We Take Prevention Magazine....

For two reasons I think. One, it 'prevents' us from being bored while in the bathroom and two, we like to read about people who exercise. I guess.
This morning I read a short article with the lesson that if you really want to lose weight during a walking program, you absolutely need to step up the pace to 4 miles per hour. So...Speed up.
The second article I read said that some researchers have found that increased exercise can increase your appetite so much that you begin to inhale too many calories and thus you slowly gain weight.... From exercising. Their answer is to slow down your exercising you fool. It will cut your appetite and thus your weight gain.
This points out why education is such a wonderful thing. If I hadn't been able to read at the rate I do, I might have read just the first article. As a result I might have accidentally started an exercise program. And gained more weight. And besides that...I hadn't even consulted my Doctor before starting this alleged exercise program.
"Uh...Doc...Hi this is Cliff, my magazine says to consult a physician before starting any exercise program and well, I'm thinking about doing a sit-up so I need to schedule an appointment."

At Least Two Possible Captions

A: "Grandpa, do I look pretty?"
OR
B: "If I give you a good headbutt, will you quit following me?"

Too little temptation kin lead to virtue....
Savvy Sayins (from the old west) by Ken Alstad


I've spent the winter, spring, and most of the summer waiting for just one ripe tomato from the garden. I laid in a supply of 'on sale' bacon and mayo (sorry Jamie Dawn) a while back, based on the sighting of a blossom. And then TA DA... we finally got one...a red, vine ripened tomato! And then a week later we're overrun with the little critters once again.
Our phone conversations in late August always end the same..."Do you have tomatoes?" "NO we don't need any of yours, we're trying to give some away ourselves!"
There's an old saying around small towns that I will paraphrse. 'You can always tell the horses (pa-tuties), they're the ones who have to buy their sweetcorn and tomatoes.'
This was half of yesterdays picking and in about a week, when we've canned all we're going to, you can stop by and load up the truck. If'n you need some for the table stop out today.

Prince Charming

We ventured into the soggy morning air at 5:15 to pickup Marilyn's Mom and go to the hospital to have Marilyn's knee joint scoped. They scraped away some arthritis and did some other things to her knee that sounded foreign to me. After some trouble with slight nausea she was released into my care. That thought scared her a bit. Her appetite has returned and she is mostly following orders to keep her knee above her heart and on ice for the weekend.
Well Marilyn's Mom has had two knee replacements. From those surgeries she had a neat-o little jacket that goes around the knee joint and then pumps icewater thru the jacket. All you have to do is add about 6 pounds of ice to the cooler type box that it's connected to every half day or so. It did get her leg so cold she started having cramps. We backed off a bit on the cold.
Concerns I have are:
1. The hydrostatic transmission on our riding lawnmower with the 60", front mount deck, requires that you push with your right foot to make it go forward. The harder you push the faster you go. I'm afraid that the force with which she is able to push on the pedal will be so minimal that she will spend so much time mowing the lawn that she won't get inside in time to fix dinner.
2. Some things we have on the floor by the stove, (soft drink 12 pack and etc) might trip her while she's cooking. I've cleared them away. I figure she shouldn't stand for more than an hour at the range. She's supposed to keep her knee above her heart for crying out loud.
3. I need to figure out some way to get the washer and dryer up here on the main floor. She shouldn't be climbing stairs but on the other hand I'm running low on golf shirts. And I do like to smell 'fresh' when I play golf.
4. Marilyn's knee is supposed to be in the 'non-weight bearing mode' for the next three weeks. I've rigged up an office chair so she won't have to stand very much to load and unload the dishwasher.
5. Dusting. I've told her that it's okay to wait a few weeks to do the dusting. I can put up with a little dust.
6. And lastly the gardening. Late summer and early fall always bring rains and lots of weeds to her vegetable gardens and the berms covered with lovely flowers. I've told her I will be happy to put her on the loader bucket on the front of my John Deere 4020 tractor and hold her over the gardens so she can lay down and still pull weeds. She won't even have to stand up to garden. I am concerned that she has 5 full days of grooming next week and she may want me to put her on the loader over the garden too late in the afternoon. I do sometimes play golf in the late afternoon.
But if I'm not golfing I'll be happy to do that. What kind of husband would I be if I couldn't help out a little around the house.

