Funeral services for Arlene L. Miller will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015 at 11 a.m. from Central Freeborn Lutheran Church. Pastor Matt Griggs will officiate. Burial will be at North Freeborn Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5–8 p.m. Tuesday at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church and one hour prior to the services on Wednesday. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com

Arlene Loretta Miller age 83, of Clarks Grove died on August 14, 2015 at her home surrounded by family and friends.

Arlene was born at home near Geneva, MN August 23rd, 1931.  She was the daughter of Eugene and Sylvia (Olson) Wright.

She attended grade school at District 103 and graduated from Freeborn High School in 1949.

Arlene worked as a Nursing Assistant at Naeve Hospital from 1949 – 1950. She then went to Owatonna Hospital and worked from 1950 until 1951.

Earlier this summer, my family and I went to the theater to watch Inside Out, the latest Pixar animation offering. It was the story of a young girl and what goes on inside her head with her five main emotions: joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. The girl, Riley, moves with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco and struggles with that change, as any 11-year-old would.

The movie gives us some insight to how our emotions change over time. When we’re born, joy jumps to the fore as we explore our new world. Sadness soon follows though, as we know by the frequent tears of newborns. Fear follows shortly after as young ones start to recognize familiar and unfamiliar sights. Anger and disgust are added as kids get older and can communicate and understand the world better.

These emotions are a frequent part of everyone’s lives. We hope to stick to mostly joyful emotions, but that’s unrealistic at times. The movie shows how easy it is for sadness, anger, etc. to rear up and take over.

Case in point: Anne Feist called me last week. I was having a very good day. I’d finished a good novel and accomplished a few things around the house on my to-do list. Joy was bubbling over. However, Anne was calling to tell me that, after 15 years at NRHEG, she was taking a job at USC, her home district. My joy was quickly displaced by sadness. Anne and I had taught together for most of my career and always gotten along well. We worked in the same cohort for our Master’s degrees a decade ago and really understood each other’s style of teaching.

Of course I’d be sad she’s leaving; we’re losing another exceptional teacher. However, much like with some of our other departures, I had to find that joy again. Good for Anne for an opportunity to not have to drive so far every day and to get to teach in that fabulous new structure in Wells. And who knows? The teacher that is found to take her place could teach here for even longer and be just as good.

Anger was never part of the equation of that scenario. I’ve tried to scale back on anger, but earlier this summer, it boiled over; in fact, I faced all five emotions seen in that movie in a matter of hours.

I’ve gotten a lot of joy from providing music to my church for many years. I only become wholly invested in mass when music is involved, and playing and singing hopefully gives joy to not just me, but everyone around me. It was a Sunday morning, and I had that joyful feeling with the songs I had picked out for church.

However, the joy was displaced by the time the sermon was over. Our local Catholic churches have one priest who serves us sometimes who stood up and ranted about the Supreme Court decision regarding same-sex marriages.

Let’s be clear. Everyone has an opinion and a right to that opinion. It wouldn’t matter if I agreed or not, but the illogical and obscene things I heard out of his mouth that morning started a simmer going. It hit the boiling point when I had to listen to the conjecture that the Supreme Court was ruining our country, and soon we should pull our kids from public schools because of what will be taught regarding some of the controversial items such as same-sex marriage, contraception, abortion, divorce, etc.

Nobody gets to attack my profession in public in that manner. I’m proud that I give my students the ability to look at BOTH sides of an issue and make an informed decision on how they feel. I’m proud of so much about our public schools, and that horrible statement sent me over the edge, where I couldn’t even play music any more that morning, removing so much of the joy I normally experience.

Michelle and I talked about it after church, experiencing all the emotions. I felt so much anger and disgust that I suggested I could no longer play music at church, never being sure when that particular priest would be present. I felt sadness at that. I hope I’ve made a difference for some people at church, but no more.

It’s only about a year until our parish closes anyway. We decided to make the trip to New Richland for church every Sunday, and I will take time off from music until we get our new priest. That quick trip through all the emotions displayed in the movie really rattled me, but having a supportive wife to help guide me through them sure helped.

