Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Follow Up!
Click On:
http://www.arborday.org/programs/awards/2012/?award=olmsted
To watch the short video produced for and about my buddy Ralph by the Arbor Day Foundation.
.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
The News
On Thursday night last, we were blessed with a visit from Ralph and Char Campbell.
We went out to eat at a local eatery and the next day they traveled to Nebraska City where we caught up with them Saturday noon. It is the national headquarters for all things trees. The actual home of Arbor Lodge and a kind of sojourn every person in the forestry business wishes to make one day.
Ralph is recently retired from the Colorado Forest service after an illustrious career that found him eventually focusing on urban and community forestation.
A few months back we got word from Char that Ralph would be getting an award from the National Arbor Day Foundation at a ceremony and that we were going to be invited so please save the date.
That awards ceremony was Saturday night at the Arbor Lodge and Convention Center in the middle of an expansive display of trees that is home to the Arbor Lodge and Farm.
They do a good job of keeping this a special night for the award recipients. They give out about 15 national awards to big corporations, states, and a few special individuals who have distinguished themselves in the field of tree planting and forestry. Ralph was one of those.
The reception was impressive enough and I was in awe of Ralph as he worked the room. He seemed to know almost everyone there by name and there was a lot of back slapping and congratulations to him by his colleagues.
The full scope of the importance of the award Ralph was about to get didn't hit me until the lights went down, the spot came up on John Rosenow the long term Chairman of the Arbor day foundation. He spoke briefly and presented the first award. The lights went down and a 3 minute video on the accomplishements of the first recipient came up on the big screen. A slick presentation indeed and then they announced the man seated directly in front of Ralph. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. That right there got my attention. Ralph has hit the big time. Nothing changed my opinion of that as representatives from big corporations, cities, civic groups and a few individuals all received a nice video presentation and took thier moment in the lime light.
We went out to eat at a local eatery and the next day they traveled to Nebraska City where we caught up with them Saturday noon. It is the national headquarters for all things trees. The actual home of Arbor Lodge and a kind of sojourn every person in the forestry business wishes to make one day.
Ralph is recently retired from the Colorado Forest service after an illustrious career that found him eventually focusing on urban and community forestation.
A few months back we got word from Char that Ralph would be getting an award from the National Arbor Day Foundation at a ceremony and that we were going to be invited so please save the date.
That awards ceremony was Saturday night at the Arbor Lodge and Convention Center in the middle of an expansive display of trees that is home to the Arbor Lodge and Farm.
They do a good job of keeping this a special night for the award recipients. They give out about 15 national awards to big corporations, states, and a few special individuals who have distinguished themselves in the field of tree planting and forestry. Ralph was one of those.
The reception was impressive enough and I was in awe of Ralph as he worked the room. He seemed to know almost everyone there by name and there was a lot of back slapping and congratulations to him by his colleagues.
The full scope of the importance of the award Ralph was about to get didn't hit me until the lights went down, the spot came up on John Rosenow the long term Chairman of the Arbor day foundation. He spoke briefly and presented the first award. The lights went down and a 3 minute video on the accomplishements of the first recipient came up on the big screen. A slick presentation indeed and then they announced the man seated directly in front of Ralph. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. That right there got my attention. Ralph has hit the big time. Nothing changed my opinion of that as representatives from big corporations, cities, civic groups and a few individuals all received a nice video presentation and took thier moment in the lime light.
The program said:
Retired Urban Forester Ralph Campbell of Westminster,
Colorado, will receive the Frederick Law Olmsted Award in recognition of his
lifelong commitment to tree planting and conservation at the state level. A
35-year veteran of the Colorado Forest Service, Campbell was an active leader
in urban forestry. He helped establish Colorado's Urban and Community Forestry
program, and later helped develop the Colorado Tree Coalition, which has
received 425 grants worth $650,000, and matched them with $7.5 million in
community contributions. He has also sponsored seasonal tree planting for
underprivileged youth in the Denver area. In 1995, Campbell was named an
Outstanding Performer by the Colorado Forest Service, the highest possible
honor.
