Reading

General James Mattis, whose name is being kicked around for a position in the Trump administration, sent an email to colleagues back in 2003 that is going viral again.  In it he explains the importance of reading to those who are "too busy to read".  He applies it to his job, the military, but it would apply to just about any job, title, or position.  I would include the title Christian.  Of course, as Christians, we have the greatest compilation of reading material for life application that there is, in the Bible. The Bible should clearly be our primary focus, but we can learn a lot about life and the human condition from other good books.  I recommend reading his email which can be found here.

For our nephew's home-school play this year, they obtained a dehaired hog's head from a packing plant for one of their props.  After the play, it was brought out to the farm to be disposed of.  Of course Gus found it and claimed it for his own.  He got downright testy if you tried to take it away from him! Now we have the hog's head as a prop in our yard.

Last Friday was opening day for shotgun deer season.  It was a little windy, but still a beautiful day to be in the woods.  While scouting earlier, we found a large dead (but healthy looking) buck not far from the stand I was going to use Friday.  There were no visible wounds, so we wonder if it was hit by a car and received internal injuries that eventually killed it.  I worried that it might keep other deer away from that area.  In the evening a young 6 pointer walked right up to the dead buck and sniffed and inspected it for a while.  After he stepped past it, he stepped into my sights.  He will be tasty!

Sunrise from the stand in the deer woods.

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
I Timothy 4:13

Stuck

I have a new grandson!  Gideon Ray was born to daughter#2 and husband about a month ago.  He's a cute little guy, and gives us 5 grandchildren now.  My baby had a baby!

We drove down to visit Phil a couple of weeks ago Sunday.  It was a beautiful day, but when we got to the prison, there was a very slow moving line of people outside the entrance waiting to enter.  After waiting in the line about 30 minutes, a gentleman in uniform parked out front and as he walked to the entrance apologized to the line and said he would see if he could speed things up.  It took another hour (a total of 45 minutes is not unusual), but we eventually got processed and as we were sitting in the visiting room with Phil, the same man walked in and started visiting and mingling with the visitors and inmates.  Phil pointed to him and said, "That's the Warden".  I was surprised and impressed!  Including the fact that he was there on a Sunday.  I had a totally different impression of what wardens are like.  Probably too many movies and TV shows warped my opinion.
We had a nice visit with Phil and a nice trip down and back, but it was a longer day than we expected.

Saturday morning as we were sorting hogs from the hoop buildings, two Hispanic gentlemen in an old green pickup drove back to where we were working .  They wanted to buy a 250 pound hog and kill it on the spot.  They offered a good price and paid cash, so we picked one out for them.  My brother held the pig with a snout snare while one of the men tried to roll the pig and hold him down and stick him.  The pig was uncooperative (imagine that!) and the man had trouble finding the artery he was looking for with his knife, so it was not a good situation for a while.  Eventually he succeeded, and the pig was finished, so we loaded him in the back of the open truck bed and off they went to butcher him in their garage in Peoria!  We hope not too many people saw them driving through the city with a dead pig in the back!

I know many groups stick without stunning or shooting first, but I didn't like it.
We will sell them or anyone else pigs in the future, but we will dispatch it first with a .22, or it will leave our farm alive.

    He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
Isaiah 66:3

Overdue

My how time flies when you are having fun . . .

Harvest is finished and we are grateful.  It was challenging at times as the ground was saturated most of the fall.  We kept going as much as we could, but we cut ruts in most fields and got stuck way too often.  I think we broke 5 chains, including one of the neighbors.  Twice we borrowed PP's tractor and cart.  With it being wet and humid most of the fall, it was hard to get soybeans to dry down.  We cut more beans in the 13 - 15% range than we ever have.  It was a much earlier harvest than 2009, but there were a lot of similarities. I think it is time we invest in a good heavy duty tow rope!

But we are finished and we had a safe harvest, the highest average yields ever, and minimal breakdowns.

We gave combine rides to several of Son#2's former Caterpillar coworkers who have extra time on their hands, and we gave rides to our Elder and his grandson, among others.

We got the wheat sown in early October and then received 3.5 inches of rain on it.  I had to replant several patches.

A couple of weeks ago, we pulled a trailer to the old Morton church to pick up some assembly room benches we requested.  I got one of the front benches even though I requested a back bench, because the back is where I spent most of my time when we attended there while growing up.

Today we had a little unwanted excitement with a field fire.  Nephew #3 was shredding stalks, and the mower started on fire.  It was probably an overheated slip clutch that threw some sparks on the fluffy buildup on the deck.  The fire was contained using the chisel plow on the downwind side, but the Fire Department was called to the scene to assist with their "brush fire" truck as well as a tanker.

Yesterday morning when I left the house at first light, Gus was standing guard under our Ash tree outside the kitchen window.  I shot the raccoon for him and he was proud of his prize.

Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Psalm 116:7