The Farm Painting: Start To Finish

Above, the finished painting. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The idea for a special birthday present for Mitch Geriminsky for his 70th birthday came to me last June.

Since his has been great friend since we were 13 or 14 years old and he saved my bacon in Wells, Nevada five years ago, I thought I would have Asya do a painting of a farm. His home is decorated in a farm motif, which is why that was chosen. 

I wanted to have a gate with his name, so I came up with "Mitchell Farms" and have his age as the address number. 

I first sent her this rough sketch of what I had in mind:

 

She then used it to come up with her rough sketches on the layout:

She then bought the canvas in St. Petersburg, Russia:

Then she refined it on the canvas:

During this time, we sent each other photos of different farm and tractor photos we found online to use as guides. I had her eliminate the sun in the layout as it would cause shadowing issues. I also had Mitch's wife Holly in the loop during this process and she was able to keep it a secret.

In July, the painting was nearly finished:

Shortly thereafter, she sent it to me from St. Petersburg, Russia:

As our PayPal, Western Union and other money-sending companies were stymied from sending money to Russia due to the embargo, I was able to pay her for the painting when she was traveling in Cairo, Egypt.

It arrived in Jamestown, New Mexico in plenty of time for Mitch's birthday in October. He had visited here, during which the painting was safely hidden away. Now, it is at Hobby Lobby in Lake Havasu being framed. It should be ready tomorrow.

800 Rare Gold Coins Discovered In Kentucky Cornfield

Since I bought my house in 2018 in New Mexico, the only interesting thing found on the land were pieces of Anasazi pottery pieces.

A Kentucky farmer was far luckier. He found over 800 rare gold and silver coins buried in his cornfield. The coins date to the Civil War and earlier.

WSB-TV reported:

The Great Kentucky Hoard, as it has been dubbed by numismatists, has mostly U.S. gold coins dating between 1840 and 1863. The value of the coins could exceed $2 million, WAVE-TV reported.

According to Coin World, the coins unearthed include 741 Coronet and Indian Head gold dollars, a number of 1863 Coronet $20 double eagles and small amounts of Coronet $10 eagles and Seated Liberty silver issues.

The coins are dated from 1840 to 1862 and are estimated at a value exceeding $2 million. https://t.co/1otcb5pypl

— WAVE (@wave3news) July 13, 2023

The gold dollars are dated from 1850 through 1862, according to Coin World. Their conditions are remarkably good, considering their age.

“Underneath were just these phenomenally beautiful, preserved coins,” Certified Collectibles Group Executive Vice President Andrew Salzberg told WAVE. “And I think they were preserved so well because they weren’t exposed to air, and they were buried in the ground.”

The person who found the coins and where they were found have not been revealed. The reason why the coins were buried are also unclear, although it is possible that the owner buried it during the Civil War to protect his stash from Union or Confederate armies.

Maybe I should get a metal detector and dig around.

To read more, go here. 

Climate Madness: Kill 200,000 Dairy Cows

The United States isn't the only country in the west with Leftist lunatics.

The Left in Ireland wants to destroy the dairy farm industry. All in the name of climate change.

The Federalist Papers reported:

The high priests of climate change are at it again, this time decreeing that 200,000 dairy cows must be put to death to satisfy the left’s global warming religion.

This latest outrage is coming from government officials in Ireland who have announced the destruction of tens of thousands of dairy cows so that officials can meet their climate change goals.

One proposal claims that by reducing the country’s dairy herd by 10 percent, the equivalent of removing 65,000 cows a year for three years, will help officials meet their emissions reduction plans, according to Farmers Weekly citing the Irish Independent newspaper.

 The Telegraph’s Jamie Blackett called the whole plan a sort of “madness.” 

“Spending vast sums of taxpayer’s money on destroying productive animals would be a perfect summation of the net zero madness infecting the West. The Irish Department of Agriculture has said that the report was just a ‘modeling document’, but no sane government would even get to the point of including such a plan in ‘a deliberative process’” Why? Because it is irrational,” he wrote.

