By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

If you want to meet somebody you haven't seen lately, the place to go is the Steele County Fair, which will be held the third week in August this year.

With that thought in mind the Ellendale High School Class of 1970 plans to gather for their 45th class reunion on Saturday, August 22. Members of the class are encouraged to gather at the Spare Time Bowling Party Room in Owatonna, which is just south of the Fairgrounds, from 3-6 that afternoon. The bar and grill at the bowling alley will be open that day and will have a room ready for the class members to gather. Jim Motz reports they have a nice bar, patio and a great grill menu at the bowling alley if people want to order something to eat.

There was a time when babies were of an age to start walking and they were laced with hard sole, high top shoes so stiff it was funny the kid ever learned to walk. How there could even have been any circulation in those poor little feet as they clumped along like they were wearing their grandfather’s chore boots, I will never know.

Now we see babies with socks or just their bare little toes and they are allowed to run that way unless they need to be protected from hot sidewalks or objets that could hurt them.

When my aunt Toody was a baby my great grandpa, Chris, frequently brought her a pair of shoes when he came to see her because he knew active little Toody would have worn out the soft little slippers that had been made of cloth or soft leather.

In my mother’s day it was common for kids to go barefoot all summer. Economical I suppose, but it was also just what kids did back then. Now kids wear "flip flops" because they can slip them on quick and easy. They are usually inexpensive and they do help protect at least the bottoms of the feet. What they do otherwise I don't know, but I doubt they are more harmful than the high heeled fashion shoes that may be beautiful to wear but murder on your feet.

In my family we always talk about my Grandma Hanson and the passion she had for going barefoot. It probably started out the same - economical. Shoes weren't as plentiful in her childhood days and she got used to going barefoot and just kept on. My mother, who was also a "barefooter," said as she grew older, she could see the advantages in going "foot naked." Walking barefoot can be beneficial because it gives more stability and you aren't as likely to trip because you can "feel" and there is no material between you and the floor, etc. to get in the way.

Why am I writing this now, or why did this come to mind? Well that old saying, "What goes around, comes around,” applies. The "Journal of Environmental and Public Health" reports that Dr. Mercola has found plenty of reasons for people to go barefoot. When was the last time you kicked off your shoes and reveled in feeling the earth under your feet? Has it been a while? It may be hard to believe, but this simple pleasure can be a powerful and health promoting activity.  This startling realization is just a beginning to gather scientific momenteum.

Given a fancy name for barefooting, it is now called "grounding" or "earthing" and it has been found to improve quality of sleep and feelings of restfulness. It also helps raise our heart's ability to respond to stimuli and alter the pace of how it beats.   Going barefoot also helps reduce muscle stiffness and chronic pain, as well as reduces the severity of inflammatory response after we have participated in intensive workouts.

"Bare footing" also helps balance our nervous system’s "rest and digest" functions in our bodies, as well as quiets our nerous system’s cue to "fight or flight." Going bare foot creates a direct connection between your body and the earth. It is like getting regular sun exposure, which is also important for our bodies. Walking barefoot outside is a simple practice we can easily accomplish and it doesn't cost a thing.

"Bare footing" not to your taste? Sit outside with your bare feet and touch the ground or grass for 30 minutes or so. Even those short periods have significant benefits. Just be sure that where you are sitting or walking has good grounding surfaces like dirt, sand or grass, better if moist. Bare soil, even with a little bit of fine stones in it, is fine, as long as it is directly on the earth and not painted or sealed are all good "grounding" surfaces.

Walking barefoot along the water at the beach is ideal because water is such an excellent conductor. Taking an early morning walk on the dew laden grass is also good as well.  Exercising barefoot outdoors is one of the most wonderful, inexpensive, and powerful things we can do in our lives.

People who go barefoot are not as apt to have some of the deformed problems with their feet like odor, or bunions, etc., because bare feet don't sweat like those encased in plastic, which many of our shoes are made from today. Leather shoes are far better, but cost more of course.

Now is the perfect time to go back to nature and take a walk in the nice green grass. Your feet will love you for it!

Birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thurday, July 30th: Tregg Hagen, Levi Horvei, Trevin Andrew Stollard, Scott Briggs, Amy Hohansee VanderSyde, Gary Sloan, Cindy Vaith, Larry Jensen, Kay Cassen, Shane Christensen, Cindy Esplan, Dani Layland, Kurt & Kelly Krumwiede, Nathan & Lindsey Schlaak, Jerry & Tanya Blouin

• Friday, July 31st: Zane Andrew Miller, Michelle Eaker Stevens, Coni Misgen Evenson, Lorie Paulson, Joan Mast, Brian & Pam Muri

• Saturday, August 1st: Parker Brant Simon, Wendy Schultz, Dale Mrotz, Karen Vaith, Stanley Jensen, Lonny Thostenson, Tad Cornelius, Karen Brockman, Rick Christensen, Larry & Carol Spear

• Sunday, August 2nd: Kolten Aaron Michael Hanson, Tara Cromwell Lembke, Cole Lehmberg, Vivian Dulas, Cora Lynn Harpel, Ryan Nelson, Scott Sommers, George Wangsness Jr., Carol Lein, Melissa Marlin and Courtney (Vallarelle) and Dakota Tracy were united in marriage in 2014

• Monday, August 3rd: Arianna Elizabeth Pence/Ortiz, Jo Lerberg, Kristine Dummer, Cynthia Nelson, Kent Swearingen, Jean Molenaar, Matthew Wayne, Nicholas Wayne, Gerald Flugum

• Tuesday, August 4th: Madysen Grace Waage, Karen Edwardson Loge, Harold Jensen, Bryce Ingvaldson, Terry Vaith, Ryan Wangsness, Michael Hanson, Tom Lang, Bethany Cooper, Rachel Reichl, Gary & Kathy Reichl, Warren & Ilsbeth Wayne

• Wednesday, August 5th: Wayne Schimek, Corey Wangsness, Gabriella Lynn Olson, Gladys Johnson, John Ramlo, Annette Thostenson, Jennifer Broskoff Dutton, Andrea & Kane Malo, Christopher & Kristen Hanson, Tom & Kari Wayne

• Thursday, August 6th: Lynn Nechanicky, Rick Cook, Matthew Miller, Andy & Mary Lerberg, Wendell & Connie Kuehni

• Friday, August 7th: Shelly Mangskau, Zachery Vangen, Lori Titus, Dylan Waltz, Jack Jensen, Dakota Wayne Heideman, Kaityn Quimby, David Arbogast, Darren Casper, Allen Wacek, Tom & Katie Marlin

• Saturday, August 8th: Ian Matthew Wayne, Luke Wangsness, John Vander Stoep, Jamie Walworth, Kathy Born, Scott Crabtree, Jessica Marcus, Sharon Miller Jensen, Barb O'Conner, Gary Peterson, Emily Jensen, Marc Collins, Matthew Swift, Don Gould, Mya Glienke

Sending you heartfelt wishes for a great day!

Just last week I was lucky enough to spend a little quality time up at the cabin; just me and the critters. Although I didn’t actually get to do much fishing, I was able to get caught up on a few things I had been putting off. There are actually some advantages to spending time alone in the woods because the alone time seems to give me a little more incentive to work on the cabin.

As I drove those 300-plus miles those three magic little words would appear to me as if in a vision and those words, of course, were, “Road Work Ahead.” There are some who have suggested we should change the name of the summer season to the construction season. Most of us true Minnesotans take the summer construction in stride and just go with the flow, but there are a few that will ride your bumper in a work zone as if to say, “Here’s my 300 bucks, now can you speed it up?”

Some folks are always in a big hurry, which can even lead a person to have a case of road rage. An example of this was the time I was returning home from one of the fishing openers and the traffic in and around St. Cloud was backed up for miles. As I sat there slowly inching ahead with the traffic, this young guy in a Chevy Blazer passed me on the shoulder and as he drove by he gave me the one- finger salute as if it was my fault the 150 cars ahead of me were almost stopped. As this genius on wheels passed the pickup in front of me, he flipped him off also. Now, in my way of thinking you don’t do that to anyone who has the old Easy Rider Rifle Rack in the back window. As finger guy passed him, the guy in the pickup smoked his tires and jumped onto the shoulder and was fast in pursuit of the young dummy who thought he was number one. I don’t know if that guy ever caught him, but as fast as he was going I’m pretty sure he did.

The weather up north this past week was just about perfect with the exception of the strong winds which made fishing a little challenging. I was surprised to find the mosquitoes weren’t bad at all, especially with the amount of rain they had been getting. The flies were a little pesky, but even they were tolerable.

