The weather has settled into a more seasonal pattern with the cool-down we have now. Being a fan of more traditional fall weather, I found the record breaking temperatures we had this past Sunday a little hard to take. The weather now is what I consider ideal fall weather with the cool crisp sunny days and a teasing of frost in the overnight hours.

I enjoy looking back over the past few years and thinking about the times that my son Brian and I spent at the cabin in October. There were days when the temperatures never got out of the 30s and there were a few 60-degree days, but no matter the weather they were always enjoyable. I will be heading north to the cabin for one more time this season with my wife Jean, son Brad and his girls Emma and Ava. Jean and I are looking forward to spending time at the cabin with Brad and our granddaughters. I am sure I will share the experience in a future column.

The one thing that always stands out in my mind about fall is the heat of the sun. It can be 45 degrees, but if the sun is out it may seem 20 degrees warmer. I almost start to shiver just thinking about the times I’ve been on a lake in late fall with the sun beating down when a cloud suddenly appears, seemingly out of nowhere and covers the sun, bringing on an almost instant chill. Looking at the other side of the spectrum; when the sun comes out on a cool cloudy day it almost seems like a gift from the heavens.

Fishing in the late fall can be feast or famine and much of your fishing success depends on finding the baitfish. I did hear a good tip about fall fishing that seems to make good sense; when you see seagulls congregating in one area of a body of water, you will find the baitfish. The gamefish follow the baitfish, especially this time of year when they are bulking up for winter. I can’t think of a much more enjoyable experience than spending time on the lake fishing on a cool, crisp, sunny fall day.  

With the waterfowl season going full tilt the DNR is reminding hunters of the dangers of hunting from a boat.

Late season waterfowl hunters are reminded that with water temperatures rapidly dropping across the state, wearing a life jacket is the best defense against the dangers posed by cold water, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said.

In Minnesota, one-third of all boating fatalities occur during the cold water season, when water temperatures are below 70 degrees. Cold water shock can cause even the strongest swimmers to drown in a matter of seconds if they fall in while not wearing a life jacket.

“If you ask the average duck hunter for safety advice, they will most likely recite firearm safety rules,” said Debbie Munson Badini, Minnesota DNR boat and water safety education coordinator. “But year after year, more waterfowl hunters die from drowning, cold water shock and hypothermia than from firearm accidents.

“The importance of water safety and life jacket use needs to be impressed upon waterfowlers in the same manner as the tenets of firearm safety,” Munson Badini said. “Duck hunters are boaters, too, and they are often boating on dangerously cold water.”

Since 2010, five Minnesotans have died in duck hunting-related boating accidents, including two minors. Last year, two drownings occurred; neither victim was wearing a life jacket.

Common causes of these fatal accidents included falling overboard, capsizing, or swamping due to overloading of passengers and/or gear, but in nearly all cases the accident would not have been deadly if the victim had worn a life jacket.

“The message is clear: Cold water kills, and life jackets save lives,” Munson Badini said. “Waterfowl hunters can hit two birds with one shot by simply wearing their life jackets.”

At the very least, all boats must carry one U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each passenger, and boats longer than 16 feet must also have a throwable flotation device immediately available. Children under 10 must wear a life jacket. Other water safety tips for duck hunters include:

Don’t overload the boat; take two trips if necessary. If wearing hip boots or waders, learn how to float with them on. Stay near shore and avoid crossing large expanses of open water, especially in bad weather. Share trip plans with someone and advise them to call for help if traveling party does not return on schedule. Use a headlamp, spotlight or navigation lights to alert other boaters to your presence in dark and/or foggy conditions.

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Speaking of safety; this past Sunday we had some of the steadiest strong winds that I can remember in recent years. On this day a person west of town was seen burning a brush pile when the winds were gusting to 40 at times. He may or may not have had a permit, but as dry as the fields are right now a little common sense would have been useful.

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Until next time, it’s a great time to be outside enjoying the fall days and enjoying our great Minnesota outdoors.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

Take a look at these lovely stamps I got at the post office.

