Mellow greetings, yookie dookie! Christmas 2010 I’ve been trying to ‘educate’ my time-deprived husband on movies in general, but naturally my favorite classics sneak in to the Netflix listing or pulled from the shelf when I can. We started the year buried in snow – survived my first blizzard it started Christmas Eve and kept blowing. Brought a calf in to spend the frigid night New Years Day, Ramsey still looks in the tub for him. We were able to spend 10 January days in AZ, coinciding with Dad having a stint procedure, and missed the coldest weather here at home. We have good friends that took care of things for us and the cows actually behaved. After we got home, they started taking their own trips (walkabouts, not to the sales barn/butcher). In February, I went to a photography workshop in Hastings that was to include time in a river blind in the wee morning hours for sandhill crane viewing – they hadn’t arrived yet. So when they did show up, Iwent over to Ft Kearney State Park and got some sunset shots of them landing for the night. At the workshop I learned of Pinnacle Bank’s continuous search for local shots for their advertising. Had an almost for a billboard, but am July in their 2011 calendar. Sold “Ripe Wheat’, a framed 16x20, via the pharmacy in Geneva; thanks to the owner pushing me to provide some. And am working on a deal to sell some ‘local’ note cards to a new gift shop for resale!! Check out ellightimages.com to see new, mainly Nebraska, shots. Late one April night I got a phone call from Gerald out at the farm – ‘Now don’t get excited, but I think Ibroke my arm’. Chasing cows on damp grass trying to keep them from getting in the oat field he slippedand hit his left arm on a railroad tie. Henry & Francis arrived as I did, Henry JR a few minutes later; Gerald worked the wire gate while holding his arm stable with his chin. As we got the last of the cows in, our nephew Eric, the EMT, pulled in and stabilized his arm for the trip to the hospital, then he finished evening chores. I had hopes of the Dr cutting off the ancient hole-y sweatshirt – he didn’t. X-rays showed clean break and Gerald had re-aligned it perfectly. After six weeks with a removable splint,he was released to normal activity. First week of June, nephew Brian and his girlfriend Inka stopped by for a visit.They got to experience weeding the potato patch and Brian ran the roto-tillerthrough the sweet corn. When asked if there was anything he rememberedfrom childhood visits to Hastings he wanted to see? The fountain. So afterweeding, we sped over and were the last customers at Dairy Queen (closes at10), then watched the fountain for awhile. A lightning storm west of town addedto the allure, then chased us home. Brian’s spending a year as an exchangestudent at Andover-Newton’s sister seminary in Wuppertal, Germany, we’reglad Inka lives only an hour away. We’ll miss them both, but they’ll enjoy awhite Christmas for sure. Wheat harvest started a bit early and was nearly finished when we snuckaway for a week in AZ to attend the big 50th birthday/20th anniversary surprise party for Kriss and Bill. Amber, Brian, Matt and Inka did a great job planning and executing with assistance from Mom and Dad,

and game day interference run by TJ and Alice and others. We got there 45minutes before the party started. Finishing up wheat harvest when we got back, our largest and newest grain truck (1969) had a bad day. A friend was backing up to unload, heard a pop, saw smoke, called Gerald who was3 miles away in the combine, & dialed 911. Gerald flagged down a friend and they had the fire almost out before fire truck got there. Box was not lost, nor the wheat inside, just cab –

and Gerald’s wallet. Leather protects cash, but not so much allcredit cards from melting. Mom and Dad came to visit at the end of their fall trip, then Ijoined them in their visit to Springfield, MO as I had a SAFConference. Surprised a MO employee, whom I met in my NMGIS days, learned some things about hardwoods, had a niceevening visiting with Mom and Dad & good friends, saw the oldhouse

& elementary school and found Gerald a flashlight in the outlet at Bass Pro Shops. Happy to report the flashlight’s location is still known, unlike the other headlamps I’ve gotten him. We won tickets to the Huskers – Mizzou game from a seed company at Husker Harvest Days. We were sitting amongst Tiger fans, so I couldn’t help but join in their cheers a few times, hee hee. Late summer there was a big wind storm that damaged a tree at church and several around the County Courthouse Square. I pulled out the hard hat, chaps and chainsaw and smoothed out the jagged break on the tree at church. I also mapped all the trees at the Courthouse and helped appraise for removal or trimming, then experienced life on the applicant side of grant writing and helped put in one to plant replacement trees. Just heard we were awarded $2500, which is less than we wanted, but better than nothing. We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Jeanne and Brian’s house with 20 or so family members eating too much and laughing a lot. Jeanne and her granddaughter made my birthday cake - was a terrific double chocolate with chocolate icing, shaved kisses and sprinkles on top. It was awesome. At an auction the week before Gerald got me a vacuum – not that kind, 50” deck Ransommes commercial lawn mower that sucks up fall leaves, too! Yea! It’s a zero-turn and way too fun to operate. I’m participating in Fillmore County’s Odego Leadership Class – 1 day/month x 9 mos (started in Sept)and learning a lot about my new home. Gerald has been a member of the sponsoring group for a long time. Maybe we’ll brainstorm a way to bring a bowling alley back locally – we’d love to ourselves, but need to win the lottery (for that and to help with farm-type acquisitions). As the mercury dips below zero and the howling wind takes it even lower, Gerald wants to know who has room for the two of us, Ramsey and 88 cows (some are calves just a week old). We’re hoping to spend a week or so in sunny Arizona spanning the end of the year. We are thankful for our families and health, friends and each other. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year in 2011 – let’s hope time slows down a bit.

Moonrise by Gerald