Tag Archives: Dave Nelson

Letter to Dave

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Dear Dave,

There has been much talk recently of airborne drones and the
possibility of loss of privacy due to their use. Lisa and I have
recently been under intense surveillance, not by drones but by a small
calico cat. Otherwise it’s been a good winter, how ’bout you?

The cat is the stray we put up in the barn. I made a nest of straw
bales and opened a sack of cat food and left it. We rarely saw
anything of the cat except her shining eyes when vehicle headlights
flashed the barn. The little cat came up to the house for water and
then would quickly leave. We made a few short sightings which allowed
us to identify her as a tiny, black calico. She has now begun
visiting more often and we suspect she is in heat. We suspect this as
she meows loudly enough to vibrate the windows and watches us
constantly. She also likes to crawl on the screens, sometimes
parallel with the ground. This brazen, open display of amour is a bit
disturbing but I guess it is just nature. The little cat has lost
most of her fear and I suspect I may have been able to pet her just
yesterday but felt that may have caused complex and confusing
emotions and so stayed indoors. Our cat, Twich, instead is in charge
of “stray calico social development” and pretty much treats her as a
either a servant or pest which is how he treats everyone.

Onto something more serious, Dave; the History Channel is presenting
“The Bible,” each Sunday night during the month of March. Roma Downey
from “Touched by an Angel” and her producer husband Mark Burnett
created the series. “The Bible” has been met with much acclaim and we
liked it too. Dave, you and I were fortunate that guys like Pastors
Mathre, Hofrenning and Gabrielsen made sure we learned the course of
the Bible. Because of this prior knowledge, I was able to follow the
pace of “The Bible” however some people may need to watch it a couple
of times to catch everything. There is, however, a fair amount of
narration that will help most keep up with the rapid-fire pace at
which the greatest story ever told, is told.

Here’s the deal, Dave. I believe this production of “The Bible” is
doing so well because people really needed to learn this story in a
familiar format; the television. People have chased possessions,
money, status, politics and have found these things unsubstantial.
They want something more. I saw a poll just a few years ago that said
more people today believe in unidentified flying objects than in God.
I believe this is nothing more than the need for a higher power by a
populace that has no religious education; their bibles are comic
books and their church is the internet. “The Bible” is a series
delivered in a way most-easily absorbed by a populace who need a
story that is believable, not because of clever storytelling, but
because it is the truth. So many people have made science fiction a
part of their personal belief systems, they may find historical fact
refreshing and more satisfying. It will fill a void they have been
trying to fill with Bigfoot, teen-age Vampires and little green men.

That’s enough for now, Dave. I purchased a mower out in Garrison,
North Dakota and so suspect I will be seeing you soon and so will save some
conversation for that time.

You’re little bro
Grant

Letter to Dave

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Dear Dave,

 

I love the change of seasons. I am a sucker for introspection and there is no better time to take stock than when one season hands the baton to the next. I will spend the first few lines of this letter indulging myself.

 

I think I am healthier than last year as this time. Few know this, however I have lost about forty-five pounds of weight in the last seven years. It has been a very gradual decrease because I refuse to give up every indulgence (that would be beer) in my life. I want this weight loss to be a lifestyle change and not a diet, I also wish for it to be sustainable as I don’t want to do it again. Personally, life is good with Lisa as always and she seems to like me too-a good thing as we recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.

 

On the agriculture front, we had a good crop despite the drought and the prices nationwide are quite good. This set of circumstances, joined to low interest rates, have driven up land prices. Land prices have increased four to five times over in the last seven years with the steepest incline over the past three years. It is said that there is “land for buyin’ and land for sellin’.” We sold again this year but I really don’t feel bad as we still have our nice little farm and we’re both happy. I also suspect that anyone who lived in the farming culture through the late seventies and early eighties remembers what it was like when commodity prices tumbled. I can easily remember the tractorcades, the penny auctions, Farm-Aid, farmers losing land or putting marginal land into crp and even some banks closing their doors. I think the banks will be fine even if there is trouble as they now demand a healthy down-payment plus collateral in addition to a provable cash-flow. Also many of the larger farms have such large critical mass that they can take a reduction in cash-flow or land value and recover the loss over time. I see young people taking on tremendous debt in pursuit of acreage once used only for hunting and this worries me. I hope everyone does well however I believe we will eventually see shelter-belts re-planted, land sold for pasture and the return of something other than row after row of corn. Again, I wish everyone wealth and happiness-I am just old enough to have seen this same musical production before when it played “off-Broadway” and closed sooner than first thought.

