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A couple of days ago I asked for prayers for my brother who is battling cancer. He's now officially in hospice care at this time. I'd like to give a little background so you know who he is, even if not personally knowing him. He was a policeman and police chief in a couple of towns before becoming a deputy sheriff in McLean county NoDak. He then started a career with immigration service, later ICE. He served in Kansas City MO, Sioux City IA and then Sioux Falls SD. He spent some time at the border at South Padre Island Texas processing and detaining illegals. So he spent his life protecting the citizens of the country. In my mind he is a true hero. He went on operations in Minneapolis, Chicago and many other places, finding alien criminals who were wanted by law enforcement. He has led a truly fascinating and adventurous life. He retired about 8 or so years ago and was living the American dream before cancer struck. I so appreciate all of the well wishes and words of comfort from this forum, even though you don't know either of us. We appreciate your thoughts and continue to hope he has a little more time left. Thank you all.

Was going to put under what we did with our red tractor… My oldest (10 yrs old) wanted to plant some sweet corn before baseball practice on Thursday. Knew it would be a busy weekend in Columbus so we got 12 rows in. Perfect photo opportunity for a picture on the same ground that was taken 85 years ago.

I owe a debt I can never truly repay. What I can do is fight to keep your vision for our great country alive. A vision you fought and died for. Thank you for you selfless act of giving all.

My daughter graduated today. She now has a juris doctorate.

My dad decided that it was time to pass along my grandpa's .22 Colt revolver. As far as my brother could research it's past, it belonged to a sheriff in Texas and was his practice revolver before it made it's way to ND and my grandpa bought it sometime in the 1960s. It is an officer's model and the story goes that officers would use the .22 for practice since it is the same frame as the .38 from the day. It's nice to have a little something from my grandpa. He carried it in his pickup to plink gophers in the pasture and at the cemetary.

She wanted to go for a ride before I loaded it up on the trailer tonight to bring to a show tomorrow afternoon for the weekend. It’s a nice little show put on by a church they have been doing the show for over 40 years and it’s only a 20 min drive. She’s pretty proud of her M she won it 5 years ago but it was t till last fall she could fully push the clutch pedal down on it. She drove around the field for 20 min or better

We got the call Friday, made arrangements today.

I keep a live trap set in the old hog house where I keep some parts. Coons and opossums eat the mouse bait so they get trapped. Think I've caught 2 skunks and 2 groundhogs over the years to go with the others. This little guy was a first. Have seen what must be his mother a couple of times, think she has a den on the East end of the building. Kind of have a soft spot for the old Red Fox.

I nominate Emily Z

This is a MUCH better post than the one about Chief was back on April 4th. This is Sadie. 42 pounds of pure love, with just enough rascal mixed in to keep it interesting. Unfortunately her first human got health issues and had to give her up, but what a blessing for us!!! Likes to ride in the car or truck, likes it best with her head out the window. Absolutely adores playing fetch with the 'chuck-it'. (We are working on the frisbee...she just about has it mastered.) I found Sadie in the Sioux City Iowa Humane Society. Very nice place, and great people to work with. Check them out if you need a family member. I would keep typing, but I need my rest.....Some of us have a ball to throw tomorrow! Mike

Here is my 886 this is the second one off the line , sn#8602 , it has the D 360 and it has 5960 actual hours . ‘Danny

May 16, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 6 minutes ago Very grateful to report the vent left the room today!! Next step is to tolerate speaking valve for 8 hours. There is also plan for another swallow study this week. We continue to pray for complete healing. We pray for stronger cough and passing the swallow study. We pray for continued strength gains in areas we have seen movements. We pray for movement in hands and feet. We pray for avoidance of any secondary issues. We pray for guidance and ease in the coming transitions. We pray for physical and mental strength. We pray in thanks for the progress of the day and connections we have made helping us to feel confident to continue to advocate. We are thankful for the support and prayers. We are grateful for our faith. Thank You.