Nice. I wonder what you have to do to get your picture on a stamp?

You need to have a really tiny head.

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: If you don't know where you're going, every road will get you there. It's too bad junk food doesn't taste like junk. Good things come to those who wait, but the line could be long.

Where’s Waldo the woolly bear?

I’d spoken at one thing and was driving to speak at another a couple of hours away. Farmers were busy in the fields and woolly bear caterpillars crossed the roads. They do cross the roads, seldom traveling down a road. Woolly bears have long been used as winter weather forecasters. The darker the caterpillar, the harsher the winter is supposed to be. The bands on a woolly bear are more of a measure of a caterpillar’s age and of past weather than a prediction of an upcoming winter, but I enjoy looking at them anyway. I’d decided to take a photo of one of the tiny travelers. I pulled over on a quiet rural road to snap a picture. I quickly noticed that the quiet road had combines coming towards me in two directions. I needed to move before the combines made it impossible. I made an executive decision and grabbed the woolly bear to photograph later. The woolly bear curled into a ball in my hand. I placed it into a cup holder, planning to pull into a rest area for the photo shoot. I watched the little thing struggle to get out of the cup holder. It was unable to escape. A radio show about the 1945 World Series between the Tigers and Cubs distracted me. By the time I saw the rest area sign, the woolly bear was no longer in the cup holder. I searched the car. I did so twice more when arriving home late that night. I used a powerful flashlight, but couldn’t find the Houdini of woolly bears. I hope it escaped from the car. I feel terrible about the lost woolly worm, but I hope it means that we’ll have a nice winter.

Don’t give any beer to the donkey

I was in Hungary. I stopped at a place to eat. I opted for outdoor seating on a lovely day. The waitress was harried but happy. Her English was good and before I ordered, she told me, "Please do not give beer to the donkey."

I hadn't considered doing that. I looked at the donkey standing under a tree. The donkey looked at me seated at a table. I’d had experience with donkeys, trying to ride them while playing donkey baseball and basketball for fundraisers.

I ordered goulash. What else? I was in Hungary. I like goulash. The goulash of the school lunch program of my youth was delicious.

The Hungarian goulash was sublime. While I ate, I watched a fellow get up to refill his glass. While he was gone, the donkey ate his goulash.

He’d probably given the donkey beer.

The cat cemetery

When I was a boy, I shared the caretaker duties of a cat cemetery located near our outhouse with Georgette, my niece. We also shared an age. My family milked cows, which meant that people thought we could never have enough cats. There were people who presented cats to us proudly. There were anonymous givers who dropped felines off at the farm. Add the ability of the resident farm cats to be fruitful and multiply, and we had countless cats. We were kids, so we named the cats. The outdoors isn’t kind to cats. There are critters, cars, hunters, dogs, diseases, and cat haters willing to kill cats. Cats died. Whenever a cat tipped over, there were funeral services. I presided over many a feline funeral. Georgette’s role was to shed tears and inscribe the tombstones with a proper epitaph. She’d find something nice about the deceased to chalk on the red bricks from an old chimney. Things like, "Here lies Fluffy. He always shared his milk with others." There was always a cat named Fluffy somewhere in our herd of cats. I called the rows of small bricks Fluffy Field.

Meeting adjourned

Now is the time to say all those nice things you should have said.

What was it about him? Was it the bushy hair that stuck out under his cap? Was it the neat accent? Was it his lack of height? Was it the neat chuckle? To me, it was all of those that made “Digger” one likeable Irish leprechaun.

On my morning walks, I sometimes walk through Lakeview Cemetery. The last time I saw Digger and his digging partner, Jeff, was on one of those walks. I asked Digger if he would dig my grave in the next few years. His reply was “Maybe,” with his infectious chuckle.

Digger, it was my (along with many others’) great pleasure to know you.

Genie and I celebrated the second of our second 50 years wedding anniversary. We know that our ages were the cause of us slowing down. It took us three days to celebrate one day. The first day we celebrated at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church by hosting the coffee hour. The second day was batter fried fish at Trumble’s in Albert Lea. The third day was noon lunch with a two-spoon sundae at The Old Mill in Austin.

