BOOKS!

The old farmer turned older last week.  Since this birthday was a "milestone" birthday, my wife decided to be creative and do something special for me.  Everyone knows I like books and I like to read, so she had D#2 spread the word to have a book shower for me (not quite old enough for a card shower yet!).  For several days before and after the big day, the UPS truck stopped daily and dropped off books, the mail box had books in it, people drove in our yard and left books, and they would show up in our van.  It was extremely exciting and was about as much birthday fun as you can have at this advanced age!
I received books from numerous genres, and every one of them looks interesting.  I even got several Grandpa books that I can read to my Grandchildren.  As of this writing, I have received 32 books, but they are still trickling in.  I may have to retire early in order to get them all read!
I also received a bookworm cake from my sister decorated with gummy worms.
Thanks to all who participated!

and even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4

Wildlife

The fields dried enough this week to get back in and plant soybeans.  Last night was a beautiful evening and we were planting a mile southwest of Eureka Lake.  A flock of geese flew in and hung out as I planted.  They would move out of the way if the tractor was headed their way, but they didn't seem too nervous, and they hung around til after dark.  At dusk, three deer came out of some trees on the west side of the lake and browsed out into the cover crop in the neighbor's field.
Hawks seem to be plentiful this year.  There have been one or two following the tractor in just about every field this spring.  They watch as the tractor passes them, and if the tractor kicks up a field mouse they swoop in for a meal.

Geese through a dirty window.

The wheat is heading out nicely and we are hoping for a bumper crop.

We finished planting soybeans late this afternoon.  Cousin Paul stopped by with a young man visiting from India.  He got a ride on the planter tractor and a quick tour of the farm.  The major crops where he is from in India are wheat and rice.  He said the majority of the farm work is done by hand labor because of the huge population in India.  Although, he said, mechanization is starting to replace some of the labor.
Hopefully, all of our crops will come up like they are supposed to and we won't have to do any replanting.  And we trust God will add the increase.

Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
Job 39:26

Mushrooms

We've had over 3" of rain in the last two weeks now.  Needless to say, we haven't spent a lot of time in the field.  The corn has all emerged and is looking good.  We got about half of the soybeans planted between rains, but according to the forecast, it looks like the rest will be a while.  The first day of soybean planting, we had meter controller problems.  Everything worked great for corn planting, but as soon as we switched to soybeans, each row got an independent streak.  After 30 acres of erratic population and spacing, three hours of inspecting harnesses and running diagnostics, and at least 7 phones calls over that time period to tech support, the problem seemed to fix itself.  And nobody is sure what was wrong in the first place!  I dread what that 30 acres is going to look like when it comes up!  

Mist rising off of a field of emerging corn.

 My brother found these morel mushrooms behind an old shed at home.  Unfortunately it was after they had been sprayed with Round Up.  We have never seen morels on our farm before, but we will certainly watch this spot in the future!

 
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Genesis 1:11

Spiritual Heritage

Sunday night we attended a hymn sing at the Morton Apostolic Christian Church.
The first time in my life that I entered a church, it was that building in my mother's arms.  I spent all of my Sunday School years there and have many memories.  I think the building was completed in 1914, but was added on to and remodeled several times since.  I remember sitting with my Grandma in church.  She had a pair of doggie magnets to play with (we didn't carry a duffel bag full of toys with us to church in those days).  I remember sitting with my Grandpa occasionally, and I even remember the approximate bench where he usually sat.  As I got older, a seed corn notebook, a pen, and a roll of lifesavers were my only distractions in afternoon services. I remember VBS, youth choir practices over the noon hour,  singing annually at Restmor, "Christian Endeavor" practices, and overnight Sunday School trips.  The two ministers that I remember best from my earliest years are Henry Grimm and Francis Rother.  Francis would preach some in German if we had visitors from Europe.  I remember Elder Joe A. Getz but I don't remember his preaching.  I remember attending the funeral of two classmates, Janice and Kathy, following a tragic car accident.  We sang out of the Tabernacle Hymns in Morton, and I was impressed with the abilities of the leaders in that big room.  I remember sitting in the back bench of the sanctuary with my friends when I was in high School.  I ushered in that big assembly room for my sister's wedding (and ended up with a migraine).  Average attendance in Sunday School when I attended was about 325 each Sunday (attendance was taken and posted on the bulletin board).  Morton church was so crowded back in the '70's that we would walk down to the B-Line (Convenience store) for lunch instead of fighting for a seat in the dining room.  You had to get to church early just to get a parking spot within two blocks of church!

Both of my parents were Sunday School teachers there, Dad sang in the Mortonaires, Mom sang in the Choralaires, and Dad served as a trustee of that big old fortress.  I was twenty years old when our family switched from Morton to the newly established Washington congregation.  When we left in 1976, I don't think they had air-conditioning yet.  Ludwig Mortuary provided the hand fans to use on hot Sundays.  Since I was one of the few students who didn't attend Morton Schools, I was a bit of an outsider, but I still developed a number of close friendships that I still enjoy today.

It was a blessed evening of singing, fellow-shipping, and reminiscing.  They had the whole church open, so we explored the whole place (including the cavern-like basement) and cultivated a lot of nostalgia.  They are in the process of building a new church building, so this old one will be torn down later this fall.

This is the Bible that I received in second grade (Joanne Getz was my teacher) and my attendance pin from my early years in Sunday School.

The pulpit in the sanctuary on the second floor.  I heard many a sermon preached from here (and probably tuned out a lot of them!).  I witnessed many baptisms in the tank behind the pulpit.

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Ephesians 3:21

Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Hebrews 2:12