Our trip to Denver was a great success. We had some extra time Tuesday morning so we took a side trip to Colorado Springs. We were able too see the Air Force Academy from a great vantage point along the highway. It has a great location spread out with the Rockies in the background. Colorado Springs is only about 45 minutes from Denver.

The National Lowline sale was on Tuesday afternoon and both of our heifers sold extremely well. In the evening, Jim and I attended the Lowline Association Annual Meeting. It was typical of most organization meetings. Election of officers and plans for a great future.

It was getting time for Jim to head back to school. We got an early start on Wednesday and headed for Grand Island, Nebraska. This is where Case-IH makes combines. Our local dealer had maned arrangements for us to tour the plant. Jim and I both agreed that it was an impressive plant with lots of hard working dedicated people.

After leaving the plant, we stopped for a Runza. This is a Nebraska and only Nebraska with one or two locations in adjacent Iowa fast food. It is basically like a large dough pouch filled with steamed beef and onions and a few secret spices. If you like a pirogi you like a Runza. otherwise it is definitely an acquired taste. Jim had a hamburger.

We then headed off on the last leg of Jim's trip to Ames and we got there around 9 after a very full day. Jim went off to his dorm and I headed to the hotel. I got up early Thursday and headed for home. Home turned out to be 1016 miles and 16 and a half hours away. I got in just after midnight. The trip in total was just under 4000 miles and my diesel truck averaged 18.4 mpg.



Friday, we had the vet coming for regular herd health checks. All is well except for a few cows that have had trouble getting pregnant. We took some blood samples to see if we could find a problem.

We had to leave Denver before the cattle show. The way it works is you sell the animal on Tuesday and show it on Wednesday. Even though it's no longer yours, you get bragging rights and any awards. My friend from Minnesota had agreed to show my two animals. So I called him to see how it went.

You might imagine that I was very pleased when he told me that our heifer, Mae, was Reserve Grand Champion for Lowline calves. The way this works is that the calves all compete against their peers in age. Then the winners of those groups compete again. The winner is Grand Champion and runner up is Reserve Grand Champion. Our other heifer did fairly well in her peer group but not well enough to move on.

Here is the picture of Mae getting her award:

I've gotten back into the rhythm here. It's been pretty easy weather wise since I got back. No storms and mostly milder days and not all that cold at night. It's pretty quiet at the diner. Several of our main contributors, conversation wise, are off to the not so sunny and mild South.

We are starting to get geared up for this year's calves. Our belted galloways were pasture bred so we don't have a precise way of knowing when they'll calve other than knowing when the bull was turned into their pasture. We don't expect any activity until March but it's a good time to get things ready.

Yesterday, Mary and I were part of a panel discussion at the NY Beef Producers Annual Meeting in Syracuse. Our group discussed how our Beef Group obtained a grant for DNA analysis of our herds and how we can use the information to better our herd.

Well, we made it to Denver. We got Eileen all situated in Detroit and headed off. She called the next day to say she was at home in the south of France. The airline had told her to expect to be delayed in France by a vigorous snowstorm. Sometimes you can't get away from the stuff.

Jim and I drove right into the snow. We have a diesel truck and were a little concerned about fuel gelling in the cold. So we decided to take the southern route to Denver. We dropped down to Dayton and headed west. The first night we made it to Highland, Illinois.

The weather became extremely cold but we got out of the snow as we crossed Kansas. We stayed in Manhattan the home of Kansas State, a Big 12 school like Iowa State. When we left the next morning it was negative 13.

As we continued across Kansas, the temperature gradually rose until it was just freezing as we got into Colorado. For the trivia fans, mile 381 on I70 in Colorado is at 5280 feet or one mile. It was an easy ride the rest of the way to Denver.

On Sunday, after church, we checked out the NWSS cattle show. It is certainly impressive. Our two cattle looked like a million bucks although I doubt they';ll bring that in the sale. The whole open area is like a giant beauty and barber shop for cattle. Everyone is blowing and clipping and trimming to show the cows to best advantage. Now we understand why our hometown barber reminisces about learning to cut hair with cattle clippers.

Then we drove up to Boulder about 45 minutes NW of Denver. We saw the University of Colorado. Jim says we are on a tour of Big 12 north division schools.,

Last night, there was a cattle sale in the hotel ballroom with about 20 animals. There was lots of plastic on the carpets and sharp eyed folks with manure scoops. The sale is somewhat controversial as it was put on by a splinter group of our Association. I think there will be lots of discussion about this sale at the Annual Meeting.

