August Rain

We have received an inch of rain each week the last two weeks. That's about all a farmer can ask for in August to help fill out and finish the crop. Because of the slow start and the relatively cool summer, the harvest will start a little later than some years, but it looks to be a good one. We had a very good peach crop this year and are now enjoying pears. The cool nights we are experiencing are adding sweetness to the maturing apples. Summer is drawing to a close.

The old farmer's mom was born and raised near Lester, Iowa. Growing up, we visited there several times a year. I had several first cousins out there that were my age (out of 83 on my mom's side of the family). One of my cousins in particular, I spent the most time with when visiting Lester, and he regularly came to Illinois to visit us. We could probably write a book on our exploits and activities, but we won't. We have seen very little of each other over the last 30 years as he is now living in the Twin Cities with his family. But this past week he came to Illinois for a visit and we had the opportunity to spend some time together Friday night and Saturday morning with him and his family. I enjoyed the short time together "catching up" and reminiscing about the past.

We've come a long way.

And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
Genesis 33:12

Double Duty

I've been doing double duty the past week here on the farm. My partner/brother has been on vacation and the youngsters are back in school, so I'm doing all the chores and work alone. It's a slow time for us in our farrowing cycle and with farm work, so it's not hard to keep up. In addition, a neighboring hog farmer is on vacation and I'm doing his chores also. His chores are not too complicated right now either. The only problem is that the feed that is being delivered to him isn't flowing very well right now. Perhaps too fine of a grind. Anyway, while the augers are running to fill the feeders inside, I'm walking around outside of the buildings beating on the bulk tanks with a rubber mallet to keep the feed flowing. I'm not sure if it sounds like a war or a bad rock band to the other neighbors, but it gets the job done! On Saturday his farm lost power for awhile. Fortunately, his father and brother quickly arrived and started his generator, so by the time I got there to check things out, they had everything under control.
Two sets of chores keep me hopping, but I don't mind, because I take my turn vacationing also.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Proverbs 27:23

Is this August?

Did the months get mixed up?
August temperatures in central Illinois are usually in the 90's during the day with 90+% humidity, with temperatures dropping into the 70's at night. But the past week or so we have enjoyed daytime temperatures in the low 80's with low humidity, and temperatures dropping into the 60's at night. Beautiful days. The yards are still green and the fields are lush.
Definitely not the dog days so far.

Barn Swallows

Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
Psalm 84:3

Barn swallows are one of the beneficial birds on the farm. They fly and flit around eating insects out of the air. They like to make their mud nests in our old barn and our corn crib. We have had 4 nests of swallows raised in the crib so far this year. Below are pictures of the two latest. They have a dark blue upper body, pointed wings, and a forked tail. They are not as afraid of humans as some birds are. I like to watch them come and go as they feed their young.

On the Prairie

The sun’s coming up on the Prairie
Corn and hay glisten with the forenight’s rain
The aroma of the earth fills the senses
Barn swallow darting, diving down the lane.

A church stands alone on the Prairie
Stone graves and pines wait nearby
For the prayers and the songs Sunday morning
As Brethren from far and near arrive.

The Truth is always heard on the Prairie
Winds of change, o’er the years, tests of time
They’re so thankful to God for the Prairie
And the blessing laid there to find.

The wind always blows on the Prairie
As the world and the time pass on by
But God’s Word stands unchanged on the Prairie
Fountain flowing of grace, never dry
Strength and comfort till the day we die.

(from "Strong Trees Grow Slow" album by Tim Sauder)

Wind

I was awaken at 5:00 this morning by a suddenly strong wind. I decided to get up and check the DTN screen for some weather info. Before I got a chance, branches and walnuts were being hurled against the side of the house. I decided to get everyone to the basement and check the weather later. Once in the basement, we lost power. About 5:30, with the storm past, we headed back to bed to see if we could catch another 15 or 20 minutes of sleep before the alarms start going off. We dressed, ate breakfast, and read the paper by candlelight. Our automatic generator was running and powering the hog house ventilation systems, but one electronic control malfunctioned, causing a room full of pigs to start overheating. We jerry-rigged some temporary fans to keep the pigs alive, then hooked up the tractor powered generator to run the whole farm so that we could do our chores. Two sows had died overnight (perhaps heat stress from yesterday), so we had to pull them out of their crates first. I made a bunch of phone calls to technicians about the controller and thought I would have to make a 2 hour drive parts run, but at 1:00 our CILCO power was restored and the controller (with a little reprogramming) started functioning again. Our DTN receiver quit functioning and will need to be replaced (for free). An eventful morning, but fortunately no major damage or problems.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:2

Spotted

The road past our farm is a "tar and chip" hard road. The township put a fresh layer of tar and pea gravel (chips) on it 2 weeks ago. They did a very good job and the surface was smooth and uniform. The gravel chips completely cover the layer of tar, which dries hard and glues the chips solid. But, when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the sun is shining, the tar softens and melts, and the chips get loose.

I was hauling straw bales home from the field one very hot afternoon last week, and the tractor tires started throwing tar covered chips at me. They would stick to my clothes, my bare arms, and (because of a hole in my jeans) my exposed knee. I would brush them off as quickly as I could, but I ended the day spotted by sticky, black tar.

I thought of this today after hearing the testimonies and attending the baptisms of some new, young believers. How wonderful it is to be clean, unspotted by the "world", yet how easy it is to let ourselves be made dirty by the world around us. There are so many distractions, enticing activities, and temptations on this pathway we walk, that we often allow tar chips to spot us without even realizing it, or (worse yet), not really caring!

A good hand cleaner and a scrub brush removed the tar.

The Grace and Mercy of God can remove our other spots.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27