Farm Visit

Recently, my cousin Ed told me about something that he had found on his farm that he thought I might like to see. Yesterday, Will, Rob and Eleanor joined me for the visit. On the way and for old-times' sake, we stopped for breakfast at Ditto's. For many years, Dad ate breakfast here almost every morning with his various friends.

While we waited for our corned beef hash, pancakes, eggs, and other goodies, Eleanor did some coloring with her Pop. Ditto's provided quite the extensive crayon collection.

When we arrived at the farm, Ed was out working.

He showed us how his machine shed had been framed with the timbers from one of the two old barns on the farm. Eleanor was fascinated by all of the machinery and posed for us on one of the tractors (a Farmall MTA, for those of you who may be interested). She also liked seeing all the cats and kittens and their Beagle, Daisy. Later, Karilyn showed Eleanor her Beanie Baby and thimble collections too.

This is the remaining barn on the farm. You may recall from prior postings that Will is quite interested in timber framing. So, he and I were interested in seeing how this barn had been built in that style.

But the big attraction was finding these carvings in the barn. This one reads H. F. - 1915. These may be the initials of the owner of the farm four generations back. The farm has been in the family for at least five generations now.

The more interesting carving for us was this one. We were not quite sure how to read the first initial in the second pair of initials. If it was an H, then this could be my father expressing feelings for my mother when he was a young man growing up on the farm. However, it definitely appears to be an E or an R or some combination, maybe an H with an E somehow superimposed. Too bad there wasn't a date to help figure this out (or a father still around to ask). Either way, this was fascinating to see, and maybe some day we will come up with a best explanation. Any suggestions or ideas would be most welcome.

Early Holiday in Nashville

A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Nashville for an early holiday celebration with Jessica, Mike, Travis and Nicole. On Saturday, there was a baby shower for Jessica, but I'll let Kathie or someone else do a posting on that. We have pictures, but I wasn't there, so I can't describe the action. However, prior to the baby shower that Saturday, we all went to a downtown pub named Bailey's, which hosts Iowa fans for all Iowa football games. Iowa played Indiana that day. The girls were able to stay until it was time to head for the baby shower. We guys stayed through the entire nail-biting experience. (Iowa won 18-13).

Mike and his sister, Amanda, were there.

Nicole and Travis were there.

And, of course, Jessica, Kathie, and I were there. It was fun. The food was good, and there were lots of other Iowa fans there too.

Kathie and I had been busy for weeks before the trip making things for the baby, who is expected in January. Among other things, here is a chenille blanket that Kathie made for the baby.

Shortly after Jessica and Mike told us about the pregnancy, I offered to make a crib and/or changing table for the baby. They picked a plan from among several I had, and I bought a bunch of cherry and started working. The "crib" is unusual in that it has two drawers below and a small cabinet for storage. I made the front rail so that it could be removed and replaced with an open side frame when the baby is older. In other words, it converts to a toddler bed at some point. If they wanted, they could remove the entire top part and have a smaller-than-twin-size mattress made for use for another few years.

The changing table is actually a chest with drawers and shelves behind a couple of doors. The changing table part sits atop the chest and can be eventually removed.

Here are the proud, expectant parents with the crib/bed. Some of the shower gifts are adorning the crib.

We took a set of mandatory departure pictures before we headed back in the direction of home. (Actually, we visited my sister on the way home.)

Unfortunately, Mike was at work.

Jess looks great. She is her same self, just with a baby bump. So far, the pregnancy has been pretty easy for her. We are all eager to see the beautiful little girl that will arrive in January.

Henry Makes A Car

A few weeks ago, Betsy and her family were here to spend a few days with us. Henry had previously said that he wanted to build something in my shop when he came--maybe a car. I told him that would be fun and that he should start by drawing a plan for the car he wanted to build. Here is the plan he created. His drawings are the ones on the right. The two on the left are ones I drew to discuss with him how the pieces were to be assembled. Note the several locations in his drawings where he shows a drill is to be used to create the holes for the axles for the wheels. I was impressed with this detailed work.

We started by making some wheels using a hole cutter on my drill press. There is a little movie below that shows Henry at work. Betsy admired her skillful son's work.

Clara just thought it was too noisy.

Here is my grandson making the wheels. I thought it was a little funny that he liked to really crank down on the drill, making some smoke in the process. I should have taught him to pull the hole cutter through the wood a little more slowly, but that can be a lesson for another day, I guess. We failed to get a picture of the finished product. Suffice it to say that Henry made a very nice little car and that he did most of the work himself. I look forward to building other things with him in the future.

A message from Kathie: On October 2nd, I received an email with tragic news about the breeder of my puppy, Tighe. The DesMoines Register carried the headline, "Rural Ogden woman found dead in well; likely tried to save puppy. Click here to read the article.

Marcia touched my life and as the days went by, I wanted to write our story.

MARCIA GAVE ME A GIFT

It was March 2010 when I filled out the Puppy Questionnaire for Marcia King-Brink and Windmill Farm. Now I was driving to Ogden, Iowa to meet Marcia, her dog Keeva, and the four-week-old pups. Keeva was a bit protective of her first litter and wary of me as a stranger. I sat quietly on a bale of hay until she had inspected me and been reassured by Marcia that I was no threat to her young puppies. The “Fabulous Five” were just waking up as Marcia called, “puppy, puppy, puppy…”

Twelve years ago when our Golden Retriever, Murphy, was dying of cancer, I knew I wanted to introduce a puppy to our household before the big dog was gone. I had had a Border Collie mix when I was younger and missed the smartness and working attitude of the herding breed. Murphy was lovable and had a great heart, but intelligence was not his strong suit. I don’t remember how I discovered the English Shepherd breed, but I was lucky enough to find a female ES puppy from a breeder in Florida.