Brought home a new worker today. MTX 120. Just over 3,100 hrs, seems like it has had a pretty easy life so far. Supposedly on used for light work, auger, sprayer, etc. Drawbar hole was still perfectly round. Has the 6.7 Iveco engine in it. Never heard such a quiet 6 cylinder. Other than it saying there is an error code on it, works like a charm, lots of power to pull around the discs. Tires aren't loaded and don't have duals on. Will likely add the duals, just to be safe in those untitled fields? Didn't have time to tonight, but want to see if the IH suit case weights will fit it or not, be nice if they did.

It’s pretty much done unless someone wants to donate new firestones to the cause??!

What he lacks in stride He makes up for in rpms.😄 Kids came out after church today. I got tasked with keeping Cason busy. I'm pooped.🥱 We also learned about Bull snakes. This guy was not happy about being out so early Hiss sounded just like a rattler till I spotted him Then was able to relax

After we worked the everything up I spread some 10-10-10 over everything with my 49 Cub. The boys then went over the gardens one more time with the cultivated to work the fertilizer in then Owen went over them with the drag . Finally we were ready to plant. A two row trip planter is on my wish list but for now we have modified this earnest push planter to be pulled by Isaac's Cub. Some still needs to walk behind it and put a little down pressure on it to make sure the drive wheel is turning, but it is a lot Eastham just pushing it through the dirt. I let the boys do it for the most part but am a little concerned that the were watching to see that the seeds were dropping constantly. We will have to wait and see if there are any large skips.

Drove out to north east Montana 20 miles west of scobey. Picked up this prize. Sent the guy a check last week bought it sight unseen. 340 mile trip one way. Got about an hour yet until home but stopped to eat now and fuel up. She isn’t pretty but price was extremely right.

Since being in Canyon, TX at West Texas A&M University this current school year I always go right by @Axial Flow and his IH collection. Yesterday I went down for a majority of the day to visit and help where needed. The big thing we did was put all new pistons in a 1976 IH 766 diesel. I’ve never done any type of overhaul so this was a totally new thing for me to take part in. As you can see it is just an in frame overhaul. I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, and didn’t leave without a picture of me doing it! I have a soft spot for the 766. On DVD #15 of the Farmingtonimplement DVD’s of IH films my name was included on a seven minute film from 1973 about the new diesel engine on the 766. And here exactly 50 years later I got to help do engine work on a 766 so that was really neat. He has put my name on a few films because three years ago I had the guy that restores the films on the FFA radio show to talk about the films. I love IH films so the fact I’ve had my name on a few has been very special to me! Here’s a pic before tear down.

Made clean equipment dusty. Removed a perfectly good door.

It’s been so dry and our hay crop so poor that we are baking everything in sight. This is a retention pond on a farm we rent. The last piece of new Gehl equipment I bought and the 5488 earning it’s keep.

If you zoom in to this picture, you can see between Jovie’s front legs the plastic cup she got ice cream in from Dairy Queen. Apparently it was good enough to put her to sleep! Or maybe she is just like a kid, rip roaring and ready to go, but 5 miles down the road, out!

They would randomly let dogs onto the field 😄

It was somewhat of a tough week. Not real sure why, other than overcast skies and routine travel. 5 loads from Cimarron Kansas to Wray Colorado. 1 load from Cimarron to Imperial Nebraska and finished with going to Texline Texas and bringing a load home to deliver in Hastings Nebraska EARLY Monday morning. Just needed to get some lovins from the 4 legged bunch.

Our kids activities leaders have some cool things for the kiddos. Crafts and a pedal tractor pull. And thanks to Case IH these three red tractors are going home with three lucky families.

Finally got the 16 row HRF in the field. Last of the beans will go in tomorrow morning. This rig is fun to run!

300? 400?? Really didnt look that hard. I was trail riding in Mark Twain national forest and came across this rig. Just sitting there all by its lonesome. Looked like the guy just dropped the mic. Tools still in the toolbox and laying on the floorboard. It was far enough in the big timber I'm not sure how it ever got there or how long it's been there. And @sandhiller I found one of your slippery friends. You can come get it now. Picture doesnt do this guy any justice. It was at least 48" long stretched out and its body was almost the size of a Pepsi can at the largest part.