I spoke to one of my neighbors, Chris, whom I hadn’t actually talked to for a couple of years and he had to tell me about the wildlife we have around our area. He has put up trail cams around his cabin and also in the woods where he baits bear. After talking to him I found out we have a resident badger that seems to spend a lot of time walking back and forth between our cabins. He has also has pictures of two bears at his bait pile and another of the cameras showed five deer and even a wolf. When he went to check that camera he found a dead deer that had been killed and half eaten, no doubt, by the wolf. Chris said we also have a pair of fox roaming the area.

After I had absorbed all of this information it just confirmed what I had always felt, and that living in the north woods that close to nature is pretty darned awesome. When you’re lying in bed at night in the dark with the windows open you can hear the loons that reside on our little lake calling each other; that is a sound like no other. One night I awoke to the sound of something fairly good sized rummaging around under the cabin; I’d guessed it to be a raccoon, but after talking to Chis I’m thinking it may have been that badger.

I have on many occasions had a grouse jump up in front of me or run across my path. Over the years I have heard the wolves calling at night and in the fall you can hear bigger critters walking on the dry twigs and leaves that have fallen in the woods. I have also heard moose calling from a nearby slough; I actually only discovered that it was moose after describing the sound to my brother-in-law Lynn Johnson who resides in Alaska; he told me he has heard that call many times over the years.

There are so many sounds to be heard around a lake and in the woods and most intensify as the sun sets and evening gives way to nightfall. The bullfrogs seem to sing in unison and there are other critters that will join in as the night wears on. Over the years we’ve had the cabin I have heard many sounds that, to this day, I have still not been able to identify. This is what makes being close to nature so very special to me.

Until next time, enjoy the summer and get close to nature by spending a little time in the 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.

On a beautiful Sunday morning June 25, 2015, a coach bus pulled in behind Slumberland in Albert Lea.

The driver, Dale Matson, hopped out and said, “All aboard, I have room for 57 people going to Church Basement Ladies at the Plymouth Playhouse Theatre.”

Hop aboard, and 56 people did. (The 57th seat was not sold.) The passengers gave a loud round of applause to passengers 55 and 56 (Darlene and Darcy) as they boarded just after the scheduled 11 a.m. departure.

The bus trip was sponsored by the women of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church of rural Albert Lea. Co-President Gale Nelson and bus activity director Genie Hanson were introduced followed by a round of applause. (Because Genie is my CEO, I was told to take over.)

Drawings were held for bus prizes. Marvin Thompson of Glenville was the lucky winner of a brightly colored bonnet with earflaps. A sweatband, visor; you name it, they had it. Please check with spouse Mary Ann to see if Marvin had the courage to wear it!!

Iris Tarvestad and Russ Shaunce were each a bus drawing winner of a large box of Norwegian red Jell-O. Lilly Otterson and Stacie Warner were each given a coupon for a free sandwich at Arby’s in Albert Lea. (Thanks to Laurel Hanson of Arby’s.)

A lady confessed that her birthday was that day. (June 28) Her name is “Lola” Babcock, so true to form of, “whatever Lola wants Lola gets,” and the passengers sang happy birthday and gave a round of applause.

From Albert Lea, Susie of the Convention and Visitors Bureau presented everyone on the bus with a goody bag of coupons from Slumberland, Dairy Queen, KFC, and Perkins. All expressed many thanks.

As the bus pulled up to the Plymouth Playhouse theatre, a round of applause was given to Dale for getting the bus there with the promise of two more rounds for a total of three, if Dale got the bus to KFC in Owatonna, plus back to Albert Lea. (Did Dale get the three Applauses? “Yes, indeed.”)

After enjoying the Church Basement Ladies presentation, as they planned a Christmas dinner, a funeral, a fundraiser and a wedding in a hilarious musical comedy, we boarded the bus to rest our laugh muscles. Once on the bus, each person was given a CD from the Church Basement Ladies of their musical.

The great KFC boss Judy met us at the door as Tammy Vershaw, from the bus, held the KFC of Owatonna door open. Lowell Elmer, with his deep voice, led us in a hip, hip, hooray – each time louder to the KFC staff after Lowell called them to the KFC counter. The staff responded with a loud “thanks” and applause as we departed. 

As Dale stopped the bus to let us out in Albert Lea, he announced, “Please look at the destination board on the front of the bus.” We did, it was flashing the word “applause.”

