Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

It’s a sticky situation, but fortunately, when I was a teenager, my father told me exactly what to do in such a case.

What was it?

I don’t know. I wasn't listening.

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: It would be a noisy fall if leaves could scream. If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done. The weather has worsened since we started having weather events. It makes the weather feel as if it needs to perform.

The cafe chronicles

I ate with guys who had become their father years ago and were working on becoming their grandfathers. They are fellows who believe that salad is what food eats.

I had some gravy misgivings and strawberry shortcomings, but the napkins were fresh. 

"What has four legs and flies?" asked one of the loafers. And before we had a chance to reply, he said, "One of the tables here."

Another curmudgeon added, "If this is rice pudding, it's delicious. But if it's mashed potatoes, it's the worst I’ve ever eaten."

He claimed that he wasn’t fat. He was just easy to see.

If you are a grandparent, you realize what "new and improved" really means. We agreed that it was our duty to teach the grandchildren about Halloween. The secret is to eat all the candy that your parents like the best before you get home.

Fishing with father

I spoke at a gathering in the Outer Banks, barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. Those in attendance were beyond nice. I quickly concluded that if you laid all the fishermen in the world end-to-end, they’d be in North Carolina. Fishermen were as common as air. 

I’m not much of a fisherman, but I recall fondly going fishing with my father. Before we got busy with spring fieldwork, we'd head to Morristown. There we’d sit on a dam and freeze our rear ends off in order to catch some bullheads. Cleaning bullheads fell somewhere between yucky and dangerous. Then we’d eat the fish. 

I haven’t eaten many bullheads since those days. I know that the attraction wasn’t catching or eating. It was fishing with Dad.

Laundry lessons 

When I got married, I had some concerns. I worried whether we’d be able to live on her income. 

A friend named John Sill of North Carolina does all the laundry in his house. I asked his wife, Cathy, if it was difficult to train him. I was kidding, but Cathy told me that the secret was to make sure that she always had more underwear than he did. That way, he always runs out first.

He wasn’t all hat

I was on an observation deck at Bodie Lake in North Carolina. I was using binoculars and a camera to look at birds on the lake. A man stood silently next to me. A sudden gust of wind took his hat and deposited it somewhere where he wouldn’t be able to get it back.

"I hope it wasn't your lucky hat," I said. 

The man looked at me, smiled sadly and said, "Apparently it was my unlucky hat," and walked away.

Driving yourself crazy

It was a one-lane bridge. That was fine. Unfortunately, there was no indication as to which lane the one-lane bridge was on.

A friend of mine has the bad habit of driving down the middle of rural roads. He does that in case a deer pops out from the roadside.

Driving is a hoot and a hiss. I’d spoken at a nursing home. The activities director there told me that a musician had showed up recently. He’d driven a long distance to get there. The director was happy to see him. He set up all his equipment. It took a long time for the employees of the home to bring in the crowd from the rooms. He played. They were a very appreciative audience. They thanked him profusely. They told him that it was a great surprise, him showing up. It turned out to be a surprise for him, too. He had gone to the wrong nursing home.

Nature notes

"If I feed just one thing to the wild birds, what should it be?" Black oil sunflower seeds. They attract the most birds of the kind that we want for neighbors.

Meeting adjourned

Why be anything but kind?

We’ve certainly seen the farming community hard at work in recent weeks, as my drive down Highway 30 often brings a different view from morning to afternoon, seeing fields harvested and plowed. The weather has been outstanding, probably the best it’s been in a number of years, which brings smiles to faces of many locals.

Farming is a tough job. There are so many things in life that we take for granted, thanks to farmers. I was fortunate growing up (though it didn’t always seem so at the time) to be on a nine-acre hobby farm and get a taste of what it was like to list farmer as an occupation. While this wasn’t something we did to make a living, there were still some amazing lessons I learned over those formative years at home with my parents.

Work is hard. It really is! Loading up the manure spreader is more than just dealing with the smell. That task exhausts you physically. Hauling five-gallon buckets of water from the spigot on the outside of the house down to the sheep inside the barn was not easy. Since I wanted to make as few trips as possible, I would often attempt taking 4-6 of them at a time.

Some people try to avoid some of that hard physical labor as much as possible today. I admit to that occasionally, and I don’t have anything nearly as tough as those things I did growing up. Still, the sooner we get to that disliked chore, the sooner it is done. The negative anticipation of a disliked job only makes it worse when the time comes.

