Bumpus Reunion

It's been that weekend

.

Yes, the annual Bumpus Reunion.  The weekend where our very extended family gets together for an entire weekend or longer.  Yes,  several days and nights.

What do we do?  Well, for one thing we eat

We're pretty good at that.  We have activities for the kids. For instance we have a toy car derby

David enjoyed it

We also have a water slide

and we have and auction.  People donate items to be sold and the proceeds go toward expenses for the reunion.

Next year is our 40 year anniversary.  Yes, we've been doing this for 40 years.

What traditions does your family have?

For someone who never goes anyplace or does anything...

For someone who never goes anyplace or does anything I sure haven't had a lot of free time this week.  Part of that has been weather related.  Yesterday our big accomplishment on the farm was going to Bunker Hill for a free meal.  We have lots to do but the temperature and humidity is just too high. I know "We have soldiers in ...."  I tried that operating theory last week.  I think they are probably in better physical condition than I am.

No, I'm CERTAIN they are in better physical condition than I am.

Went to Camp last Friday.  Couple boys from town wanted to go but didn't have a ride home.  That's one problem with getting out at 2 Illinois time, working parents often can't get there.  I told them if they could get to camp I'd make sure they were picked up.  Spending a little time with a couple kids you don't normally interact with is interesting. Coming back from Washington I got drowsy.  I needed something from a farm store anyway so we stopped by Tractor Supply.  That's interesting as well, taking a couple non-farm kids to a farm store.

We hopped the river and came up Route 33.  They were fascinated with things like the old school buses with the windows cut out hauling watermelons, the fact people raised fields of sweet corn and water melons and there were you-pick blueberries.  And why DO they detassel corn?  Seeing things from a 10 year old perspective is refreshing at times.

I have a hundred things I ought to do today.  Today started at sun up with an irrigator.  I'm typing this as I eat breakfast.  Excuse the crumbs on the screen.  I took a few photos at camp.  Maybe I can attach them later.

Better run,  Later Y'all.

Setting at the desk in the middle of the afternoon ...

It's a beautiful day.  Sun is shining, light breeze, little warm but it IS late July it's supposed to be warm.  So why am I setting at the desk on the computer?  Well, I'm waiting on a phone call.  "I'll call you back just as soon as I look this over"  I would've had them call my cell phone, but I need to be able to look over some documents when she calls back.  Shortly.

I had to scan some FSA documents for crop insurance and email them to my agent.  Did that.  

Still no phone call.

So I guess I'll write on my blog.

Still no phone call.

So how has the day been otherwise?  Not bad.  I did some more painting on the bolt bins.  Oh, I didn't mention them?  Neighbor is a retired farmer.  Never was a big farmer but between farming and selling seed and other stuff he raised a family and kept the bills paid.  They have decided to move to town to a smaller place.  He had these old bolt bins in the shed, told me if I wanted them I could have them.

"They need a little work, but they're OK"

We went and got them Monday.  I forgot to take a before photo but they weren't too bad.  Not new, but have potential.  Back was loose, paint was peeling, just old bolt bins.

Phone call!

Yes, she's in the other room.  Just a minute ....

Anyway, Aman put some scrap plywood on the back to hold it together.  I scraped them, got out a can of Dad's leftover paint.  Threw it away and got another one.  Threw it away. Got out another and painted until it ran out. Finally got some exterior white latex Sue had at home and painted them.  Today I got out a quart of IH red Dad had.  Threw it out.  Found a quart of Oliver Green about half full ...do not know WHY Dad had a can of Oliver green.  Painted the trim a bit.  I think they turned out OK for what we started with and no more than we have invested.

Now we just have to decide where to put them and what to put in them.

Aman got a new hot rod last week.  Bought a little Hyster 3 wheel fork lift

He added a bracket on the back and stuck on a couple more weights we had setting around.  He's out of town for a couple days in sales training with Beck's and I had a little time this morning so  I decided I'd paint the weights and surprise him.

He's going to be surprised.

I took off one weight, painted the one left, and put the other one back on to paint it.  Well ... they're really heavy ... and I may not have set it down on the bracket as gently as I should have.  But I really think the bracket needs reinforced.

Maybe remounted.  At least my toes weren't under it.

OK, it's 3:00.  I'm tired of waiting all afternoon for a phone call.  I'll see y'all later.

Phone will ring as soon as I leave the driveway.

Its VBS Week!

It's VBS Week!  I know, for some folks that doesn't mean much.  My kids are all going "Ohhhh..."  Because they know what VBS Week means around our house.  Maybe I better pause and explain what VBS is.

VBS is an acronym for Vacation Bible School.  In our case in means a little church that has trouble getting over 100 people there on any given Sunday has special gatherings every evening for a week bringing in 60 to maybe 100 kids 6th grade and under.  Tonight was a little slow, only had 60 kids.  15 were in the 1st-3rd grade group.  We had probably twice that in the group younger than 1st grade.  I took some photos ...

No, that isn't out of focus.  It's just hard to find a kid setting still long enough to get their picture.  There is one time you MAY have a chance ...  
SNACK TIME

Barely...

Sue and I have always been actively involved in VBS.  The only time I haven't been involved was when it was held in June.  I've not asked lately, but we used to folks in church who took the week off as vacation time. I do know we have people who scheduled their vacation to be AFTER VBS.  Probably a sharp move.

Around our house VBS week means that by the time we get home at night we're exhausted.  And during the day there will inevitably be cookies to bake, craft items to go after,  lesson materials to pick up, something extra to do almost every day.  I'll get started on the farm a bit later than usual, and have to quit a bit earlier.  But maybe a little personal sacrifice is good for the soul?

We have about 40 adults doing things they wouldn't normally do with nearly 100 kids, many of whom never go to church.  There is a level of excitement you don't see in church most of the time.