I just got word a little bit ago that Zach is liberated from the ventilator. I believe they removed it from his room. This is big news and a big step in his recovery process.

May 11, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 33 minutes ago Zach ”passed” his blood gas this morning. this is great news and further than we have made it up to this point. The normal protocol is that is a patient maintains pH at 72 hours they are considered vent liberated. However, with Zach’s case being different they have decided to leave the vent in the room and redraw gas tomorrow morning (96 hours). Either way- he hit the goal for today and we will just keep moving on. He has been able to continue getting some small amounts of food with the speech therapist to strengthen swallow and use for purposes of exercises with this therapist in hopes that he will fully pass his next swallow study- expected to be about a week or so from today. Today she brought an essential vanilla ice cream and that was well received! Zach is still working with physical and occupational therapy. His arms are stronger and there is slightly more movement in his wrists. we are still waiting for movement in hands and fingers, feet and toes. We would like to see more strength through knees and overall. We are optimistic for opportunities in more intense physical therapy. No part of this has been easy. There is a lot of discomfort being so limited in movement, however some movements are also very painful. I’m amazed how well he fights through this. Staff here keeps warning him that therapy will be intense and draining. But I still truly believe this will be something he will thrive in. Hard, yes. But I think he will appreciate the opportunity and the work that comes with it. We are so very thankful for any and all progress. We aren’t sure why yet but we remain thankful to be in this position. We have certainly been blessed by community and support. We don’t like having a reason to be but we are trying to stay patient in this recovery process for the day we understand why we were meant to walk this path. We continue to pray for complete healing. We pray for increasing strength in cough, for complete vent liberation, for muscle strengthening and return of functional movements. We pray for stronger swallow and passing the next evaluation. We pray for transfer of movement also into wrists/hands and ankles/feet. We pray for physical and mental strength. we pray for daily assurances and progress. We pray for safe travel and understanding staff, collaboration, and forward momentum. Thank you.

Didn't get a shot of fils 450 on the baler but here is his super H on my very ruff new idea rake today.

Finally got a chance to take the 15.5’s off my 450 and put the 16.9’s on spin out wheels on the 450. Put new seals in the back while I was there had one that was leaking we started about 830 this morning and finished around noon. I left the tractor at my fathers house I’ll pick it up this week along with a few more weights. I am planning on bringing both 450’s to a fun stone boat pull in a few weeks. The 15.5’s look small compared to the 16.9’s. My girlfriend and my daughter were painting weights and the front hubs and weights and wheels on her 450 they were rusty and the silver wasn’t that nice so a quick coat made them look a lot better.