Monday, we did the grand tour. We are very impressed not only with the natural beauty of the area but the obvious prosperity. All without benefit of our Albany politicians.

Happy New Year from Lake Breeze Farms.

We have been very busy the last few weeks since our children came home from college. We have been to dinner, celebrated Christmas and Mary's and my 25th wedding anniversary.

When I was a kid, in the infancy of television, there was a show I believe called I Remember Mama. It was about a Norwegian family living in urban America. They always did a Christmas show reminiscing about life in the homeland. A big part of it was when the father went out to the barn to give his animals an extra treat for Christmas. This was long before I knew I had any agricultural genes. So every Christmas Eve, I too go to the barn and give the animals some extra feed and a few words of encouragement.

This year the cows gave me a little something back. In mid afternoon on Christmas day, Jim and I had gone somewhere with the truck. When we got back near the barnyard, we saw some of the Lowlines running rather exuberantly. It just didn't seem like a running sort of day. When we got to the barn, we saw why they were running. They had managed to open a gate and several were over on the other side of the farm visiting with some bulls across the fence while trying to put their heads through to eat the bulls hay. They were remarkably easy to catch and before long everyone was back where they belong. When you catch wayward cattle and put them back they almost seem relieved to have been caught. They are creatures of habit.

The weather until today has been quite mild with only nuisance amounts of snow. That changed today. As I write this it's 10 degrees with the wind blowing and close to a foot of lake effect snow. I have already plowed twice. The cattlee are doing fine and all the waterers are working.

Eileen is leaving Wednesday for France. Her flight is from, Detroit to Amsterdam then Marseilles. The Amsterdam leg is the Europe bound version of the flight that that lunatic tried to blow up on Christmas. Neither Eileen or us are concerned since we feel that that flight will be especially safe.

Jim and I had planned to drive her to Detroit to avoid problems with weather etc flying from Syracuse to Detroit. We got looking at a map and Denver is only 20 hours from Detroit. You might recall that I took some heifers to Minnesota in November to prepare for the Denver show and sale.

We have decided to go. Lots of people from Jim's college go to the show so we think it will be a good one. Ames is about 10 hours on the way back on the direct route from Denver home. So after we leave we'll head for Ames. Case-IH makes their combines in Grand Island, Nebraska which is also along the way. We have spoken to our local dealer and he has been kind enough to arrange a factory tour. We toured John Deere's Waterloo, Iowa factory a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed. The combiner factory should be quite interesting to Jim as he continues his studies in Agricultural Engineering.

It has been a busy year for driving. Lots of our friends have now gone off to Florida. I have told them driving from Detroit to Denver is about the same as driving from here to Florida. It's just not South. The diner is pretty much deserted. Our friend up the lake had a wonderful Christmas Eve when his liquor license arrived. We are going to dinner tonight to his place and we hope the heat is working.

Things have calmed down a bit so I thought I'd write a little. Last Friday, I flew to Nashville and Eileen picked me up at the airport. She had just finished her fall semester and was heading home with the car. She won't be using the car next semester as she will be studying in Aix-en-Provence, France.

We drove to Dayton, Ohio where we met Jim. He likewise had finished his semester and caught a ten hour ride from Ames to Dayton with a friend. We picked him up and spent the night in Dayton.

Saturday was pretty much an all day ride home in dreary conditions. Thankfully, we missed the big blizzard which was occurring simultaneously just to our east. Everyone was glad to be home.

The cattle continue to be content. We had a bit of a problem today when one of our waterers froze. We got the bulls a temporary supply and we'll fix their system tomorrow.

Things have been a bit livelier at the diner as some of the regulars get in their last licks before they leaver for a warmer climate.

I've mentioned that one of the diner regulars had opened a restaurant just up the lake. He has had to close it since New York State doesn't seem to be able to get around and do the paperwork necessary for him to get a liquor license. You constantly see the smug politicians on television patting themselves on the back for creating jobs. Here is a man that actually created a bunch of jobs and now has to lay off these people because government can't do its job.

