Systems
so what to do?
Study the whale
and go from there
Sinking in sand
a desert problem
so a wise engineer
studied the camel
developed a ratio
noting the camel’s foot square inches
related to its weight
worked!
No more sinking in the sand!
Giant harvesters called combines
had a need
power at any infinite slow speed
a pump, hydraulics, a part answer
then electric switches, opening valves
then computers, controlling switches
Hmmmmm
Like the human body
brain computer, controlling valves
heart pump hydraulics
control slow…and fast
gifted agronomist
studying Genesis
knowing there was more
hidden, but discoverable,
So he studied the peanut
and saved the southern farmer
Sorry, boll weavil!
Whatever we study
we wind up amazed
at what was there
all of the time
waiting
to be discovered
“He was there,
all the time,
waiting patiently
for you.” *
Lin, 10/10
*chorus, Gary Paxton
Farmer Progress
oh, how they came
to the Farm Progress Show!
Half a section of cars and trucks
lined up on a hayfield
Passengers streaming in
Mega tents and open air
the vendors engaged the farmers
A thousand vendors
ten thousand farmers
Connecting, sharing info
The machinery farmers dream of
shiny, parked to see
the latest, best in the world
farmers and visitors taking pictures
Machines working, side by side
out in the adjacent fields
tilling, harvesting, awesome sights
It really is, farmer progress,
married to dreams, engineering, manufacturing
Seeds and all the things
that move the world of agriculture
here, connecting the dots, the people
you can join the crowd
to soak in this world of food, fuel, and fiber
the people who make it happen
who fill your plate
and those around the world
Seven billion people
sit at the table
more every single day
waiting for their food
How can the food be there?
Come and see
Farmer Progress!
Lin, Farm Progress Show, Decatur, 8/2011
Smile
leaping across the spans that separate folks
Walls can come down instantly
as strangers smile at each other
Male, female, often guarded,
smiles reach out, lingering questions
speaking confidence,
a venture in trust
Across languages
smiles are starting points
opportunities to take that path
and rise above suspicions
Body language supreme
smiles ace skin color
and nationality
to begin a pleasant journey
who has a smile in greeting
that sends that instant message
“I’m glad to see you!”
She gives that gift quite often
in doing so making
the world a better place.
So, my reader, smile!
And take your world on that pathway
for ‘two roads still diverge’
and the choice is ours….
Selah,
Lin 12/2012
History 101
is a land where liberals live
Tis a candy land, you see,
where nothing can be hard
Where never is heard,
a discouraging word
and the skies are not cloudy all day
You, Bruce friend,
have pulled back the covers
and asked ‘Who is there?”
Ain’t nobody! Nothing!
But don’t you despair!
comes a sleigh full of goodies!
Yes, Bubba, Santa Claus lives!
He’s coming in January
and it ain’t gonna be purdy
’cause you and I are payin’
and payin’ and payin’….
No, she don’t know
She ain’t never believin’
So rest well tonight
and wait calm and peaceful
Who knows? Reindeer might fly?
Bubba Warfel
sufferin’ in my guns and religion!
Silent Night, Holy Night*
my wish for you this evening
is that each of you had a rocking chair
and we had a just right fireplace right here
with a just right assembly of logs
burning just right
the warmth of the fire on your face
the coolness of the room behind you
the day is winding down
Step back with me now
through the ages, the people of the Bible
Abraham and Sarah,
the patriarchs and their spouses
years and generations passing
and now it’s a quiet night in Israel
The humidity is low as usual
and the night air is cold
The sky is sharp and clear
shepherds are watching a star
an unusual, very very bright star
light is flooding down to earth almost like daylight
the star seems to be beckoning them, so they follow it
Those who wonder can wonder about just how
a loving God could reach down to earth
touch his created in a way that would open eyes
open minds, and be a lasting gift
A gift foretold
a gift that was coming
The Light of the World came down
that’s the answer!
A dependent little fella
needing the care of his mom and dad
the connection to all people on earth
I’ve traveled to 6 of the seven continents
and it is true – with my own eyes I’ve seen it
the care of a mother and father for their baby….
There is no better connection on earth….
So there that night in Bethlehem
a baby’s first cry rang out
Now across two thousand years
we can still make that connection
We can come to Jesus
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!
Lin Christmas Eve 2010
*Silent Night, Holy Night, Stille Nacht, Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber
Sifting Soil
Genesis 2:7
In the springtime I walked the fields
my feet traversing the soil as my father did
my grandfather did
my great grandfather did
Eyes seasoned by the looking, seeing,
the condition of the soil
Stopping, picking up a handful,
sensing the temperature
weighing the sun’s progress against the winter cold
sensing the moisture
sifting in the senses
the experience of generations
Decision time
bring out the machines
till the soil, sifting
the snugging the seeds into their home
on my knees uncovering them, checking them
just right depth
just right compaction
just right soil moisture and temperature
I’m sifting the season
Again I walk the fields
on my knees looking carefully
disease or insect damage?
Tiny plants by millions growing
drawing on the sifted soil
Later walking amidst waist high plants
again checking for disease and insects
A farmer works against ten thousand things we know
and many more yet to know
We know a lot
we know so little
and begin the walk towards winter
With the fall come harvest
and again the communion with soil
Harvesters begin their toil
giant machines swallowing plants
sifting, sifting sifting
‘til only the seeds, the fruits of all the labor,
are collected and moved to processors or storage
In the sifting, sorting, dry afternoons make dust
swirling about the men and machines
sometimes like a fog lying quietly
moving slowing
gradually returning to the soil
The day comes quickly
when the last row is swallowed up
and the machines are put to rest
The farmer and his helpers too
lie down and rest
but not for long
the next season is in preparation
once again combing the soil
adding plant food, replentishing
Thinking back on all the sifting
the soil that has given us so much
the farmer realizes that he, too,
has been sifted
Like the dust from which he was formed
his destiny is to return
sifted
to the soil
“And God blessed the seventh day
and made it holy
because on it He rested
from all the work He had done.”
Selah, LIn 2/10