April 2025

The April news comes to you from the very hot Minnesota farm where May weather has hit in the 90’s, well above the historical averages. That causes issues for an Alaskan with an aversion to any outdoor activity above 80 degrees.  A hot day on an old borrowed Farmall tractor smoothing gopher mounds brought to mind a long ago event that established the heat standards that are now in place. In the 1950s the decision makers in the Angstman family decided it was time for an idle 8 year old to start driving the Allis Chalmers B tractor with power equipment attached. Previous experience at driving the tractor with a wagon attached was successful, but this time it was to be an oats binder like this one.

If it looks ancient that’s because it is

The binder was driven by the tractor’s power take off, which operated directly from the crankcase of the engine.  The binder had a seat for a rider, filled by Uncle Warren, and the process involved mowing a five foot swath of ripe oats, bundling a small amount with twine and ejecting it on to the ground, where it was later stacked in a shock, and then threshed. Warren’s seat was a metal butt shaped device with no padding that hung off the back of the binder.  The tractor was small and old and when pulling the binder moved at 2-3 miles per hour. The oat field that summer covered a huge portion of the farm, and the first trip around took about an hour.  At the point, the participants stopped for water at the refreshment stand which was a jar of tepid water sitting in the shade at one end of the field.  If thermos bottles had been invented, they had not made their way to the Angstman farm yet.  It was about 9 am in August it was already warm. At the break the young driver noted how long it took and how little was actually harvester by the binder.  Warren was reassuring. “Every time around gets shorter”. What he didn’t say was that by shorter he meant a few seconds shorter. As the laps continued, the heat rose. By mid afternoon, it was in the mid 90s, and there was extreme discomfort on the tractor. During those painfully long trips around the field, somewhere deep in the brain of the tractor driver a lightbulb switched on and informed the attached boy that there must be a better way to spend one’s time.  Already four uncles had escaped the farm for jobs in the legal profession.  They seemed to be well paid and had some free time. One of them even traveled to Alaska to hunt and fish on occasion. Meanwhile the Angstman family members who were still farmers had plenty to eat and not much else. To add to the intrigue, two of those lawyer uncles had headed to Montana in about 1915 when it was still wild country, and their visits to Minnesota included wonderful tales of the adventures they found in the wilderness. 

Still the oats needed to be cut, and the job lasted 3-4 days. It would not be accurate to say that a decision was made at that point to become a lawyer and move to Alaska, but a seed was planted which was fairly well established by high school.  And one of the factors was that hot day in August cutting oats.  

Critter Central, Spring Edition

Of course that same farm figures prominently in current activities.  This visit once again revealed the amazing capacity of wildlife to thrive when given the proper habitat. These photos show some of the critters wandering around this spring.  The eagles are likely the first to be born on the farm in upwards of 100 years, for sure 75. The nest was built last year but nesting was not successful. This year three eaglets survived and are now almost as big as their parents.  This photo was taken with a phone. 

A trail cam captured this recently hatched Canada goose.

This is a trail cam shot of a Great Blue Heron, locally known as a shy poke. They travel the farm always alone making one wonder how they reproduce. 

This sandhill crane strikes a classic profile as it passes in front of the camera. 

And here a pair of cranes provide a bit of modern dance in the front yard. 

One morning these four tom turkeys strutted through the yard.

This Pileated woodpecker invaded the bird feeder and seems to have perfected his eating technique. 

There are other ways to enjoy wildlife as well.  The Merlin app records the sounds of birds near the user and names them.  Several times 40 to 50 different species were identified at locations on the farm.  And one night just before a big storm blew in 75 deer were counted in a 20 acre hay field.  It is fair to say that other than long hot days working in the fields for no pay the rest of the early farm experience still resonates 70 years later.

Harriet's Haul & Velma's Virtue

August memories from the farm are abundant. It was mentioned above that the Angstman family was short on cash and long on food thanks to a large garden and farm animals.  The lack of cash became apparent one August during the county fair.  The entire family went as a group but split up upon arrival to hang with buddies. Sister Harriet at the time was a teenager and  clearly a  management problem for her parents. Of course, the county fair presented an opportunity to spend money at every turn and sometime during the evening Harriet found her Dad and sought out some cash.  Dad was always an easy mark and usually that meant a quarter, but this time all he had in his billfold was a $10 bill. He took a chance and gave it to Harriet without a firm warning about how much she could spend.  The evening was supposed to end about 9:30 because the cows needed to be milked very early every day.  Harriet failed to show at the appointed meeting place, and after a few minutes the conversation went something like this.  Mom wondered where she might be and Dad said, somewhat sheepishly, that he gave her $10 earlier. With that Mom became frantic because that amount of money was unheard of in the hands of one of her children.   She stormed off in search of Harriet and returned after a few minutes with what was left of the $10.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t much.  Remember that $10 then was the equivalent of $100 today and in a family already low on cash a lively teenager on the loose at the county fair was a crisis.  It was a tense ride home.

Harriet added to family drama in other ways as well. In high school she had a boyfriend who would often pick her up in a car and take her on a date. Returning home later they always stopped the car a distance from the house in the very large farm yard. It was generally suspected they were likely kissing in the car. After Dad determined enough kissing had happened he would flick on the yard light, a flood light high on a pole which was standard in farm yards. That rarely ended the events in the car. A few minutes later he would flip the light off and on a few times signaling he was running out of patience. If that didn’t work he would open the door and holler at them. That usually convinced Harriet to come in for fear that Dad would come to the car next. A few years later high school friends shockingly shared their experience that more secluded locations nearby were ideal for what was then called parking with no yard lights, and lots of kissing.

Speaking of family members, sister Velma celebrated her 90th birthday with a gathering in Bemidji, Minnesota. Reflecting on her 90 years, it is interesting to note that in all that time she has never had angry words for her young brother, no matter how much he might have deserved them.  How many siblings can say that?

Mandatory Moose & Other Characters

This month’s Mandatory Moose was spotted by Dolly and Mary on a quick drive to Hangar Lake in Bethel.

And this shot was made looking at sunrise on a clear day in the distance with fog hanging in the oak trees around the farm cabin.

And here are the birds helping themselves to the remains of the dead whale that was stranded on the mud flats near Anchorage last winter.

This cartoon might take some studying but remember the phrase "poker face" for a hint.

Here is a comparison of red and blue states which is revealing.

Bernie Sanders has been a favorite on these pages for a long time, well before he ran for President. His role now as a senior Senator is to speak the truth about our ugly politics. Here is one such truth.

He is turning over his role in politics to another ALO favorite Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  She shares thoughts like these regularly.

Privilege Takes Flight

Finally, a word about South African refugees. The idea that the US has rejected countless non-white refugees who sought refuge in America from horrible circumstances in their home country, but chartered a jet to bring in a batch of white farmers from South Africa who are not comfortable in the post-Apartheid version of that country is absurd. This is racism plain and simple. Those folks are far from refugees, as was obvious when they left the jet with their ample luggage, well dressed and healthy looking. Real refugees arrive in America clutching a small, tattered bag and a string of hungry, scared looking children. And those are now turned away.  Disgusting.