June 2, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 8 hours ago It’s been a busy week. Therapy continues and Zach is loving it. I think if he had the option to do more than 4-5 hours a day he would gladly. This week he started with the arm bike. After we position his legs onto pedals he was also able to do nu-step/seated type bike. They have started e-stim with him which is use of electrodes and electricity to simulate muscle contraction and facilitate movement. This has been used just on his arms so far. We did more side of may standing (with lots of assist), seated balance exercises, core work. Today they actually put Zach into a harness to help support his weight and then with a LOT of help- supported him and “walked” his legs. He did 10 laps which surprised the therapists. To be clear- he couldn’t support his weight and walk yet- but this movement is to help put weight through legs to stimulate recovery and also to stimulate the muscle memory of walking. we have a long way to go but it’s all very exciting. He continues to do better and better with voicing and conversation. It’s still fragmented because he has to stop for taking a breath more often than usual but it’s great to have easier and more fluid conversation. He has been able to communicate in some form throughout our whole course - in the first days with just moving his eyes up and down for no and side to side for yes because the day following intubation he wasn’t even able to blink- the paralysis affected even those muscles. When we got blinking back we started using the alphabet board to spell words. Then with nodding we could use that for basic yes and no’s. It’s was such a relief when we recently got enough facial movement that he could mouth words. Then when his respiratory status allowed we started the speaking valve but his voice was so so weak. Initially we still relied on the mouthing of words and got the occasional sound along with that. Then his voice became stronger and we were happy to hear words even though they were almost a whisper. From there- he has continued to gain strength and voice quality. When we moved to rehab the new pulmonology team changed the trach to cuffless and that allowed better voicing as well. In the last week he is steadily gaining better voice and stamina in talking for longer conversations and this has allowed Zach and all his sarcasm and personality to shine through to staff and everyone he meets here. We are so blessed that he never needed sedation, could always communicate his needs and wishes in some way. But it is such a relief to For him to not have to work so hard to “say” anything and to finally be able to enjoy conversation. The trach has been capped for over 3 days and there is talk of removing it all together possibly next week. There has been so much renewal with this transition to rehab and we are grateful. It’s a good validation to see the work paying off. Any strength we gain is a win. This process has opened my eyes to how complex each functional movement we make is. So as we gain strength in more areas we hope to trigger movement in others. Then we hope those areas strengthen and that the cycle continues until there are enough areas engaging and that they are strong enough to create functional movements. We are grateful for the opportunities of therapy and the skill of the team working with us. No inpatient rehab is forever. Most are just a couple weeks. At this time we think Zach will be moving toward home by the end of the month or early July. This is so exciting but also anxiety provoking. We have a lot of work to keep doing at home too and will not have staff there to assist. We are learning tips and tricks and he is getting stronger and this will be just another evolving transition on the journey. We pray for guidance and wisdom as we transition through next steps and plan for outpatient therapy. We pray for Zach’s complete healing. We specifically pray still for a stronger cough. We pray for continued forward progress and daily assurances. We pray for strength in all areas showing movement. We pray for movement in forearms/hands/fingers, lower legs/ankles/feet. We pray for physical and mental strength, safe travel, and for our staff to continue to be innovative. We pray for protection from any secondary issues or setbacks. We pray for functional movements. And- we pray in thanks for all that we have gained on this journey and all movement/returns we have seen to this point. Thank you.

Hauled some small squares in with the Super M and C. 806 doesn't belong to us, it was just here to get painted, but we had to move it out of the way to back the hay in. Had a little shower of rain, but not enough to hurt the hay. Noticed a one point you could see 5 IH tractors lounging around the barn, with the sun setting behind. But by that point, my phone battery was dead...

WoooooooHooooooooo! May 25, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — a minute ago The recent move and change in pace has been so good overall. On his first full day they set him up with an electric wheelchair and today got the attachment so that he can maneuver with his chin. He has been tolerating capping the trach for even as long as 12 hours a day. This builds strength and also moves us closer to removing the trach all together. Not only does his breathing but also his cough need to be strong enough to prove he doesn’t need that protected airway. His voicing is so much better with the cap or speaking valve this week compared to last so I take that as a positive sign things are getting stronger in this area. With his PT/OT combo session yesterday they stood him up and supported him and he was able to stand/tolerate for 14 minutes. They were hoping for just a couple. Overall- the atmosphere/general attitude here is to be as independent as your current situation allows while also working to gain more and more strength and movement. Zach is scheduled in therapy sessions throughout the morning and afternoon. He is tolerating this very well, w PE Oakley consider what a switch this is. He is getting as much therapy here in a day as he was before in a week. We are grateful for the previous therapy team for implementing things to elicit strength building but are so happy to be pushing hard now. I can certainly tell he feels better just to be moving, pushing the limits. There is no question that Zach has the right personality and drive in his corner to help him progress. Unfortunately, he has a severe variant working against him. We know if we could get hand and feet movement we would see more functional progress but we are just waiting on those areas to wake up. We remain hopeful that as we stimulate in different ways and gain strength we will see those things pick up. Being in rehab is so exciting, but also a little anxiety provoking. In some ways the clock is ticking. We know our time here that is not unlimited and what we have at the end of it is what we go home with. And it can’t be ignored that it will be life changing once again. We know Zach will continue to improve and studies show there can be continuing improvement even at 5 years for patients but we certainly continue to hope, pray, and really believe he will see full recovery long before then. We of course have timelines in our head, wanting him back and life to be “normal”. But there is absolutely a relief in knowing that unlike some other conditions there isn’t a stigma of “what you have at ‘x’ months is what you stay with”. We are so thankful for our opportunities. We are thankful for access to therapy, rehab, and adaptive equipment that will allow him to integrate into things more fully. We continue to pray for complete healing. We pray specifically for strong cough, tolerating capping runs, and ultimately decanulation (removing trach). We pray for movement through hands and feet. We pray for strength building in areas that are moving. We pray for functional recovery. We pray for physical and mental strength and good sleep. We pray for daily progress and assurances. We pray for safe travel. Thank you.