Josey became our “nearly perfect” dog, friendly, fearless, biddable and beautiful. She survived a skunk spray, killed young raccoons, and waited patiently as I pulled Porcupine quills from her muzzle. Last fall, when she was 12 years old, a neighbor’s Husky viciously attacked her. Marcia heard the story of how I bathed her wounds, removed dead hide and bandaged her with baby diapers. The recovery was slow as the winter months crawled by. She was making good progress, when she tore her ACL chasing deer in the February snow. I realized then that her time with us would be limited, and I knew I wasn’t ready to be without an English Shepherd in my life.

Marcia put me on the definite list, and I watched the on-line postings of the pups as they opened their eyes, explored life close to Keeva’s side and were named for comic book super heroes. Because Josey was sable and white, I was partial to the two sable pups, but Marcia had been teaching me about “right fit” for our household. One of the pups would be selected for SAR training (search and rescue), so we had to wait until they had matured enough for that pup to be chosen.

We shared our stories as women commonly do. Both of us were in our fifties and married to older men. Her husband (DH Kenny) farmed, and mine grew up on a farm. I learned that DH sometimes stood for darling husband, and we laughed about the other meanings. I had taken early retirement at age 55, and Marcia said she was thinking of starting phased retirement in January 2012.

In July, Marcia called to ask me if I would like Redstone, the big shaded sable boy in the litter. Of course, my answer was yes. He would become my second English Shadow, registered Tighe Redstone of Windmill Farm.

Marcia continued to counsel me about puppy training and neutering and asked for progress reports and photos. His littermates, Sage, Maya, Topaz and Aurora (Rori) would carry Marcia’s love and training too.

Now, when it is time for Tighe to come to me, “puppy, puppy, puppy” is still his favorite call, and I hear Marcia’s voice as I watch the love and joy in his face as he runs to me.

Sarah & Josh's Big Day

Both Sandy and Betsy have already posted pictures from Sarah and Josh's wedding day. Check out their blogs too. Here are mine, in no special order. I wish I had taken more pictures. For example, here is my newest Swedish great nephew, Oliver William, with his lovely mom. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of Felix.

Clara was resting a bit before the wedding. Later, she danced the night away.

Here is my good looking spouse and my oldest grandson, Henry, the author of books about dinosaurs.

Henry and Clara were willing to pose for me for a change. Sarah and Josh used roses and baby's breath for most of their decorations.

Jessica and Mike came from Nashville. I've never seen a bad picture of the two of them. Great smiles! And in another three plus months, they will be blessing us with another grandchild! Yay!

Cousins from Iowa City and California were also there.

Anders liked the baby's breath. He also danced the night away.

The person who introduced Sarah and Josh to each other gave the opening toast. Sorry, but I don't remember her name.

Here's their first dance as a married couple. They looked terrific. Sarah was so pretty and Josh so handsome, and they really had some moves on the dance floor.

I took this shot from a distance. Neither Anders nor Will probably knows that I took it. I have no idea what they were discussing.

Eleanor and her Pop watched the dancing, but they danced together also.

Eleanor liked the chocolate fountain and made herself some chocolate strawberries.

Cousins! I have so many great pictures of these two darling girls through the years. Here is one more.

Tighe Update

Tighe is now presumably half grown. We like his masked face and his curled tail. He is becoming more mature in his behavior but still has a long way to go.

Sometimes, he is very hungry.

There Is Always More Fun to Be Had at the Lake

Good friends, Dick and Rina, were here for most of last week. Of course there was fishing. Dick just couldn't get enough of it. He prefers to fool fish with plastic rather than try to entice them with meat, as he puts it. (Worms, minnows, leeches.) For him, bass striking a lure, even when they miss, seems to make any outing worthwhile.

Both Rina and Kathie caught nice bass on one trip up the river. (They used meat.)

I love this shot of Dick, who looks the very essence of a north woods fisherman here.

Rina enjoyed herself too. What's not to like about the scenery and the fresh outdoors?

Kathie took this picture of me. I guess I need to shave more often.

There was hot tubbing, with margaritas served by the cabana boy.

There were walks in the woods with Daisy, Josey, and Tighe. Tighe couldn't leave Daisy alone, and she was so tolerant of his constant nipping even though it made her neck sore. Too much puppy still!

There were more nice sunsets while we were out fishing.

Here are Dick and Rina just before they headed for home. Kathie and I enjoyed their visit very much. Hope they can come again next year.

Tighe Is Growing Up

Maybe some of you wonder how Tighe is coming along. On the one hand, he is not very well behaved. He has trouble leaving other dogs alone, although Josey seems usually to succeed in putting him in his place. Stealing things from other dogs is evidently completely justifiable to him. He isn't very obedient, and has a definite mind of his own, although he is learning sit and a few other commands. Everything in the world is available to him for chewing, or so he would believe. Repetition and training may eventually bring him around. He is still a puppy, after all, and at least he seems to be well house broken. His weight is now about 24 pounds, roughly twice what he was when we brought him home. Kathie believes this may have him topping out at about 50 pounds. There is no doubt he is cute.

Kathie succeeded in getting the two dogs to play tug-of-war with each other.

Both dogs like being at the lake. Here they are suggesting that coming back inside would be welcome.

Luna, a neighbor dog, comes to see Josey occasionally. Tighe likes chasing chipmunks and exploring, but he stays close to home for the most part. He accidentally went for a swim in the lake one day, and he seems to like paddling around, but the jury is still out as to how much of a water dog he will be.