August was a cruel mistress indeed. A month with virtually no rain will keep a farmer up at night, regardless of production type, but to lose two folks who both personified real “American Exceptionalism” in a six-day period to close out the month brought dark clouds in a symbolic sense. As much as I would love to wax poetic about all the reasons we should adore Dolly, I am reserving these few inches of page for a man who is a big part of why I was drawn to farming in the first place.