Luke Leaves For Rochester

Yesterday morning Luke left for upstate NY, where he will be persuing a three-year long Pediatric Nurse Practioner degree at Rochester Medical School. He drove off inhis heavily loaded down car, which with the help of his friend Zach and brother Jacob, has a newly installed engine in it. Unlike down here at Bentley, there is much snow up there, so the first thing Luke had to do is shovel the walk at his apartment. The whole family appreciates Luke's great determination, when it comes to his scholastic studies, and his zeal for life. Luke patiently awaits the day when he can give back to the medical community which gave so much to him when he was born three months early. Go Luke!

The Pine Tree State

This past weekend, Jacob, Luke and I drove to Maine to visit college friends. The highlights of the trip included: attending the Topsham County Fair, watching a draft horse pull, observing the logging industry, finding moose, tubing and skiing on the lake, enjoying our hosts' wonderful hospitality, spending time with both old and new friends.

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Cornell Graduation!

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Study Break!

I feel that children always remind us, college students, about how life should be lived!

Tonight, as our young aspiring barber (neighborhood boy) was working through his first haircut, he excitedly asked, "How do I make him bald?"!

From California to the New York Island

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Highlights from Luke's adventures across the United States:

- Dropping the newlyweds, Isaac & Allie, off at the airport in NYC

- Driving cross country with my friend Eric

- Visiting the John Deere World Headquarters

- Seeing Fair Oaks Dairy

- Traveling to Bell Buckle, Tennessee

- Flying to California with my classmates

- Learning about the California Agricultural Industry

- Taking in the vast beauty of the Sequoia Trees

- Spending time on the Santa Cruz Beach

- Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

Happy 21st Birthday! To Luke!

Grandma threw a fantastic and delicious birthday party for Luke topped off with a double-chocolate four layer birthday cake. Luke's joy and love of life inspires and blesses all of us who know him! We also had the pleasure of his two friends from Cornell-- Ted (Nevada) and Larry (Tennessee)--joining us for the festivities.

Happy Birthday, Pal!

Luke is an inspiration to all! He is always quick to laugh, he has perseverance like no other, he is a fun one to take classes with, he is a proud owner of a John Deere B, he is a big fan of country music, he is a huge help to me and his brothers, he is confused as my twin on a daily basis, and he is always thankful to God for every breath that is given him! And today, he is now officially an adult!

Luke Loves a Good Laugh

These College Days (From Luke)

Tonight was volunteer night at Cornell University. Isaac, Allie, Hannah, and I were part of a group of 200+ students cheering for the Cornell Alumni who had came to hear the president speak this evening for 2 hours (the conclusion of Alumni week at Cornell).

Before we were told our task for the evening, we were invited to a dinner at Barton Hall. When we arrived at 7pm, they were serving three different types of subs, chips, soda, fruit and cookies. We had just finished eating our own meal at home of meatball subs, baked apples, and vanilla cake (we were stuffed) but as college students do, we decided that this free food could not be passed up.

When the time came the four of us to go through the food line, we all took one of everything and headed back to our table. We sat down and looked at ourselves and wondered what we were going to do with all this food after eating a big supper. Well thankfully I had brought an empty small backpack and we loaded it up. But as the time passed on Isaac and I noticed that there was a lot more food left over. Although none of us had eaten anything, we headed back for seconds. This time we came back to the table and packed more into my backpack (that now seemed to be getting smaller as we added each sandwich to the sack). Then, as we were waiting for instructions on what to do next, a staff member came to our table and encouraged us to go get more food and take it with us if we chose. So... Isaac and I went back for the third round! When we came back to the table this time the girls were laughing wondering what we were going to do with it all. So to the best of our ability we found room for our next round of food in our coat pockets.

