Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper
Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper
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The flowering crabs in the front yard are a busy place. There are a few robins still hanging around. They are always more than welcome here, but for their own good they really need to go south. A flock of cedar waxwings stops in for a snack of red berries almost everyday. The pileated woodpecker is about the size of a small crow and stops in a couple of times almost every morning. The European starlings are not welcome and the survivors are discouraged from coming back. They are very aggressive birds that are cavity nesters. They steal nest...
Peaches and Blossom received a different fate than an estimated forty-six million other turkeys. Eighty-eight percent of Americans will consume some turkey over the long weekend. As a good doctor in the cities said years ago, “There is no reason for anyone to go hungry with all the deer, geese, and turkeys living in the city.” The big problem with that is no hunting in city limits and most would have no clue on how to get one and what to do with it if they did. A country boy will survive, citiots not so much. Someone that hunts deer and pay...
It is the nineteenth of November and the pansies on the back porch are still blooming. Looking back guys that were a bit limp-wristed or afraid to take a dare were called pansies. Anyone aware that they are one of the toughest plants around would have called them something else. It sounds like winter is soon to get real soon and that will be the end of them for the year. Deer season for those lucky enough to live in the nine day zone is over. That is a good thing. With all the soybeans and corn crops around venison is as good as it gets. A lot... Full story
No more politics for awhile! We didn’t get it too bad here compared to the barrage the people in the swing states had to deal with. The Dems have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is easier to get people to believe a lie than to believe they have been lied to. Many were hoping Donald J. could turn Minnesota red for the first time since 1972. Close but no cigar. Hopefully Camella’s concession speech will be the last time we hear her cackle. It is a good thing a campaign ran on abortion and an intense hatred for Trump and America los...
This fall is definitely one to remember. Anyone in agribusiness that is not done with their fall work really needs to think about downsizing. If you don’t get your fall work done in the fall you are already way behind in the spring. The flowering crabs have now frozen and thawed. That usually means drunken birds flying into walls and windows and doing stupid stuff drunks do. Not feeling right to shoot partridge anymore the only ones eaten are the ones that fly into a window. Usually one or two a year provide a welcome treat. Deer season has got...
Tuesday, October twenty second and the sky lights up with lightning. Some much needed rain is coming down with it. That is a good thing for the winter grains and to reduce the fire danger. If someone had said thirty years ago that Roseau County would be corn and soybean country most people would have said “ya right”. All the work done in plant breeding had produced some amazing hybrids. Mother Nature continues to be large and in charge but many plant varieties can survive and do well under very stressful conditions. Production agriculture has...
After frost the last two mornings the leaves are falling in a steady stream this morning. Nothing in the world we live in seems to last very long. The colors that last few days have been awesome! This old goat paid the price yesterday morning once again for getting old. A cataract on the left eye had to be dealt with. Just wanted to give a thank you and a bit of a shout-out to the good people at LifeCare. From admittance to being escorted out when done the level of professionalism, respect and courtesy has to be commended. As noted a few years...
It is three in the a.m. Looked at the clock wrong so got up. There is a documentary on the assassination of JFK. This old man still remembers where he was and what he was doing when hearing the news. The same holds true for when Elvis died. On thinking back it also works when losing many loved ones. Many still believe the truth about the killing of JFK has yet to come out. Jack Ruby eliminated the possibility of getting any answers out of Oswald. Those that pull the strings of the puppets that we think are in power operate in complete secrecy.... Full story
With the soybeans just starting to be harvested it won’t be long until the flies invading our houses will be Asian beetles. The plus side is a lot less poison sprayed on the beans to control aphids. The negative is that the beetles stink, bite and are not nice. No matter which way you turn, your butt is always behind you. The daylight and dark are now the same in our days. The sunrise is halfway back south from it’s northernmost point back in June. This old man is not looking forward to short days and long cold nights. Being a snowbird is not a... Full story
Most of the white grains are now in the bin or grain sock. Those long white tubes now scattered around here and there seem to be getting more popular every year. The farmers that use them keep using them so that kind of speaks for itself. By the looks of all the corn and soybeans out there one can not help but think southern Minnesota has moved north. Way north. Is it a wonderment that the big debate was held 9-10 with the twenty third anniversary of 9-11 leaving the debate somewhere in the shadows? Love them or hate them, today’s liberal l... Full story
It is the first day of school and excitement is in the air for most going back. Especially when in high school the first thing noticed was how much classmates not seen all summer had changed. For some high school ends up being their glory days. Even more so for the Al Bundys amongst us that excel in sports. In school, as in most of life, bigger is not always better. Smaller classes are a very good thing. They give the students better opportunity to learn and the teachers better opportunity to teach. Definitely a win win. The calendars say it...
When outside this morning a sweater felt good. Fall for many of us is a good enough reason to try to stay alive the rest of the year. The berry crop was pretty sparse this year. That usually means the bears will more easily come to bait. There seems to be a lot of them around and a little thinning will be a good thing. After hunting them well over forty years ago and figuring out I can’t eat them that chapter of life is over. It was fun and good for a good case of buck fever but seemed stupid to kill something inedible. Some love them and a...
For those of us that still have a bit of a wild child in them and are still up at 9:30 p.m. check out the supermoon coming up in the east. Until it gets above the smoke from the Canadian wild fires it is almost red! The weatherman said that the supermoon is as close to earth as it gets. That is why it looks so big. Combined with smoke for extra color it is fun to see. The cavemen had to have thought the worst when looking at the same moon and not understanding any of it. Kind of like looking at today’s world and not understanding any of it. T...