It seemed like the population of squirrels and rabbits (in our back yard) in Albert Lea had greatly increased. I did a statistical random sampling of four houses with a back yard plus oak trees in the four quadrants (north, south, east, west) of Albert Lea. The answer was an average of seven squirrels and four rabbits. Our yard had 10 squirrels. I’ve started a relocation program and it is now three squirrels and four rabbits in our back yard.

Orange you glad it’s fall? After this column, future columns will not be every week until next April. We have a number of things planned until then. Deer hunting the entire season staying at Cass Lake Casino Hotel in November. Genie is going by bus to Washington, D.C. in October plus Branson in November by bus. Ice fishing will be Red Lake or Lake of the Woods (maybe both). The Eel Pout Festival on Leech Lake in February is a must for both of us. Norwegian Bingo with pizza and ice cream bar Saturday evening February 6 at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church in honor of Valentine’s Day.

How’s this for a part of your Christmas activities? Board a coach bus in front of Albert Lea Pizza Ranch at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, going to Christmas by the Lake in Clear Lake, Iowa. You can tour Christmas activities on Main Street, watch the lighted Christmas Parade followed by viewing fireworks over the lake. (The parade and fireworks can be viewed from the bus if you wish.) Board the bus back to Albert Lea Pizza Ranch for the buffet. All this for $26 per person paid in advance to F.R.O.G. ($5 cash back per person if the bus is full). Call Bob or Genie Hanson at 373-8655 or Wayne or Bev Indrelie at 826-3267 for reservations. (The Pizza Ranch buffet can be purchased for $10 per person paid in advance to F.R.O.G. if not on the bus).

All this is presented by F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely on God) of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church. Remember, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. 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. Bob says if you enjoy his column, 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.

Gun control is certainly a hot topic these days, isn’t it? Once again, the media has hopped on some recent shootings and given them more coverage than necessary, prompting politicians to jump on one bandwagon or another, depending on who they are trying to impress. So what does your local columnist think? I’m not really sure; let’s find out together.

I’ve never shot a gun. You could put one in my hands and I wouldn’t have much of a clue. It doesn’t mean I’m against hunting and other gun-related activities; I’ve just never had an interest. Apparently, when I was a wee tot, Dad came home with a deer he had shot and I cried because I thought he had killed Bambi. That traumatic experience kept my dad from hunting, so I wasn’t really exposed to it after that time.

Frankly, at times, the idea of a gun in the hands of some of my students frightens me. Some kids show such little maturity at school that I wonder how they can handle that responsibility. Then I see pictures online of some of these stars proudly displaying their hunting efforts. They’ve gone through gun training. They’re with an adult. It’s all good. Some kids have found an activity they enjoy and are good at, so more power to them. It also provides good family time for some of these folks.

As a teacher, the idea of a school shooting is scary. Most school shootings don’t occur with hunting guns though. Again, I think so many of those kids are taught respect for a gun, and that shouldn’t be a concern. It’s the people who have access to all kinds of other weaponry. Look at the incident in Waseca not long ago. There were a number of guns in addition to the bomb materials. How do we allow teenagers to get their hands on guns like that?

This is the flaw in the system. There are always people who will sell something to anyone, as was allegedly the case in Waseca. Someone needed money and sold a gun to a teenager with murder on his mind. I don’t know the answer to this; I don’t think anything the government does will halt criminals.

Some people just want to take all the guns away. In addition to being unconstitutional, it still wouldn’t stop guns from being illegally manufactured and sold, but now the law-abiding citizens wouldn’t have them. I won’t say that I’m exceptionally comfortable with all these people with permits carrying guns around, but I have to trust the system that vets them before allowing that, the same as I trust the people who issue licenses to drivers.

I do think we could limit the types of guns that are sold to Joe Citizen though. Do you really need assault weapons? Again, it’s not that some people can’t handle them responsibly, but the danger of them falling into the hands of a mentally-disturbed person or any youngster should preclude the ability of just anyone to get them. I know there are rules to follow and background checks done, but those are fallible too.

