As we inch our way ever closer to fall and all of the hunting seasons that are associated with it, you have to wonder what the future has in store for our natural resources. It seems as if the youth of today are not as inclined to do the outdoors things that past generations have enjoyed.

There is so much technology available to today’s youth that entertaining themselves is never a problem. Many would rather sit in the comfort of their couch with a game in front of them and controller in hand rather than getting up before sunrise and heading out into the cold. When I was a kid there were thankfully not a lot of options, so I had to get outside and create my own fun. Spending time outside naturally made a person closer to nature and of course the sports that are associated with nature like hunting and fishing. I don’t believe there could be a more peaceful time than when sitting in a duck blind or a deer stand at the crack of dawn waiting for the morning sun to peek over the horizon.

It is a fact that there are less and less of our youth getting involved in hunting and fishing these days. What it boils down to is the fact that it takes a certain type of person to arise at 3 a.m. on a cool rainy morning and head out to a lake or pond to spend hours in a blind hoping for a flock of geese or ducks to come in to their decoys.

I was never big into waterfowl hunting, but I have friends and relatives who live for that season. I can see where they would enjoy it and I don’t see any sport where you would be closer to nature than that one. As those hunters get older and getting up in the morning gets harder, reality sets in and some have to give up the sport they have loved for many years. This is not any new information; just the fact that as we get older we have to at least cut back somewhat on what we love doing pertaining to the outdoors.

I have grandsons that all like to hunt and fish. and as an outdoorsman and a grandpa it makes me proud to see they will be there to carry on the sports that I love. Two of the boys, Trevor and Dylan, are heavy into fishing and pretty much like to wet a line whenever the opportunity arises. Taylor and Grant like to fish and hunt waterfowl but are not as intense as their brother Trevor. He is pretty much all about hunting and fishing. Dylan, their cousin, hunts waterfowl and is the only one that hunts deer.

With the seasons approaching faster than I’d like to think, the DNR has given us the opportunity to introduce our youth to some of these sports. Without getting our youth involved in the outdoors and introducing them to the sports of hunting and fishing, we could eventually jeopardize the future of these sports.

The Minnesota DNR has several youth hunting opportunities offered this fall.

Youth can hunt with adult mentors during several organized youth hunting opportunities this fall. Application forms and more information can be found  at www.mndnr.gov/discover or by calling the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Information Center, 651-296-6157 or 888-646-6367, or Mike Kurre, DNR mentoring program coordinator, 651-259-5193.

Youth and family upland bird hunt

For ages 12 to 17, and family members who want to hunt together. Hunts and orientations are Saturday, Oct. 17 or 24.

Locations throughout Minnesota. Apply by Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Youth deer season

For ages 10 to 15, season is Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18. Permit areas in southeastern and northwestern Minnesota and portions of the Twin Cities metro area. 27 deer permit areas are open to hunt, see hunting regulations book or www.mndnr.gov/hunting/deer for permit areas.

Take a Kid Hunting Weekend

From Saturday, Sept. 26, to Sunday, Sept. 27, adult residents, accompanied by a youth under age 16, can hunt small game without a license, but must comply with open seasons, limits and other regulations.

Until next time, if you take a little time to introduce a youth to fishing or hunting I can almost guarantee that they will want more. Just remember that our youth are the future of our outdoors heritage and that passing something on is a very rewarding experience.

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

What’s your brother doing these days?

He's racing cars.

That doesn't surprise me. He always was a fast runner.

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: Any direction can feel like progress. Autocorrect has become my worst enema. You can do something about the weather. You can talk about it.

The cafe chronicles

"There is a beetle in my hotdish!" complained the diner.

"Shush," said the waitress. "Everyone will want one."

When I was a small boy and the only toy that came with any meal was a fork, I didn't want to eat food that was touching other food on my plate. Then I fell in love with hotdishes. The various food items in a hotdish not only touch one another, they hug.

If I'm sitting and not eating from a plate of hotdish sitting in front of me, it's because I have no silverware and I'm waiting until the food cools enough so that I could eat it by hand.