And now I’m focusing on joy. That’s where most of our memories should be built. Others help shape us, as we learned in the movie, but if we stray too far from the good memories, joy can leave our life. I’m finding joy from singing loudly every Sunday, without the other emotions getting in the way.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is osculate, which means to touch or bring together, as in, “The music was able to osculate the congregation, as everyone belted out their favorite hymn.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The 2015 Waseca County Fair has been the highlight of the year for over 200 members in Waseca County 4-H, as they saw their hard work pay off with livestock shows, exhibit judging, and other fun events. Below are the 4-H youth who received recognition for their project work at the 2015 Waseca County Fair.

DOG SHOW RESULTS – Saturday, July 11 & Monday, July 13, 2015

• Champion Novice Showmanship - Hailey Schauer, Palmer Sunbeams

• Reserve Champion Novice Showmanship - Ella Krautkremer, Homegrown Explorers

• Champion Open Showmanship - Camielle Rykhus, Vista Busy Bees

• Reserve Champion Open Showmanship - Ethan Thompson, Vista Busy Bees

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that...

Computers are wonderful tools when then work but when they don't....I won't say what it does to me.  I feel ignorant because I can't find the little Grinch that makes it do nothing that I want it to do or mixes up or loses EVERYTHING for me. I will never know how anyone ever invented them or why, but they keep changing them and for this computer operator, I just can't keep up.

I remember the man who had so much trouble with his computer that he took it out in the back alley and fired seven shots into it and “killed” it. I am not sure if I ever heard why he thought it would take seven shots, unless he fired one for each day of the week.

I could feel for him. Many times I have felt the same way, but I would not shoot a gun at my computer, or anything else for that matter. Frustration reigns. To top the whole incident off, he was ticketed for firing his gun in the city limits.

Hillary Clinton raises a question about her use of the computer. Her husband, on the other hand, reportedly only ever sent two e-mails as president, one of which was a test message to see if he was doing it correctly.

On to a new topic.

What does it mean when the package that hot dogs come in, which are usually the cheaper kind, say, "Mechanically separated chicken, pork, and no trans fats, lactose and gluten free, etc.?"

My mother is a label reader, but those hot dogs look fine, and even the label that says, no artificial flavors, or colors, filler, by products or MSG. But those words “MECHANICALLY SEPARATED” leaves her a bit baffled, so she sticks to the more expensive kosher brands.

It is nice to see good labeling on the products we buy, especially the ones we eat. But if it says, "High Fructose," she says she wouldn't buy it.

Speaking of food, if your grocery bill starts to get too high, do like my Grandmother Hanson used to do — buy only what you really need.

It might be hard to get used to, but take it one at a time for awhile and resist the temptation to buy what isn't needed. You could be healthier because of it. Pass by the things you "want" and concentrate on what you really need. Convenience foods are handy, but they are much more expensive than making foods from scratch and if you are making them from scratch, you know what is in them. 

Family members may complain there are no Eggos, but you can scramble an egg, or make pancakes, waffles or French toast quite easily for breakfast. To save time, when things can be busy in the morning, make a mix and "jar" it for use as you need it. Yes, it will take a little bit of time to prepare, but your family will survive until you get it made. It is far better to fill them with fresh fruits instead. Bananas, strawberries and grapes are always good "treats."

Educate yourself on how many miles you would have to run for one goodie or treat. Your kids or grandkids would get a kick out of that. Kids should know what they would have to do to make up for eating that cookie or candy bar. It might change the flavor a bit.

Also, you would be surprised how much cheaper your grocery bill would be if you eliminated those things you really don't need or shouldn't eat, like sugary items — the candy, rolls, cookies, chips and pop. Everybody does get hungry for something special now and then, but don't call it a treat.

Speaking of health, it is better to prepare dry popcorn than to buy the easy stuff you "pop" in the microwave. It seems there is something about what has been used to seal the bag so the popcorn will stay in the bag as it is being popped that can be harmful to your health.