You can overcome obstacles to get the job done. I had pretty bad hay fever growing up. So you can imagine my pure, unadulterated joy when it came time to bale hay! I was miserable, often resorting to farmer blows off the hayrack because tissues seemed like a waste of time. Yet there I was taking the hay off the baler and stacking it neatly on the rack. And later on I could be found up in the hayloft, stacking those bales a second time.

I hated it, but I realized that something like my sneezing and headache could be put aside to finish the task at hand. Too often in our current time, I see kids give up when the going gets tough. That is not an option with farm living. The job must get done, period. As I often tell students, excuses are like belly buttons – they won’t do you much good anymore.

New life is precious. During lambing season, things could get hectic. We’d hope that the ewes would spread out their lambing times so we didn’t have to try to cram so many into individual pens in the barn. For most of the sheep, human help was not needed. But every now and then there would be one who needed some extra care to get through the birthing process.

I came home from school one day and went to check on a prospective mother, only to find her struggling through delivery. I was there every step of the way as she delivered one…two…three…four lambs! They were tiny and having difficulty breathing. I wiped the noses as they came out and attempted to get them to suckle right away. The mother took to the first couple easily but ignored the other two. I worked with them, trying to switch them in when the other two had had a good start, to no avail. After bringing those two in the house to warm them up and try to bottle feed, only one stayed alive. That was devastating.

I may have thought these beasts were as dumb as a bag of hair, but watching the miracle of birth and also seeing the death of some was valuable. It provided an ability to sympathize and empathize. It gave a perspective on life that is hard to find while living in town. The hardest thing became selling the sheep I had worked with for the fair. Still, that’s part of the circle of life of many animals on the farm.

Farmers don’t have set office hours. If we knew a ewe was going into labor, we couldn’t just tell her to wait until morning. There were nights that Dad especially was down in the barn at all hours. With today’s tractors and other equipment, it’s not unusual to see farmers in the fields well after sundown. If we needed to finish off baling that field because of impending rain, we’d do it by squinting into the dusk if need be.

So many of us go to our jobs at the same time every morning and return home at the same time every evening. As my years in education have gone on, I’ve found more and more that my job isn’t done when I leave school. Like many teachers, I bring work home to correct. I check my email at night in case someone has a question. Many of us take phone calls at home from frantic parents or students. Those days of interrupting what I was doing to take care of a task in the field or the barn were valuable as I reached adulthood, as were the other lessons I learned by living in the country!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is uberous, which means abundant or fruitful, as in, “The farmers were pleased with their uberous fields as the harvest season came to an end.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The Acme fan the scurs ordered for the Weather Eye is proving to be more than they bargained for. Will it continue to mean windy conditions or will a new control switch solve the problem? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of  showers, possibly turning to snow before morning. Highs in the upper 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Thursday, mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 40’s and lows in the low 30’s. Partly sunny Friday with an increasing chance of showers. Highs in the upper 40’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Saturday, partly sunny with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Sunny on Sunday with a slight chance of an evening shower. Highs in the upper 50’s with lows in the mid 40’s. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the low 40’s. The normal high for November 1st is 51 and the normal low is 31. The scurs will be hosting as many trick or treaters as the candy budget will support. After that they’re on their own.

It’s that weekend we’ve waited all summer for: The end of Daylight Wasting Time! Time to set our clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. on November 1st. Nationwide, many people will once again wind up in the emergency room because they fell off a chair while changing their clocks back. Light in the morning and dark by 5 in the afternoon. Personally, I won’t be around. I’ll be in Canada where they also witness this nonsensical changing of the clocks thing. And guess what? I will still sleep another hour in protest!

There is still some corn left to be harvested in pockets, although those pockets are shrinking every day. Moistures did pick up slightly with last Friday’s rains so Monday’s breezes were welcome from that standpoint. The rain was also welcome as the dry conditions were putting us at greater risk for fires. Miraculously, very few incidents have occurred locally, although other areas have not been as fortunate. The rainfall also settled the dust on the gravel roads, something that was making them hazardous to travel, especially when meeting or following large trucks. Having recovered from the writer’s cramp after recording the summer rainfall, I managed to pencil in .3” and in town about .25”. It was the first measurable precip since September 24th. In the fields fall anhydrous ammonia applications are starting. The calendar and soil temperatures are all pointing in the right direction so it should be an acceptable time to begin.

Apple harvest at the ranch has concluded. Mrs. Cheviot got the apples the birds hadn’t pecked off the trees so it was up to Mr. Cheviot to finish the honors. Lucky for me the skid loader was handy as I used the scoop shovel on the last of the apples and proceeded to dump them over the fence to the sheep. Not exactly like they really need anything more to eat, although they never argue when extra vegetative material is tossed their way. The last of the tomatoes were a pleasant culinary find. Not always the case. They have been amongst the best flavored of the season, although they don’t keep for long. Finding that to be the case with some of the gourds and squash as well. The warm temperatures we keep getting seem to be having a negative effect in that department.

