My wife and I recently attended an evening meeting of a two-cylinder club. This was quite exciting for us as it’s as close as we’ll ever get to going nightclubbing. For the …
People on vacation often have a list of must-see attractions. Many moons ago, when our two sons were grade schoolers, my wife, our boys and I went on a family vacation to the Black Hills. One of our …
Galena: (gә lē’nә) noun. Primary ore of lead: a lustrous blue-gray crystalline mineral that consists mainly of lead sulfide and is the main source of lead. Another definition of galena …
My wife and I are at an awkward, in-between age. Many of our contemporaries have become grandparents, yet at the same time, we have young friends who are having babies. This can lead to some …
Everything I needed to know I learned from Norwegian bachelor farmers. Our neighbor, Martin, would be a good example. Dad shared machinery with Martin, so I learned a lot from Martin while I was …
Weather permitting, our dog, Bella, and I take a walk every day. Her job is to run ahead and scout for strange scents while mine is to tag along behind and superintend. One might think that …
Farmstead wineries have become quite common. I have nothing against such businesses and am actually quite familiar with the fine art of on-farm winemaking. I was an early bloomer, having brewed up my …
There are a lot of creative ways to generate extra income on a farm. For instance, when my sister, Diann, and I were grade schoolers, we decided to open a sweetcorn stand at the end of our dairy farm’s driveway.
Christmastime when I was a kid consisted mostly of waiting and waiting for the moment when we could finally open our gifts. That and putting up with aunts and uncles and grandparents, many of whom …
The pleasant autumn that we’ve had so far has caused me to recall the truism, “No nice weather goes unpunished.” This, in turn, made me think of the coming winter and the unpleasant …
It’s that time of year again when we Americans are spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about an overstuffed bird who is sitting in a small, hot box. We collectively watch with abject …
My wife and I have two houses on our farm. It’s not that we’re wealthy; it’s more that I’m a victim of my frugal Norwegian ancestry. My great-grandfather Charlie Sveen …
It was quite unsettling some years back when I received that letter from the clerk of courts. My first reaction was, “What now? Am I being sued? Do I have a pile of unpaid parking tickets? …
It is now officially autumn, which means it’s time to quit putting off your summertime projects and start putting off your fall chores. Back in the days of yore — a historical period …
Judging by the number of visitors it received, my family’s humble 20-cow dairy farm was a pretty important place when I was a kid.
Living in the country comes with some distinct advantages. For one thing, it’s pretty quiet out here. I might spend the entire day writing, and when my wife gets home from work in the evening …
A vast assortment of slogans can be seen on bumper stickers, but I like one that I saw many moons ago that said,“Cows don’t give milk. It’s taken from them by force!”
The aging process sometimes has a way of sneaking up on a guy, jumping out and yelling, “Boo!”
The first truly warm days of spring have arrived, and the snow has finally melted which means we can now see exactly how much junk has accumulated in our yards.
“Farmers in Minnesota laugh at us here in South Dakota,” my grandpa Nelson often proclaimed to me when I was growing up. “They think we’re foolish for buying all that fertilizer.”