I recently read an interesting article about new ways people can do regular medical checkups by machine, alleviating the need to take time off from work to go to doctor appointments. Someday we may be able to undergo those regular checkups where we work, or during a noon hour stop at a medical center.

The Mayo Clinic Health System kiosks are able to treat basic symptoms and illnesses as it guides people through a "normal checkup." It checks weight, blood pressure, listens to hearts, checks ears, and examines skin via a video connection.

I am, in most cases, ready for all the advances that can be made with developing machines to help us with many of the things we need to do.  BUT, I don't know if I am ready to do medical checkups, sitting in front of a computer screen. 

If life didn't contain change, I don't suppose it would be very interesting. Change is the thing that brings about decisions, creativity, and new advancements. Decision call for choice, and without choices a person can't or would not grow. The only trouble is, most of the time it is difficult change and hard choices that make you grow the most.

It is not always easy to be happy and thankful. Sometimes when circumstances bring about change, you might look back later and realize you grew and matured through them, but at the time all you can think of is how hard it is.

— — —

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

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

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, August 13th: Dennis Deml, Tim Enzenauer, David Haddy, Bob Brandt, Lisa Dummer, Megan Dummer, Janet Hope, Kellie Petranek, Sylvia Jepson, Saxton Chad Ritz

• Friday, August 14th: Mark Sorenson, Lucille Nechanicky, Gretchen Oswald Thompson, Peter Kasper, Leah Berg, Wes Neidermeier, Alison & Chad Muilenburg, David & Carrie Paulson,

• Saturday, August 15th: Roger Wayne, Obert Osmundson, Kaye Dee Hanson, Nancy Nelson, Stephanie Peterson, Rhonda Shelton, Cade Shelton, Brian Warnke, Dorrie Horan, Michael Suelter, Larry & Kathleen Jensen, Kellie Benning, Brian Warnke, Maverick Harold Knutson

• Sunday, August 16th: Kaven Dean VanHal, Haley Deml, Alexander James Dufresne, Mary Lerberg, Shayla Ann Marie Pachoel, Julie Arnold, Wayne & Marie Dobberstein, Harold & Janice Jensen, Mark & Diana Sundwall, Jeff & Julie Schlei, Donny & Gail Turvold

• Monday, August 17th: Cole Brody Thompson, Katie Klemmensen, Julie Osmundson, Luke Wiersma, Carol Nelson, Dillon Matthew Kubiatowicz, Abbey Beaber, Jackie DeVrient, Sonya Peterson, Cheryl Spurr, Steve Ladlie, Daniel Whelan, Rod & Cheryl Thompson, Tira & James Smith, Tina & Todd Wangen

• Tuesday, August 18th: Ron Johnson, Rick Johnson, John Ross Vermedahl, David Klocek, Michael Ingvaldson, Kelly Schmidt Janning, Connie Robertson, David Rietsema, Gary & Kathy Anderson, Ryan & Jill Hanson, Tamara & David Jepson

• Wednesday, August 19th: Daxter Carter Lee, Jason Langlie, Michelle Peterson, Jennifer Popiel, Cheri Krejci, Ruth Enzenauer, Cynthia Grubish, Lois Johnson Aitchison, David Cooper, Alyssa Kay Jensen, Larry & Karen Carlson, Jackie & Travis Olson, Andy & Julie Arnold, Larry & Mary Ellen Walton, Kayla & Patrick Krause

May your day be filled with everything you enjoy most.

Just this past week my wife Jean and I headed north to our cabin to enjoy a few days relaxing and watching and feeding the birds and critters while spending time in the woods. My grandson Dylan called me a couple of weeks earlier and wanted to know if I had plans to be at the cabin the first week in August. He said he would be camping with his mom and step-dad at Lake Winibigoshish and, if I was going to be at the cabin, he would like to come over for a couple of days. I hadn’t planned on being there at that time, but after talking to Jean she said she had taken vacation for that week so we decided to head north for a few days.