We also have a bit of a mystery. Last year I built a gravel road through our barnyard to connect the two fire lanes that are part of the farm. Kiddingly, we've called it Begley Boulevard. When we picked up our mail yesterday, there was a long skinny package. Amazingly, it contained two very official Begley Blvd. street signs ands mounting hardware. We put them up today and they certainly look very official. I have no idea who sent them but thanks whomever you may be.

Speaking of putting up, when the morning sun shines it blasts right through the diner window and hits some of the regulars right at eye level. Our complaints weren't taken too seriously so yesterday one of the regulars hung an old beach towel in the window. When I got there today, the diner owner had bought a venetian blind and the regulars were busy installing it. Of course, the sun didn't shine today. hopefully, it will shine soon so we can all luxuriate in the newly manufactured shade.

The streak has finally ended. Syracuse had enjoyed 287 consecutive days with less than one inch of snow falling at the Syracuse airport. That's 41 weeks or longer than the gestation period of a person or cow for that matter. This morning we had four inches of wet white stuff. Not really enough to plow but I put it on the tractor and took a test cruise. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is high winds with gusts up to 60 mph. I left the plow on for the season and I'm sure to use it again.

Today also marked the first official day of UPS refusing to drive down our road. You can't blame the driver but the company no longer subscribes to the rain, sleet, hail etc. theory if in fact it ever has. FEDEX on the other hand just drives on down and delivers. We now have to be careful when ordering to request FEDEX.

The cattle continue to be nonchalant about the whole thing. We have lots of feed and that's all they care about.

The diner has perked up quite a bit with the various stories about the golfer in Florida. I have observed very little if any sympathy for him.

Mary and I will be going over to the Beef Group meeting Friday. There is still a lot to discuss and learn about DNA. We both also enjoy the camaraderie of our friends over there.

Both Eileen and Jim will be home for Christmas in a little over a week. Jim had a snow day at Iowa State today as the blizzard roared through. He said it was just like home to see all the snow. The difference is Iowa tends to be pretty flat in places without many trees. The winds can really do a job blowing the snow. Eileen is snug in Nashville remembering that she never did like snow.

We hope everyone has had a pleasant and gratifying Thanksgiving. Our weather at the farm was remarkable. We can never recall such November weather. It's like October and November changed places this year.They said on the TV that it has been almost nine months since our last observable snow. It doesn't seem possible but they claim it is. When I first came to Syracuse in 1960, the natives talked about eleven months of winter with August being poor sledding. It must be global warming. I can remember snowmobiling being a part of several Thanksgivings.

Both Eileen and Jim are home from college. They have a lot of catching up to do with their friends. Jim has also had a chance to reacquaint himself with heifer feeding and fence building.

All our field crops are in and delivered. The soybeans were excellent on two fields and about average on the field that flooded. The corn was somewhat above average. However, we took a big deduction for high moisture. The optimum is 15% and we were 25%. They deduct for the cost of drying the grain. All in all, I'd rather pay the moisture penalty and have the crop harvested.

We have a steer calf and heifer calf ready to be delivered tomorrow. The new owner is a young lady two towns over. She borrowed a cow calf pair last summer to see how she might like to add cattle to her farm. She already has sheep and cattle are the next step. She plans on showing the cattle next summer.

Our cattle are doing well and just loafing around as they await winter. We believe that all the cows are pregnant. Some of them will be calving into the summer which is a little later than usual. The belties are over in their own area with Mc Leod their bull. They have a particularly nonchalant view towards the weather.

We have entered two of the four Lowline heifers we took to Minnesota in the Denver show. The other two will be sold by private treaty in Minnesota..

The diner remains calm and unremarkable. The politicians don't do much this time of year or actually much anytime. The level of diner indignation is a function of the politicians activity.

Our trip to Minnesota and the Midwest went well. We loaded the cattle on Sunday the 31st and had them at their new home the next morning. It was an uneventful trip but not one that I'd like to do every week or even month. 1200 miles is a long way even with two drivers.

The heifers were completely unfazed and walked off the trailer like they had just moved to another pasture. We looked over the cattle with their new caretaker and discussed the pros and cons of preparing them for to the Denver cattle show in January. After lunch and visiting for a while, we headed for the nearest motel. We were in the room by 3PM and sound asleep by 3:05.

