Oh ---------------------------------------------------------------- !

No, not any pictures.

There is a pipe we put in as a culvert down on the church road.  Probably a 12 - 18" pipe.  Makes a really nice culvert.  I haven't a clue where Dad got it.  I hate it with a passion.

I know, hating an inanimate object is stupid.

I don't care.

My dislike for this pipe goes clear back to the day we put it in.  I was running the loader tractor and Dad was doing the ground work.  He bent over to pick up a log chain and almost passed out.   I convinced him he needed to go see a Dr.  Which led to the first diagnosis of colon cancer.

My relationship with that stupid pipe had gone downhill ever since.

I was mowing a couple years ago and caught the wheel on the Bush Hog

in the end of the pipe.  Jerked the end off the arm and left the wheels in the ditch.  With a rain coming.  Steve Lindley came along and helped me carry the back end of the mower with the loader to the shop.

And today I was mowing roads while waiting on a corn truck to get full (did I mention you can get 46 acres of corn on one truck this fall?) and was watching the light pole when I should have been watching the stupid pipe.  Ruined an 11.00-16 12 ply 4 rib tire.

At least $200 shot to pieces.

EDIT:  Ummm ... I guessed wrong.  $482.01 and there was no service call involved!

I told Mom later I was ready to dig the ^&%## pipe out.  She said go ahead..

I'm really tempted.

Bought another house

Yes, the rumors are true, we bought another house.   Well, sort of.  I won't go into the details online, but basically we are getting the property in exchange for taking care of removing the house.  It sets just east of the Community Center in front of Nash's

It's the area outlined in yellow.  We own what is outlined in red, and farm the ground beside  and across the road from it.  From the ground it looks more like this:

Our plans are to remove the house and make a driveway back to the field.  The house is way beyond repair.  It might have been fixable if the basement wall had not collapsed

The photo really doesn't do it justice.  The actual wall is under about 3 feet of dirt here.The cost of fixing that would have been expensive, but do-able if the rest of the house was not in such bad repair.  For instance, there is a large hole in the roof ... maybe a couple now that I think about it. The big hole was above this cabinet they had stored player piano rolls in

Well, sort of above it. Directly above was an upstairs closet, the old roof, and a roof for an addition all above this. The closet to the left of this was directly above that cabinet upstairs

The coon and 'possum left when people started digging around in the stuff.  I took ownership never having been in the house. I had been told how bad it was, and since our plans were to remove it, the condition did not matter.  A friend would really like to fix it up.  Her husband and I went through it one afternoon.

If you look closely you'll see the window in the picture is totally missing.  Nobody knows for how long.  He came to the conclusion I was right, it was beyond fixing.  We are tossing around a couple other ideas.

Everyone who has been in the house has commented on the amount of ... stuff ... left.  Keep in mind after Cindy died John took truck loads of things to various auction houses and sold them.  He remarried and when John died his widow and her family took everything they wanted, several pickup loads.  Then Knowles came in and took enough stuff for two sales at their place. After that a couple ... I'll use the term "pickers" have gone through what was left.  And then someone else has gone through and pulled anything they felt was worth scrapping out of the buildings.  I haven't been inside since they finished, but I know there is still an incredible amount of stuff left.

To be honest I'd love to have a house there.  Especially during irrigation season.  It would be great to be a quick ATV ride from the irrigators.  And there is a bit of nostalgia.  When we came back home from college our first home was across the road.  But I doubt that will happen.

Weird happenings

Most folks wouldn't believe it and those who know me wouldn't be surprised.  What is "it"?  Weird happenings. I've actually written this in my head several times, but it seems to run away by the time I get to a keyboard.  Probably just as well.

For instance Sunday we did our usual eat lunch at the West Union Cafe with Mom and friends. I had driven to church in the truck because I turned off an irrigator on the way in. We went to the cafe together then went back and got my truck afterwards.  I'm driving down main street and notice all the little orange flags marking the phone lines are going nuts.  Just as I get to where I can see the front of the cafe I see an umbrella fly up on the roof.