The man told me that I was lucky to be in a great restaurant. "The worst thing you’ll find here is the food," he said with a smile.

He told me that he had been married for 50 years, or as he put it, he’d been involved in an 18,262-night stand.

My wife and I haven’t been married that long, but we hope to make it. I married up. "What are you thinking about, honey?" is one of my wife's favorite questions.

"Nothing," I answered, trying not to squirm in my chair.

"That's what you said you were thinking about when I asked this morning," she said.

"I know," I replied. "I’m still not through."

It’s all relative

I spoke at the Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside, Ohio. A woman asked for my autograph after my talk. I signed happily, still amazed that anyone would want my scrawled signature. I inquired about her family. She had one son. He was a doctor who specialized in knee replacements. I asked her if she had availed herself of his expertise. She said, "Only to mow my lawn."

My wife is a much better mower of lawns than I am. She pays greater attention to the job. She was mowing the lawn while I was brewing a cup of tea. My wife's cellphone, perched on the kitchen table, dinged whenever a text arrived. I thought of it as another angel getting his wings.

My wife’s great grandfather, Rezin Nelson, was born in Pennsylvania in 1837. His parents moved to Wisconsin and in 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 32nd Wisconsin Infantry, fought in the Civil War and was discharged after one year. In 1863, he moved to Minnesota, settling in Wilton Township in Waseca County. In 1865, he re-enlisted, this time in the First Minnesota Heavy Artillery where he served until the war’s end. On March 18, 1866, he married Rhoda Sutlief, a daughter of Asa Sutlief, the first white settler in Waseca County.

Maybe Rezin was one of those who got his wings.

The Hartland Geographic Society

I was working in a state that shares the most borders with other states. Any idea what state that was? Tennessee and Missouri each share borders with eight other states. Tennessee shares with Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri. Missouri shares borders with Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

I spoke in the Show-Me State. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver is credited with coining the phrase when he declared in 1899, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

Nature notes

An odonate is a predatory insect characterized by a long, slender, often brightly colored body, two pairs of transparent veined wings, large compound eyes and an aquatic larval stage. Dragonflies and damselflies. The easiest way to tell whether an odonate is a dragonfly or damselfly is to see how it holds its wings at rest. If they are flat and parallel to the ground, it’s a dragonfly. If the wings are held together over the back, it’s a damselfly. Dragonflies fly more than damselflies. Damselflies perch more than dragonflies.

Meeting adjourned

"If you must choose between being right or being kind, choose kind." — Bob Perks

I know most of you are aware that the best thing to come out of Iowa is I35. Who you don’t know is the best lady to come out of Iowa on I35, who happened to become a resident of Minnesota.

She got married the same day she left Iowa. In fact, she got married twice that day. This happened because the Lutheran pastor had the best man sign as the groom and then he caught the error and had the groom sign as the groom – thus she was, for a short time, married to the best man and then married to the groom, making her married twice in the same day.

After 50-plus years of being a Minnesota resident, she decided her birthday celebration should be a weeklong affair, every year starting this year.

Sunday, she served fresh fruit, sweet rolls, plus beverage (while announcing it was her birthday week) to fellow church members attending the coffee hour.

Monday, she enjoyed a birthday luncheon at Applebee’s in Albert Lea.

Tuesday, a McDonald’s lunch takeout, followed by a picnic at Fountain Lake Park in Albert Lea.

Wednesday, coffee and cupcakes with friends in the morning followed by working a three-hour shift in the coffee shop at the hospital. The evening, the actual day of her birthday, meal was at Trumbles in Albert Lea with her husband and another birthday girl. 

Thursday was a morning of coffee and goodies. The evening was a celebration with Domino’s pizza.

Friday was a birthday luncheon at the Old Mill in Austin with her husband. Lunch was topped off with a sundae and two spoons.

Saturday was a noon picnic type lunch at the American Legion in Albert Lea. Sweet corn was delivered to her house in the p.m.

In a week of birthday celebrating she ate food fro 11 different sources. She received: 21 birthday cards, seven telephone calls, three e-mails, three house visitors, three gift cards, a cyclamen plant and many hugs.