It is totally exhausting.

It's GREAT!

On a personal note, I had a message on the answering machine from Darrell Anderson of Successful Farming radio wanting to talk about my blog.  I may be infamous again!  Anyway, I'm going to go crash.  Later Y'all,

edit:
Just got off the phone from an interview with Darrell.  He is working on shows for mid-August.  When I get a better idea when it will air I'll let everyone know.

Going the wrong way ?

I'd been out irrigating this evening.  For those who don't understand what that means, after supper (yes, supper, Dinner is served at noon) I jumped on the ATV and switched the pump from one irrigator to the other.  (Not complicated, just shut one down, open and close some valves to redirect the water, unplug and plug in the 480 volt wire and the safety wire, bring the system up to pressure and voltage, drive 3/4 mile to the other pivot, start it, drive 3/4 mile back to the pump and set the safety switch ... nothing to it)  Then I changed the shut off switch setting on another irrigator, checked on 2 others, got on the tractor with the Bush Hog and mowed an irrigator alley and some seed field end rows, jumped back on the ATV and shut down a system that had completed its circle, and came home.

Just an average evening during irrigation season.

Anyway, I'm setting there at the stop sign on Rt 1 at 9 PM when this van drives by pulling a cargo trailer.  Name on the side was some Gospel Quartet from Tipton, Indiana.

I just did a Google search for Gospel Quartet Tipton and found a web site (http://www.thedisciplesquartet.com/) for The Disciples Quartet with photos of all 5 members ....  Their web site says

July 17 : Cross Ties Gospel Barn
West York, IL - 6:00pm

 Hmmm... 6 members of the quartet in that photo ..

Anyway, back to my tale.  They go a block up the highway, kind of hesitate, and turn off.

You know they either missed their turn or are lost.

So I circle around through the alley to see if I can help.  They turn left in front of me and head east on Main Street. I sat and watched their tail lights go over the hill and thought to myself "Them boys are lost".

I could be mistaken.  They might know exactly where they are going.  They might be staying overnight with a friend.  Or they could still be wandering around the river bottoms.  I'm pretty sure they didn't go to Darwin and cross the ferry.

It did make me pause and wonder how many times we take off on the wrong path leaving someone standing there able and willing to give us direction?

Another thought came to mind as well.  I bet they were following directions from a GPS unit.  How many times do we follow the direction someone else points us instead of thinking it through ourself?

This could make an interesting communion meditation. Or it might work for a start to the Sunday morning message I have to work up for Family reunion.    Maybe I should save it.

Asphalt Gypsies

I thought I showed admirable restraint and self-control.

The Asphalt Gypsies hit the area yesterday.  At least 4 different guys running around with "a truckload of asphalt left over from a job down the road". The black pickup stopped by our house.  I saw a red  one with some name of the side at the gas station.  There were at least 2 white ones. I don't know, they might have a good product at a good price. I've never been in the mood to play games with them when they showed up.

I had an irrigator nozzle plugged, the flood nozzle that hangs down from the end .  The only one you can get to without climbing a tower or getting a ladder. So I shut the system down and go get the 966 to work on it.   I'm out in hottest day of the year so far with a tractor in the muddy end rows of the field standing on a wet tractor fender, water soaked shirt and pants, dripping off my hat, water running down my arms, trying not to fall off while removing, cleaning, and reinstalling a nozzle, when this guy pulls up on the road.  He stops, (doesn't get out) rolls down the window and hollers something I can't hear for the tractor running.

Now students, let us visit a few of the basics in Salesmanship 101 and the sub-course dealing with farmers.  Naw, probably not necessary at this point.  You already see how this is going to turn out.

I finally make out "Do you own this farm down the road?  Want to asphalt the driveway?"

I didn't take the time to say what I REALLY thought.

But as he drove away I thought of how I SHOULD have responded.  I'd have said "I'm kind of busy but my wife was just talking about that. Go down the road here to 2200. It's a couple miles.You go past the gravel road that has the sign that says "Road closed during wet weather" another mile or so farther to 2200.  Then go south to the 2nd house on the right."

By now Steve  is going "Where?"  Because you see, there is no 2nd house on the right.  If he follows that road until it ends there not only is no 2nd house, there is no other house.  And the one on that road is unoccupied.  By the time he got back out of the Wabash River bottoms I'd have been long gone.

I did think about saying "I'm kind of busy, but my wife and I were just talking about that.  Go down here around the corner to the first house on the left and talk to her about it"  But I was afraid Cheryl would figure out it was me that sent him ...

So much to write about ...

So much to write about, too lazy to do it.  Mom had company this week.  Think Dale is related to Dad?

Chevrolet ... Red ... BUMPUS on the plates.

I was afraid to ask if the ignition switch worked properly (inside joke)

Had a little wind late last week.  Blew down mom's flagpole without a flag on it!

Broke it off at the ground!  Also broke half the Ash tree and tossed it

Right on top of her little peach tree.

We had a wagon setting south of the shed.  Blew it close to 100 ft.

 

Would have went further but the hitch really dug in

 

Broke the top out of a cedar tree at Neal's.  Mom says just remove the whole thing.

On a lighter side the boys stayed with us Friday evening. Adam wanted to get out Pap-paw's marble raceway. We put it together and had a great time.  The first version was a little too tall.

Later we re-engineered it so it went all the way to the floor and the high part wasn't so far above the table.  David would put the marble in the top, then run around to the bottom to be there when it arrived.  Takes constant supervision but very good practice for fine motor skills.

So I'm setting here writing this and eating some yogurt with a July 12 expiration date on it.  Wonder how you tell when yogurt is bad?  July 12 ... July 12 ... seems like that date is important for some reason. Seems like something important happened July 12 35 years ago ....