I Must Show You This

Every farm needs a little girl around. This is my little farm girl's...little farm girl and she lives on our farm.

She recently had her 5th birthday. One of her gifts was this screen porch for butterflies. She wanted to paint it all by herself. No help please. Little Miss independent she is.

She got the paints from Grandma and came back with this finished project. We think it is fairly remarkable for a 5 year old.

Elvis?

"My name's Cliff...I'll be here all week. Thanks for being a great audience."
I was trying on my tux and asked Marilyn what she thought this would look like with out the vest and tie. I needed a microphone not a camera.
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The story that goes with these pics is below the last photo.
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I've written very little about the wedding. It was such an emotional roller coaster. Rather than try to be creative let me just name off the highlights.
1. My daughter has always wanted to do a performance on a Stienway and Sons Grand piano. She was flawless. The music couldn't have been more appropriate or performed better. I smiled at her answer when I asked how she liked the piano. "It has an uneven touch." She may be hard to please.
2. I will not forget the moment at the end of the ceremony when the Pastor turned the couple around after the kiss, and announced them as Stephanie and Tom Morrow. The lights had been dimming almost without notice and a spot was on them as they turned around. Everyone cheered and Tom took Steph by her left hand. We cheered and Tom raised his left hand with a full arm wave. It was the Richard Nixon wave without the V sign. A huge smile was plastered on their faces.
Well the parents were ushered out and Tom came over to me and hugged me for about fifteen seconds and we both lost it.
He and Steph composed themselves and went to the front and greeted and hugged each attendee as they were dismissed. They were a gracious couple indeed. Yep, that memory will be with me for a long, long time.
3.Son Dan, four years Tom's senior and his boss, was the best man. At the reception he gave a toast that had the 300 people in attendance almost rolling on the floor with laughter for almost ten minutes. He finished and had us all in tears at the end. I'll post a pic of their embrace after the toast that lasted about thirty seconds.
4. I wanted to take the mic, it was offered to me, but knew I couldn't say what I wanted to say. Besides speaking of the Bride and the Groom I wanted to relate the compliment that his Brother paid Tom about six months ago. Dan and I were discussing the newly engaged couple and how happy they were. Dan said about his brother, "I hope Steph knows what a great man she is marrying, they don't come any better than Tom." I thought that spoke volumes because of who was saying it. The two boys have worked closely for several years.
5. All of my siblings made the effort to be there. They came from Tulsa, Clovis NM, and four from here in the state and Marilyn's brother and entire family came from Dallas. We had close friends travel clear across Nebraska to be there as well as from Iowa. It wouldn't have been complete without all of the family there. I even had cousins of mine from Iowa and Florida make the trip.
6. CHAR AND RALPH: These guys were the host couple at the reception. They came 4 days early to help. Help they did. Tirelessly. Marilyn and I are very fortunate to be able to call these two friends. We love them both. That last sentence will really bother Ralph. Live with it Ralph.
Ralph has just taken up the game of golf. I predict he will be better than I in 2 years.
Note: Ralph married over his head.. so did I.
And lastly an update. The newlyweds called from San Francisco the day they arrived. Tom said it seemed to be a popular destination for 'couples'.
Okay thanks for putting up with all of this.

Love on display.
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From the Wedding: I wonder where my Grandaughter got her eyes? Out of about every 100 photo's I take, I am really pleased with only about 5 or 10. These are two of them.
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This was taken before the wedding while the photographer was shooting the other family. Imagine my surprise to find this row of naked women seated in the audience.
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We are back and it went oh so well. I have a lot of things to say about a lot of great people. But the hour is late for those of us who are old so I'll start the Wedding photo's with one of the groom with my Grandson. This boy dearly loves his Unca Tom. It's mutual. Pictures of the other family are being taken at this time. It's only about 45 minutes until starting time.
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The Lucky Couple- Meet Tom and Steph

