Dear Dave,
I am not a person who enjoy riddles, procedural cop shows or any sort
of mystery. It’s unfortunate but I just finished a morning of
real-life “Clue.” Locating a short in the cattle fence often times
means some insulators were torn off the post by a deer or even a
broken insulators. Modern electric fence energizers can typically
handle a lot of weed load so I don’t even pay attention to grass
hanging on the fence. It took most of the morning but I finally found
the short, it was at a gate opening. I bet 90 percent of shorts occur
at either corners or gates and this was no different. Anyway, a
spring gate had flipped upside down and a piece of circled fence wire
about the circumference of a 50 cent piece was touching a steel
t-post which was easily fixed. Mystery solved! Morning wasted!
This next story Dave, is about an event that I approached from the
outset with a grim mind. Sunday night, a neighbor drove in and said
that there was a beer amongst the cattle. We have little calves here
with their mothers and I figured I’d find one killed by the bear as
soon as I got outside. Bears eat anything and this one must have been
determined as I tested the fence it went through and there was about
15 thousand volts running through it (two thousand volts is enough to
hold a cow.) I looked at the cows and they were all staring in one
direction and that was how I found the bear, in the trees just feet
from where the cattle graze. I haven’t hunted since I was about
twenty and really have no interest so it was in the interest of the
cattle and calves that I shot the bear. It was a male and I’d
estimate it was about 250 pounds and was the color of cinnamon. I
felt really bad about it but the law allows you to protect your pets
and livestock from wild animals and that’s what I did. I gave my
prayer for animals afterward and it was a quick death. The DNR came
and picked up the bear the next day, all the calves and their mothers
were fine.
I liked the picture of the ride-on tractor you picked out for the
silent auction Steve’s benefit in Viking. I stand and stare at the
pedal tractors in Hardware Hank every time I need something and found
myself gawking at the picture you sent. I hope all is well your way
as the farmers attempt to complete three season’s worth of work in
just two. I have two small paddocks which I have not been able to
seed and that kind of drives me crazy. I cannot imagine what it is
like for someone who has many fields and not enough weather or time
to complete their tasks.
I will see you in July at the benefit.
You’re little bro’