On the way up we got a text from Dylan which Jean replied to while I drove. He asked if he could bring his little step-brother Caiden, who is 10, along because he had seen pictures of our fishing trips and was hoping he could come along; of course, we told him no problem.

We didn’t arrive until late Monday evening and were greeted by a couple of downed trees blocking our way to the cabin. I was able to get close enough so we could carry the necessities to the cabin and get some sleep. Dylan and Caiden arrived promptly at 9 the next morning, just in time to help me cut up that tree and clear the drive to the cabin. I am definitely going to have to buy a chainsaw! After we had some lunch and Dylan had given Caiden a short tour of the cabin (it’s too small for anything but a short tour) we hooked up the boat and headed to our first lake of the day.

The first lake had been good to Dylan and I in the past, but this time it was not to be. I told the boys we would fish for a little longer and then head to another lake. That other lake was a little more productive but not that great. You have to understand one thing, that Dylan has grown up fishing with Grandpa and I primarily fish northern and bass (catch most of them fishing northern) so he also has grown a fondness for those fish with many teeth. Caiden caught a northern that first day and just seeing how excited he was made our first day of fishing a success.

After the day of fishing had ended Dylan asked if we could go to Spider the next day, to which I gladly answered yes. I told him that we would get up at 5 a.m., have one of his grandma’s fantastic breakfasts and head out. That night after supper he and Caiden were busy preparing their fishing poles and planning what baits they would use the next day. Oh, the anticipation of the next fishing day is something that makes this such a great sport for kids of all ages (even this kid).

After we enjoyed the aforementioned breakfast we were off to fish the lake that is special to both Dylan and I. To tell you what an impact this lake has had on Dylan over the years, when we would pass a certain little bay or point he would tell me, “This is where you caught that big northern” and later he was quick to point out the spot where I had caught a walleye on one of our visits the previous year. The amazing thing is he can remember the spot where he’d caught his first northern. This is just a perfect example of how the sport of fishing can have such a positive effect on a youngster.

Grandma made sandwiches for shore lunch, which has become sort of a tradition for Dylan and me the past few years. When it’s time for lunch, I will look for one of the open campsites on the lake and pull the boat up there. There are three such sites on the lake which requires no more than being the first one there to claim the spot. There is a two-week limit on each campsite and the rules are simple; clean up after yourself, cut only dead trees for firewood and don’t leave any campfires unattended. The spot we found to eat our lunch was on a narrow point with water on both sides. There is an outdoor toilet, which seemed to amaze Caiden because he kept saying, “I can’t believe there is just a toilet sitting all by itself out in the woods.” I just smiled and nodded. I cleaned one of the northern we kept while we were there because it died and we still had plenty of time to fish.

There is a slot limit on northern on Spider Lake where everything between 24 and 36 inches must be returned to the lake. You can keep one over 36, but Dylan said he wouldn’t do that unless it was big enough to mount. We caught a lot of fish that day but most were either over 24 inches or too small. We didn’t actually catch very many that were too small and we kept three in the 22-23 inch range. The pike on Spider have usually always run nice and thick, which makes for good fillets and mighty fine eating.

Caiden’s first-time visit to Spider had him talking non-stop the rest of the way home. It had to be a great experience for a 10-year-old; catching his biggest northern ever, fishing this beautiful lake, having a shore lunch and even using a toilet that was out in the middle of the woods. It was fun to watch Dylan mentoring Caiden and doing everything he could to make sure he was having fun. The look on Caiden’s face when he caught his first northern was priceless. That day on Spider was a good one and although the old teacher did catch more than his share, I was always happier when one of those boys got a fish.

I was really beat after spending seven hours on the water and Grandma could tell when we got back. Dylan said he wished he could stay another day, but Grandma told his dad on the phone that another day would probably have killed Grandpa. Even though I was probably thinking the same thing at the time, I know I would have welcomed the chance and found a way to survive. Dylan’s birthday was on Friday and don’t think that he could have gotten a better present than that trip to Spider.

