Today was one of those days I had to step back and think about the series of events that led me to where I happened to be standing. I flew to Miami, Oklahoma this morning on Vermeer's newest corporate jet, an Embraer Phenom 100 with Luke Mushitz (bale processor engineer), Jim Richardson (service tech), and Phil Egging (non-baler product manager). We went to an open house at the ag division's largest dealer, Eubanks Equipment, in Welch. 500-some people attended. The other Vermeer folks and I visited with customers about Vermeer equipment. It was a productive day, and I learned about the area and some details about equipment from chatting and listening. Getting down to Oklahoma by 8 and back by 3:30 also blew my mind; driving down there takes seven hours.
This trip came about when Seth Schreur offered a spot on the jet to any member of the mower group. Mike and Travis couldn't go, so Eric and I flipped for it and I won. Sorry mom, but it wasn't like I was hand-picked by a bunch of executives.
On regular workdays, I'm lately bouncing between my desk, the engineering shop on the other end of plant 2, and the plant 1 Lely mower conditioner bay where the mowers I'm working on are being made ready for delivery to our dealers. A walk from there to my desk to the shop can take more than ten minutes, so I've been putting on the miles.
Aside from work, I've been keeping busy trying to learn a little Spanish, getting outside when southern Iowa's finicky spring allows it, braiding a parachute cord mecate, and of course spending time with Sarah. I got my first day riding last week with Jesse Munk, and his incoming string of horses that need time promises more entertainment. The mecate's a project I got hooked on thanks to Tyler Schiferl, who happens to be a rawhide braider. Googling 'mecate' may answer some questions. Rawhide and parachute cord braiding are not the most popular hobbies out there, and I got curious about them when I found out Tyler braids. We'll have to see if my first project turns out well at all, which should be done in another week, I hope.
On regular days I'm still mostly doing odds-and-ends and clean-up work for the new mowers. There's a strong chance I'll be out on the road a ton this summer setting up a large portion of the twenty machines spread across the country and checking in on them throughout the season. I love going down the road, but I'll probably be wishing for the jet at some point.
4/3/13
Another round of Florida testing, Montana for Easter
Fifteen days on the road is a lot. The mower group sent two mowers to Florida for testing this year, and I spent the week before last with them. I flew to Orlando two weeks ago with Kent Thoreson and Ryan Walker, a baler engineer and the baler technician I traveled round the country with this time last year on the mower campaign. We met another Vermeer baler guy and two engineers from Lely working on other projects but staying in the same area for dinner on the 18th. They left the next evening. The southeastern states' territory manager and a newer territory rep also met us for a couple days, so I was never short of company.
I was occupied throughout the week entirely by mechanical work and didn't cut a single acre due to rain, then fear of more rain, then more actual rain late in the week. This was frustrating to say the least, but that's how it goes. I did manage a decent sunburn and thus a good start to my annual farmers' tan. I'd have felt absolutely worthless had I not had the wrench-turning to do. About the only positive result of the week was that the next guy to go down from Pella could literally just jump in the tractors and go.
Kent and Walker are always good to be on the road with; we told hundreds of stories and had many a laugh throughout the week. Kent is a couple years younger than me and is a farmer from Minnesota. Walker is the handiest, most mechanically inclined grizzly bear there ever was. He was also the primary influence on my decision to grow a beard last year.
Kent and I took in the Ocala rodeo the Saturday night I was there. Anyone from the west might raise an eyebrow or turn up their nose to the idea of a rodeo that far east, but it was actually pretty professional and respectable. It should be for how many horses are in that part of the country.
After my frustratingly unproductive week, I flew back to Des Moines alone. I had a few hours on Monday and all of Tuesday in the office, then my girlfriend Sarah and I got on a plane to Montana. My sisters and I decided a few weeks ago that Easter would be a good time to go home and visit, so we all made it happen. Only the girls came up from Arizona; no Aaron or Brian (Licia's boyfriend).
Sarah had been to Montana on family trips, but only as far west as the Beartooths. We caught the 6am flight out of Des Moines and got to Bozeman by 9:20, so the day was ours. My aunt Chris picked us up, then graciously loaned us a car to tour around. Sarah's first taste of Bozeman culture came downtown at the Cateye Cafe. The day continued with a drive to the base of Bridger and a walk around MSU. Chris and Jim joined us for dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown. We headed toward the ranch a roundabout way, via Norris for a soak and Pony for Moscow Mules.