We waited around for 10 minutes until we were given the instructions that we would be walking a few blocks to Bailey Hall for the main event of the evening. But as we got up out of our seats Isaac and I noticed that there was still a lot of food and soda left, so we made one final dash through the line before leaving Barton Hall with food and drinks coming out of our ears. When we got outside we realized that me had a big dilemma, "Where do we store our stockpile of food?" We headed across the street and up the sidewalk and looked for a bush to hide the overloaded backpack and full coat pockets of food. We found a bush that was behind a three foot high wall and dropped it off there for the evening. We then headed to Bailey Hall.

When we got to Bailey Hall we found out that we were going to be a cheering committee for a group of 400+ alumni who were coming to hear the president speak to thank them for their support of Cornell. Upon instructions, we were seated in the balcony of the lecture hall because the alumni would be seated below. We were told to cheer for these individuals like we were at the best Cornell hockey game ever.

So when the alumni came in we cheered like no one else! We stood up, jumped up and down, and put our hands together! We got many looks from individuals sitting in front of us but we decided that these people needed to feel special so we gave it our all. Isaac then got the wave started and it made it around the auditorium and the house was rocking. We chanted "Let's go! Big Red! Lets go!" and "Thank you Cornell!" We waved the glow sticks that they had given us and clapped until our hands were numb and shouted until our voices were gone. We ended the night by all singing the school anthem.

When the lecture was over we had to get our food out of the bush. So Isaac climbed down behind the wall and pulled out all of our food and we headed home.

When we got home we counted our goods which came to the following: fifteen cans of soda, eleven subs, ten big cookies, five bags of chips, two bananas, one apple, and four $10 College Town Bagel gift cards that they gave each of us for coming out. The grand total for the evening goodies was $125. What we didn't get paid in wages we got paid in food!
This was a night to remember... I am having a great time up here making the most out of a great educational experience. I am grateful to be here and thankful for all you back home.

- Luke Angell

A Cow, A Moon & A Pumpkin

Hannah, Luke, Isaac, Allie, and Eric were in a group of ten that won a pumpkin carving contest last night at Cornell Navigators! Each had their own specific jobs; Luke gutted the pumpkins, Eric and Isaac carved the cow and the girls cheered the men on. You can admire their handiwork below!

Just Not Today

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Luke and Eric are getting the most out of life in Ithaca! So, in celebration, of college and life outside of college, here are some of Luke's current favorite country lyrics:

One of these days
We're goin' have to grow up
Have to get real jobs and be adults, someday
Just not today
Have to worry about things out of our control
Like kids, love and money and gettin' old, someday
Just not today, just not today

- Kenny Chesney

The Evolution of Wood

My brother Luke is quite the master craftsman. He was running three projects in his shop today. He built a beautiful custom frame for me using red oak.

Staining the frame.
Luke also worked with Benjamin. Together they made another custom frame - his will be a blue Hawaiin.
Luke and Sean also juggled another project - cutouts for fair display board (wooden cows and tractors are in the works). Sean is in charge of the stenciling and painting, Luke is in charge of the jigsawing.

The finished product with a beautiful baby elephant photo, a special surprise gift from Adam. I love it! (The reflection of the light makes it look a bit wrinkled, but in fact it is not at all!)

Pre-Commencement Excitement Begins

In the coming month, Hannah and Luke will graduate from Dutchess Community College (anticipating transfer to Cornell in the fall), and Nathaniel will graduate from Princeton. The pre-commencement festivities really got jump-started earlier this week: Luke was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society; Luke earned a special recognition for his work in the medical research club at Dutchess; Allie received a DUE award; Nathaniel is (surprise!) socializing, but this time at the farm with four friends from Princeton; oh, and on Thursday, Hannah will receive a transfer scholarship to Cornell. More commencement posts shall be seen in the future, but for now, some pictures to enhance the telling.

Luke's Nineteenth Birthday

Luke celebrated his nineteenth birthday yesterday with cinnamon buns, a full platter of cream puffs, and a pound of Krause's homemade peanut butter chocolates, as well as a brand spanking new Cornell sweatshirt that will keep him warm as he studies so hard to hopefully enter Cornell's Class of 2011, as a junior next fall!