 

I hope all is going well for you out in Carrington, Dave. It has been such a long time since I last visited that I suspect it has changed. Carrington is kind of at the intersection of where the farm industry meets that oil industry so times must be notable. I bet my next visit will see a somewhat different Carrington, even though I really liked it as it was. I hope to soon send pictures of the grain bin I turned into a crowding tub next time I letter you however I am done for today. High-five the wife and kinder for me.

 

Your little bro’

 

p.s. I blew out the water lines this week and in answer to many inquiries, yes the pig flew this year!

Letter to Dave

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Dear Dave,

We’ve spoke of how I use predator flies to reduce the population of
horn flies on our cattle. The company I purchase them from bases the
frequency of shipments and number of predators on seasonal weather
conditions. I have said the last few years that when I get my last
shipment of fly predators, then summer is complete. I received that
shipment about two weeks ago.

I have spent the last few weeks participating in the most focused
harvest in North America, sugar beets. Actually we were only in
pre-pile mode but the beets look fantastic. I think area farmers are
going to be stressed this year as never before as so many crops will
need harvesting at the same time. However, this stress will be
rewarded with good prices. We fill up the concrete pads at the local
stations with sugar beets and a few days later, they are gone. It is
really such a huge process but is so efficiently run. I like being
part of the process and feel like I’ve earned the sugar I use and the
beet pulp we occasionally give the cattle.

On to world events, Dave. The death of four Americans at the
consulate in Lybia recently was a tragedy. Warnings of travel to this
country are prevalent on the television and so I’m sure we will soon
hear of young college students hiking across Lybia in an attempt to
find themselves. Most people “find themselves” as they live and work
to become a productive part of society. There exist a few who seem to
have the means (or their parent’s means) to find themselves in
indulgent and often dangerous ways. I suspect we will soon see young
adventurers who have gone for a freedom walk and “found themselves”
in a Lybian jail and now need United States resources to get back
home. You know, the resources we all created while we “found
ourselves” at jobs too demeaning and low-paying to pass the sniff
test for the young and arrogant.

Dave, I will soon have the cattle sorting pen and crowding tub
completed. Bryan Steiger built me a palpation cage for the cattle
chute too so this will soon be quite a system. I would say the
difference between my system and most commercial models is that mine
is brown. Brown wood, brown poles and old brown gates; bright red,
yellow and green powder-coated metal was just a bit too expensive for
me. The crowning touch will be the grain bin I plan to use for a
crowding tub. I am to the farming world what the 1970′s Oakland
Raiders were to professional football; a group of misfits. I take the
stuff left behind, damaged or otherwise unusable and use hard work to
make it something of worth. It is a task of which I feel great and
unabashed pride, Dave.

I heard you now have an assistant at Case/IH in Carrington, North
Dakota. I hear that she is tough and organized. I also have heard she
is your daughter, Sara. Considering Sara’s education and work
experience, I must say you did well. Now the three of us can get
breakfast next time I pass through town.

We are remodeling again and Jamie Miramontes and Nate Kolden as here
set to destroy and then create. I like them both and it is nice to
have a little youthful enthusiasm and energy around the place. They
both possess a attention to detail and good character that makes me
think they “found themselves” doing the tough things in life instead
of during hikes across a no man’s land.

Tell everyone hello and I hope your new assistant isn’t too demanding.

You’re little bro’

Letter to Dave

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Dear Dave,

Most county fairs have completed their run, vacation bible school has
begun and I just brought the first steers in for processing-summer is
over. Perhaps summer is not completely done, however it was taken a
turn and headed for the barn.

Dave, I hope harvest has gone well out in Carrington, North Dakota
and that the drought left something to harvest. We have received some
timely rain at home near St Hilaire, Minnesota but there is little margin for error right now. Small grains have largely been harvested but the corn and soybeans are
still in doubt. Anyone can talk about the weather, let’s try
something different.