Above is Ralph accepting the award on stage from the CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation. The below pic was taken after the banquet.
We were treated like royalty by the fondation simply by virtue of being in Ralph's party. The group below are all colleagues of his who took the time to travel from all parts of Colorado and Nebraska to pay tribute to Ralph.
Below is Ralph and Char in front of Arbor Lodge originally owned by J. Sterling Morton. Following that was a picture taken immediately after the banquet in the lobby. We found this coffee bar with a big mirror and so the image is a kind of relection of the four of us.
Ralph, Cliff, Char, and Marilyn
We were glad to be included in this event. The two Campbells are kind of 'understated' folks but when pressed a bit by me, Char admitted, "Yeah, this is a pretty big deal." After seeing Ralph's peers at the awards ceremony, that being companies, Governors, States and Giant Corporations from all parts of the United States and around the world I could see this was the real thing and we were once again proud to say, "Yeah, we're with the Campbells."
I suspect the video they showed that night about Ralph's work will eventually be put up on Arbor Dar Foundations website and when it does, I'll let you know.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
News Flash
Man have I got some news for you.
But you'll have to wait. It's 10 PM I need to leave by 6 AM tomorrow and I won't get back until 0 Dark 30.
It'll take me about an hour to create it but you'll love it. cm
But you'll have to wait. It's 10 PM I need to leave by 6 AM tomorrow and I won't get back until 0 Dark 30.
It'll take me about an hour to create it but you'll love it. cm
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Planting
We're going to finish planting corn this morning. We started last Sunday. We averaged 120 acres a day which is good for this place as logistics is always a problem.
On another subject, the First Lady was in Omaha this week. Just 50 miles away. This is the first visit to this state by a member of that family, maybe ever, or at best for a long time, and it was my first opportunity to ignore them. Which I did. I enjoyed doing it by the way.
For the record I wouldn't bother answering the door for them except to say "you must be lost, the last 3/4 of a mile you traveled is private property so get all those big cars back up to the main road and don't go so fast you throw my rock in the ditch."
My name is Cliff Morrow and I approved this message.
On another subject, the First Lady was in Omaha this week. Just 50 miles away. This is the first visit to this state by a member of that family, maybe ever, or at best for a long time, and it was my first opportunity to ignore them. Which I did. I enjoyed doing it by the way.
For the record I wouldn't bother answering the door for them except to say "you must be lost, the last 3/4 of a mile you traveled is private property so get all those big cars back up to the main road and don't go so fast you throw my rock in the ditch."
My name is Cliff Morrow and I approved this message.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Saturday, April 07, 2012
It's Strawberry Time
It's strawberry time again and I'm going to share my wife's recipe for shortcake. No matter who you are, you will have your guests bowing down or possibly falling to their knees in praise and thanking you for making this for them. I suppose you might think 'What would a farmer know about cooking?"
Then I ask "Have you ever seen a picture of me?" Of course I'm an expert on food, and this is the best shortcake recipe in existence. The only thing is, the instructions say to use1/2 cup sugar and another 1/4 cup on top before placing in oven.. Believe me, if you forget to sprinkle that 1/4 cup sugar, on top of the batter, then you will turn it into every other shortcake. Remember 1/2 cup in batter, 1/4 cup on top. Here it is.
1/2 C. butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Sugar (in batter)
1/4 C reserved for top
1 C. Flour
1 Egg
Lightly mix all ingredients; pour the thick batter into a 8 X 12 pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar; bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until brown. Serve with fresh strawberries and cream.
This is also really good any time of year with frozen strawberries from the store.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Dishwasher Test
I can now tell you with certainty that not every plate, glass, dish, knife, fork, spoon, paring knife, salad bowl and coffee cup can fit in our diswasher. We tried. I had to run the diswasher to have a salad fork to roll link sausage around in the frying pan and to eat with.
All the stuff will however all fit in the dishwasher and one side of the sink.
I think the next step might be paper plates and bowls and sporks from KFC.
Just last week Marilyn agreed with me that we're too old to be living by ourselves.
All the stuff will however all fit in the dishwasher and one side of the sink.