Court and I showed her around downtown Helena the next day, after stopping to visit with my Grandma. I played in a session at Riley's, which sadly had been my first since playing there over Christmas. Dad and I made a trip to Belgrade Friday to get supplies for his next project, stopping at Churchill on the way to inspect the ranch's new Massey Ferguson 7465 tractor.
We did lots of exploring around the ranch in the splendid 50-60 degree weather. Sarah is a small town girl, so most everything ranch-related was new to her, but she was willing to learn about anything I had to show her. She loves the mountains.
Though we did lots of walking about and exploring, the focus of the trip was on spending time with my parents, sisters, niece, aunt, uncle, and most importantly my 88-year-old Grandma, who has had a trying few months but is bouncing back better than anyone ever expected. We all went to Mackenzie River for lunch on Saturday, and after finishing her water, Grandma ate her slice of lemon in one bite. I told her, jokingly of course, that we already knew she's tougher than the rest of us and didn't need to prove anything.
It was a great trip back to a rare, early and pleasant Montana spring-time. This time around, I didn't worry quite so much about getting round to see every person I could. I focused on what I'd gone there for, and had a lady to show around my end of the world on our first adventure.
I was occupied throughout the week entirely by mechanical work and didn't cut a single acre due to rain, then fear of more rain, then more actual rain late in the week. This was frustrating to say the least, but that's how it goes. I did manage a decent sunburn and thus a good start to my annual farmers' tan. I'd have felt absolutely worthless had I not had the wrench-turning to do. About the only positive result of the week was that the next guy to go down from Pella could literally just jump in the tractors and go.
Kent and Walker are always good to be on the road with; we told hundreds of stories and had many a laugh throughout the week. Kent is a couple years younger than me and is a farmer from Minnesota. Walker is the handiest, most mechanically inclined grizzly bear there ever was. He was also the primary influence on my decision to grow a beard last year.
Kent and I took in the Ocala rodeo the Saturday night I was there. Anyone from the west might raise an eyebrow or turn up their nose to the idea of a rodeo that far east, but it was actually pretty professional and respectable. It should be for how many horses are in that part of the country.
After my frustratingly unproductive week, I flew back to Des Moines alone. I had a few hours on Monday and all of Tuesday in the office, then my girlfriend Sarah and I got on a plane to Montana. My sisters and I decided a few weeks ago that Easter would be a good time to go home and visit, so we all made it happen. Only the girls came up from Arizona; no Aaron or Brian (Licia's boyfriend).
Sarah had been to Montana on family trips, but only as far west as the Beartooths. We caught the 6am flight out of Des Moines and got to Bozeman by 9:20, so the day was ours. My aunt Chris picked us up, then graciously loaned us a car to tour around. Sarah's first taste of Bozeman culture came downtown at the Cateye Cafe. The day continued with a drive to the base of Bridger and a walk around MSU. Chris and Jim joined us for dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown. We headed toward the ranch a roundabout way, via Norris for a soak and Pony for Moscow Mules.
Court and I showed her around downtown Helena the next day, after stopping to visit with my Grandma. I played in a session at Riley's, which sadly had been my first since playing there over Christmas. Dad and I made a trip to Belgrade Friday to get supplies for his next project, stopping at Churchill on the way to inspect the ranch's new Massey Ferguson 7465 tractor.
We did lots of exploring around the ranch in the splendid 50-60 degree weather. Sarah is a small town girl, so most everything ranch-related was new to her, but she was willing to learn about anything I had to show her. She loves the mountains.
Though we did lots of walking about and exploring, the focus of the trip was on spending time with my parents, sisters, niece, aunt, uncle, and most importantly my 88-year-old Grandma, who has had a trying few months but is bouncing back better than anyone ever expected. We all went to Mackenzie River for lunch on Saturday, and after finishing her water, Grandma ate her slice of lemon in one bite. I told her, jokingly of course, that we already knew she's tougher than the rest of us and didn't need to prove anything.
It was a great trip back to a rare, early and pleasant Montana spring-time. This time around, I didn't worry quite so much about getting round to see every person I could. I focused on what I'd gone there for, and had a lady to show around my end of the world on our first adventure.