This is not just ANY umbrella.  Kaycee and Cheryl put picnic tables out front with probably 8 foot diameter umbrellas over them.  Patio umbrellas, that's the word I'm looking for.

So I decide to stop.  I find Joy Gilaspy and a friend holding on to the other one so it doesn't fly away. Joy a kid.  Little Joy.   I'm thinking "one more gust of wind and this could get interesting." What I didn't see was the other kid's dad under the umbrella trying to crank it down. So we get it cranked down and put inside.  I REALLY wish I'd had the camera ready to take a picture of Kaycee's face when I motioned for her to come outside or when she saw it.

I seem to attract odd things like this at times.  Maybe I should start my own X-File

Just playing

Sunday we had a church pool party at Tom and Charlotte Brown's.  They built their own water slide. 
No, I didn't.  But I got several photos

Some with kids.

and others

and of course we had food

So how bad is it ?

One of the questions I am getting more and more is "So how bad is it?"  "It' is the corn and bean crop. 

"It" is bad enough a neighbor destroyed 450 acres of irrigated seed production because it did not pollinate in the heat.  And I don't know of anyone carrying adequate crop insurance on seed corn ... this year. Next year WILL be different.

 

I'll be honest, I have a couple fields I have not even been in. I'm not sure my heart is strong enough.  Here are a few photos of places I have been

You have probably seen this one taken east of Mom's on the sand knob.  Not at all unexpected

This was taken south of Walnut Prairie east of the block building

I'd say a large part of the field is a total loss.

But this was south of Olive's.  According to the soil survey this is the best soil I farm.

 If you look closely you notice zip ... zero ... nada.  No ears at all on most stalks.  The ones that do have ears look like this:

I know, I need to get out on the 80 and True's and look.  I just want to make sure we have a full crew for the ambulance before I do.  In 1983 I won a yield contest with an 86 bushel yield from the west 80.

I don't think this year will be that good.

We doubled cropped almost all the wheat ground.  If it is not watered it looks like this

That is over 6 weeks after planting.  The weeds are not even growing.

Here is where it was watered.

 That was taken10 days ago.  The rows have closed now.  The non-irrigated looks just like it did.

Romans 8:28 still works:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him

But at times it stretches your faith.

I don't talk politics very much

I don't talk politics much.  There are more important things than politics.  I listen and may comment occasionally, but don't mistake listening with agreeing.   But I have made enough comments I think most know I am not a big fan of the current President.  So a fair question is why?

I guess I have trouble explaining things that to me are so obvious.

To my extremely political friends, a reminder I don't care which party you are affiliated with.  To my single topic friends, I do think some things are more important than others, but I also think we need a "big picture" viewpoint.  And if we don't agree, I hope we can still be friends.  I don't even agree with my wife 100% on everything, but we usually get along pretty well.

I found this on a farmer's forum I usually avoid, because it is mostly about politics and other junk.  Not sure who wrote this, but thank you to the one who did for taking the time to put it all together.  When you see all this in one spot it causes you to pause and ponder.  Or at least I think it should.



Oh, and if you think this goes on and on and on ... that too is scary.