Until next time, take some time to introduce a kid to fishing where they can experience a great sport that will last them a lifetime.

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

I have a lot of animal heads mounted on the walls of my home.

I didn't know you were a hunter.

I'm not. I'm a bad driver.

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 drove by a convenience store offering gas for $2.43 a gallon. I needed gas. I decided to stop at the next gas station. I drove a few miles and found one that charged $2.47 per gallon. How far do you drive back to save 4 cents a gallon? I had to ask myself, "Do you feel like driving back? Well, do you, punk?"

I didn’t drive back. I stayed in a nice hotel. The only fly in the ointment was a car alarm that went off for most of the night. It was the victim of the world’s slowest car thief.

The cafe chronicles

"I knew you were from out of town," said the waitress.

"How did you know that?"

"You’re wearing shoes. What can I get you?"

"Could I have what that fellow is having?"

"Of course, but not until he’s through with it."

Still rocking after all these years

I moved about the store as if I were a displaced person in a strange land. I paused to look at a rocking chair. I have fond memories of rocking chairs involving my mother and other elders in my family. A rocking chair was a comforting place. If I misbehaved, they rocked me until I behaved. If that didn’t work, they took me outside and rocked me with actual rocks. Not really.

Once upon a time, there were three TV channels. A fellow could rock himself to sleep three different ways. Today, no one knows how many channels there are. The old TV was like a family hearth. Family members gathered around it and shared a TV show. Now we have little screens. I'm guilty of that. I have a smartphone and a tablet. It's as if we chopped up the old TV into a number of little screens.

Once upon a time, we used a telephone to call someone and ask, "How are you?" Now we use a cellphone to call and ask, "Where are you?"

A family member called me and asked, "Where are you?"

I told her that I was working at a county fair. Just then, a friend told me that his vehicle wouldn’t start. The battery needed assistance. The batteries in his hearing aids had also died. When I talked to him, he nodded when he should have been shaking his head and shook his head when he should have been nodding, so I knew he wasn’t hearing me. I asked around the fair, but it’s hard to find jumper cables in August. I finally found someone to save the night.

I got home late and sat in our rocking chair to celebrate.

Cat hockey and baseball

The cat found a discarded twist tie on the floor. It batted it around in a spirited game of cat hockey. To the cat, life is full of wonder. The cat didn’t need ice to play hockey. Our seasons are spring, summer, fall, winter and air conditioning. The feline played air conditioning hockey.

I moved from air conditioning to nature’s furnace as I watched a grandson play in the State American Legion Baseball Tournament. He played exceptionally well. I watched with head, heart and hands. I applauded robustly, so much so that I could feel the burn.

By the time his team had finished third, I was nearly finished, but I was filled with wonder and ready to play cat hockey.

This week's travelogue

I spoke in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Peshtigo is famous for not being as famous as it should be because of Chicago. On the evening of October 8, 1871, the worst recorded forest fire in North American history raged through northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, claiming 1,200 to 2,400 lives. It covered about 2,400 square miles (1.5 million acres). Chicago endured a terrible fire that same night. The death toll in Chicago was about 250.

The Hormel Nature Center is a magical place

My thanks to the wonderful crowd that filled Ruby Rupner Auditorium for my presentation at the J.C. Hormel Nature Center. I delighted in the company.

Nature notes

The most commonly seen hawk perched upon roadside utility poles is the red-tailed hawk. They are watching for fast food, primarily small mammals. This raptor uses a wait-and-see hunting style that works best from an elevated perch.

Meeting adjourned

You don’t need a reason to be kind.

On Tuesday, July 28, 56 people boarded a bus behind Slumberland in Albert Lea. Departure was at 4 p.m. with destination Target Field for the 22nd Annual Lutheran Night at the Twins.