I think the next step might be paper plates and bowls and sporks from KFC.
Just last week Marilyn agreed with me that we're too old to be living by ourselves.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Man Overboard
After a near historically warm winter, we had 7 or 8 inches of incredibly wet snow in early February followed by some fairly light but pesky sprinkles and light snow events. The bigger snow was so wet it would not feed into my 9-foot snow blower. The big augers just rolled up with snow and looked like two large paper towels turning my blower into a rear mount dozer.
We had to just let it melt. It caused quite a mess and we've been dealing with mud for almost a month now. It's been a bad time to need to haul corn the 7 miles to the nearest hard surfaced road. It's not the first mud we've dealt with. This has been a setup for one of the stories that gets rerun about every five years at a Morrow family get together.
It began in the early spring thaw of 1965. Dad, with the help of us boys, would line the north side of the feedlot with a long and high stack of small square alfalfa hay bales. That side of the feedlot was lined with a hay feeding rack made of creosoted posts and planks. We fed hay all winter from the pile and by the time it was about gone we were no longer in need of the wind break the hay provided.
The spring in question was the end of a long winter with heavy snow. The cattle had trampled hay and snow and manure into a hard deep mixture by the hay rack and were in danger at one point of walking over the top. As it melted, the mixture turned into a 'belly deep to a steer' kind of watery oatmeal type mixture. It seemed naturally carbonated and it was about two and a half feet deep. It actually had a base because the bottom wasn't completely thawed yet.
That base was fortunate because the cattle had run out of hay and the mud on the north side of the rack was so deep and gooey, we couldn't haul hay bales in the normal route.
Dad had the solution. We loaded one of our old barge box grain wagons with hay bales. Two layers of bales were squeezed in and filled the wagon to the top of the box sides and then we could hang two more tiers over the edges of the wagon above that. He hooked our 4020 to the wagon because of its wide front and besides it was tall enough to drive in the feed lot with the oatmeal mixture. I would throw the hay bales over the fence into the hay rack while Dad drove along slowly through the slop.
The mix was deep, nearly up to the tractor's oil pan. The wagon axle, wheels and tongue were all under the mud. I successfully threw off the top two tiers of bales across the fence into the feed area, but the first bale inside the box sides didn't want to come out. I had wedged them in and had stomped on them to make them go all the way in. I had him stop the tractor while I struggled to get the bale in the center of the load pulled up and out. My bale hook kept pulling hay loose but the bale itself just stayed in its place.
I took one more hard swing at the bale, burying my hook deep into the middle and with my feet firmly planted I jerked with my legs and the bale came loose. Easily. It popped out of the hole and nearly hit me in the face. I lost my balance and fell backward over the side of the wagon. I firmly hugged the hay bale to my chest as though hugging it would somehow keep me suspended above the cesspool awaiting me.
It was in slow motion from my perspective. I anticipated having the wind knocked out of me. I was prepared to get hurt. Maybe a rescue squad call in the middle of two to three feet of manure would be necessary. I landed on my back with the bale on my chest. It didn't hurt; it was like landing in deep cotton balls.
After realizing I was alive my next concern should have been drowning. The only part of body above wellÉ let's say water, was my head but only from my ears to my chin on up. The bale was sitting on my chest and I was surrounded by 1,000-pound steers trying to lick at me and the bale.
I then realized that Dad was probably worried sick about me. I shoved the bale to the side and took the wire off of the bale so the cattle could eat what parts of the bale didn't sink and then I looked up at Dad. It had bothered him worse than I thought. He was having some kind of convulsions. He had his face buried in his arm which was resting on the fender. He was really shaking, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and put his head back on his arm and shook some more. It almost had the appearance of laughter but he wouldn't do that.
Would he?
Over the years he started to retell that story many times at family gatherings and each time he 'broke up again' and then would look at me and say "You tell it," and then he'd flop his head into his arm lying on the table and begin to shake again. I guess it really was a pretty rough experience for the old guy
We had to just let it melt. It caused quite a mess and we've been dealing with mud for almost a month now. It's been a bad time to need to haul corn the 7 miles to the nearest hard surfaced road. It's not the first mud we've dealt with. This has been a setup for one of the stories that gets rerun about every five years at a Morrow family get together.