1/19/13
Trip to Holland
I'm fresh back from a week-long trip to The Netherlands for work. I left Saturday the 12th with my two bosses, Mike Van Zee, the mower project engineer, and Seth Schreur, the engineering manager of Vermeer's forage division. The objective of the trip was to get some face-to-face time with our counterpart engineers and managers at Lely, with whom we are close partners and work closely with on some product lines, especially mowers. I'll err on the side of caution and stay light on project details, but we accomplished most of what we traveled there to do.
As per usual, an international trip involving Nate Cox experienced a hiccup or two. Our flight from DSM to O'Hare was delayed right off the bat, so we knew we wouldn't make the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam. We rebooked to catch a later flight to London and then to Amsterdam. While attempting to book this apparently nearly full flight, someone from the airline called and demanded the phone be handed over the counter to one of us, something none of us had ever seen. Another curious sight was a man walking through the airport wearing tap-dancing shoes, possibly the most annoying casual footwear available. Once we boarded the plane in Des Moines, power issues forced a deplaning, which seemed like a cue to give up and try again on Sunday. Reboarding was announced while we were on the phone with Vermeer's travel agent, so off we went.
Our seats on the O'Hare to Heathrow flight were supposedly reserved but not guaranteed, so we gambled the possibility of having to sleep in Chicago. When I checked in at the counter, something was fishy as a reservation for a flight to Bangalore popped up when the agent scanned my passport. She also assured me my two checked bags would meet me, even though I only had carry-ons. Befuddled, I corrected her and she did whatever magic airline agents do behind the counter. Throughout this part of the trip, I didn't have the heart to tell Mike or Seth that the travel issues were likely caused by whatever unfortunate travel karma I have. The trip back was fine though, so maybe my luck is changing.
We arrived in Amsterdam in spite of the airlines, rented a sporty Volvo T3 (which I didn't have to drive), and drove about an hour to our hotel in Vlaardingen, just outside of Rotterdam. Our travels coincided with a product manager meeting that was attended by forage segment director Joe Michaels and baler product manager Phil Chrisman. They and two Lely counterparts stayed at our hotel.
Being a business trip, the agenda was quite full and didn't include much time for sightseeing. Typically, we'd eat a very nice breakfast at the hotel, go to Lely for the day, go out to dinner with everyone else from Vermeer along with several Lely folks, then head back to the hotel fairly late. The exception was Wednesday afternoon, when Jelle, Seth's counterpart, took us to a large canal lock. Basically two movable dams, these 1000 ft structures block off a main shipping lane from the ocean when storm surges or high tides are expected. Without it, large parts of Rotterdam would flood. Five inches of snow fell and stuck on Tuesday, and we watched a couple dozen kids sled down a man-made hill in the area. That much snow is a big deal in Holland, and driving on Tuesday was chaotic; the country set a record with 1000 kilometers of traffic jams. Even with Seth's experience driving in snow, handling the rear-wheel-drive, moderately powered, slick-tired Volvo was a chore.
The food was excellent. From the exceptional hotel breakfasts to a Greek restaurant to an up-scale restaurant to an "Australian" pub-style place, every part of the meal was of wonderful quality and served in just the right quantities. The dairy products were especially notable, and it's easy to tell the Dutch take great pride in them. Coffee is also taken very seriously. Single-serve coffee vending machines are easy to find at Lely, they serve every kind of non-fufu coffee you'd need, and trips to them are taken often. I normally try to keep my habit to one cup a day, but drank well over that on this trip. I probably shouldn't admit how much coffee I drank last week, but I only had one cup yesterday morning, and had the shakes this morning.
We have regular webcam meetings with Lely. I'd met Jelle (say yella), and Sjoerd (say shoe-erd), one of Lely's mower project engineers who's played a key role in this project, in person in August in Pella, but had not met Harmen, another mower engineer, and Chris, a product manager who has worked mostly with mowers since he was hired in July. Harmen is a couple years older than I am and is more or less my Lely counterpart. Chris is Irish and almost exactly my age. Originally from Waterford in the "sunny southeast", he knew the area I had lived in well. He's also about my height, which was notable because virtually everyone towered over me last week. The Dutch are seriously tall. All of them are quite agreeable to be around and I am glad to have had some good chats with all of them. An important part of these trips is getting to know these people in person, which I definitely believe makes working with them more comfortable and more productive because we understand each other's modes of thinking better.