The summer bird watching and feeding has segued into the fall/winter segment. Bluebirds continue to filter through, looking over the nesting boxes perhaps for future reference. The hummingbird feeder was taken down and cleaned for the last time and the last of the suet feeders was hung in its place. The nuthatches, the downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers have all been busy on those feeders. They also seem to be annoyed by the house sparrows who try to horn in on the sunflower feeder, shooing them away when they want their turn. There are also five huge blue jays who were some of the likely culprits in destroying a portion of the apple crop. There are still more than we’ll ever eat though so they get a pass.

Saturday we mad another leaf-watching trip in the Stude, only to get to the other side of Lansing and discover that the ammeter was indicating it wasn’t charging the battery. Luckily, it had been working up until that point so we continued on our abridged journey. There were still areas of color as we went east, particularly in the small bergs and villages along the way. Lots of huge corn piles too at the local elevators where there was no room in the bins. As we came in our driveway at home we were greeted by the pin oak and red oak that were reaching their peak color. Probably could’ve just sat in the car, stared at those two trees and stayed home. 

Sunday was relatively calm so it was a decent day to get the screenings cleaned up at the kindly neighbors’. After making the annual pilgrimage there for many moons I’ve long since forgotten how many years it is. It went smoothly and the small ewe flock there was happy to see the screenings suddenly appear in their feeders. There again, they don’t need extra feed either. They’ve picked up the few acorns that fell in their pasture and the grass grew exceptionally well with all the rainfall. Still, it’s nice to get them started on some feed and screenings work well in that department. And the price is certainly right, not to mention the exercise I desperately need this time of year. I have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in my sights.

See you next week…real good then.

Memorial services for Milferd Clarence Johannsen, age 88, of New Richland will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home. Rev. Kent Otterman will officiate. Interment will be at the Hartland Cemetery. Military honors will be accorded by local servicemen’s organizations, VFW and American Legion. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com 

Milferd died Thursday, October 29, 2015 at the New Richalnd Care Center after a year long battle with colon cancer.

Funeral services for LaVonne A. Rugroden, age 87, of Albert Lea, will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, November 2, 2015 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. The Rev. James Kassera will officiate. Interment will be in Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

LaVonne died on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at her home in Albert Lea.

Matthew C. Schlaak, age 31, of rural Sauk Centre, died unexpectedly Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at the CentraCare Health Hospital in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. 

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 1, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grove Lake. Rev. Philip Beyersdorf will be officiating.  Interment will be in Grove Lake Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday at the church.

A Celebration of Life Service for Harold “Hugo” Seberson, age 78 of Windom was held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24 at the American Lutheran Church in Windom with Pastor Tim Wrenn officiating. Burial will be at a later date in Hartland, MN.

Visitation was Saturday, October 24 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the American Lutheran Church in Windom.

Harold “Hugo” Seberson passed away on Tuesday, October 20, at the Windom Area Hospital.

Arrangements are under the care of LaCanne Family Funeral Service in Windom.

Condolences can be sent to www.lacannefuneralhome.com.

F.R.O.G. of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church Presents Christmas by the Lake in Clear Lake, Iowa Saturday, Dec. 5 from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets are $26 per person (paid in advance, no refunds). 

Activities include:

3 p.m. – Coach bus leaves from in front of Pizza Ranch in Albert Lea. Destination: Clear Lake.

3:45 p.m. – Tour Christmas activities on Main Street

5 p.m. – Watch the lighted Christmas parade

6 p.m. – View the fireworks on the lake

7:30 p.m. – Pizza Ranch buffet in Albert Lea ($10/person for Pizza Ranch if not on bus)

Reservations needed! Please contact Bob or Genie Hanson at 373-8655 or Wayne or Bev Indrelie at 826-3267

Drawings for gifts. Bring a friend and dress warmly! The parade and fireworks may be viewed from the bus if you wish; $5 cash back per person if the bus if full! Coupons for all.

For the third week in a row, the shooters of the NRHEG clay target team outscored all other squads and thus extended their lead in Conference 9 of the Fall Target League.

The team had eight athletes in the top 10 scorers of the week, led by Collin Christiansen with a score of 48/50.

"Collin had been struggling a bit this season," noted coach Dan Sorum. "So, it was nice to see him get back into the groove and post a great score."

