Memorial

We finished planting soybeans on the 22nd.  Most of them have emerged and are looking good.  We finished sidedressing the corn this week, and the crop is off to a great start.

On Memorial day afternoon, rain was moving in, so I quit a little early and we decided to drive to Gridley and visit the cemetery.  We decided to make a road trip out of our drive, so we meandered through the country to see the sights on our way.  We checked the crops, found where people lived, and just enjoyed country that we don't see often.  We headed Southeast of Eureka, South of Secor, through Kappa, South of El Paso, South of Gridley, North up to Flanagan, through Flanagan, then back down to Gridley, stopping at the cemetery.  It was nearing dusk when we arrived at the cemetery, still sprinkling slightly, and there was only one other car there.  But we still visited the graves of family, friends, and ancestors, paying our respects.

We had our supper at Hardee's in El Paso at 8:30.  One of our neighbors from back home was in eating also, so we compared rainfall amounts.

On Memorial Day we remember those who gave their lives to insure the freedoms that we so much enjoy in America.  We also remember and appreciate the Christian soldiers of past generations whose steadfast faith and sacrifices preserved a heritage of faith for us to take advantage of and enjoy.

For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Psalm 6:5

 

Monmouth

We turned the furnace back on this evening.  The temperature in the house was down to 63 degrees.  The sun did finally come out after a drizzly, dreary, cool week.

Yesterday afternoon we picked up Aunt Pearl and Uncle Andy in Washington, then picked up Dad and Mom in Peoria and headed for Monmouth.  We were on our way to meet up with Roger, Deann, and Ken who were bringing Uncle Russell (from Iowa) for a rendezvous for his birthday.  We met at Cerar's Barnstormer Steakhouse and enjoyed an excellent meal and good fellowship.  There was a lot of reminiscing amongst the three brother-in-laws and two sisters.  All are in their 80's, with some pushing towards 90.  We chauffeurs were feeling young at our end of the table!  We did a lot of reminiscing also as well as getting caught up on family news.  We drove through some rain off and on, but it was a nice evening drive, and we didn't even get home very late.

 
Trivia:  The Monmouth Municipal Airport is the oldest continuously operated airport in Illinois.  It was founded in 1921.  The Barnstormer Steakhouse has the owner's private collection of airport/aircraft historic items displayed throughout as decor.

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:32

Big Hole

The first round of soybeans that we planted, a quick shower came up and stopped me.  The ground was very dry so the water quickly absorbed, the sun came back out, so after a 10 minute wait I was able to continue planting.  Thursday night we were chased from the field by a shower, but we got back in Friday afternoon.  We only had a trace of rain Sunday, so Monday should have been a big day.
But it was instead, one of those days!

A feed auger motor went bad while I was doing chores.  While I was replacing it so I could feed pigs, I sent my brother to borrow a neighbor's backhoe so we could find the water leak in the driveway.  The backhoe operator dug the hole a little too deep, and caught the water line and ripped it apart.  It was the line that feeds the house and barn. We got it spliced back together and turned the water back on and water started pouring into the hole.  We dug towards the water and found that when the hoe caught the line it pulled it out of an old splice a few feet to the east.  We spliced it back together and turned the water back on.  Now water was bubbling up through the ground ten feet to the west! We re-positioned the backhoe, and kept enlarging the hole.  We found another old splice that was pulled apart when the hoe caught the line.  After this one was spliced back together and the water was turned back on, there were no more leaks but also no water getting to the house or barn.

The only thing that could have happened was maybe mud and gravel got in the line while it was apart and plugged it.  We hooked up a bunch of garden hoses to a hydrant on another water line, and back fed water through a hydrant on this line.  I took one of the splices apart again, and when the hydrants were opened, the pressure blew out the mud and gravel, and the line was clear.  After splicing the line back together again, we finally had water where we needed water!
Somewhere in there, I made a trip to the hardware store for plumbing supplies.

By now it was almost 3:00 in the afternoon and I had missed lunch.  One of the boys had gotten the planter ready, so I was in the field a few minutes later, hoping to get it planted before the next rain hit.  The backhoe also headed to the same field to quick fix a couple of broken tiles.
The field was finished after dark, but about an hour before the rain started.

Today was a little easier day.

Our farmyard driveway with the "crater".

And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.
Genesis 26:32

Emergence

You know we had a brutal winter when, on May 6, the Great Lakes are still 19% ice covered!

I noticed water bubbling up through the driveway in the barnyard today.  The deep freeze must have caused an underground water line to break.  We will have to find a backhoe and repair it when we get a break.

We had two beautiful days in a row to plant corn, and we were able to finish this afternoon.  Now we will switch to soybeans and try to get them in as quick as we can.  We will need a rain on a couple of fields before we can plant them, because we worked them since the last rain and they have dried out.  Our early planted corn has emerged with this return to warm weather.

Yesterday, I became a Grandpa again!  Daughter #1 gave birth to another precious baby girl.  We are keeping granddaughter #1 at our house for a couple of days, so tonight we took her up to the hospital to see her Mom, Dad, and baby Emmy.  She wasn't impressed.  One minute into the visit she said, "Take me back to the farm, Grandma!"

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Genesis 6:1