“The government’s Environmental Protection Agency produced a report in February this year proposing a 30% reduction in Irish cattle, which would equate to killing well over half a million cows,” the outlet reported.

Governments are also pushing synthetic foods in hopes of replacing real food.

Such “innovations” presumably include eliminating meat and forcing everyone to eat bugs. Other “solutions” could involve the development of synthetic meats that apparently contain precancerous cells.

These sort of harebrained schemes to meet climate goals are the talk of leftist governments everywhere, granted. Recently President Joe Biden’s “climate czar,” John Kerry, also talked of targeting America’s family farms for destruction to satisfy the left’s climate change obsession.

To read the full article, go here.

Trip Home Photos

Mitch Geriminsky and I headed out of Idaho yesterday following Bill Wilson's celebration of life.

We flew out of Twin Falls Magic Valley Regional Airport. Oddly, Mitch had been to Buhl, Idaho many times but was unaware nearby Twin Falls had an airport. Our flight would take us to Salt Lake City, Utah where he would catch a flight to Phoenix, Arizona and I would go on to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

While at the airport, we had breakfast at the Happy Landing Restaurant & Pub. It had to be the smallest airport I've ever been in, but it is my understanding that an expansion of it is planned.

Things got a little confused at Salt Lake City's airport. It was announced that our departure gate for Albuquerque was changed. Then the gate clerks said it was an error. Then they weren't sure. Finally, after about 15 minutes, they announced that our departure would be at the gate we were at.

Other than that, the trip with Delta Airlines was flawless. It was the first time I've flown with them.

Some photos:

Above, the Happy Landing Restaurant & Pub. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Mitch at the Happy Landing Restaurant & Pub. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, yours truly at the Happy Landing Restaurant & Pub. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

Above, a view of Idaho farmland while headed to Salt Lake City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a view of Salt Lake City while flying to Albuquerque. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Trump Comes To Bakersfield To Rescue Parched San Joaquin Valley Farmers

Several years ago, while on the road up and down the San Joaquin Valley of California, I saw miles upon miles of parched farmland with signs put up by farmers protesting the state's mismanagement of the water supply. The signs that accompany this blog post were typical of the signs I saw.

Of course, there was a drought at the time, but the mismanagement by the state government, fully controlled by Democrats, on top of no new water storage and distribution projects, effectively shut off the water supply to the farmers in the valley. No new water projects have been built since 1979 in California. Billions of gallons of water is flowing into the Pacific Ocean instead of being stored in the state because there are no facilities built to store it.

Instead of building water infrastructure, the state wasted billions on a ridiculous "bullet train to nowhere". Idiotic regulations on ponds, streams and other bodies of water on private farm property hurt the farmers as well.

Today, in Bakersfield, President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to help the farmers of the San Joaquin Valley.

From The Hill:

President Trump on Wednesday signed an order in California to re-engineer the state’s water plans, completing a campaign promise to funnel water from the north to a thirsty agriculture industry and growing population further south. 

The ceremonial order comes after the Department of the Interior late last year reversed its opinion on scientific findings that for a decade extended endangered species protections to various types of fish — a review that had been spurred by the order from Trump.  

Trump said the changes to the “outdated scientific research and biological opinions” would now help direct “as much water as possible, which will be a magnificent amount, a massive amount of water for the use of California farmers and ranchers.”

"It would be different if you had a drought," Trump added of restrictions. "You don't have a drought. You have tremendous amounts of water." 

“A major obstacle to providing water for the region's farmers has now been totally eliminated by the federal government,” Trump said Wednesday in Bakersfield, Calif., flanked by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as well as Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who helped shepherd the changes to the state’s water policy. 

Trump's order comes as the state has taken several steps to deal with the water scarcity that has lasted for decades.

Naturally, the leftists (mainly Governor Newsom and Attorney General Becerra) will be fighting Trump and the farmers.

To read more, go here.

