Yogi

Yogi Berra passed away last week.  He was considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of baseball.  He spent most of his career with the New York Yankees and was an All Star 18 times and won the World Series 10 times.  After he retired as a player, he coached and managed in the Major Leagues.  He is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I remember reading a biography of him back in grade school.

Most people know him for his "Yogi-isms".  Here are some of my favorites.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

It ain’t over till it’s over.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

It’s like déjà vu all over again.

No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.

Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.

Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.

 I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.

Never answer an anonymous letter.

 The future ain’t what it used to be.

It gets late early out here.

 Pair up in threes.

Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.

You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.

He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.

It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.

 I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.

 I never said most of the things I said.

 It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.

So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.

Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.

 If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
Colossians 2:4

Progress

We had a bumper apple crop this year, but haven't had time to make cider.  Harvest is in full swing.  Corn and soybeans are both dry now, and we are approaching the halfway mark.  Yields are variable, with corn running below average and soybeans above average.  We have been sleeping with our windows open, which means we get to listen to the sound of grain dryers and bin fans all night.  I get used to it after a few nights, and I'm usually tired enough anyway after the long days.  The combine sat in the shed two days last week.  One day we were waiting for parts and Saturday I was home alone with no help (no brother, no nephews, no sons, even the wife was gone), so I sowed the wheat.  This is about the earliest we've put wheat in.  Right on the fly free date.  Friday night the leg shut down.  One of the Zellers came out and determined that we roached one or possibly both motors on top that drive it.  Since they are 108 feet in the air, we called our millwright.  This morning they showed up with their crane and we had two new 10 HP motors running the leg by noon.

He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
2 Samual 22:51

Fields and Funerals

I drove my parents to Chicago for a funeral Friday.  We got caught in some traffic in the city, but we made it to the church on time.  It was my oldest male first cousin's wife who passed away.  Boyd met Lois when he would spend weekends and summers at my parents house while he was attending college.  Big city funerals are not as simple as a small town funeral, with the traffic and all.  The burial was in Elgin, about a 45 minute drive away from the church.  There was no processional, everyone just drove on their own.  It made for a 325 mile, 10 1/2 hour day.  But it was good to be there, it was a blessed day, and it was good to see so many of my cousins.

When we stepped out of the car in the Chicago church parking lot, we got the news that Uncle Elmer (You Illinois folks got it made!) had passed away in Lester.  One of my favorite Uncle Elmer stories was on one of his rare visits to Illinois.  We were discussing farmland and he gave this reason for a recent purchase.  "An '80' came up for sale close to me, and I accidentally had $50,000 in the bank, so I bought it."  This was a few years back when land prices were much cheaper.  I never seem to have those kinds of accidents!  I probably won't make it to the funeral, but my prayers are with the family.

In August I attended three field days put on by Ag companies.  For the most part, the weather was very comfortable, and the food was good.  Then on the first day of September, we attended the Farm Progress Show in Decatur.  It was a very hot, humid day, but we managed to cover the entire show and brought home much farm swag to prove it.

Yesterday afternoon, we finally got the combine into the field to start harvest after fixing two unexpected hydraulic leaks.  The early corn is dry, so we hope to make good progress this coming week.  It took about a half an hour to get all the electronics set and the displays in sync.  Then on the first round I backed into the four-wheeler for the second time this year.  It keeps getting parked on the field edge in the corner where I turn around when doing the end rows and I don't see it in the mirrors.  It will survive.  On my second swath, the head found our Christmas tree.  I'm not sure how it got out into the field, but thankfully it didn't do any damage.  Picking the end rows by the garden the head found a steel post that marked the edge of the garden at one time.  Again, thankfully it didn't do any damage.  I hope things will go a little smoother from here on.

  And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
Genesis 23:13

R & R

The old farmer's wife received a gift certificate to a local Bed and Breakfast for planning and managing a wedding reception for a friend.  We needed to use it before harvest, so on a Thursday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, we headed to Mossville to the Old Church House Inn.  We enjoyed the unique and comfortable accommodations and the gourmet breakfast they served us.  Since we were so close, we decided to tour Chillicothe and Three Sisters Park.  I think it was the first time I was in Chilli since High School sports. We discovered a used book store in town; Waxwing Books in the stately old Carnegie Library building.  We will probably drive back sometime when we have more time to browse.

We hadn't taken a summer vacation besides the large "Family Vacation" in about four years.  We wanted to go somewhere within a days drive and with a cooler climate.  We chose Door County, Wisconsin for a five day getaway.  We took our kids camping there in 1993, and we were looking forward to going back.  We rented a little VRBO cabin near Ephraim and spent our days relaxing, eating, touring, hiking and biking in Peninsula State Park, and shopping.  We found a used bookstore in Fish Creek, smoked fish in Gill's Rock, and pure maple syrup at Jorn's Sugar Bush in Egg Harbor.  It was a cool week and we kept our jackets on for most of it, so it was a nice respite from typical August heat.

Our cozy cabin in the north woods.

Cana Island Lighthouse.

Goats on the roof of Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay.

We toured the Great Lakes tug, the "John Purves" at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park.

"Torch", the Boil-master, putting the finishing touches on the food kettle at our fish boil at The Old Post Office Restaurant in Ephraim.

View of the Ephraim harbor from Peninsula State Park.

    

Door County shoreline in Peninsula State Park.

As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
John 21:9