Memories of the Rutland Cattle Sale

Waking up early in the morning on a cool fall day, I realize the day has finally arrived, the day of the cattle sale! Stumbling out of the house in jeans and my brown leather farm boots, I hop into my truck with the livestock trailer that I hitched up the night before. I am headed up the back roads of New York, a little bit into Massachusetts, and then into Vermont to the fairgrounds in Rutland.

I am accompanied by Henry, a farmer in his older years who has been farming for decades. While traveling he tells me how each place we passed “used to be.” I head over the mountains and am in awe of the wonderful trees that are changing colors. Then I finally get into the stop lights which means that we’re approaching the Rutland fairgrounds, but oops, there I’ve overshot the entrance once again. Then I look for the earliest place to turn around with the big truck and trailer. We then turn around and finally make it into the fairgrounds and park next to a 1980’s truck with an ancient gooseneck trailer that seems like it barely made it to the auction.

I am happy to be there. The smell of fresh manure and the sweet smell of hay seems to linger in the long lines of the cattle. From young calves with the sire and dam printed in the sale catalog I go down looking at each one picking out the ones that look best to me. While ambling down the aisle I run into the familiar face of a ninety year old man named Tom, who has been emceeing this event for decades.

After checking on the livestock and heading into the show arena, the hot dog truck has arrived and all the farmers head over to see what the ladies have prepared for us. I then walk over to the number counter and get my number so that I can bid in the auction. “Testing one, two, three,” I hear over the speaker. “Either a good check or cash will be accepted to pay for this wonderful lineup we have for you gentlemen today.” The auction then gets underway with the pedigree reader, Tom, starting off with a joke: “If the tail hangs to the right, that means it’s going to give birth to a girl.” Everyone chuckles and then the auctioneer starts off by saying, “Who will give me five thousand… liba, liba, liba,” the familiar sound of the tongue moving fast until the mallet pounds the table: “Sold for seven thousand!” The crowd now has gotten into the rhythm of things, and I look around at the people putting in bids – with either a gentle nod of the head or sudden flash of the sale catalog.

Then comes the heifer that I’ve been waiting for, the pedigree is read, and the auctioneer starts his rumbling mouth. My number goes up into the air to place my bid. I look around and I am competing with a guy in the back row with his front lip full of chewing tobacco as he spits onto the sawdust floor, nodding his head that he’s reached his ceiling. The auctioneer raises his voice, “SOLD to number thirty five,” and I feel a surge of achievement when he pounds his hammer to the table.

Next comes the cow that everyone has been drooling over since they got to the barn that morning. “This is the final cow in this fine lot that we have here today, her tail is hanging to the right, at the last test she produced ninety pounds of milk per day and she is a champ.” The crowd gets tense, people start to sweat and the auctioneer finally puts an end to the intensity by pounding his hammer and saying, “Thank you very much. Sold for ten thousand!” Then everyone drags their feet in the sawdust over to the checkout line where people pay for their fine purchases of the day. I load up my new heifer and hop into the cold truck with Henry.

As the truck heats up and the road opens up to the dark cool night, I am happy for the time I have spent once again on the journey to the “Cattle Sale.” - Luke Angell

Luke Is Seventeen

Luke turned seventeen today. His birthday present came, once again, from his favorite store: Sears. This year Sears sold him a giant air compressor to run his air tools. Happy Birthday!

The Swell of the Woodpile

Nate has enjoyed his week-long autumn break. He has spent many of the evenings with his texts but the days have been filled with hard physical labor - just the way he likes it. Luke and Nate split a huge wood pile this week. We did not stack all of the wood under the back porch because we are anticipating my grandmother's addition to the house in the spring which will require a removal of the porch. In Luke's words, "Why move the wood twice?"