The trip was full of fun, food, fellowship and a free car wash. You could summarize the trip with one word: “UFFDA!”

———

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.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"How is life treating you?"

"It isn't. It’s making me pay for everything. How about you?"

"If things were any better, I'd be twins."

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: Someone asked me what powers the wind turbines when there is no wind. It's road rage and texting while driving. If you want to get more exercise, misplace the remote control for your TV.

The cafe chronicles

He was wearing a T-shirt reading, "In dog beers, I’ve had only one." My T-shirt should read, "I read T-shirts."

He stared long at the menu, delaying the inedible. He believed in moving slowly in case he happened to be going in the wrong direction. He’d written a protest song about turning 70 years old. He told everyone that he was 15 years older than he really was so that everyone would tell him how young he looked.

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

I’d sit on the steps and scan the sky, looking for a falling star to wish upon. If the hour was late and bedtime beckoned, I’d wish upon an airplane’s blinking light.

I’d wish that I could travel.

Ibn Battuta said, "Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."

Much of my boyhood traveling was by school bus or farm tractor. We had a cow manure pile that had to be somewhere and the back of the barn seemed a good spot. Cow manure is good fertilizer. One of my jobs was to apply it to farm fields by use of a manure spreader. That was a farm implement, not a politician. It wasn’t a bad job, but it was nice to have it finished. It was a good feeling when it was a dung deal.

Tom Miller of Green Bay, a former classmate, reminded me of the time when the road we lived on was far too muddy to be traversed by school buses. We needed to find our way to a hard-surfaced road where we’d be picked up. Our fathers, not wanting to be burdened with our presence for more days than absolutely necessary, wisely organized and found ways to put us on pavement.

One day, my father took us to the bus with his Allis-Chalmers tractor. We sat on the fenders and the trip was uneventful.

After school, the bus driver, happy to be rid of us, dropped us where he’d found us in the morning. Another neighbor picked us up. He was driving a tractor pulling a manure spreader. He thought that the spreader would be an appropriate conveyance for us.

He might have been right.

 Men are right occasionally. Husbands much less often than bachelors.

"You are right," my wife said in reference to a trivial matter.

"I am?" I was stunned and unsure as to how to accept the news. Being right was foreign territory to me.

I thought it might be a trick, but she appeared sincere.

I didn’t even have to employ a manure spreader.

This week’s travelogue

I spoke near Dixon, Illinois. I visited Ronald Reagan's boyhood home. He moved there at the age of nine and described Dixon as "heaven" and considered it his hometown. Reagan didn’t think Ronald sounded tough enough, so he asked people to call him "Dutch," after his father’s nickname for him, "Dutchman." The former president said the following things.

"There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go, if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit."

"We’re going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. In theory, some of those loopholes were understandable, but in practice they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary, and that’s crazy. It’s time we stopped it."

Nature notes

"There is a male cardinal visiting my feeders. He has a bald head. What’s wrong with him?" Late summer and fall is when people see bald cardinals and blue jays. Staggered feather replacement is the normal pattern for a cardinal’s molt. For an unknown reason, some birds drop all their head feathers at once. The bird’s baldness is caused by an abnormal molt and the head feathers will be replaced.

Meeting adjourned

"Let no man pull you low enough to hate him."--Martin Luther King, Jr. Be kind.

Once upon a time, we kept our porch lights on. We opened the door even if we didn’t know who rang the bell. And we could always leave the back door unlocked during the day.

National Night Out is an annual community‐building campaign that promotes police‐community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods a safer, better place to live.

Together, we are making that happen. It enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community and provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

Earlier this year, I was excited when I found out Harper Lee would publish a follow-up to her only novel, the inimitable To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s my favorite book of all time, an exercise in perfection, showing exceptional character development and intrigue. Every time I read it, I think it might end differently, which is why I pull it out about every five years, just in case!

When Lee’s sister Alice was asked years ago why another novel was not forthcoming, her response was, “When you have hit the pinnacle, how would you feel about writing more? Would you feel like you're competing with yourself?” And most of her fans were satisfied with that. How do you top the greatest story ever?

My initial excitement was quickly tempered. Wait a second. How DO you top the original? Still, I ordered a copy, looking forward to July for the release.