The most enjoyable part of this trip was no doubt the people. The Dutch are an extremely polite, rational people. My first impression was that anyone so well-dressed and proper would look down upon a typical American, but the opposite was true. Rarely have I been so genuinely engaged by people I barely know. Whether talking to Jelle, Sjoerd, Harmen, or anyone else from Lely I happened to be in a room with no matter their job, I was spoken to eye-to-eye so to speak (not literally given their crazy tallness) and listened to very earnestly. There were no cellphone distractions. Such courtesy is something only a small few Americans have, and we may not even realize we're going without it until we experience it firsthand. I shall strive to be able to give my attention to others as fully as the Dutch do.
As per usual, an international trip involving Nate Cox experienced a hiccup or two. Our flight from DSM to O'Hare was delayed right off the bat, so we knew we wouldn't make the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam. We rebooked to catch a later flight to London and then to Amsterdam. While attempting to book this apparently nearly full flight, someone from the airline called and demanded the phone be handed over the counter to one of us, something none of us had ever seen. Another curious sight was a man walking through the airport wearing tap-dancing shoes, possibly the most annoying casual footwear available. Once we boarded the plane in Des Moines, power issues forced a deplaning, which seemed like a cue to give up and try again on Sunday. Reboarding was announced while we were on the phone with Vermeer's travel agent, so off we went.
Our seats on the O'Hare to Heathrow flight were supposedly reserved but not guaranteed, so we gambled the possibility of having to sleep in Chicago. When I checked in at the counter, something was fishy as a reservation for a flight to Bangalore popped up when the agent scanned my passport. She also assured me my two checked bags would meet me, even though I only had carry-ons. Befuddled, I corrected her and she did whatever magic airline agents do behind the counter. Throughout this part of the trip, I didn't have the heart to tell Mike or Seth that the travel issues were likely caused by whatever unfortunate travel karma I have. The trip back was fine though, so maybe my luck is changing.
We arrived in Amsterdam in spite of the airlines, rented a sporty Volvo T3 (which I didn't have to drive), and drove about an hour to our hotel in Vlaardingen, just outside of Rotterdam. Our travels coincided with a product manager meeting that was attended by forage segment director Joe Michaels and baler product manager Phil Chrisman. They and two Lely counterparts stayed at our hotel.
Being a business trip, the agenda was quite full and didn't include much time for sightseeing. Typically, we'd eat a very nice breakfast at the hotel, go to Lely for the day, go out to dinner with everyone else from Vermeer along with several Lely folks, then head back to the hotel fairly late. The exception was Wednesday afternoon, when Jelle, Seth's counterpart, took us to a large canal lock. Basically two movable dams, these 1000 ft structures block off a main shipping lane from the ocean when storm surges or high tides are expected. Without it, large parts of Rotterdam would flood. Five inches of snow fell and stuck on Tuesday, and we watched a couple dozen kids sled down a man-made hill in the area. That much snow is a big deal in Holland, and driving on Tuesday was chaotic; the country set a record with 1000 kilometers of traffic jams. Even with Seth's experience driving in snow, handling the rear-wheel-drive, moderately powered, slick-tired Volvo was a chore.
The food was excellent. From the exceptional hotel breakfasts to a Greek restaurant to an up-scale restaurant to an "Australian" pub-style place, every part of the meal was of wonderful quality and served in just the right quantities. The dairy products were especially notable, and it's easy to tell the Dutch take great pride in them. Coffee is also taken very seriously. Single-serve coffee vending machines are easy to find at Lely, they serve every kind of non-fufu coffee you'd need, and trips to them are taken often. I normally try to keep my habit to one cup a day, but drank well over that on this trip. I probably shouldn't admit how much coffee I drank last week, but I only had one cup yesterday morning, and had the shakes this morning.
