Bankrupt

I played John Deere Monopoly with my family tonight. I was the first one to go bankrupt! I wander what that says about my farming financial abilities?

We broke a spindle on our DMI field cultivator on Monday.
--DMI tillage tools are very popular in our area.
--Our field cultivator was manufactured 8 miles from our farm.
--There are several local dealers of DMI equipment (now a part of CaseIH).
You would think that someone would keep parts in stock or there would be some quickly available. But no, we had to order and then wait two days for it to be shipped in.
Never the less, we were able to plant all the corn we intended to plant until we received rain. We had tilled two fields early that had dried out too much to plant, so the rain that moved in for the weekend was very welcome. Once we can get back in the field, we should be able to finish corn planting in a couple days.

The early sweet corn is up in the garden and the first planted field corn is starting to emerge.

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth,and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Genesis 2:5

Spring

We enjoyed a beautiful spring week here on the farm. Warm days, cool nights, lots of sun, and dry conditions for field work. We never had these conditions at all last spring. Some local farmers started planting on Monday, a full month earlier than last year! We have been doing a lot of catch-up tillage (that didn't get done last fall) and leveling a lot of ruts made last fall. We waited until Wednesday before we planted our first field.
Three years ago we bought a new planter and partnered it with our old tractor(JD 4430). The planter uses vacuum to singulate the seed. Our old tractor barely had enough hydraulic flow to create the necessary vacuum to do the job, so we made a command decision after planting the first field to replace the hydraulic pump with a bigger one. Two days and several thousand dollars later, we were back in the field with all the vacuum we need to do the job well. We put in a full day planting Saturday and are prepared for a big week ahead.

On my office wall, I have a needlepoint plaque (that I think was a wedding gift) with the following saying:

Who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see believes in God.

So we begin another farming year in faith.

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Ecclesiastes 11:6

Young Group

It was our turn to host the Young Group after they sang at the Nursing Home tonight. Son #1 told us not to expect more than a dozen or so people. When I came in from my work, the yard was full of cars and the house was full of about 30 youngsters! A pleasant surprise. There are four young girls visiting from Phoenix for the weekend, and the neat thing is, I was in the young group with all of their parents many years ago. Some of the young men were singing quartet music together for a while. There are several games going on including "Settlers" and a noisy game of Foosball. The old farmer's lovely wife made a big lunch which disappeared quickly.

There are people milling all around the house visiting and I'm not sure when I will get to take my shower or go to bed. But I'm not complaining - this is a good thing! Many lasting friendships and ties are being made and strengthened.

And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:42

Plumbing

While getting ready to settle into my basement recliner the other night to do some reading, I noticed water where water shouldn't be! Damp carpeting, wet books on bookshelves, wet magazines on the counter, and wet slide tray boxes in the cabinet. After dismantling the dropped ceiling, moving all books and magazines, taking down the shelves, and searching high and low, I couldn't find where the water was coming from. The next day, I discovered that we had sprung a leak in the copper drain line from our kitchen sink, which is above the basement ceiling. I had trouble finding it because it only leaked when the sink or dishwasher were draining.
Now generally, minor household maintenance jobs languish on the honey-do list for long periods of time (years), but when books are threatened, I take immediate action!

I called our plumber.

Now this part of our plumbing was installed in 1960, so when the plumber fixed the leak and tested the line, he discovered another leak. Which is typical when working on old plumbing. The mere act of messing with the pipes uncovers every other weakness. And of course that meant a trip to the hardware store (or supply house) because he didn't have the needed parts on his truck. We did without a kitchen sink overnight, and Kirk and Clint were back this morning to wrap up the job. They did their job well because there are no leaks and the old pipes have been replaced.
Fortunately, we managed to salvage all but a couple books and a pile of old magazines. It forced us to do a little spring cleaning and we found a few items in the back of the cabinets I forgot I had. And a lot of stuff I should probably get rid of.
Maybe.

I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isaiah 41:18