If you want a gun for hunting or to carry on yourself for your personal safety, I have no beef with that. I enjoy venison, and someone could be there to save me someday because he or she is armed. The bad guys will always get whatever they want, but if we can limit what is available to most people, there is much less chance of those weapons falling into the hands of people with murder on the mind.

For this same reason, I’m very uncomfortable with people who propose that teachers carry guns. Kids can be pretty devious, and it wouldn’t take much for an accident to happen or for a determined child to get ahold of one of those school-sanctioned weapons. No, thank you; I would foresee even more gun violence in schools if that happened.

The way I see it, there are really two solutions that can help halt these outbreaks. We need to do a better job of diagnosing mental illness for one. So many of these shooters are shown to have instability. We can ask why nobody has done anything, and the truth of the matter is that the system is so overloaded. We have mental health professionals in schools who can’t keep up with all the requests for help; what must it be like outside of schools?

The other solution is stop giving so much airtime to these delinquents. In our 24-hour news cycle, CNN and Fox News can be counted on to spend much of that time on the latest gun incident. That’s exactly what many of these shooters want. They go out in a blaze of glory and get their name and faces all over the TV. That’s part of their dream. I wouldn’t mind being on TV, but surely not in that manner. Once the TV gurus stop doing more than giving a brief snippet to the shooters, you will see the number of incidents decrease.

At the end of the day, I’m still not sure how I feel overall. Some areas of gun control could be tightened, but I don’t want to make it so only bad guys have guns. Unfortunately, our politicians can likely be counted on to fumble this issue, especially with an election a year away. In the meantime, please be safe with your weapons, especially with hunting season upon us!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is ambit, which means scope or range, as in, “The legislature decided to limit the ambit of weapons available for purchase.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs had the Weather Eye dialed in again over the weekend and the fan was stuck on high Monday, again. Will our recent warm conditions remain or will we begin our transition into more normal temperatures? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60’s with lows in the upper 30’s. Thursday, sunny with a slight chance for and overnight shower. Highs in the low 60’s with lows in the mid 40’s. Mostly cloudy Friday with a good chance of showers. Highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 40’s. Saturday, partly sunny with highs in the upper 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Sunny on Sunday with highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Monday, partly sunny with a slight chance of showers. Highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Cloudy for Tuesday with a slight chance of a shower. Highs in the mid 50’s and lows in the mid 30’s. The normal high for October 27th is 54 and the normal low is 33. The scurs are toying with the notion of putting their patio furniture away. After all the wind they’ll have to find it first.

The Full Moon for October lands on the 27th and is known as the Full Hunters Moon. It was at this time that Native Americans and settlers alike were busily stocking up for the long winter ahead. Deer, waterfowl, grouse, squirrels and other game were fattened up and available for the larder. The Ojibwe called this the Falling Leaves Moon and the Sioux similarly called it the Moon of the Falling Leaves. At the ranch we go by the Do Chores in the Dark (both times) Moon.

Harvest is beginning to wind down across much of the area. The soybeans are essentially all combined with even the replants in the wet spots disappearing in recent days. Less than 25% of the corn remains in the field with moisture content continuing to plummet. Much of the corn being harvested is in the mid-teens allowing many to dump it directly in the bin without drying and just running air on it. It has been a storybook ending to the cropping season for most. Sure it had its ups and downs; they all do. In spite of the excess rains in June and an encore performance for some in July, the crop exceeded expectations for many. It goes to show that rain in the months of July and August can make a tremendous difference in the outcome of our crops after coming up short over the past several years.