We have regular webcam meetings with Lely. I'd met Jelle (say yella), and Sjoerd (say shoe-erd), one of Lely's mower project engineers who's played a key role in this project, in person in August in Pella, but had not met Harmen, another mower engineer, and Chris, a product manager who has worked mostly with mowers since he was hired in July. Harmen is a couple years older than I am and is more or less my Lely counterpart. Chris is Irish and almost exactly my age. Originally from Waterford in the "sunny southeast", he knew the area I had lived in well. He's also about my height, which was notable because virtually everyone towered over me last week. The Dutch are seriously tall. All of them are quite agreeable to be around and I am glad to have had some good chats with all of them. An important part of these trips is getting to know these people in person, which I definitely believe makes working with them more comfortable and more productive because we understand each other's modes of thinking better.
The most enjoyable part of this trip was no doubt the people. The Dutch are an extremely polite, rational people. My first impression was that anyone so well-dressed and proper would look down upon a typical American, but the opposite was true. Rarely have I been so genuinely engaged by people I barely know. Whether talking to Jelle, Sjoerd, Harmen, or anyone else from Lely I happened to be in a room with no matter their job, I was spoken to eye-to-eye so to speak (not literally given their crazy tallness) and listened to very earnestly. There were no cellphone distractions. Such courtesy is something only a small few Americans have, and we may not even realize we're going without it until we experience it firsthand. I shall strive to be able to give my attention to others as fully as the Dutch do.
1/8/13
MT Christmas, Iowa City New Year's Surprise
Happy New Year! I have been back at work for a week after a trip home for Christmas. It was a very good time, and I was glad as always to see my parents, Grandma, Bozeman family, Alicia, and luckily this year my mom's brother and his family joined us from Texas for a more wintry, and truly white, Christmas than they're used to. The food was exceptional as it is at any Daehne gathering. I wish I got to see all of my family more, especially the Daehnes, whom I only see every other year or so.
We visited a ton, cooked, ate, played games, cooked, ate, and admired the snow. I fed a couple days for my dad but somehow didn't have to fix a single piece of yellow hay equipment. I had some good visits with friends and neighbors as well. I was happy to fit one day skiing at Bridger with Mr Larry Lee in before I had to leave. Can't wait to see everybody again soon!
I drove this round for several reasons, of which I had to keep reminding myself:
The drive back to Iowa, however, included another story but not about roadtripping. I've been seeing a girl for almost three months, so not quite long enough to have planned Christmas around each other's families. She's from Iowa, and was with family around Christmas but didn't have as long a break as I did. I convinced her that I was going to spend New Year's in Montana to make the most of the long drive. I schemed with a friend of hers and planned secretly to surprise her in Iowa City, where her and her friends would be. To do this, I left on the 30th, drove hard, got to Pella the afternoon of the 31st, showered and changed, and got back in the truck for another hour and a half. All the while, I had to make it seem like I was skiing, going out with friends, or spending time with family. I somehow kept the ruse afloat, and showed up as planned. As I sat in the living room with a smirk on my face, she walked past me twice, and looked straight at me once before she was urged to notice something in my corner of the room. She was shocked. Mission accomplished. Happy New Year!
Work's sending me to the Netherlands next week, so more stories forthcoming!
We visited a ton, cooked, ate, played games, cooked, ate, and admired the snow. I fed a couple days for my dad but somehow didn't have to fix a single piece of yellow hay equipment. I had some good visits with friends and neighbors as well. I was happy to fit one day skiing at Bridger with Mr Larry Lee in before I had to leave. Can't wait to see everybody again soon!
I drove this round for several reasons, of which I had to keep reminding myself:
- It cost about as much as flying
- I didn't want to gamble six weeks ahead of time when would be best to fly. This worked out very well because the midwest's first blizzard of the year rolled through the day before I left, and flying would have been a nightmare.
- I'd be able to haul a lot more stuff than I could fly with
- I'd have the freedom of having my vehicle there
The drive back to Iowa, however, included another story but not about roadtripping. I've been seeing a girl for almost three months, so not quite long enough to have planned Christmas around each other's families. She's from Iowa, and was with family around Christmas but didn't have as long a break as I did. I convinced her that I was going to spend New Year's in Montana to make the most of the long drive. I schemed with a friend of hers and planned secretly to surprise her in Iowa City, where her and her friends would be. To do this, I left on the 30th, drove hard, got to Pella the afternoon of the 31st, showered and changed, and got back in the truck for another hour and a half. All the while, I had to make it seem like I was skiing, going out with friends, or spending time with family. I somehow kept the ruse afloat, and showed up as planned. As I sat in the living room with a smirk on my face, she walked past me twice, and looked straight at me once before she was urged to notice something in my corner of the room. She was shocked. Mission accomplished. Happy New Year!