It began in the early spring thaw of 1965. Dad, with the help of us boys, would line the north side of the feedlot with a long and high stack of small square alfalfa hay bales. That side of the feedlot was lined with a hay feeding rack made of creosoted posts and planks. We fed hay all winter from the pile and by the time it was about gone we were no longer in need of the wind break the hay provided.
The spring in question was the end of a long winter with heavy snow. The cattle had trampled hay and snow and manure into a hard deep mixture by the hay rack and were in danger at one point of walking over the top. As it melted, the mixture turned into a 'belly deep to a steer' kind of watery oatmeal type mixture. It seemed naturally carbonated and it was about two and a half feet deep. It actually had a base because the bottom wasn't completely thawed yet.
That base was fortunate because the cattle had run out of hay and the mud on the north side of the rack was so deep and gooey, we couldn't haul hay bales in the normal route.
Dad had the solution. We loaded one of our old barge box grain wagons with hay bales. Two layers of bales were squeezed in and filled the wagon to the top of the box sides and then we could hang two more tiers over the edges of the wagon above that. He hooked our 4020 to the wagon because of its wide front and besides it was tall enough to drive in the feed lot with the oatmeal mixture. I would throw the hay bales over the fence into the hay rack while Dad drove along slowly through the slop.
The mix was deep, nearly up to the tractor's oil pan. The wagon axle, wheels and tongue were all under the mud. I successfully threw off the top two tiers of bales across the fence into the feed area, but the first bale inside the box sides didn't want to come out. I had wedged them in and had stomped on them to make them go all the way in. I had him stop the tractor while I struggled to get the bale in the center of the load pulled up and out. My bale hook kept pulling hay loose but the bale itself just stayed in its place.
I took one more hard swing at the bale, burying my hook deep into the middle and with my feet firmly planted I jerked with my legs and the bale came loose. Easily. It popped out of the hole and nearly hit me in the face. I lost my balance and fell backward over the side of the wagon. I firmly hugged the hay bale to my chest as though hugging it would somehow keep me suspended above the cesspool awaiting me.
It was in slow motion from my perspective. I anticipated having the wind knocked out of me. I was prepared to get hurt. Maybe a rescue squad call in the middle of two to three feet of manure would be necessary. I landed on my back with the bale on my chest. It didn't hurt; it was like landing in deep cotton balls.
After realizing I was alive my next concern should have been drowning. The only part of body above wellÉ let's say water, was my head but only from my ears to my chin on up. The bale was sitting on my chest and I was surrounded by 1,000-pound steers trying to lick at me and the bale.
I then realized that Dad was probably worried sick about me. I shoved the bale to the side and took the wire off of the bale so the cattle could eat what parts of the bale didn't sink and then I looked up at Dad. It had bothered him worse than I thought. He was having some kind of convulsions. He had his face buried in his arm which was resting on the fender. He was really shaking, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and put his head back on his arm and shook some more. It almost had the appearance of laughter but he wouldn't do that.
Would he?
Over the years he started to retell that story many times at family gatherings and each time he 'broke up again' and then would look at me and say "You tell it," and then he'd flop his head into his arm lying on the table and begin to shake again. I guess it really was a pretty rough experience for the old guy
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Old Pictures With New Captions
Marilyn: "Ralph, say that again and that'll be the last French you'll ever dip."
Ralph: "What'd I say." Me: "Uh...leave me outta this."
What's really going on??... Ralph and I are making beef sandwiches with Au Jus for my Mother In-law's 90th Birthday here in Tekamah. Ralph and Char, even though unrelated to us, are present for every big family event the Morrow's have which is why they were officially voted into the Morrow Clan at a Morrow Family reunion.
Ralph and I were in charge of the beef sandwiches that day and Ralph had to take over for a while after I tested the knife's sharpness on myself. Turns out the beef was medium rare and I was raw.
Marilyn was just telling Ralph his shirt was out of focus. Or something like that.
OR, write your own caption.
Friday, March 02, 2012
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