Lisa and I have been watching the Olympics with some interest. There
has been such a focus this year on the athletes’ reaction to
receiving silver or bronze medals instead of gold. Often times, these
athletes are disappointed in their failure to win a gold medal and
the announcers are so surprised at their reaction. I like it when
people are a little disappointed when they aren’t number one. We live
in such a non-competitive, green participant ribbon sort of culture
that it’s good to see some people who still expect the best from
themselves. Honestly, our culture will not survive if we find comfort
in mediocrity. It’s good to have world-class athletes who remind us
that to strive for excellence is good work.

I had a quick adventure yesterday, Dave. I hauled some culverts from
Downer, Minnesota. I purchased the culverts from Randy Bjornson. I
arrived at eight that morning but Randy and I hit it off and talked
until ten. He is a small farmer who is playing in the rather large
coliseum of agriculture economics, like me. I ran down State Highway
9 which is kind of a forgotten as it sits in the shadow between
Highway 75 and 32. It was a nice drive and I saw some area of the
country I never see. Downer has an old potato warehouse which has
been converted to a bar and convenience store-rugged but unique. I
got coffee for a buck so it was all good to me.

No letter is complete without some farm talk. It is said there is
land for buying and land for selling-most of the fields I see lately
are made of selling land. It is for this reason that I always try to
get as much as I can from the land we already own. I recently opened
a lane through the woods and fenced in some trees for extra cattle
shade. I love building fence-it is a pleasure twice over, once to
build and once to view. In the interest of efficiency I have just
begun research on growing sprouts hydroponically. This sounds like an
expensive way to produce cattle food until you consider the price of
hay. Also the multiplication of a few pounds of barley seed by five
times in one week is reason enough to at least read a few pamphlets
and make some phone calls.

Times always passes quickly when I right you letters, Dave; and
today’s time has now passed.
Tell all hello.

You’re little bro’

Letter to Dave

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Dear Dave,

 

I am going to do something I’ve not done before, I am going fishing. As you know of my inherent fear of water, you may now un-drop your jaw. I am leaving today with the boys from R and R Farms-these are the fellows for whom I haul sugar beets. Anyway, I trust these guys a lot and I know I will be safe-I will also wear a life vest the minute we arrive in Lake of the Woods county-as always, trust but verify.

 

Whenever I am in the middle of a tough project, I always tell myself, “remember, 46 year-old Grant is doing this for 66 year-old Grant.” I started gathering material to build a sorting pens for the cattle. Up until now, I have always just walked into the pen of cattle and danced, cajoled, worked their flight zones and used up a year’s worth of luck to separate the few from the many. Anyway, I needed about 30 treated posts and the new cost was $640 so I started calling around and have collected a complete stack for just a bit more than 1/5 the cost.

 

My days are so often full of these tiny adventures. I purchased my posts from Red Lake Electric and some railroad ties from Mike Nelson of Nelson Services. Steve Conley was the fellow who loaded my posts at Red Lake Electric. He and I ended up talking and really had fun, we’re both pretty old school and talked old tractors for just a bit. Steve lives on the farm that Ray Ulrich (whose wife is Dad’s second cousin) grew up on. Mike Nelson and I went to the same high school so we talked prior to loading the railroad ties. I asked Mike about his airplanes and he took me for a tour. I have loved airplanes since I was little and it was a real treat to be close to planes about which I’d only read. Thanks Steve and thank-you Mike-both for the posts and the good company.

 

I’m sure we are both pretty dry, you in Carrington, North Dakota and us by St Hilaire. The small grains are turning and I’m not sure but maybe some could make it to harvest without rain. The corn was about chest high on Independence Day so those daredevils who planted before final frost are looking pretty smart right now. They will be even better-looking if we have a wet fall and are well into the corn harvest or even done. We could use rain sometime in the near future and, sure enough, on the one day of my life I decide to try fishing it does look like rain.

 

Well I better go, Lisa usually packs for us but I am packing for myself so she carefully over-instructed me on what to pack for my two day trip. If I don’t drown I will have plenty of shirts and will talk to you next month. Tell everyone hello

 

you’re little bro