Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Last weekend, Pat and I took a trip out to Lincoln, Nebraska to see the Purdue basketball team take on the Huskers.   Yes, the game didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted, with Purdue losing the game, 83-80.  That was a downer, but there were many good things on the trip, too–especially the pleasant and friendly people of Nebraska.

Here we are at the game in Lincoln, Nebraska

A highlight for our weekend was getting acquainted with Big Ten Network basketball analyst Shon Morris.  While we were waiting at O’Hare in Chicago on Saturday afternoon, this big, tall guy came and took a seat across from us.  I thought I recognized him…  I remarked to him that if he could fit inside the little plane we were taking, then Pat and I should be able to fit, too.  (Shon is 6’10” and the EMB 145 airplane doesn’t have a tall walkway!)  This began a pleasant, hour-long conversation with this polite gentleman.  We learned a bit about his growing-up years in Iowa, and we shared some about our farm experience.  He was quite engaging, and personable.  He seemed genuinely interested in our story.  We felt completely at ease in our conversation.  He invited us to visit him at the game on Sunday afternoon.  We did go down to see him court-side before the game started, and again, it was a comfortable visit.  I can say we made a new friend in Shon Morris, and we will now watch his work on BTN with special interest.  Thank you, Shon, for your kind and respectful sharing of your time with us!

We enjoyed many sights in Lincoln, like the state capitol building, and the massive UNL Memorial Stadium.  We saw where new farm tractors are tested and certified by the university.  And, we had a happy Sunday morning of worship with Capitol City Christian Church.  The Haymarket neighborhood around the Pinnacle Bank Arena (PBA) was fun with many choices of restaurants and shopping and activities, including an outdoor ice rink!  All in all, we had a fun time in Lincoln.  We just wish the Boilermakers could have finished out the game with a win…

In the Haymarket area of Lincoln. Our hotel is there on the L of the picture. The neighborhood had many choices of restaurants and activities. Fun!

We thought it was nice for Lincoln to have brought the Boilermaker Special out to put on display! Well, it looked similar…

The Nebraska State Capitol Building. On the top is a statue called “The Sower”, fitting for an agricultural state.

UNL Memorial Stadium. Wow, it’s a big one!

Worship service at Capitol City Christian Church.

Well, we were excited going IN to the arena!

PBA seats over 15000.

As we were flying home late Monday afternoon, we were able to catch a glimpse of familiar territory around home.

Over the left wing of the EMB 145, this is the area along US 50, east of Vincennes, IN.  You can see the US50/US41 tri-level bridge near the wing. Above that, I have circled our farm’s main location! Yes, it’s not a terrific picture, but it was really cool to see this on Monday.

Back on the farm, we attended a training session today at CPS-Wheatland to learn about using Climate.com’s FieldView system more effectively.  We will not need to be using a beta version this spring, so the full functionality of the app has been put into effect.  This information platform is helpful to pull together our use of both CIH and JD digital information.  We look forward to being able to use FieldView again in 2017 for planting, spraying, and harvesting.  Soon, we will be able to incorporate our fertility records and soil testing.  The capability for the future is intriguing!

Chad Dow of Climate Corp explains some features of the FieldView and FieldView-Cab apps.

Brandon is away in Texas for a few days at a quarter horse competition in Fort Worth, TX.  He is having some success down there!

Ross’ recuperation is going well; he will soon be able to do some weight-bearing on that ankle, and the doctor is confident he will be fully functioning by mid-April.   Just in time for planting, huh?  That was the plan anyway.

We hope your days are going well.  Now that February is here, it seems like we are in the waning days of winter.  Spring and planting will be here soon!