Midwest Farmers Favoring Old-School Tractors

Above, a new tractor on display at last summer's Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I saw a new article at Hagerty.com, my immediate thought was of my neighbor Bo across the street. He has several tractors, all of which are 1950s vintage that he regularly uses on his property and, on occasion, helped me out.

It seems that farmers in the Midwest favor older tractors over the "new-fangled" ones with all kinds of bells and whistles.

Hagerty wrote:

American farmers are seeking out older tractors, and not just as collectors’ items. The dated machinery is easier to use, less expensive to purchase, and cheaper to repair and maintain than modern tractors, so instead of early retirement the old workhorses are being put back into the field. 

Greg Peterson, founder of Machinery Pete, a farm equipment data company in Rochester, Minnesota, recently told the Minnesota Star Tribune that most decades-old tractors have plenty of life left. 

“There’s an affinity factor if you grew up around these tractors, but it goes way beyond that,” Peterson told the Star Tribune. “These things, they’re basically bulletproof. You can put 15,000 hours on it, and if something breaks you can just replace it.” 

Hagerty’s resident tractor enthusiast Becca Hunt, whose farming family owns and uses four vintage tractors, wholeheartedly agrees. 

“They’re tough and reliable, and if something breaks, it’s easy to fix,” she says. “Plus, because they’re older, a lot of the parts are interchangeable with other brands. We have an Oliver, but we can get a part from another manufacturer and it still works. You can’t do that with the newer tractors; they tend to be part-specific, which can be a bit costly.

Above, Bo aboard "Edith" at Barking Spider Acre. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Spending Dough

Above, comic books for sale at last year's Comikaze Expo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Great news was received today, and it comes at the most opportune time.

My Nebraska farm tenant told me this morning that he finished harvesting the corn crop grown on my land and the check from the buyer will be coming within the next week or so. As expected, although corn prices are down (what can you do?), we had an almost unbelievable high yield this year that will help to make up for it.

Above, a costume and t-shirt vendor at the 2012 Comikaze Expo. Photo be Armand Vaquer.

What I mean about "opportune" is that the crop check should be here before I go to Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo on October 31 for the Godzilla/Gamera anniversaries panel discussion. [Details here.] As one can imagine, Comikaze Expo (besides comic books, celebrities, panels and displays) has many vendors hawking their goods. With plenty of spending money on hand, I will be able to make some purchases there.

For the list of Comikaze Expo's exhibitors, go here.

Harvest Time

Harvest season is now upon us. This means that farmers across American are harvesting their 2014 crops and getting them to market.

Concerning corn, prices are down (about $3.47/bushel) thanks to a big supply, which places downward pressure on corn prices. Prices were also down last year, but since the crop yield was very good (this year will be about the same or even better than last year), this helped to make up for the low prices. It should be about the same this year. Two years ago, prices were about double of what they are now.

Next year, we have to contend with and make decisions on new Dept. of Agriculture programs that were enacted in the 2014 Farm Bill.

Farmers in Nebraska and around the country also have to contend with the Environmental Protection Agency's "Waters of the U.S." rule. Farm experts say that this rule will be harmful to the nation's farms and will “cause cost increases, confusion and uncertainty to agricultural producers.” See this article for more. That's what happens when left wing lunatics are in charge of the federal government.

Getting Stuff Done

Above, Akira Takarada and Armand with the poster at Son of Monsterpalooza.

There were several things I wanted to get done today, including some business with Toho's Los Angeles office and to get my farm tenant a nice box of assorted See's Candies for Christmas. This tradition was started by my mom years ago and I have continued it. It is a way of saying "thank-you" for a great corn production year on the farm.

I got my business with Toho done and headed off to See's.

Another thing I wanted to get done today was to get the Godzilla poster I had actor Akira Takarada sign for me at the Son of Monsterpalooza a couple of months ago framed. I figured I'd better get it done a.s.a.p. before it gets thrashed. No amount of professional framing would make a thrashed poster look good, would it? After my business with See's Candies was done, I headed off to get the poster framed.

So, I went to the local U-Frame-It and ordered the framing. It will be nicely framed with a black matte. It will be done (they said) this week. Once it is, I'll post a photo of the finished job.