The above was from people in six states, plus the Minnesota–Canada border. Even the weatherman was involved by letting it rain only at night.

I have known this great lady for 54 birthdays and 52 anniversaries.

By now most of you readers have figured out who this week long birthday lady is. Just in case you haven’t, she goes by the handle of “Genie.”

In case you want to say hi, Genie will be working the big bash Monday evening September 21 at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church. (The soup and pie supper.)

Her 2016 weeklong birthday celebration will be Sunday, Aug. 7 through Saturday Aug.13. You are welcome to take part if you wish.

———

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.

With football season upon us, excitement is in the air. High school football has played a game already, college football is nearly here, and the NFL fires up right after that. If you’re a football fan, it’s a glorious time of year.

Many people are busy planning trips to watch games live while others get together with friends and family to watch on somebody’s big screen TV. Another aspect of planning deals with those of us who play fantasy football.

Depending on sources, an estimated 40-50 million people play fantasy football, a game where people pretend they’re general managers and draft a team of players, including quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, and defenses. Each week, these “managers” choose who to place in their starting lineups in order to earn more points than their opponents.

Leagues vary in their scoring, with some only giving points for touchdowns and field goals, while others, such as the league I’ve been part of, also award points for yardage gained by each player. Sometimes you even have points taken away if your players turn the ball over.

This adds a layer of complexity to watching NFL games. While I will always root for the Minnesota Vikings, if I have a player from the other team, say Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers, I might root for Rodgers to have a great game but the Vikings to ultimately win the game. Believe me, this has caused some stress over the years! There are times where a Vikings defensive stand means that I don’t win that week for fantasy and other weeks where a Vikings loss directly contributes to me winning. I will always pull for a Vikings win over a fantasy football win!

I was introduced to fantasy sports my first year of college, in 1992. One guy on our floor started a fantasy basketball league. It sounded like an interesting concept, so I joined in. I was part of that with the same group of guys for five years. I first played fantasy football my senior year at WSU, in 1995. It was fun and I hoped to find a group of people for a league when I moved to New Richland.

However, my first year was so busy trying to figure out what I was doing that I never had a chance. After I met Michelle, she hooked me up with some people she knew at work who played in a league. I will now be in my 19th year in this league! While some of the members have changed, there are still four of us that remain from my first go-around.

The best part of fantasy football is when the league gets together for the draft. We used to need everyone in one place since we did everything by hand. However, as the Internet has grown, we have fewer guys at our annual draft, which is too bad. It’s a great time to trash talk and just hang out.

Looking back, I can see the progression of fantasy sports mirror our league. Fantasy football actually started in Oakland back in 1962. It started to pick up steam in the late ‘80s. As mentioned though, everything was written down. Our commissioner for my first fantasy basketball league would look at USA Today weekly where they would have players’ accumulated statistics and then do some subtraction with the previous week’s stats. When I started playing fantasy football, I’d have a little notebook where I’d write down when one of my players or one of my opponent’s players would score points.

In 1997, fantasy sports started to enter the digital world, and that’s when the popularity exploded. Being able to play online opened up a semi-enclosed world. Our league eventually went online, and now I can sit with my iPad, constantly checking the score of my game for the week, updated to the minute; no need to wait for the scroll on the bottom of the screen or halftime highlights. Sometimes I miss the old ways of doing things, but I’m also a guy who always did my baseball team statistics by hand.

I’ve dabbled in fantasy football, basketball, and baseball over the years, but my league in Owatonna is the one constant. One year I had five baseball leagues online, but it’s started to get a little wearisome. I’m cutting back to nothing else outside of this football league. Once my baseball leagues end in September, I’ll be hanging it up for those, hopefully with a championship in one where I’m currently in first place! Strangely enough, I’ve done the best in fantasy basketball, even though I rarely watch NBA games!

If you see me during the NFL season and ask how I’m doing, you’ll likely either hear me praise or curse Drew Brees and Marshawn Lynch, since they’re on my team this year! Let the fun begin!

