A year later...eMerging from the pandemic in March

 

Charlotte at her 5th birthday party! Next thing you know she will be driving! It was a beautiful day with the Manieris and Selkows at Sugar Grove Nature Center!

March in Illinois = prairie burns! 

Who doesn't delight in a prairie burn, especially if you're a child under 10 (or a man pushing 70) and you need to bring over the garden hose as backup? 

Let's be clear, I was eyeing this old farm scale for the junk pile. Then Mick expressed interest in it...after which I told Tom that we need to keep and get it restored. I have pathetic moments as a human, I know.

Old Iron Powder Coating and Restoration in Chenoa fixed that old scale right up! Tom says they used the scale when he was a kid to weigh wagons of grain here at the farm. 

Surely you've seen the commercial where the college-aged son has barely moved out and his mother is seen wielding a sledge hammer to his bedroom? 

My new study has a fresh coat of paint - mostly done by me, and industrial pipe shelving - inspired by Tom. I have great respect for DYIers who have the stamina and patience that I apparently don't for such projects. 

It was great to finally visit Mom and Dad in Utica, NY! We got right to the important stuff like frying bacon for breakfast and having dinner at Ventura's. The bartender was so happy to see them that he delivered 2 straight up Manhattans to the table as we were sitting down! 

Mom and I stopped to sit a spell in the hallway.  

Here is Tom again, this time trying to save the oat seeder from the prairie burn. This is an annual exercise. I always thought prescribed burns are like painting a room - 90% preparation. Tom likes to burn first and see what happens! 

A photo emerged from Dan in Moab during a little snow storm. Mothers appreciate these gestures.

In my new role as part-time farmer, I help Tom with various machinery repairs. Have you heard? Being a mechanic gives one license to rattle off any number of swear words when things go wrong. A favorite line of Tom's is actually something that Craig used to say after learning what swearing was all about. "Shit, damn, fart!"   

This picture is from the inside of the grain truck. It shows 2 footholds and a handhold (notice the industrial pipe theme?). Now, if a person finds themselves left behind in the grain truck, they can climb out!

Looking for bolts. 

Tom is an excellent mechanic, in fact he is a perfectionist. However, perfection begets eccentricities. His modus operandi is to get the project started and plan as you go. This is 180% from how I operate. I prepare all the requisite parts before starting a project. Not Tom. He will drill holes and then go off looking for bolts to fit in the holes. This is where I start muttering "shit damn fart."