Work's sending me to the Netherlands next week, so more stories forthcoming!
11/27/12
Phoenix for Thanksgiving
I had a great week last week visiting my sisters, brother-in-law, and niece in Phoenix for Thanksgiving, which seems to be the usual time of year I go there anymore. Our parents flew down as well and enjoyed being on vacation from the early Montana winter.
The week was a typical family gathering, with lots of time centered around Elayna in any number of situations. We saw the progress of ACE's new house in northern Phoenix, saw Lic's boyfriend Brian do stand-up comedy, enjoyed the sunshine, shopped, watched football, ate, and generally enjoyed being together.
Thanksgiving day was well-spent at ACE's house with good wine and a meal that could have been beaten by no restaurant. ACE, Lic, Brian, Mom, Dad, and I were joined by Lic and Brian's friend Mike and Court's friend Deana, who both provided very good stories and company. As is becoming tradition in the Kellum household, we all went bowling after dinner in an entirely empty Dave and Buster's. It's always a good laugh, and makes you feel slightly better about yourself after eating so much. So good in fact, that you're ready for more when you get home.
The few days I was there were too short, as always. I hadn't seen Licia in almost a year, and ACE in four months. I'll see Lic at Christmas, but sadly don't know when I'll see Court, Aaron, and Elayna again. I may have to take advantage of the Des Moines-Phoenix direct flight again soon.
Work has been entertaining. The two design engineer, one technician mower group has grown to three design engineers, one technician, and a project engineer in charge of the group in the last couple months. More is on the plate for the group as a whole, but my responsibilities are largely the same. Our office building is getting a massive addition, and the other design engineers and I were forced to temporarily move to the engineering manager's office. Quarters are a little tight, and feel a little like a dorm room, but I can't complain.
I'll be heading to Lely, our partner company, either right before Christmas or in mid-January, to meet a few more of the people we work with, see how they do things, and watch them build a few machines. I'll be going with my boss and possibly his boss. Lely is in Maasluis, Holland, and it'll be my first trip to mainland Europe. Stories forthcoming!
I'll be headed back to Montana for Christmas, likely for about a week. I'll be driving back to haul a few things and to have my winter gear handy, to avoid the holiday airport cheer, and to make my schedule more flexible, with weather in mind. I would love to see any and all while I'm back, so be in touch!
The week was a typical family gathering, with lots of time centered around Elayna in any number of situations. We saw the progress of ACE's new house in northern Phoenix, saw Lic's boyfriend Brian do stand-up comedy, enjoyed the sunshine, shopped, watched football, ate, and generally enjoyed being together.
Thanksgiving day was well-spent at ACE's house with good wine and a meal that could have been beaten by no restaurant. ACE, Lic, Brian, Mom, Dad, and I were joined by Lic and Brian's friend Mike and Court's friend Deana, who both provided very good stories and company. As is becoming tradition in the Kellum household, we all went bowling after dinner in an entirely empty Dave and Buster's. It's always a good laugh, and makes you feel slightly better about yourself after eating so much. So good in fact, that you're ready for more when you get home.
The few days I was there were too short, as always. I hadn't seen Licia in almost a year, and ACE in four months. I'll see Lic at Christmas, but sadly don't know when I'll see Court, Aaron, and Elayna again. I may have to take advantage of the Des Moines-Phoenix direct flight again soon.
Work has been entertaining. The two design engineer, one technician mower group has grown to three design engineers, one technician, and a project engineer in charge of the group in the last couple months. More is on the plate for the group as a whole, but my responsibilities are largely the same. Our office building is getting a massive addition, and the other design engineers and I were forced to temporarily move to the engineering manager's office. Quarters are a little tight, and feel a little like a dorm room, but I can't complain.
I'll be heading to Lely, our partner company, either right before Christmas or in mid-January, to meet a few more of the people we work with, see how they do things, and watch them build a few machines. I'll be going with my boss and possibly his boss. Lely is in Maasluis, Holland, and it'll be my first trip to mainland Europe. Stories forthcoming!
