Planting Progress

 After our time of quarantine, we made a quick trip out to Iowa to see our newest granddaughter.  We had a nice drive, and it was good to see Son#2 and family again.  And of course, our 2 granddaughters are cuties!  

Overall, April was a fairly cool month.  The ground was slow to dry out and stayed cool.  As planting dates rolled around and a cool, wet forecast, we decided to plant soybeans first.  I planted a field a day, waiting for a warm-up so I could switch to corn.  I ended up planting all of my soybeans before any corn, as I didn't really want to switch the planter back and forth.  That was the first time in my career for that.  And then for another first, we had snow on planted soybeans along with several nights of frost!  Fortunately the beans were not up yet so no damage done.  We've had some warmer weather recently, so I have most of my corn planted now.

I attended a lot of online farm machinery auctions late winter and early spring.  I would much rather attend in person, but many went online because of Covid.  My only purchase was a 16 row cultivator.  I spent a couple of our rainy days rebuilding the lower gearbox on our feed wagon.  The oldest farmer bought it new in 1973 and I am still using it almost daily.  I can still get parts for it, so it should last the rest of my useful life.

  

I am officially a card carrying member of the controversial Fully Vaccinated Club.  My involvement in vaccinations has also made me the black sheep of the family -  a label I am quite used to and not bothered by.

D#1 and family had us over one evening last week for smoked salmon and fresh morel mushrooms!  The first and maybe only mushrooms we'll have this year.

It rained Wednesday and into Thursday morning, so we decided to head to Leo on Friday for Nancy K's visitation.  She had breezed through Covid and made it past her 100th birthday before going to her eternal home to join husband Bill.  We spent the night at Maple House with D#2 and family.  It was fun to surprise the grandkids, showing up unexpectedly, and to watch N & M in action, as they were on duty while we were there.

On the way home on Saturday, we ate inside of a fast food restaurant (in Indiana)for the first time in over a year!  The closer we got to home, the more tractors I saw in the field.  We got home at 3 in the afternoon, and I was in the field working ground within a half hour.  I then filled the planter, and got a 40 acre field planted before I shut down for the weekend.  I tried to listen in to the LifePoints Gospel Sing on my iPad while planting, but was unable to for some reason and didn't want to be distracted, so I quit trying.  I will listen to the recording later.

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.           Isaiah 51:3