And speaking of fun, our NRHEG Panther football will play their home opener this Friday, August 28. I know the boys and the coaches have been working hard, so please join me in filling the stands and cheering them on. If you can’t come to all the games, try to make an effort to attend at least one and cheer on the home team, appreciating the efforts of our student-athletes. That goes for all our Panther sports – Go Panthers!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is exungulate, which means to pare nails or claws, as in, “The football fan unwittingly exungulated himself during the nail-biter of a game.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs and their Weather Eye seem to be invincible. There are even rumors of someone starting a new Nash-Rambler Corporation. Can’t miss. How much more of this success can the scurs take, or are they doomed to wind up on the ash heap of history? Starting Wednesday, mostly sunny with highs in the low 70’s with lows in the mid-50’s. Thursday, mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows around 60. Mostly cloudy and slightly cooler Friday with a good chance of daytime showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the low 60’s. Monday, mostly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Partly cloudy for Tuesday and slightly with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms in the daytime hours. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. The normal high for August 31st is 80 and the normal low is 59. The scurs will be heading to their favorite foot long hotdog stand by the northwest corner of the Coliseum upon their arrival at the Great Minnesota Get Together. One with fried onions, please.

The Full Moon for the month arrives on the 29th and goes by several names, the most common of which is the Full Sturgeon Moon. It also goes by the Full Green Corn Moon and the Full Grain Moon. The Ojibwe were fond of calling this the Berry Moon as the blueberries are generally plentiful in August. The Sioux were also fruit lovers, calling this the Moon When Cherries are Black. At the ranch, we like our fruit a little larger perhaps, but it frequently is the Full Cantaloupe Moon.

Corn and soybeans both made steady progress this last week, although it was slowed somewhat by wetter weather and a cool-down over the weekend. When highs are in the mid-60’s as they were on the 20th, that corresponds to the highs we see in early October. No wonder we caught a glimpse of fall heading our way. Corn has dented, although few fields have begun to exhibit a milk line just yet. Soybeans to a large degree are now R6 meaning that the seed fills the seed cavity at a pod on one of the uppermost four nodes on the plant with a fully expanded leaf. Both SDS and white mold became more apparent this past week, although it appears at this point they will nibble at yields rather than gobble them in most instances. Soybean aphids have largely been subdued, although some who sprayed too early wound up repeating the process. Sweet corn yields continue to sound impressive as yields reported over 10-ton-per-acre are still common.

After returning safely from another Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour, I was thinking the orioles were probably done for the season. Not so fast! Sunday morning I thought I heard a male in the tree scolding me as I was gawking out the window after morning chores. I went in the house and returned with some grape jelly to see if I could entice the noisy bird out of the tree. It didn’t take long once I was back in the house. He descended from high in the ash tree and cautiously made his way to the feeder. Once there, the brightly colored orange and black male quickly took several beak-fulls of jelly and disappeared. He was back the next morning however and seems to be settling in. For a while anyway. Now he has company in the form of another male equally as developed as he is and a young male. They seem to spend a lot of time bickering and squabbling over the feeder contents. Oh well, there’s plenty of grape jelly in the refrigerator. The goldfinches continue to feed regularly at their usual stations with the color on the males beginning to fade ever so slightly. The hummingbirds have a vast array of flowering plants to choose from. With 4 o’clocks, nasturtiums, morning glories and too numerous to mention types of salvia, they definitely have it made as they get ready for their long journey south.

Area gardens continue to yield a bountiful harvest of produce. At the ranch, the green beans have about run their course and the cukes are showing signs of slowing down. The first planting of sweet corn is in prime form now, tomatoes are becoming abundant and the first of the muskmelons has ripened. The flavor of some of the garden stuff has been slightly disappointing, possibly due to the over abundant rains we’ve had. Not to say that can’t change. Sometimes as we move into the cooler part of late summer and early fall, the amount of sugars being deposited in the fruits and veggies increases, making them more flavorful than their earlier season counterparts. Next up should be the apple crop. When it’s ripe in late September, there should be a lot to choose from. The sheep have been taste testing the ground falls to this point. No complaints from them. 