There were bus people of all ages and varied backgrounds. They all had one thing in common, that being a Minnesota Twins fan hoping to see a victory of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I know you have heard the expression, “Dynamite comes in small packages.” Our bus driver was not only on the small side but also a dynamite lady. She handled the road construction plus heavy traffic like it was an everyday normal occurrence. In our reserved parking spot she backed that big bus in so we could exit from the front. Marilyn, you are good. (We honored her request of applause upon arriving at our destination and then again in arriving back in Albert Lea.)

Before leaving Albert Lea, each person was given a ticket to the ballgame with a number on their ticket for bus prizes. (Thanks to Landon Oldenburger for the Twins prizes.)

Enson Maattawa celebrated his birthday on the 28th of July. To honor him, the bus passengers sang “Happy Birthday.” The Twins even had his birthday on the scoreboard!

Rea Sliper, Richard Sliper, Cathy Crowe and Enson Maattawa were the representatives of the bus selected to be out on the field helping lead in singing the national anthem before game time. They even had a guide (Natalie Fell) to escort them to the singing area.

F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely on God) of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church in rural Albert Lea was the sponsor of the bus trip to the Twins. Steven Appel approached co-chairs Ben and Wayne Indrelie plus Genie and Bob Hanson to trade a free motel room coupon at America’s Best Value Inn of Albert Lea for a free ticket on the bus plus the Twins game. The co-chairs said, “Deal.”

The co-chairs decided to give this to one of the 14 youth on the bus whose number was drawn. Samatha Jamtgaard was the lucky one.

There were 20 other Twins prizes drawn. (Teddy bear, caps, pencils, ladies scarf, T-shirts, magazine, bubble head, banner, year book, floppy hat, plus others all relating to the Twins baseball team.)

There were people from near and far on the bus. For example: Jai, originally from the Philippines. Duane, the man that always is a prize winner from Hartland. Luis Jamtgaard, the best thing to come out of Iowa by way of Lake Mills. Al, the wheeler dealer of 900,000 dollar green machines called combines.

Thanks to Susie at the Albert Convention and Visitors Bureau for the plastic bag to hold all the coupons from the guys at Slumberland, Laurel and Debbie at Arby’s, Guya at KFC, Jamie at DQ, Brandi and Sara at Perkins given to the people on the bus.

The next planned activities are the number one event of the year. (Soup and Pie Supper on Monday, September 21 at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church) and F.R.O.G. will be taking a bus to Christmas By The Lake in Clear Lake, Iowa on Saturday, December 6. 

In case you’re wondering it was a very exciting game. The Pittsburgh fans were most happy with the final score of 8 to 7.

———

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.

The scurs and the Weather Eye teamed up again for an absolutely glorious string of weather last week. Will this remarkable string of sunshine continue or will we start to see some of that fabled late summer rainfall? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Thursday, mostly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows around 65. Sunny and warmer Friday with highs in the upper 80’s and lows near 65. Saturday, mostly sunny with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with a moderate chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Monday, mostly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the mid-60’s. On August 16th, we slip below 14 hours of daylight, about the same as we had back on April 26th.The normal high for August 16th is 81 and the normal low is 60. The scurs have a hankering for shish kabobs at the Steele Co. Fair.

Another good week of crop progress is in the books, although rainfall only measured a paltry .07” at the ranch with even less in Bugtussle proper. Lots of sunny weather made some of the early planted, early maturing corn move towards the R4 (dough) stage. There were no dents noticed yet, but give it a week. Right now we are on pace for corn to mature sometime in mid to late September, in other words at a relatively normal time. Soybeans continue to be primarily R5 yet. That stage tends to last a while (on average about two weeks) although it won’t be long and some of the early planted, early maturing fields will be R6. In the meantime the dreaded soybean aphids also enjoyed the dry conditions with their populations rising quickly in many fields. After a relatively healthy local population became established, we were blessed with additional winged adults from the west delivering scads of live young. It wasn’t unusual to find a dozen or more winged adults per plant, so it was no wonder matters deteriorated as fast as they did in some fields.