I'll be headed back to Montana for Christmas, likely for about a week. I'll be driving back to haul a few things and to have my winter gear handy, to avoid the holiday airport cheer, and to make my schedule more flexible, with weather in mind. I would love to see any and all while I'm back, so be in touch!
10/15/12
Home for Branding
I thought up the idea back in August to go home for branding in October, an event I've missed once or maybe twice in the last eighteen years or so. I took the week off preceding it for vacation.
I got into Bozeman by 10:15am the morning of the 6th after getting up at 2:30 MT time, so I fortified myself with a quick nap at my aunt and uncle's. I started rounding people up right away, first off Mr Larry Lee, whom I hadn't seen since January, Jami Lee, and her baby boy, (the Wee Lee) Foster. I poked my head into a ceilidh put on by Tom Robison, where I did some visiting but did not play. I wandered Bozeman the rest of the evening and ran into many Bozeman and Townsend buddies.
My uncle Jim builds his own drift boats, and Sunday happened to be the day for the first launch of his newest. He and I successfully rowed around the Bozeman beach on a lovely afternoon. From there I caught a couple hours of tunes and catching up with long-time sessioneers and friends Dave Zimmerman, Simon Dixon, Mark and Jane Schlentz, and Dick Abrams.
I went home Monday. Stopping in to see my mom as I always do, I met an Australian and his son who live in Peru but were on holiday in Montana. I'd passed through his hometown of Toowoomba once, and we chatted some about our travels.
As was expected, most of the rest of the week was filled by ranch work and Vermeer work of various kinds. I got away enough to see people I wanted to, including Lane Gobbs, Dan Boyce, Tory Gillespie, and most of the Helena session crowd at the amazing Natalie McMaster concert at the Myrna Loy.
The only downer of the week was the trip to the vet with my old dog Walker, where I was told a growth on his ear is lymphoma. Treatment would need to be extensive and is likely not in the cards for 10-year-old Walker. He's as sweet as ever and is actually still quite spry. He shows the usual signs of age, but is actually doing better than he could be after his multiple brushes with death and preference for life on the edge, bless him.
The only downer of the week was the trip to the vet with my old dog Walker, where I was told a growth on his ear is lymphoma. Treatment would need to be extensive and is likely not in the cards for 10-year-old Walker. He's as sweet as ever and is actually still quite spry. He shows the usual signs of age, but is actually doing better than he could be after his multiple brushes with death and preference for life on the edge, bless him.
Branding was Saturday and went very smoothly with a massive crew. I ran the calf table as I've done for several years now. Many thanks to the four Lees for making the trip from Belgrade and Missoula, Stan and Chris Hohn, Kenny Poe, Dick Pale, Lindsay Klouser, her friend Pilar, and of course Chris and Jim for all they do.
I had a quiet last evening in Boze afterward, and was happy to see fellow traveler Tanya Smith again. A relaxing morning and early afternoon topped off the trip before the drive to the airport and uneventful flights back to Iowa.
Before any trip home, I always have grand plans about seeing a million people and doing so many things, then throughout the trip I worry about wasting any time at all, that I should be doing more. I need to grasp the idea that I am seeing enough people and doing enough stuff, and to appreciate everyone's time that they give me while I'm back. I had a grand time this round, and thank any and all for wanting to catch up. Branding isn't even work to me, it's just the best excuse to go home I could come up with.
9/18/12
Iowa State Fair, start of fall
I'm not really sure whether the last month or so has been really busy or completely dead. I've kept more or less occupied, but then I'll have these long bits of boredom when I don't do much besides watch TV.
The ten-day Iowa State Fair was in the middle of August, and I went both weekends. Friends from work were with me both times, so we took in as much as we could, including but not limited to: corn dogs, miniature horse carriage shows, life-size butter cows, gyros, ice cream, big bulls, one-man-bands, draft horses, llamas, mullets, $10 quarts of beer, antique tractors, new stock trailers, double bacon corn dogs with maple syrup, fiddle and banjo contests, and stationary engines. It's been a month so I've probably forgotten a couple things. The banjo contest was won by an acquaintance from the sessions who hadn't even brought his banjo; he borrowed one from another competitor and entered the contest on a lark. He had brought his fiddle for that contest, and offered to loan it to me if I wanted to enter. I had just come to watch and hadn't even thought about playing as my bow was at a fiddle shop getting rehaired. I considered it for less than a minute, but declined. After I bought my corn dog wrapped in bacon and fried again, a stranger sitting on the curb advised me to pour maple syrup on it. Realizing I had nothing to lose, I obliged, and was delighted. I avoided carnies at all times.