WHEN - he refused to disclose who donated money to his election campaign, as other candidates had done, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he received endorsements from people like Louis Farrakhan, Muramar Kaddafi and Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it was pointed out that he was a total newcomer and had absolutely no experience at anything except community organizing, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he chose friends and acquaintances such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn who were revolutionary radicals, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his voting record in the Illinois Senate and in the U.S. Senate came into question, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he refused to wear a flag lapel pin and did so only after a public outcry, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - people started treating him as a Messiah and children in schools were taught to sing his praises, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood with his hands over his groin area for the playing of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he surrounded himself in the White House with advisors who were pro-gun control, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage and wanting to curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he said he favors sex education in kindergarten, including homosexual indoctrination, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his personal background was either scrubbed or hidden and nothing could be found about him, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - the place of his birth was called into question, and he refused to produce a birth certificate, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he had an association in Chicago with Tony Rezco - a man of questionable character and who is now in prison and had helped Obama to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home - people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that George Soros, a multi-billionaire Marxist, spent a ton of money to get him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started appointing White House Czars that were radicals, revolutionaries, and even avowed Marxist /Communists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he stood before the Nation and told us that his intentions were to "fundamentally transform this Nation" into something else, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - it became known that he had trained ACORN workers in Chicago and served as an attorney for ACORN, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed cabinet members and several advisers who were tax cheats and socialists, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed a Science Czar, John Holdren, who believes in forced abortions, mass sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Cass Sunstein as Regulatory Czar who believes in "Explicit Consent," harvesting human organs without family consent and allowing animals to be represented in court, while banning all hunting, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual and organizer of a group called Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network as Safe School Czar and it became known that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Mark Lloyd as Diversity Czar who believes in curtailing free speech, taking from one and giving to another to spread the wealth, who supports Hugo Chavez, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Valerie Jarrett, an avowed Socialist, was selected as Obama's Senior White House Advisor, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher and the person she turned to most for inspiration, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Carol Browner, a well-known socialist as Global Warming Czar working on Cap and Trade as the nation's largest tax, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and avowed Communist as Green Energy Czar, who since had to resign when this was made known, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary could not be confirmed because he was a tax cheat, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - as President of the United States , he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, people said it didn't matter..

WHEN - he traveled around the world criticizing America and never once talking of her greatness, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - his actions concerning the Middle East seemed to support the Palestinians over Israel, our long time ally, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took American tax dollars to resettle thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to the United States, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he upset the Europeans by removing plans for a missile defense system against the Russians, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he played politics in Afghanistan by not sending troops early-on when the Field Commanders said they were necessary to win, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he started spending us into a debt that was so big we could not pay it off, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took a huge spending bill under the guise of stimulus and used it to pay off organizations, unions, and individuals that got him elected, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took over insurance companies, car companies, banks, etc., people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he took away student loans from the banks and put it through the government, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he designed plans to take over the health care system and put it under government control, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he claimed he was a Christian during the election and tapes were later made public that showed Obama speaking to a Muslim group and 'stating' that he was raised a Muslim, was educated as a Muslim, and is still a Muslim, people said it didn't matter.

WHEN - he set into motion a plan to take over the control of all energy in the United States through Cap and Trade, people said it didn't matter.


WHEN - he finally completed his transformation of America into a Socialist State , people woke up--- but it was too late.

Add these up one by one and you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that Barrack Hussein Obama is determined to turn America into a Marxist-Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. Before you disavow this do an Internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph.

Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America ?

WHEN - November 2012 comes, it will matter who you vote for!

You didn't build that.

If you don't follow political news any better than I do you may have wondered what all this "You didn't build that" stuff involving the President is about. Comments, advertisements, speeches, Facebook postings, everywhere you see references to it

 

In a speech in Roanoke, Virginia last week Mr. Obama said “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen."

 Depending on how you approach that statement I can agree or disagree. If he had said "you didn't build that all by yourself" or you didn't build that without others" and skipped the last sentence, I don't think it would have become a political statement.  In fact, I'd be the first to agree with it.

None of us do it alone.  We have support, we have employees and contractors, we use roads and bridges, we were taught by someone else. It is never one person all by their self.  If nothing else, they have customers

The argument can be made the president was saying that public investment in education, infrastructure and research fosters private business. In return, so the argument goes, successful business leaders have an interest in supporting government programs.

But the way it came out, it fit exactly  into what the Romney campaign has been saying, that the president fails to understand how business and private enterprise work. Most of the time, Obama carefully balances his arguments about tax fairness and the role of government with other references to the importance of individualism. His stump speeches are typically peppered with lines like “we’re not a country that believes in handouts, we believe in working for what we get,” and “we believe in individual initiative and self-reliance.” 

But with the “you didn’t build that” line, Obama made people set back and wonder if his real faith lies in the power of government, not private enterprise.

That's what it is all about.