traffic. I looked closer and saw a “cooper” car hung up with the car dangling in a crack in the road. Barb told me that son Luke was on his way with a backhoe to lift the Cooper out. I talked to the driver and he told me he was from Blarney, Ireland and touring the US (the last few days he has visited his Irish cousin, Patrick Ahern, a summer resident on Beaver Lake). 

He suggested the U.S. initiate a user tax to better maintain our roads. His idea was that citizens pay the user tax every time you put fuel in the gas tank. With a very thick Irish accent, he thanked Luke and proceeded onto Highway 13 via the Township gravel road to see the windmills by Hartland.

What do you think? Does a user tax on gas to maintain our roads sound feasible?

— — —

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 36th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God. 

The scurs took a chance that it wasn’t going to rain last Wednesday and lost. Will they have better luck this week? Starting Wednesday, cloudy with a good chance of showers. Highs near 65 and lows around 55. Partly cloudy on Thursday with a chance of a shower. Highs once again 65 with lows of 55. Partly cloudy and slightly warmer Friday with a slight chance of rain. Highs around 70 and lows of 55. Warmer again on Saturday with a moderate chance of evening showers. Partly cloudy with highs of 75 and lows of 60. Partly cloudy Sunday with an increasing chance of showers. Highs 75 – 80 and lows of 60. Partly sunny Monday and Tuesday with slight chances of showers and thunderstorms both days. Highs of 80 and lows around 60. The normal high for June 25th is 82 and the normal low is 58. The sun will rise on June 25th at 5:33 a.m. a minute later than it did on the summer solstice and on June 27th we will experience 15 hours and 27 minutes of daylight, one minute less than we did on the summer solstice. Hint: The days will be getting shorter already. That can be good news or bad news depending on your point of view. The scurs aren’t fretting about laying in their firewood supply just yet. Lots of time.

Crops made tremendous progress this past week despite the heavy rains of the 15th and 16th. Some corn has reached 8 collars and is about knee high on everyone with the exception of vertically challenged individuals. It may have been knee high 2 weeks ago in some cases. Most soybeans had 3 fully expanded trifoliates with some of the very earliest planted fields in the area showing a 4th and in some cases 5th trifoliate. Spring wheat has headed out and some have made their last pass with a fungicide. Peas have shown good color to this point although with some of the excess moisture received and forecast to come, that tune may change before too long. All in all to this point, we have been very fortunate compared to some.

The garden is getting closer to planted. There are some flower transplants for the hummingbirds to go in yet and some of the plants like the morning glory and bachelor’s buttons reseeded themselves. At some point one just gives up though. There were a few gourds that probably won’t get stuck in the ground. Given the number of gourds that get tossed over the fence after the fall decorating season, that’s probably not a bad thing. The muskmelons are flowering so hopefully we get enough heat to actually produce the number we’re capable of. The onions and sweet corn that were planted last week are wasting no time getting going. The string beans, tomatoes and peppers are in the ground and so are the zucchini. There weren’t enough transplants to be had so we had to resort to direct seeding, running the risk of hills being dug up by the striped gophers living in the yard. After laying down withering fire, one of the culprits was mortally wounded and hasn’t been seen since. There are hills in a couple different locations as well so the odds of them finding all of them are in our favor. 

The gray catbird has decided that this grape jelly thing is a pretty good gig. “It” (the sexes are tough to tell apart) has been frequenting the feeder more often than the orioles as of late. Spotted a male and female bluebird at the kindly neighbors pasture on Monday while admiring the annihilation of the musk thistle population there. The royal blue of the male contrasted against the dark green backdrop of bur oak leaves in the evening sun was almost stunning.

Not so surprisingly, mosquitoes have sprung to life with all the rain. Spraying the pasture fence was done in record time. When the project was started the wind was working to my favor. Once down behind the windbreak however, I was at their mercy and they showed none. It was walk all the way back to the house and douse myself with repellent or tough it out. I chose the latter and lived to regret it. Every step through the long grass sent forth wave after wave of the pesky little bloodsuckers. Luckily as fast as I was moving there were few welts and very little itching resulted. Tough old hide I guess.

Ruby went along on the excursion and proceeded to find something dead in the pasture to roll in. I paid little attention to here rolling as escaping with my life was my primary focus. It wasn’t noticeable until we got back in the house and there was this awful dead animal stench emanating from someplace nearby. Ruby of course wagged her tail once I determined the source of the problem. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn’t impressed when bedtime came as the kennel door closed behind her. 

With Mrs. Cheviot on the road for a week, I’ve been left to my own devices. Translation: I have to do it all. It does however mean I can shoot gophers out the window without worrying about repercussions, although Ruby hides behind the couch when this happens. Was placed in charge of making sure things all came back home after the 150th anniversary celebration of the Le Sueur River Lutheran church, which in turn was also very important to the little fat buddies. There was the better part of a pan of bars that made the training table. A faithful reader from Oregon introduced himself at the celebration and was wondering who these little fat buddies were. Well, there’s Otisco’s noted Swedish astronomer, PH’s husband, a German who the Norwegians have so far unsuccessfully tried to convert, a tractor salesman (a.k.a. “Mr. Haney”), a real live fertilizer salesman, a full-blooded Swede, Betsy’s dad, a guy who farms from the Mall for Men and other occasional mystery guests. That should pretty well narrow it down I reckon.

See you next week…real good then.