The cooler weather certainly agrees with the resident canines. Even Fudgie at 13 trots around the yard like a much younger dog, looking forward to her trips outside with large blocks of time consumed when the lawn or garden need attention. She tires more easily than Ruby, but then who doesn’t? Ruby’s just one of those Border Collies with boundless energy, sometimes to the point where it becomes annoying. It’s at those times especially when trying to take a breather from the day’s activities, it’s OK to let her become fixated on staring at a ball for 15 or 20 minutes. At least she’s quiet and sitting still. The show must go on.

See you next week…real good then.

The 44th Annual Crop Field Production Day is Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the Keith and Jay Kuiters farm ¼ mile south of Clarks Grove on County Road 45.

Speakers include:

• Dan Kaiser, U of M Nutrient Management Specialist — Fertility Considerations for the Current Climate

• Bob Koch, U of M Extension Soybean Entomoligst — Recent Developments with Soybean Aphid

• Brad Carlson, U of M Extension Educator — Buffer Strips, What Do We Know?

• Ryan Miller, U of M Extension Educator — Theories for Variable Rating Nitrogen

• Lisa Benhken, U of M Extension Ecuator — Strategies for Controlling Resistant Giant Ragweed and Waterhemp

• Joel Larson, AgStar Financial Services — Economic Considerations for 2015-2016

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is at 9:30 a.m. and the program begins at 10. Lunch will follow. There will be door prizes.

Questions? Call Ryan or Mary Jane at (507) 536-6310.

The Agribusiness Committee of the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for nominations of individuals who have a strong agriculture leadership background. The committee is asking for help in identifying individuals who deserve to be recognized for their leadership in agriculture.

This Waseca County Distinguished Agricultural Leadership Award recognizes and honors distinguished individuals who have dedicated their life to the advancement of agriculture. These individuals have shown a commitment to outstanding leadership with their significant contributions to the community and the advancement of the agriculture industry in the Waseca County area.

Remembering the life of Alma “Sylvia” Dodge...

Funeral Services for Alma “Sylvia” Dodge, of New Richland, will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 30, 2015,  at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Richland, Minn. The Reverend Paul Andree will officiate.  Interment will be in St. Olaf Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church. Friedrich/Bonnerup Funeral Service is assisting the family.

Sylvia died on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at St. John’s Lutheran Home in Albert Lea. She was 94.

She was born Alma Sylvia on June 18, 1921, in Freeborn County, Minnesota, the daughter of Selmer and Anna (Olson) Tukua. Sylvia graduated from  New Richland High School. She married Gene C. Dodge on June 5, 1943, in Santa Ana, California. They had celebrated 70 years together before Gene died in 2013.

In addition to making a loving home for her family, Sylvia had worked beside her husband Gene as they operated Dodge’s Our Own Hardware. She also worked as funeral assistant and caretaker at Friedrich/Bonnerup Funeral Service for many years.

Funeral services for Mardelyn Lois Thompson of Ellendale, Minn., will be held at 10:30 am, Saturday, August 29, 2015 at the First Lutheran Church in Ellendale, MN. Pastor Richard Sliper will officiate. Visitation will be held Friday evening August 28 from 4-7 p.m. at the church, and one hour prior to the service Saturday. Interment will be in the Ellendale Lutheran Cemetery. 

Mardelyn was welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven, August 25 at the Homestead Hospice House, in Owatonna, MN. She was 92 years of age, just one month short of 93.

Mardelyn was born Sept 20, 1922 at home in rural New Richland, the daughter of Clarence “Spike” and Agnes (Hagen) Thompson. She went to country school and graduated from Ellendale High School in 1940. On June 25, 1941 she was united in marriage to James M. Thompson. She lived in the Ellendale area most of her life, and the past few years at Whispering Oak in Ellendale with her husband James. Mardelyn worked locally as a secretary for a Real Estate/Insurance agency and later at Jostens and J.C. Penney for many years as an accountant retiring in 1985.