Another week of sunbathing weather. Good for young people wanting a tan, but not so good for the crops. The crops are late. They need to hurry up. Winter is coming. This heat will get things moving ahead, but it would be really nice to have some rain. Wheat is heading out at eight inches high. This is not a good prospect for a large crop. The situation is similar to the weather we have had in the past. The crop struggles to make grain without any rain. Then it will turn and when it starts to rain we will get swamped. The grain that is there will have the grade ruined and the second growth that will come will ruin harvest. For the grain farmers, this is not going to be a nice year.
With this drought, the hay crops are going to be very short. A smart cowboy plans ahead for years like this and will be two or three years feed ahead. Then you don’t get caught trying to buy feed at expensive prices and big trucking bills. I cleaned out my bale yard back in 1981 with the thoughts of fresh feed that fall. There wasn’t any. Winter came early. I was buying feed. I swear the old cows ate twice as much of that expensive feed. That was the last time I got caught. We had a good supply of feed for 2002 and no problems for us that year. The same thing could happen this year, shortage of feed, early winter and the cowboys are in trouble.
On the home front, the crew has all the windows in and now they are working on replacing the insulation and gyprock in the basement. I was able to buy mold resistant insulation and mold resistant gyprock. The mold resistant insulation costs $10 a bag more and the mold resistant gyprock cost more than double the ordinary stuff. All these products were not available when we built this house 35 years ago.
This morning, when it is cool in the shop, the crew is installing the throw out bearing and the used transmission. Last week when I mentioned how things were falling in place on the truck project, did I ever hex myself. The throw out bearing was rough, so we decided to replace it. A mechanic went to knock the old bearing off and the housing fell on the floor and broke the guide off that the clutch forks go in. That caused a delay as parts had to come from Edmonton. Now there is a problem with the shifting forks. The truck is still not operating. The lesson here is, if things are going well, don’t mention it.
On a personal note, the planning for my 70th birthday party on July 25 in the Waseca Hall is going along. Yesterday I filled out the permit and made an order for the liquor we need. The hall has been booked for two months already. The band has agreed to come and play. I have 15 grandchildren, some bigger, some smaller. I think that there should be a lot of the chicken dances. I think this band can play anything. This dance will be open to anyone. I hope everyone comes. We are all going to have a good time. No presents please.
Belated birthday wishes to Bev Stewart of Maidstone who tells me she is now double sevens
On all my grandchildren’s birthdays I phone them up and sing Happy Birthday to them. I also have extended that practice to some of my friends. I am not a very professional singer but I enjoy doing it. If I had known the birthday was on I would have done the same for Bev. She is a character and fun to visit with. Happy 77th birthday, Bev. Have many more.
Joke Of the week : After the Second World War, an American soldier was going back to London from the front. He was on a crowded train and was looking for a seat, but the only empty one was next to an older lady and she had her pet poodle on it. He said, “Please, madam, I'm very tired. May I please sit here?” The lady replied, “No. My precious little poodle, Miss Fluffy, is sitting here.”
The soldier walked the length of the train again with no luck, so he went back to the same seat next to the same woman and said, “Please, madam, I have been fighting at the front for months, my feet hurt and I'm very tired. May I please sit here?” The woman told him, “I cannot believe how rude you are! I have already told you that my darling little Miss Fluffy is sitting here.” At that, the American lost his temper, picked up the poodle and threw it out the window.
An elderly man who was sitting across the compartment looked at the American soldier and said, “You Americans do everything wrong. You drive on the wrong side of the road, you eat with the wrong hand and now you've thrown the wrong bitch out of the window!”