I still ride my bike around to stretch my legs out a couple times a week, but haven't been very adventurous about it of late. I should be encouraged by the cooler temperatures, but still need motivation.
It's started to feel a bit like fall here. Some leaves are dropping, but they've looked a little haggard most of the dry, hot summer anyway. Like I said, temperatures are cooler, 70s and 80s during the day, as low as into the 40s at night. The first frost is supposedly a ways out yet.
I've done a little riding the last couple weeks with Jesse Munk and Tyler Schiferl, engineers I work with from Minnesota and Nebraska. Both start colts and train horses during the warmer months and are far and away much handier than I am, so I'll learn whatever they'll teach me. They haven't put me on anything too tough yet. Jesse also had a small bunch of ewes and lambs this spring and summer. I went with him two weekends ago to watch his lambs sell at the livestock yards in Colfax, about a half hour away.
I had no plans Labor Day weekend, so I called Jesse to see what projects he had going. He, his wife, and two young girls were on their way to visit his parents in Austin, Minnesota for their family's Labor Day tradition of learning about a country, and he invited me along. I was happy to be away for even a day, so I thank the Munks for their hospitality and welcoming attitude.
Tyler and his wife Jamie have also invited me to a couple very musical get-togethers at their house, and I was more than happy to provide my little bit of musicality. I get a little lost in the contemporary stuff and usually just wind up listening, but it's great stuff to listen to. I'm convinced the Schiferls have the prettiest spot in Iowa.
The ten-day Iowa State Fair was in the middle of August, and I went both weekends. Friends from work were with me both times, so we took in as much as we could, including but not limited to: corn dogs, miniature horse carriage shows, life-size butter cows, gyros, ice cream, big bulls, one-man-bands, draft horses, llamas, mullets, $10 quarts of beer, antique tractors, new stock trailers, double bacon corn dogs with maple syrup, fiddle and banjo contests, and stationary engines. It's been a month so I've probably forgotten a couple things. The banjo contest was won by an acquaintance from the sessions who hadn't even brought his banjo; he borrowed one from another competitor and entered the contest on a lark. He had brought his fiddle for that contest, and offered to loan it to me if I wanted to enter. I had just come to watch and hadn't even thought about playing as my bow was at a fiddle shop getting rehaired. I considered it for less than a minute, but declined. After I bought my corn dog wrapped in bacon and fried again, a stranger sitting on the curb advised me to pour maple syrup on it. Realizing I had nothing to lose, I obliged, and was delighted. I avoided carnies at all times.
I still ride my bike around to stretch my legs out a couple times a week, but haven't been very adventurous about it of late. I should be encouraged by the cooler temperatures, but still need motivation.
It's started to feel a bit like fall here. Some leaves are dropping, but they've looked a little haggard most of the dry, hot summer anyway. Like I said, temperatures are cooler, 70s and 80s during the day, as low as into the 40s at night. The first frost is supposedly a ways out yet.
I've done a little riding the last couple weeks with Jesse Munk and Tyler Schiferl, engineers I work with from Minnesota and Nebraska. Both start colts and train horses during the warmer months and are far and away much handier than I am, so I'll learn whatever they'll teach me. They haven't put me on anything too tough yet. Jesse also had a small bunch of ewes and lambs this spring and summer. I went with him two weekends ago to watch his lambs sell at the livestock yards in Colfax, about a half hour away.
I had no plans Labor Day weekend, so I called Jesse to see what projects he had going. He, his wife, and two young girls were on their way to visit his parents in Austin, Minnesota for their family's Labor Day tradition of learning about a country, and he invited me along. I was happy to be away for even a day, so I thank the Munks for their hospitality and welcoming attitude.
Tyler and his wife Jamie have also invited me to a couple very musical get-togethers at their house, and I was more than happy to provide my little bit of musicality. I get a little lost in the contemporary stuff and usually just wind up listening, but it's great stuff to listen to. I'm convinced the Schiferls have the prettiest spot in Iowa.
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