Where are we going into next year? We have seen an extremely dusty, dry month of October. As of the 20th, we have recorded only a trace of moisture a couple times at the ranch so we are due. It would give us a welcome respite from a harvest that has essentially been non-stop since late September. A major El Niño is already firmly entrenched and the forecast for the Upper Midwest is for a drier and warmer-than-normal winter. Few will be disappointed with that. Our soil moisture is generally in good shape, although this past couple weeks has caused the surface to become rather hard particularly where soils had been subject to excess moisture earlier in the year. As measured at the SROC in Waseca on the 16th, there is just under 10” of available soil moisture in the top 5’ of soil. Bear in mind that the SROC recorded several inches more precip than we did for August and September. One might suspect especially on some of the ground that was worked early, there might be less soil moisture than that here.

Our cropping season at the ranch has largely ended as well. About the only thing that remains is some possible horseradish digging and grinding. The apple picking needs to be finished up too as the call for apple crisp and apple pies from the Haralson tree will only increase. So will the bird damage, the worst in years. Among the lucky finds before last week’s frost were dozens of tomatoes, some of which were nestled under a cover of leaves. Indian corn, gourds and pumpkins decorate the house inside and out. The sheep get some of them that aren’t keeping well. As fat as they are, they really don’t need anything extra, but that doesn’t stop them from running towards the fence any time you approach it. Always looking for a handout.

Sunday morning I had to haul one of the buck lambs over to the pasture to join the ewes there. He was cooperative about being caught and going into the trailer. Unusual especially when it comes to Cheviot sheep. Frequently you need to be wearing track shoes, helmets and other protective gear. We made the trip quickly although I had to go find the ewes upon our arrival. When I slid the gate open on the trailer he didn’t waste any time hopping out or attempting to hop on for that matter. Sort of a poor man’s version of dropping Lamar Odom off at a brothel. 

Mrs. Cheviot was gone on Sunday so I rambled off on another cruise with Auntie Mar Mar and Unkie Greg. We retraced much of our route from the prior week and were disappointed that much of the fall color had disappeared from the wind. It still was fun to cruise the backroads I frequent during the growing season and hear Mar Mar comment from the backseat, “I have no idea where the heck we are!” Unkie Greg bought me a libation and some appetizers at the Trailblazer as we wound our way towards home. Best of all though, Auntie Mar Mar left us a blueberry coffee cake that I promised to share with Mrs. Cheviot. I was tempted not to though. Warmed up in the microwave then topped with a little butter, it’s even better than a Drake’s coffee cake.

See you next week…real good then.

Verna Mae (Smith) Dixon, 92, formerly of New Richland, passed away at her home in Greensboro, N.C. on Sept. 30, 2015.

She was preceded in death by her husband, William H. Dixon, her two sons, William Dixon Jr. and Larry Dixon; her parents Vernon and Mae Smith, and six siblings. She is survived by seven grandchildren, great-grandchildren, two daughters-in-law and many nieces and nephews.

Arnold Harvey Pick, age 86, of Waldorf, died Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at his home. According to his wishes, no services are being held.  Burial was Tuesday, October 20, 2015, at Zoar Cemetery in rural Waldorf, MN, officiated by Rev. Cherie Daniel. Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells handled the arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.brussheitner.com

Raymond Albin Peterson, age 63 of New Richland, died on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

Born in Waseca on November 2, 1951, Ray was the son of Albin and Geraldine (Bull) Peterson.  He attended grade school in rural Waseca and later graduated from Waseca High School. He married Deb Bauman, and following their divorce he was later married to Cheryl Adams. Following high school he worked at Delta Truck Body in Waseca, then did masonry work for several years. He later began farming with his brother and father in Waseca County doing dairy and crop farming. He had been a very talented high school wrestler and enjoyed following wrestling throughout the rest of his life. He also enjoyed hunting deer and bear, fishing up at Leech Lake, gardening, being outdoors, canning, and spending time with his family.

Funeral services for Audrienne Y. Nelson will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at First Lutheran Church, Ellendale, MN. The Reverend Richard Sliper will officiate. Visitation will be from 5–8 p.m. on Friday at First Lutheran Church, Ellendale, and again one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Interment will take place at First Lutheran Cemetery.

Audrienne Yvonne (Ellingson) Nelson, 92 of Ellendale MN, died peacefully on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at Homestead Hospice House, Owatonna MN.