These two pics were supposed to be posted into the 'Blogger' blog below. There are about 6 copies of these two pictures floating around in cyberspace. They left here but never made it into my blog. But on the other hand, what's two hours in the life of someone trying to get ready for a wedding. My head is about to explode so I'm using Picasa so as to both get the job done and also to avoid a stroke. Anyway meet Tom and Steph. Sorry to have overdone all of this. I'll leave you alone now except for a couple of pictures of the Wedding when we return.
I've practiced my lines...Oh yeah, I don't have any lines. I've checked for any last minute details on the wedding that I needed to finish. Okay, I'm the father of the groom. I didn't really have any details. I'm renting shoes so I shouldn't need to shine anything. My favorite sneakers are black and they say 'leather uppers' and I think they would have shined up just fine. But NO...that wasn't allowed. I don't know what the big deal is. The shoes I'm renting have thin leather soles but the tall soles on my sneakers make me look a little less 'under tall' than I really am. AND they were assembled by hand in China. At least I didn't have to get my nails done.
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So Here's to Tom and Stephanie...

Steph, we promise to love you as a daughter. We've always adored you. At first I'm sure it was because Tom did. We've gotten to know you pretty well now and welcome you into our family with open arms as I know Tom has been welcomed into yours. That is as it should be. I know Tom is fortunate to be marrying such a lovely, talented, and good hearted lady from a really good, family oriented family.
Many marriages eventually go bad because the wife wakes up one day to the realization that she didn't marry the person she thought she did. I can guarantee you that is not the case here. You are getting what you see. This is no act. Tom is the real deal. There was never a phony bone in his body. He is genuine and loyal. He is kind and will give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You already know all of this.
As You and Tom make your promises to each other and to God the day after tomorrow, we will be there with you, probably a little teary eyed but we will be rejoicing. What a wonderful day that will be.
When Tom was a sophomore in High School he talked to his Mom at an event in town and kissed her good bye and said "I love you Mom". One lady who witnessed that outward show of affection in front of several people said "I can't wait to see what special girl God has planned for Tom." Turns out she was right. God did and You my dear, are special.
May your childrens children celebrate the anniversary of this Blessed event.
So here is to Tom and Stephanie and together forever!

Tom At Work and Play

Here are some pics. I have no idea how they will come up on the screen. It gives a good overview of Tom's high school years. The photo of him running the sander is from Morrow Collision Center. He plays softball now, still fishes, golfs, and jet ski's. He is an excellent combine operator and gets home at least once during harvest to touch base and run the combine for me.

A Special Late Edition of Cliff's Blog!! No Charge

It has become evident that I didn't have time to get all of the pics posted that I wanted to before we left for the wedding so I'm throwing in six extra. They are of Ralph's kids and Tom holding a lot of kids. Here's Tom getting Ready to turn the keys to his wheels over to Ralph's kids Tiffany and Nate. The Campbells have been visiting the farm for many years as you can see. As a matter of fact, they're here now. Their Daughter Tiff, better known as Daughter of Ralph (DOR) stopped for a brief visit on her way to her final semester of college in the Chicago area. They are all great folks.
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Here is Tom on the right and DOR and SOR and Gidget, Tom's pony. He and that horse won countless purple ribbons and trophies. Please read on to my blog down below. Part II.
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This and the next three pics are of something Unca Tom does a lot of... hold children. They like him. I think it's mutual.
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Tom and Madi!
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Tom and Madi and Colton.
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Tom and niece Casey.
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A Toast! Part 2

This is a four part series on a little boy who has won the heart of a lot of folks. He's getting married this weekend to a special lady. I wanted to chronicle some of his life and activities.

From Tom's elementary school age he has been regarded as the oldest member of the family. Speaking here about maturity. I can truthfully say that in the twenty five years I've know him I've never seen him out of control. Not even close. Or angry with another human. He doesn't do that. His brother says he has made a science out of taking it easy. He doesn't get carried away. He did get short with me one day. I was slamming something around in the shop because I was angry and he said, "Ah, knock it off Dad." I'm going to post some pictures today. I hope. They should begin to give you a sense of what this delightful person is like. I'll start where I left off yesterday. The above photo is Marilyn and Tom at Halloween. Tom as a witch and Marilyn is either clowning around or is a mime.