Fifty years ago when first married most of our friends were our parents’ age. Normally there is a lot more to learn from people that have been there done that. The downside is that they are all passed on. When looking back they were all farmer labor democrats. It is a pretty safe bet none of them would approve of what has happened to their party. Today’s radical liberal left dems are destroying our country like never before. Here is an opinion from a former judge. “I am a student of law whose age is 85. My first year of college was 68 years...
Since all the squawking about global warming the record high temps for the day have been watched more closely. 1936 seems to be the hottest most of the time. Mom was born in McKenzie County, North Dakota in 1925. Grpa moved his family to Roseau County in 1937. Once when asked why he said “my daughter is twelve years old and has never seen it rain.” He talked about fencing in Roosevelt’s work program to earn a few dollars to survive. It was so hot that when you worked your shirt didn’t get wet with sweat, but turned white from the salt in it and... Full story
It is a good time of year for gardeners. The “new” potatoes are delicious! Still a mystery why no one tries to sell “used” potatoes. Freshly picked tomatoes are as good as it gets. The beets look to be big enough to have a meal or two. The peas are never better than when eaten in the garden. Except when creamed and served over new potatoes. The green beans are blooming but a week or so away. The number one question from here is where is the roundup ready garden seed? My garden is just one more example of what I used to do all day now takes a...
After pulling weeds in the garden yesterday and seeing how dry it was, it was nice to mute everything and just listen to a gentle rain. Retirement from farming is one of the few good moves this old farmer has made. With the numbers agribusiness people have to deal with in today’s world, the stress level is not missed at all. No matter how beautiful the crop or field so far not even once have I wished it was mine. The crops are looking good enough so the Bill Gates crowd won’t make us eat bugs for a little while. Much like falling off a tall bui...
Our world has remembered how to rain. Now the number one question is does it remember how to stop? It has been said that it doesn’t hurt to complain but it doesn’t help either. People and pets distance themselves from whiners. The dandelions seem to have did what they had to do and have slowed way down. I tried to figure out how to put a camera under the mower deck to see if they really do duck when the mower goes over them. No luck. Nature’s babies of all kinds are showing up more and more. The fox pups now are weaned and looking for an easy...
Why are the disgusting insects called wood ticks when they are almost always finding us when we are in tall grass? Grass ticks? Usually the end of June pretty much means they are done until next year. The mosquitoes on the other hand don’t give up until frozen. You only really know how annoying they are when one tries to get in your hearing aid. Back in the sixties there were columns of them going way up in the sky sometimes that looked like smoke. Smudges or really smokey fires were kept burning for days and weeks to give the farm animals a br...
Our world is now pretty much green. As Martha Stewart would say. “That is a good thing.” The yard here has had to be mowed five times so far. If memory serves correctly that is the same as all last summer. The rhubarb has now been picked the second time. Rhubarb sauce cooked with raspberry Jell-o is still a favorite. The crops on the fields that are ditched to the max or tiled are looking awesome. If some smooth talking politician can figure out how to cash in they will be preaching global wetting. Cackling Camilla is slow Joe’s insur...
Like Mr. Rogers used to say, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” With an estimated fifteen million people here illegally from one hundred eighty-two countries how much longer can we even have a neighborhood? Sixty-two percent of Americans are in full support of massive deportations. Is it a wonderment that thirty-eight percent don’t and thirty-seven percent still blindly support Sleepy Joe? The Libtards in charge of this country are doing their best to instigate WWIII. Biden is doing everything he can to get under Putin’s skin. Why... Full story
As the Japanese Emperor said after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, “I am afraid we have awoken a sleeping giant.” Likewise the American people seem to have woke up after Donald J. was found guilty of 34 felonies. George Soro’s minion, Alvin Bragg, managed to take a petty misdemeanor whose statutes of limitations had run out more than a year earlier and turn it into 34 felonies. That coupled with a corrupt judge and a jury that hated Trump that was told only what the good judge wanted them to hear completed the recipe. Kangaroos everywhere are a...
Our world has pretty much tunred green! What a welcome change from the several months of white. The air never smells better than after a rain. Our world never looks cleaner than after a few inches of snow. There is almost always some good to be found. Sometimes it is just harder to see and identify. This old man is paying the price for getting old. Besides the aches and pains, bad attitude, and lack of stamina, My friends are dying way too often. Some were younger and some older. One form of entertainment for the last fifty or so years has...
On the bright side our days will keep getting longer for another month. On the down side in another month our days will be getting shorter. The old saying “We are here for a good time, not a long time,” comes to mind. All things in moderation and be responsible for your actions applies. None of that seems to apply to today’s tyrannical government. It is all right to murder babies right up to birth, but a pro-life activist trying to block access to an abortion clinic was sentenced to five years in prison. Come on man! Its all right to use taxpa...
The first wood tick of the year has now been dealt with. As of yet, no mosquitoes have been sighted. The Asian beetles are finally starting to thin out in the house. One of the nasty things found it’s way into my chocolate chip ice cream milkshake a while back. It went unnoticed until I thought it was a bigger chocolate chip and bit it. They are are quite crunchy. If you think they smell bad when crushed they taste even worse! Be aware of your surroundings includes now looking more carefully at any and all food. It will soon be time to put o...