F2F IV

We decided to head to Omaha again to attend the Farmer2Farmer conference and trade show put on by Farmers Business Network.  It is a good couple day getaway prior to the busy Christmas season.  I always learn a little something, and I like to see what's new and coming.  The first day we sat at a table with Greg who farms east of Calgary, Alberta.  He raises spring wheat, canola, and malt barley.  The next day I sat by Rob, who farms near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, raising spring wheat, canola, and pulse crops.  It's interesting to compare our different farming practices and challenges.  I also had the privilege of visiting with the founder and CEO of FBN who just happens to have graduated from the U of I with an Chemical Engineering degree. There were almost 2800 farmers from across the country and Canada present.
The speakers were excellent as usual, including Captain "Sully" Sullivan ( the pilot who landed the US Airways plane in the Hudson River), Adam Savage ( director and host of TV show "MythBusters"), and Adam Steltzner ( Chief Engineer at NASA' Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

We arrived home Friday evening in time to get ready for our first big Christmas on Saturday.  It was a full day of food, fellowship, and gifts.  I received two new books and a popcorn cake!  We got to keep Scott, Joy, and Justus overnight.  I may have played more with Justus than I spent visiting with his parents.😏  Attendance was down a bit this year, but still a crowd.  I was home doing chores when they took the annual grandchildren picture, but here is a copy with the oldest farmer and my mom with the grands and greats.

 
The previous weekend Dan and Carol took us to the Peoria Symphony/Apollo Chorus performance of Handel's Messiah.  We attended the pre-concert lecture and learned a few more things about Handel and his work.  Handel was a German who moved to England to write Italian operas for King George II.  In 1741, Charles Jennens gave Handel a list of scripture and asked him to compose an oratorio to be performed on Passion week.  Handel completed the composition in three weeks, and it was first performed in Dublin, Ireland on Good Friday, 1742.  All the words of the piece are direct scripture quotes. Since then, it has been traditionally performed on Good Friday, until Christmas became such a commercialized holiday that it is now usually performed around Christmas.  The Apollo Chorus (from Chicago) has been performing it annually for 140 years, over half of the entire life of the Messiah!   I thoroughly enjoy the Morton Community Chorus's version, which we attended also again this year, but the Peoria Symphony/Apollo Chorus was truly professional.

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
John 4:25

Buildings

It snowed six times before December 1st.  I don't know what that means, but it is unusual.  And then last night we had a thunderstorm and tornado watch.
The long johns are on for the duration.

Tonight we went Christmas caroling.  It seems way too early for that!

Every summer the painters from down south stop in and want to paint our buildings for cheap.  Our barn needed painting pretty bad, but we kept putting them of by telling them that we were going to side it one of these years.  Well, we finally got around to doing it.  Blunier Builders, who also sided our corn crib in the past, started the project during harvest.  For safety reasons, we had to shut down power several times for them while they were working .  The first time, the generator wouldn't start and we blew up the battery trying to jump start it.  First time I've seen a battery explode!  A quick trip to town for a new battery and all was well.  We still have some trim painting to do, some tuck-pointing, and some other repair work, but it turned out real nice.  The oldest farmer and his wife were pleased that we are restoring the centerpiece of the farm.

Before (construction had already started) and After.

We have temperature sensors in our hog buildings to alert us to power failures and high/low temperature problems.  If there is a problem an Alarm company calls us to let us know.  Usually we will get a couple calls a year (often in the middle of the night) and they are almost always false alarms.  Last week early one morning at 4:45 A.M. the phone woke me up and it was the Alarm company calling to report a temperature problem.  Everything was working fine when I finished evening chores, so I was tempted to stay in bed and ignore it.  A couple minutes later they called a second time, so I decided I better check it out.  I crawled out of my flannel sheets cocoon, slipped on some warm clothes, and headed out into the 12 degree temperature.  Fortunately everything was normal and I was able to slip back into bed for a little more sleep before the alarm went off.  We assume there was a malfunctioning sensor.  It is good insurance to have them, but a pain when they don't work correctly.

 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isaiah 58:12