Support Nebraska's Ben Sasse For U.S. Senate!

My second contribution of today to a Republican conservative primary candidate went to Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who is running for the U.S. Senate for that state.

Sasse recently ran afoul of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (see this article). This confirms to me that McConnell has got to go! Earlier today, I contributed to McConnell's primary challenger in Kentucky, Matt Bevin.

This time, my contribution goes a little closer to home as Sasse is running to represent Nebraska in the U.S. Senate. I have farm property in Nebraska, that's why this contribution means a lot to me.

If you can, kindly submit your contribution to Ben Sasse for U.S. Senate by going here.

Harvest In Progress

Just got word from my tenant that the corn crop at the Nebraska farm is now being harvested today through Saturday and it looks very good!

He said, "Yield-wise, probably the best ever or close to it!" This is great news, considering that corn commodity prices are down this year. The high yield will help make up for it.

I have been reading reports for the past two weeks that the corn yield is exceptional around the country this year.

Corn & Comikaze Expo

As I predicted, the federal government shutdown (or slowdown, as 83% of the government was still operating) would cause a delay in Department of Agriculture farm program payments. The "shutdown" ended on October 17.

I predicted during the "shutdown" that it would cause a delay of about two weeks before payments would be made. Sure enough, my bank account is much bigger as the Department of Agriculture payment made it in (I have direct deposit) yesterday. So it took 12 days for it to make into my account. Not too bad, all things considered.

At least the Department of Agriculture has their act together!

************

Day after tomorrow, I will be participating in a discussion panel on Godzilla (2014) and Pacific Rim (2013) at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The show opens at 1:00 P.M. (according to the schedule when I last saw it) and the panel starts at 2:00.

As I did at last year's Comikaze Expo, I will have available copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan following the panel. It will be available at a 20% discount off the cover price of $15.00. So, instead of $15.00, it will be available for $12.00. If you would like it signed, I would be happy to do so at no extra charge.

Hope to see you at the Los Angeles Convention Center at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo!

The Day Speaker Boehner Grew Some Balls

Above, the message that greeted me at the USDA's website.

President Obama refusal to negotiate on ObamaCare has led to the continuing shutdown of the federal government.

The government, contrary to what the mainstream media is telling people, is operating at 83%, which isn't too bad.

On today's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, House Speaker John Boehner said about the president, “He knows what my phone number is, all he has to do is call." He added, "The president just can’t sit there and say, ‘I’m not going to negotiate.' "

According to Boehner, there aren't enough votes in the House of Representatives to re-open the government with no strings attached.

Finally, Speaker Boehner is holding firm and it is up to President Obama to start negotiations to re-open the government. I am in full support of Boehner's position. He finally grew some balls!

Many government programs are at a standstill and is hurting a lot of people. Personally, this means that the annual check from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that I receive for a farm program will be delayed.  But I am willing to wait for the greater good.

Obama must also agree to delay the full implementation of ObamaCare and agree to negotiate on changes to the law that will make the current monstrosity workable.

Kudos to Speaker Boehner and the House for sending Obama the message that he is not a dictator and must work with the other branches of government.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/06/204429/boehner-house-will-not-pass-bill.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/06/204429/boehner-house-will-not-pass-bill.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/06/204429/boehner-house-will-not-pass-bill.html#storylink=cpy

1977 Farm Photos

While going through some old photo albums, I came across three from my family's trip to Nebraska in 1977.

It was my first time there (until I go again, it is my only time I've been there) and it was in late winter.

The first two photos was of our then-tenant's John Deere tractor.

Bob, our tenant at the time, was showing me the workings of his tractor.  As I recall, the cab had air conditioning as well as a stereo sound system. It was actually quite comfortable inside.

The photo below is of our farm property. I had posted some photos of the property with some snow on the ground. This one was taken a few days later, after most of it melted away.

Western Farm Press: Ask Questions At Farmers' Markets

An article in the current issue of Western Farm Press caught my attention. It is on asking questions at farmers' markets.