Tommy boy fishing! He started young. This was his Grandma Evelyn's favorite picture of him. She loved his long hair and really didn't like the thought of us cutting it.














This is Tom with big Sister Juli. She was kind of a second Mom for him.




















Tom at the beginning of a better than average baseball career.




















Tom fishing and enjoying life. He's done a lot of that. Yes, both.




Tommorrow's Tom Morrow will take us right thru high school.

A Toast! Part 1

Later this week a very special occasion will happen in our family. Our youngest son Tom is getting married. Marilyn and I have some very special children who have excelled in many things. Dan has built a successful business in a very short period of time and has proven to be a player in the collision repair field in Lincoln. A lot of it can be attributed to Tom's help. Dan is proving to be a loving and attentive Father and Husband.
Juli is an excellent Mother, Musician, and groomer.... But this is about Tom this week so here goes.
Tom got to the age of five when I recall saying "that little boy has only cried a total of about 5 minutes in the last 5 years." He was contented as a child. Always has been I guess. The photo of him crying is a rare moment indeed.
The day he was born, at 4:30 in the morning, I drove the 25 miles to the hospital at about 90 mph. I got to the emergency room door, they took Marilyn and I parked the car about 20 yards from the door. I ran to the door where I was met by the nurse who shoved some sterile clothes at me and said if you want to witness this you better hurry, she's having the baby now. I got in the delivery room just in time to witness Tom's birth. As far as I know, that was the last time he was in a hurry.
He was a great baby and we kept waiting for the terrible two's or the terrible somethings to happen. They never did.
He was raised in a house right next to his Mom's boarding and grooming business. He liked to get up and have someone scramble an egg and cook it in the microwave. Then he would go with Mom to the kennel. He always did come and go as he pleased and had no slip ups. Completely trustworthy. One morning Marilyn stepped out to the kennel and before she could return, he got up, scrambled and microwaved an egg and ate it, and came out to the kennel. Marilyn found the evidence of this process later. He was three at the time. He is a good cook now but has graduated to bigger messes.
Tomorrow: Part 2

Dead Flower Blooming

I am happy. This plant has run it's race. It's about to be removed from the landscape. We didn't know where it came from and except for the large flowers, would resemble a giant ragweed. I've been of the opinion that it is an eyesore similar to the lone sunflower standing in a field of soybeans. I've been recommending a liberal application of 2,4-D. Maybe the 2 pounds per acre rate. Marilyn has taken one for the plant on this one. The blossoms are gone and now I can cut it down without fear of getting on Marilyn's list. Right? What do you think should I ask permission? I've tried to live my life by the addage "Tis better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission". That was obviously written by someone who didn't care who they were sleeping with at the time.
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Just lovely.
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Whatsup??

The heat has moderated a bit.
I actually heard our central air cycle for the first time in a few weeks. When it went silent I thought maybe it had malfunctioned.
We got some rain.
The irrigation wells are silent for a bit if not for the year.
We've had two 40 horse electric motors go bad in the last 2 weeks. Nothing a lot of $$$$ and time won't cure.
Center pivot sprinklers breaking down.
Center pivot sprinklers getting stuck.
Corn and bean prices are in the dumper.
The blackbirds are beginning to 'school'. It's one of my surefire signs that the cool, crisp air of fall is about here. The months of fall are the only reason we all stay here in Nebraska.
Contentious board meetings.
A bit of golf.
Preparations for my son's wedding.
The county fair is on!!
The flowers in Marilyns pile's of dirt (berms) are in full bloom.
Marilyn's kennel is in a constant state of overbooked. She stands in the kennel each morning and asks for volunteers to live outside until the next available pen is open.
Someone needs to mow the road ditches again.
And the lawn.
And the farmstead. (weeds actually, but if you keep them mowed they look like a lawn from a distance)
I have very little time to blog and visit other blogs but hope you'll stick with me until I can get back to my routine of late night maurading.
Remember: "Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction."
I wish I'd said that.