I’ve probably told this story a dozen times about Halloween, but here I go again.

Tricks were tricky back in those golden years. My Grandpa Hanson was on the county school board for Districts 133 and 96, back in those early school days. Come morning one day, there on top of the one room school house sat a full size farm wagon.

Grandpa wondered, “How in the world did the farm wagon get up on top of the school house?” And of course his next thought was, “How in the world was he going to get the farm wagon off the school house?” The school house wasn’t very big, but it was tall.

Grandpa’s hired man showed up not too long after he discovered the wagon, so he enlisted him to take down the masterpiece.

Come to find out the hired man knew how to do it because he was the one who went to all the work of assembling the wagon there in the first place.

I have mixed feelings about Halloween. I guess it’s all in how you look at things. It is best to look at the happiness it gives to the children who look past the negativity of it and only see fun. The chance to dress up and pretend to be someone else for just a little while is exciting for them.

I would rather see something more beneficial than giving out candy treats, but to the kids that is part of the fun. Parents have learned, or developed, ways to portion the candy out, as well as suggest that they share it with others.

And we can’t forget a few years back, I believe in 1991, when we all got treat for Halloween, the snow storm!

My Grandmother Hanson had come to live with my mother and dad shortly before that time at St. Olaf Lake. The storm was so bad it knocked out the electrical power just about everywhere in our area. While they congregated in one room, my mom and dad more or less moaned about the inconvenience. Not Grandma. She looked at it like it was a party or family gathering. She thought of the experience as camping out.

The electricity was out for several days but my dad had a small generator he used sparingly to help keep them warm.

My husband, Daryl’s, parents were not so lucky. They were without electricity for about two weeks. Troopers, they made it an adventure reminiscent of the times before we had electricity. Jack and Vernetta figured out how they could cook and stay warm just like in the olden days.

What special memories do you think of at Halloween? Most of the adults in our area enjoy and furnish entertaining tricks on their friends in Geneva. They try to make it safe and convenient for the children.

Most people don’t bother to decorate their homes outside for a one-night celebration, but there are a few people who come to mind. Norris and Luella Thompson from Ellendale were outstanding in their celebration for kids and adults alike. My mother can remember when they made a punch that smoked (using dry ice). She also remembers how they used grapes for eyes, as well as other scary things.

And we can’t forget Dan Nelson, also of Ellendale. Dan draws a hige crowd for Halloween each year. People old and young alike like to see his decorations, as well as his costumes each year. What would the people of our area do without a personality plus character like Dan?

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, October 22nd: Scott Sorenson, Jennifer Pence, Lyle Swearingen, Brian Johnson, Kelsey Wayne, Dave DeVrient, David Polzin, Coleen Thompson, Sage Tristan  Lang, Clifford Coy, Diane Gallentine Pfieffer, Kailey Ann Christensen

• Friday, October 23rd: Jacklynn Kress, Marian Dahl, Gene Grubbish, Kimberly Kilian, Grant Ver Hey, Stewart Hatch, Rick & Lana Thompson, Dan & Tina Schmidt, Gary & Deb Nelson

• Saturday, October 24th: Noelle Mae Brekke, her 5th; Jacob Keith Rigby, his 6th; Jeff Dobbertstein, Bobby Dobberstein, Joseph Bailey, Dan Willert, Bob Wayne, Ashley Ashton, Gil & Kay Nelson, Lorna & Russell Reistad

• Sunday, October 25th: Mavis Bartsch, Jady Beenken, Dean Van Hal, Charlotte Haberman, Heidi Crabtree Owen, Mikaela Krikava, Spencer & Barb Kubat, Dean & Sandy Jensen, Breanna & Timothy Breidenbach, Heidi & Jason Owen

• Monday, October 26th: Nadine Strenge, Jannell Tufte, Jeanne Holland, Heather Hove, Reece Gabriel Routh, Jake Andrew Wiersma, Kevin Hamor, Conner Dean Rhode, Jeremie Roberts, Jamie & Andrea Mettler

• Tuesday, October 27th: Jason Born, David Anderson, Bruce Yanke, James Bremer Jr., Mitchell & Amy Edwards, Donly & Joanne Cromwell

• Wednesday, October 28th: David Thompson, Jan Sorenson, Lisa Mortz Morin, Rick Horan, Randy Horan, Todd Brotizman, Rich Weckwerth, Sue Westrum, Tanner Jorge Wilson, Lyle & Darlyne Paulson, Jane & Jeff Allen, Amanda & Paul Rovnak

Hoping that your special day puts a song in your heart to last the whole year long!