In the meantime, I thought about sequels which might have been better than the first entry. Usually, we think of sequels as poor follow-ups. In fact, I recently saw a “Rhymes With Orange” cartoon with God sitting on a cloud speaking to an angel. God said, “They think they want a second coming, but if I’ve learned one thing from humans it’s that if it did happen, they’d just complain the sequel wasn’t as good as the original.”

Usually we think that way, with movies especially. Still, most Star Wars fans will tell you that The Empire Strikes Back is clearly superior to A New Hope. Just the fact that the later film ended on a cliffhanger and forced you to wait three years for the next movie put it in an elite class. Of course, Return of the Jedi didn’t come close to matching its predecessor, but that might cause further conversation on why the third movie is often the worst of the batch.

Many Indiana Jones fans think Temple of Doom is better than Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it’s not by as wide a margin as the Star Wars debate. Godfather II actually won Oscars as a superior film, just as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Dark Knight did, whereas their earlier entries did not receive that acclaim. Toy Story 2 and 3 are usually viewed as even better than the already outstanding original.

So why the hate for sequels? Ever see Cinderella 2? No? Good luck even finding it – that’s how bad it was. How about The Sandlot 2? The original movie was an endearing film of young boys playing baseball and learning life lessons. The sequel was the same basic plot with different characters and less endearing-ness.

There are books that should stand on their own, including some I teach. The Outsiders is a favorite of most of my students. There should NEVER be a follow-up to that book. Sure, Ponyboy shows up in another S.E. Hinton novel, but that classic wraps things up in a good way, without a need to check in on those characters later.

Where Tom Sawyer leaves off, Huck Finn picks up, but the latter is not a true sequel, just a changing of main characters. However, Mark Twain did write some more books about Tom. You don’t hear much about them because they were not that great and were likely written because the author was in some financial difficulties and knew he could make some easy money by returning to his beloved character.

As an author myself though, I enjoyed writing the sequel to my first published work, Heroics 101. When I wrote Heroics 201, I found I had a better grasp on my characters and had a lot more fun writing them. I knew them better and could explore beyond the origin story from the first book. I’ve had a number of people start a conversation with, “No offense, but I liked your second book better. The first one was good, but the sequel was really good.” No offense taken – I agree!

So what about Harper Lee’s recently published sequel, Go Set a Watchman? The reviews I’ve read are not favorable. I tend to agree, though not to the degree I’ve seen some. It was tough to see Scout, Calpurnia, and Atticus nearly 20 years later. It was difficult to read these characters from a narrator’s point of view instead of Scout’s take, like in the original. It was extremely hard to see some drastic changes in characters I have grown to love over the years.

That being said, I also know that Lee said she would not do any revisions when she discovered this manuscript. And it shows. Her original novel underwent numerous revisions and had tremendous editorial guidance. This one shows the lack of that. It’s disjointed at times, but not unreadable. I’m still not sure if I’m glad I read it or not, but I think I would have always wondered had I not cracked open the cover. I will not likely read it again, but I know I will pull out To Kill a Mockingbird again in about five years!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is lucripetous, which means money-hungry, as in, “Many speculated that Harper Lee’s family was lucripetous in pushing through the publication of her sequel.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The Weather Eye definitely sprung a bigtime leak last week and the scurs were distraught. Will their Barr’s Stop Leak put a damper on the leak or will we see our rain continue to trickle at a slower pace? Starting Wednesday, sunny with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s. Thursday, sunny with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the mid-60’s. Sunny on Friday with a slight chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the mid-80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Saturday, mostly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms into the evening hours. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly sunny for Sunday with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 80’s with lows near 60. Monday, mostly sunny with a modest chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Mostly cloudy on Tuesday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. The sun will rise after 6 a.m. on July 31st. The normal high for August 1st is 82 and the normal low is 61. The scurs plan to enjoy their extra minutes of sleep once their ark is completed.

The second Full Moon for the month of July will occur on the 31st, making it officially a “Blue Moon.” A Blue Moon takes place every 19 years in the month of July. The next Blue Moon will be January 31st, 2018 with another that same year on March 31st. So what did the Native Americans do about two Full Moons in a month? Since their schedule largely revolved around the period between moons, it wasn’t an issue. Sounds like another thing white man managed to screw up.

Crop progress continues to be steady and very close to on track for the calendar year. Corn is in the blister stage while soybeans are largely in the R4 stage, with some of the early planted early maturing varieties making a case for being in the R5 stage. R5 is known as Beginning Seed, with a seed 1/8” long in a pod at one of the four uppermost nodes on the main stem with a fully developed leaf for those keeping score at home.