May 19, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 1 hour ago The last few days have been fast moving- which is a welcome change. Zach passed the swallow study Thursday and has been enjoying eating- even if it is Hospital food! I’ve been making food this evening to take for the next few days. We are working to boost his protein intake. We are grateful for any and all steps that help us get back to some normalcy and hope this will help stimulate forward change. The plan is to transition to inpatient rehab for more intense rehab Monday afternoon. This is going to be hard work but it’s exciting to move forward. We are praying for a good weekend, avoiding any secondary issues, and continuing to recovery. We are so grateful for this progress. We do continue to pray hard for stronger cough as the stronger and more natural his cough is, the better the chances we continue forward. We are hoping for stronger voicing and ability to cap trach- and ultimately remove it. We pray for continuing strength returns in areas of movement and pray specifically for movement in hands and feet. We are praying for smooth transitions and new beginnings in recovery. We recognize what a blessing the opportunity for rehab and recovery is as we navigate the tough reminders in the last few days that this chance is never a guarantee, even when you are fighting with everything you have. Thank you.

May 22, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 11 minutes ago We’ve made the move to inpatient rehab! This is one step closer to home and recovery. The goals here are to gain as much function and strength as possible and then will transition home and to outpatient therapy. Zach will be working with physical, occupational, and speech therapy as well as pulmonary rehab nurses who will help guide us to capping and eventually removing the trach. He started with capping today and was told he could do up to 30 minutes. He was still comfortable at the end of that time so we are optimistic for those next steps. We are so grateful to have this opportunity for therapy, for steps to be free from the tubes and equipment, and I am grateful for Zach’s motivation to improve. We are grateful for connections we have made along the way, opportunities for new ones, and also for a new beginning in this long journey. We continue to pray for complete healing. Specifically we pray for continued strength in cough, capping and trach removal, movement in hands and feet. We pray for endurance and physical and mental strength as we begin this more intense therapy. We pray for gains in areas we have seen movement. We pray for safe travel. thank you.

May 15, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 22 minutes ago To follow up yesterday- the blood gas this morning was still within range but trending down. So once again the vent stays another day and we repeat in the morning. There is a lot of frustration in this phase. A lot of feeling like we are fighting against instead of working with the ones we have been forced to trust at this point. We feel he is stronger than they are giving him credit for but this isn’t the first time Zach has faced this type of thing and we remind him he has done hard things and proven people wrong before. We are working through this phase as tactfully as we can. Many times lack of an update is due to lack of clarity of the plan. We continue to pray for complete recovery, vent liberation, stronger cough, physical and mental strength. We appreciate the prayers as we navigate the next few days.

Son's Black Lab just had puppies. 5 black, 3 yellow, 2 silver. I didn't know two black labs could have colored puppies A quick google search ended up in some education .👨‍🎓

Worked some ground with the 1466 and planted with the 766.

Out on a service call tonight and couldn't pass up this shot.