There are a few farmers' markets in and around the San Fernando Valley and we have shopped at some of them. Generally, the prices are a little bit lower than what you find on average at the local supermarket.  But, pricing aside, the article made me think a little bit about the quality of the produce sold there.

The article states:

Farmers’ markets make are like shopping on Saturday in town long, long ago. They’re fun. 

An occasional Friday night at the popular downtown farmers’ market in Clovis, Calif., is part of my summer. 

However, the fruits and vegetables are no better there than at the local supermarket. Some are worse.  

Farmers’ markets are popular because people think they are buying from “local growers,” and it is somehow better from a five-acre grower than a 500-acre grower, even with the same zip code. I always wonder if the person selling is the same person who grew it. That comes from looking at the boxes around some booths. What is a dead giveaway that it’s not local is when there’s something for sale that is not ripe locally at this time of year.

If you are a frequent (or even an occasional) farmers' market shopper, you may want to read the article before the next time you go. When you do go, ask questions.

To read the article, go here.

First Crop Report

Above, the farm during the winter of 1977.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The first report on this year's corn crop at the farm in Nebraska came in this morning.

According to my tenant, "Crops look good!  [It is] very dry again, so very busy."

Even if there are drought conditions in the area, I am not worried as we have a good irrigation well on the property.  The only worry is possible wind or hail storms between now and harvesting (about three months from now).

Farm Bill, Reforms Needed Before Passage

The Heritage Foundation has come up with reforms needed on the current farm bill. The current bill was rejected by the House of Representatives.

One of the reforms suggested was to split the farm bill into two: one for farm programs and the other for the food stamp (SNAP) program.

That is definitely one reform that I can support.

To read more, go here.

EPA Releases Personal Information On Farmers and Ranchers To Environmental Extremist Groups

The Looney Left Report

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is run by leftist Alinskyites, released personal data on thousands of farmers and ranchers to environmental extremist groups.

Fox News.com reported:

The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged Tuesday that it released personal information on potentially thousands of farmers and ranchers to environmental groups, following concerns from congressional Republicans and agriculture groups that the release could endanger their safety. 

 According to a document obtained by FoxNews.com, the EPA said “some of the personal information that could have been protected … was released." Though the EPA has already sent out the documents, the agency now says it has since redacted sensitive details and asked the environmental groups to “return the information.”

But Sen. John Thune, who originally complained about the release, slammed the EPA for trying to retroactively recover the sensitive data.

The information on livestock and produce farmers was sought through a Freedom of Information Act request by the groups Earth Justice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pew Charitable Trust. The groups, which have not commented on whether they plan to return the documents, were originally given information on roughly 80,000 farmers and ranchers. 

The agency acknowledged the information included individual names, email addresses, phone numbers and personal addresses.

The EPA said the data was related to farms in 29 states with “concentrated animal feeding operations” and that the released information was part of the agency’s commitment to “ensure clean water and public-health protection.” 

The groups wanted the information, they say, because such large-scale operations are a major source of water pollution and they want to hold the EPA accountable for enforcing the Clean Water Act.

It looks like our government is now the enemy to those who produce our food.  How would you like it if the government released your personal information to some wacko group?  As an owner of farm property, no environmentalist wacko had better not show up at my door.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/09/epa-acknowledges-giving-out-personal-info-in-request-that-included-data-on/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2Q1CibzCE

Great Crop Year!

This year's crop check arrived yesterday and just as I hoped, it was nearly 40% more than last year's!

The corn crop came through in fine shape (no drought problems) and the yield was great.  Plus, the corn commodity prices were high.

This allows me to pay off many bills and still have plenty left over.  

Harvest Time!

Good news greeted me this morning.

I received the following email from my farm tenant:

Corn looks great and price is very high. Should get corn picked in a week or so will sell and get check coming your way. Elevators are very slow in getting checks out again this year, will let you know when done picking so can watch for check.

This amounts to roughly half of my annual income.  Naturally, this is my favorite time of the year.