Friday I met some of my longest term, closest friends for some drinks. Great time. My best friend's brother told me his son who I coached for several years is transitioning. It was surprisingly non dramatic. He seemed to still be processing things. I understand the macro level proper naming and pro nouning but when you know someone their entire life, that name is more than some convenient identifier. So much more history and memories are attached. Anyway, I knew something was up the last time I saw the kid in March, so I wasn't surprised.

Saturday was baseball. Then a little lounging. My boy is working at The Dock so I went an hour before close with my wife for drinks and to watch the fireworks of the lakeshore suburbs.

I went to mass sunday. It was strange to have the neighborhood parade occurring as mass was ending. I watched that then lounged for a while, went to a block party than had an informal party at my house to drink and watch my pyro brother blow shit up. It's nice to know someone on the 4th with disposable income and a love of fireworks. I was sweating like dolphin taking a Latin test, as I was an active host. The beers then went down very quickly and I became my life of the party self. I think I told a few adult jokes that didn't go over well in mixed company. Now I know how Chapelle feels.

I lounged around a lot on Monday. I felt kind of like a bum for wasting such a beautiful day but fuck it, why should I feel guilty for just wasting a day away once in a while. I went to baseball at night. I'm not coaching but they needed me to throw bp. It's been a while and I nearly stroked out in the heat.

Good times.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I grilled burgers for supper and cleaned up the kid's pool and toys in the yard, but other than that yesterday was very much a chill day. Awesome times Saturday and Sunday, so there is no shame is taking a day to recoup.

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Got drunk with my bowling team on Sunday. Grilled burgers and brats. Busted out the fire pit. Smoked some cigars. Blew off the rest of the mortars I had from a couple of years ago. A good day.

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Spent as much time outdoors as humanly possible... Be it to do yardwork, vehicle work, housework, etc...

Why? I like warmth and in a 5 months we'll be mired in the "long grey suck" again.

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Certified Dirty Old Man

Dropping into the 60’s as we speak up here…..

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Was in Illinois from the 1st through half of the 5th. Got to see my family and my wife's family who we hadn't seen since March of last year, right before all the lockdowns. Also saw some good friends. Didn't drink as much as I would normally due to a health issue but still had a good time overall. The weather was fantastic. Looking to go back around Christmas unless things go sideways. Hope to see a bunch more friends then.

Cleaned out the shed, killed and removed a wasp nest while listening to "Real American"

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

I loaded a wagon full of second cutting into the barn and stacked it Sunday after church. Then I baled the last ten acres, driving and loading by myself. It was less than 200 bales. That was a bit too much, and I laid pretty low Monday, just mowing centers in the vineyard. This morning we took down one of the two 60+-year-old maple trees in front of our house. It was pretty diseased and threatening to blow on to the house with every storm. Had that all cleaned up by noon, and my wife retrieved my middle son, visiting from Virginia, spent the rest of today with him.

It has to be great living on a vineyard.

I take it for granted having grown up here. And, there is more work involved than most people realize, like all good things.

But those two weeks around harvest, when the whole neighborhood smells like sweet, ripe grapes, that is hard to beat.

I cultivated 300 acres, spread manure on another 75, worked that field up and planted it to Sudan grass and cowpeas and chased cows all over creation.. Man, do I know a good time.

Chisel plow, moldboard plow or just field cultivator?

This is the first year I am trying to compost last year's manure in the feedlot to spread in the grapes after harvest vice in the spring, before bloom. Because we have to till the centers following the manure, I had MANY issues in the vineyard with mud thanks to the heavy rains of last spring. Even got stuck trying to apply the first spray. I'm thinking I can apply over snow without having to till, and not anger the entire neighborhood, not destroy the soil surface. I could follow with a no-till drill and seed in some late rye, that's kinda tillage...

Disk. Haven't run a chisel for 3 or 4 years or a moldboard for 7 or so. Those are for burying grass if we are pulling a piece out of long term rest rotation and honestly I doubt we will run a moldboard again. Strike that on chisel, might of run one last year or year before on the ground we run the cows on in the winter as they can pug it up it lower areas in field. This past winter we had fewer cows than we usually have so we dry lotted them in a smaller lot that..well, we shall see if the millet and sudex win or if the weeds do. If the weeds win than the mower gets used.