Seed Booking Days Tomorrow and Thursday

Heath is here in Gering with us today with our new Stateline pickup, helping load boxcars.  The truck is going to good use!

Just a quick reminder, don't forget about our Seed Booking Days tomorrow and Thursday this week.  I'm cooking!  I am all ready to cook some beans tonight!  I went to the store last night to get all of the ingredients for Crock Pot Tamales and the Bean Pie that we had at our Annual Meeting.  We received an EZ Bean Cooker as a Christmas gift the other day in the mail.  What a great invention.  I will be giving it a try tonight!  Check it out:  http://www.ezbeancooker.com/ for more details.  I will let you know how it works.  It's supposed to cook beans in 12-50 minutes, depending on the bean, without soaking or anything.

America the Beautiful

Good morning, I just wanted to share with you all a picture that I was fortunate to take this weekend!  I was just in awe when I saw him sitting there on a limb just outside of town.  It was a beautiful sight!  I was so very close that I thought that he would fly away as soon as we stopped the pickup, but he just sat there keeping a close eye on us.  Look at his beak and those talons!  I was very aware that his neck feathers were  a little ruffled.  He never budged though.  Amazing!  What beautiful things you can see if you take the time to enjoy!

Beautiful

The picture above was taken by Dave as the sun was setting a few nights ago.  We live in a beautiful place!

Sugar Factory Tour

I must say that I was fascinated by the factory tour last night.  I drive by it almost everyday and there are so many more steps that the beets go through before they become sugar than I initially thought.  We learned about each step and what is produced at each one.  Then we got to view, in action, each step.  I was amazed by all of the computer sensors in the factory that are constantly being monitored for any problems.  A simple click on the computer and things can be slowed down or stopped to prevent furthering the problem.

A view of the Monument from on top of the factory.

We toured and then had a very nice meal that was donated from several local businesses.  The tour fee will go towards scholarships that the sugar factory awards.  Thank you for a great opportunity to share what you do, with the community.  It was really neat because there were a couple of ladies there that had worked in the office of a sugar factory way back when and they were just elated to get to tour.  They said that everyone in the community should get the opportunity to go.

Moon picture next to the huge bins.

What I am going to start looking for in the stores are sugar (brown, powdered, or white) that has a lot number that begins with the letter "F."  This "F" I learned last night, means that sugar was made at the Scottsbluff Factory.  :)

Stateline Crew

I was so happy to see several of our Stateline growers at this tour last night.  Hillside Farms and Rein Family Ag are in this picture with me.  I also met one of our grower-members for the first time last night too (not pictured).

Sugar Factory Tour

I am really excited to get to be a part of this year's Sugar Factory Tour at Western Sugar.  Sugar beets are a whole new thing to me and the longer I am here, the more I learn.  This harvest, I got to go ride in a beet digger and tonight I will get to see the whole process at the factory.  I am thankful for this opportunity.

Sugar beet in the field next to the house.

Post Office

I just wanted to send out a quick thank you to our post office in Gering.  I get to get the mail everyday and I look forward to my visits because they are so nice and helpful!  Thank you for all that you do!

-3 Degrees

The guys are all bundled up today as it was -3 degrees this morning when we got here.  Totally freezing!  The best part about the whole day is that the sun is shinning and the temperature is now 32 degrees above zero!  Dave and Gerald made us some chili today to eat for dinner!  It sure hit the spot on a day like today!  Thank you guys!

Cold and Sunny Here

This is a really neat picture of our facilities here in Gering.  You can see the leftover snow from this past weekend covering the ground and the sun is s*h*i*n*n*i*n*g.  Cold, but very peaceful outside, the sun is helping warm things up a bit.

Wonderful Visit

I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit with the Rein Family this afternoon.  I went over to present them with their "Clean Bean Award" for the 2011 crop year.  Both Jeremy and Jack tied for third place in the Pinto category.  We just had the most wonderful conversation and I got to see their home and where they farm.  I just had to take the opportunity to snap a few pictures of their most unique propane tank!  How awesome to turn a white tank into an eye catching watermelon!  Great idea Gloria!  Thank you for your friendship and fellowship.

Chilly

We woke up to a little snow this morning.  They have been talking about a front coming through all week.  This wasn't the fun, pretty kind of snow, it wasn't the cold and blowing kind either.  It was just kind of there when we woke up.  It wasn't enough to make it pretty, but we did get some sunshine today about the time I took this picture the clouds broke.  :)