In the garden at the ranch, things have been far from deteriorating. The string beans hit full stride yielding several grocery bags worth. Ditto with the cucumbers. At last check Auntie Mar Mar was feverishly working on a plan to make copious amounts of bread and butter pickles from a kenning of cukes. (A kenning = 2 pecks) Always wondered where that name came from. There’s really no bread or butter involved in their manufacture. The rest of the garden is poised to explode as we approach September. There are several muskmelons increasing their girth and the other vines allow an occasional glimpse of a pumpkin or squash under their thick canopy. The sheep are growing vine crops in the pasture this year as well. Apparently they didn’t eat all the seeds out of the leftovers we tossed over the fence. That or some of the chipmunks, squirrels or striped gophers gave them an assist at planting them.

Mornings are much quieter on the bird front than they were a couple months ago. The robins were up at dark thirty to start their chorus. Now all we hear primarily is the traffic from people on their way to work. Would rather hear the robins thank you very much. There are occasional young Baltimore orioles still using the jelly feeder although I suspect they are just passing through. We still hear a few wrens, chipping sparrows and a catbird singing but their days are too numbered as we edge closer to September. I was surprised to find one late nest of barn swallows in the lambing barn last week. In about a week, they will be on the wing, joining the large group we already have. And fall is edging ever closer. The sound of blue jays and chickadees serve as a harbinger of things to come I fear.

The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour begins next week already, just in time to reinforce how fast this summer has blown by. After 11 previous outings, it’s become kind of a bittersweet experience. Sure it’s nice to see all the people you’ve met over the years but it’s also a grind. Someday it would sure be nice to have that week of my life back again. Or at least that blasted hour from the time change when we go on Eastern Time. 

Gee what would I do with all my spare time? For starters, go cruising in my Silver Hawk. I finally got the collectors plates for it after waiting with bated breath since mid-June. They arrived with only five days left on the 60 day temporary license taped in the back window. Not sure why it should take that long. It’s not like there’s been a sudden rush on licensing vintage automobiles that I’m aware of. Heck I even got the new title in a matter of a week or so and it had to be transferred from out of state. The outside of the envelope the license plates came in is covered with print apparently trying to make you think they’re really busy at the DMV headquarters along with listing things they think you ought to be doing. Here’s a thought: Maybe rather than printing all that stuff on the envelope to try to convince me how on top of things they are, they could try getting things done in a more expeditious fashion. It might leave a little better taste in everyone’s mouth. 

Something that’s become a popular practice among the car collector crowd is finding a set of expired plates from the same year as your collector automobile and getting them reinstated. One never knows where they might show up. Occasionally they’ve been used to patch holes in old granaries, barns, outhouses, etc., but sometimes they’re in cherry condition, especially when they’ve been used inside. After my experience getting new collectors plates though, I’m not so sure I want to see how long it takes the DMV to give their blessing on expired plates dating back to 1959. I might expire and be reinstated before the license plates are.

See you next week…real good then.

Funeral services for John F. Supalla will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, August 17, 2015 at All Saints Catholic Church, New Richland.  Father Raul Silva will officiate. Visitation will be held from 4–7 on Sunday at Friedrich Funeral Chapel, New Richland, as well as one hour prior to the service at church. Interment will take place at Calvary Cemetery.

John passed away on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at the Parkview Care Center in Wells. He was 93 years old.

John Francis Supalla was born on June 21, 1922 to George and Adeline (Paul) Supalla, in Brush Creek, MN. He attended and graduated from Delavan High School in 1939. He worked on his family farm after graduation. On November 14, 1946, he was united in marriage to Helen (Schroeder) in Easton, MN. The family moved to New Richland in 1949, where he continued to farm until 1967. He took a job with Custom Farm Service where he was the assistant manager. He later worked for Massop Electric in Mapleton where he sold Behlen grain bins and equipment for 15 years. After that, he continued his career with Winegar Brothers in Waseca as a Machinist until retiring at the age of 82.