May 7, 2023 Journal Entry by Emily Leinenbach — 6 minutes ago Thursday’s blood gas was not good enough to continue off vent. Zach was again put back on vent rest/recovery for 8 hours from Thursday night to Friday morning. This used to make sense as it was more obvious he didn’t feel well. Now it is reassuring that he feels better and better despite pushing harder but for those that know him well- we also know that it’s hard on him to be told to “rest/stop pushing” when he doesn’t feel bad. It’s now more frustrating and harder to accept these rest periods. The next 60 hour mark was tonight at 8. This ABG/blood gas was much better than the last but despite this the plan was set to “force rest” at 60 hours and next threshold will be at 72 hours. So at 72 hours (Thursday morning) blood gas will be checked again. His cough does seem stronger but still not as strong as we would like so we continue to pray for stronger cough. He didn’t pass but also didn’t fail swallow study on Thursday. He will be working more with speech therapy on trying certain foods along with exercises to strengthen muscles for swallow to ensure this is recovered before he will be allowed to eat normal foods to avoid those possibly going down wrong (aspirating) which would make him a high risk for pneumonia or infections. He will continue to work with physical and occupational therapy this week. We are still waiting for movements originating in hands/fingers and feet/toes. The kids were able to visit Zach this weekend and that is always bittersweet. Of course the visits are needed, welcomed, good. But it’s also a reminder of how time continues on. His mouthing of words is so much better so communication is easier although Addi still likes to “play school” and make him spell out the words. Even when I am away from the kids a couple days they seem to have grown by the time I get back to them. I’ve said before and will continue to say - I am not sure I could do what he is doing, go through what he is and keep my sanity. He is accepting this temporary state of circumstances graciously and courageously fighting to heal and strengthen in any area he can. There is a lot of hard work left to do. We are blessed with and grateful for a deep well of tenacity and grit in ourselves and those around us- our close family, our kids, and friends that are family. Sometimes we can fall into a pit of wondering why things happen. But in thinking about where we are now- it brings light and perspective to so many other unfortunate circumstances we have gone through before. Those things refined us and our “circle” of friends to allow us to be surrounded by the people we are now. There is a quote or statistic out there that says you are essentially the culmination of the 5 people you spend the most time with. And although we certainly have more than 5 people helping us out- it’s that interface of people that keep positive energy, reinforcement, support. Had we not gone through what we have before we may not have had the same experiences with the same circumstances. I say all that to really get to the point that although this is not something we would ever choose- it’s comforting to know there will be a purpose. Knowing that good will eventually come from this makes the hard work worth it. So in that way - we are thankful for the opportunity to grow. We are thankful for the opportunity to gain insight and appreciation. We are thankful to any patience granted to us as we navigate hard lessons and endure the steps back after steps forward. We are thankful for all the steps forward. We are thankful for returns in movement, strength, and the improvements in t-piece runs. We are thankful for our family and friends supporting us and thankful for safe travel. We continue to pray for complete healing. We pray for stronger cough, swallow, and vent liberation. We pray for movement in hands/fingers, feet/toes. We pray for strength and continued gains in areas we have seen movements start. We pray for continued daily progress and assurances. We pray for physical and mental strength, safe travel, and guidance as we maneuver after blood gasses this week. thank you. I and many others pray for continued improvement, strength and willpower. And may the Lord bless and comfort you during your long journey.

...about what a carburetor is. It has been a long time coming - she has ridden with me in the cab of my 1486 while baling and has even driven the Case 430 (hand clutch), but today she asked how the engine gets the fuel to burn. I tried to take it a step further and explain compression ignition engines, but that just wasn't sinking in. Some day the concept that compressing something makes it hot will sink in, but for now "making a fog of gasoline to light with a spark" is where she's at. There's a British TV show called the Secret Life of Machines from the late 80s that has a great episode on the internal combustion engine where they use a shop vac with a white pipe with a venturri sucking red ink to show how a carb works that I showed her, I think she understands how the size of the jets matter and how the float bowl works, too. A successful parenting experience!

From various places.

Wrapped up plant 2023 this morning.

My great grandpas 1946 willys CJ2A he bought new in the rodeo parade in 1950. A neighbor is driving and my great grandpa is in the passenger seat. Don’t know the others.