We got up around 7 and went out to explore. Next to the motel was a giant Farm and Family store which is a Midwestern version of a Tractor Supply, Lowes, Walmart and probably some others all in one place. Apparently it is a family business and the family split up. So in some states, one side has Farm and Family and in other states the other side has Family and Farm.

The next morning we went off to visit my neighbor's son. He works on a crop farm about forty five minutes from where we dropped the cattle. They grow sugar beets, soybeans for seed and corn. His son was working so we went off to explore.

The son gave us directions to watch sugar beets be stockpiled. There were two piles of beets about the length of a football field and growing and tapered to fifty or sixty feet high. Trucks come in and get weighed and dump onto a moving conveyor which puts the beets on the pile. During the winter they reverse the process and move the beets about thirty miles to a processing plant in North Dakota. Sugar beets are about the size of a large turnip and weigh five or six pounds but look like a very large white beet.

Since we had time, we decided to drive to North Dakota. The neighbor is an ardent duck hunter and he wanted to see if there were any ducks. We didn't see any but did see a sign for a zoo. I offered to drive by but he said it wouldn't be necessary.

We headed back to town for lunch with his son. We noticed how every small town lists its population on their name sign. Invariably each small town looked neat and clean and prosperous.

After lunch, we had more time so we went duck touring to nearby South Dakota. We did see a bunch of ducks on a small pond thus giving hope for the upcoming season.

When we got back, we went to the neighbor's sons farm for dinner and the night. The son's wife is a school teacher and FFA adviser in the local school which expects to graduate six this year. Despite its small size, all amenities are offered.

After a good meal and good conversation and good sleep, we were ready to hit the road the next morning. One of my friends had emailed us directions to Lake Woebegone which was quite near. We wanted to get headed to Iowa State to visit Jim so we moved on.

After a six hour ride past unending corn and soybean fields, we arrived in Ames. Jim and the two classmates who had him visit their homes were ready for dinner. We were impressed at how knowledgeable each boy was and how well they represented their families and upbringing. There is still lots good to come from having a farm background.

We hooked up the trailer the next morning after breakfast with Jim and headed home. We spent the night in Ohio and were home Friday afternoon. After a fifteen minute rest and quick shower, Mary and I were off to our monthly beef group meeting. The intern from our host had to give her presentation. Her professor and thirty fellow students were present.

She did an excellent job. Likewise all the students were good representatives of their institution. I was tired so we went home early. When I woke up Saturday, I had a terrific head cold. Undoubtedly courtesy of almost 3000 road miles and several nights in a hotel with uncontrollable heating fans blowing on me.

I rallied in the afternoon when my combine friend showed up to do my remaining beans. We got around the one field Saturday and the other one Sunday. Yield on the first field was excellent and slightly better than last year which I attribute to the foliar feeding we did last summer. The Sunday field is the one we had to replant. I was pleasantly surprised that we were just under the county average.

I was able to round bale up some soybean stalks for bedding. Since the field was wet I had to leave a lot and kind of pick around the field. We washed up the round baler and mower and took them off to my neighbors barn to join the square baler for the winter.

The cattle have now begun to eat baleage which is a feed they relish. They have grown out their winter coat and are pretty much at ease with themselves and the world. The belties especially seem to be enjoying the cooler weather.

When we went on the trip, I was a little worried about having a flat with the cattle in the trailer but as noted the trip was uneventful. Monday night the electronic tire indicator in my truck went off and indicated low pressure in a rear tire. I checked it and it looked fine. Tuesday morning, I checked it with a gauge and it was down. I added air and by night it was going down slowly. The same thing happenned Wednesday. Thursday morning I decided to have it checked. I've owned lots of tires but I have never had one fail by becoming porous. The tire man put a soap solution on the tread and you could see bubbles forming all around the perimeter kind of like when you squeeze a soapy sponge as air oozed through the tread. The tires were getting close to their useful life so I wound up with a new set. There is a new charge of five dollars per tire for disposal. I wonder who gets the money and how the tired is actually disposed of.

We are also in the fourth day of excellent dry fall weather. All the leaves are down around home and chopped up and blown away. The weatherman says we will will have some showers by Saturday courtesy of the left over hurricane that has been inundating the middle Atlantic states all week.

My neighbor's son had called to report they had begun to combine corn since we left. The first field was two hundred seventy bushels. We are really happy to get one hundred fifty. They call the Midwest the Corn Belt for a reason.