The recent rains, while excessive in some respects, showed us that it indeed still can turn on a dime in the month of July and on a widespread basis if it so desires. The result has been some phenomenal growth and pod set on the soybeans since it fell. Since August is known as the month that makes a soybean crop, it will be interesting to see what happens when we have a nearly full profile for soil moisture. Sure, there are already people wringing their hands about white mold and whatever else may befall this crop. These are the same people who also worry when we don’t get rain. Personally, would rather have the tradeoff of some gas in the tank going into August for a change.

Just when you thought it was safe to think about skipping mowing the lawn for a week, the rains fell. Amounts varied this past week from roughly 3” – 5”. At the ranch, there was one patch on a south facing slope beginning to show signs of drying out. 3.84” later, that spot largely disappeared. The rest of the lawn is growing like it was still June, meaning 3 – 5 hours out of every week will be spent going back and forth. It will also mean a renewed assault from the mosquitoes that were by some accounts starting to wane. With 7.4” of rain so far in town and 6.76” at the ranch, one can only imagine what’s going to happen.

The hot weekend wound up being spent on stacking the remaining hay in the barn, cleaning up the storm damage and mowing the windbreak. One of the crabapples that we’d somewhat nursed back to health caught the straight line wind Friday morning and split off. I left the rest of the tree, though, as it was loaded with crabapples. If the tree can withstand the winds until spring, at least the birds can utilize the fruit. More hunks of silver maple needed to be dealt with, although that’s just part of the routine of having one of these trees prone to wind damage. Probably the most disappointing loss though was an arborvitae about 12’ tall in the windbreak. It was really the only tree lost there, snapped off about 6” above the ground. These trees were planted as 12” transplants and really stop a lot of snow from getting in the yard. The heat and humidity took their toll and by the time I’d removed the branches from the fence at the kindly neighbor’s, I was pooed. It was difficult to stay hydrated and equally as difficult to keep enough repellent on without sweating or rubbing it off on all the vegetation. 

Some of the winged inhabitants at the ranch included the first cicada heard the evening of the 27th. Had heard one earlier back on the 17th at the SROC in Waseca. It appears the grape jelly supply is barely keeping up with the demand at the bird feeders. Some mornings we are serenaded by a male cardinal, something that hasn’t happened in summers past. We’ve been blessed with a great hatch of barn swallows. At any given time there are over a dozen youngsters gobbling down their fair share of flying insects. The hummingbirds are becoming more frequent visitors. They’ve developed a fondness to the Wendy’s Wish salvia amongst all the other types Mrs. Cheviot has planted. The first of the 4 o’clocks has started to bloom so as we move into August, watching the zippy little feathered marvels will make barbecuing on the patio even more entertaining.

See you next week…real good then.

Remembering the life of Bonita L. Ackman

Funeral Services for Bonita L. Ackman, 94, of Waseca, MN, formerly of New Richland, will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 1, 2015 at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Richland. The Reverend Paul Andree will officiate. Interment will be in St. Olaf Cemetery. Friedrich-Bonnerup Funeral Service New Richland is assisting the family.

Bonita died surrounded by her family on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at the New Richland Care Center.

She was born on December 8, 1920, the daughter of Gustav C. and Lydia C. (Kietzer) Frank.

Bonita was born in Mankato, but her father died when she was 2, and when her mother remarried, the family moved and she grew up in Blackduck, MN. She was a graduate of Blackduck High School and then attended beauty school in Mankato. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Harold Ackman, and they were married on November 18, 1943 at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Richland. Harold and Bonita lived, farmed, and raised their family northwest of New Richland. She used her beauty schooling to style the hair of her family and neighbors out of her home throughout the years.

Evelyn L. Standke, age 89 of New Richland died on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at the New Richland Care Center.

Born on December 12, 1925 in Byron Township, Waseca County, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Thomas and Mabel (Klemmensen) Anderson. She attended school in Owatonna and married Karl R. Standke Sr. on January 2, 1944 in Faribault. Over the years, Evelyn was employed with Birds Eye, E.F. Johnson Co., the Waseca Hospital, Tom’s Shoe Shop, and the New Richland Care Center. Evelyn enjoyed cooking, baking, reading and sewing. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Waseca, the American Legion Auxiliary and the Senior Citizens.