There once was a time when it was as common as dirt, but the prevailing attitude turned against this activity. You don’t see it much anymore, although it’s made a modest comeback in …

There are some things wrong with today’s world that can be traced back to some of the customs we’ve abandoned. For instance, we were a much more civilized society when men wore …

People watching is my favorite hobby. It’s much more interesting than bird watching, although the use of binoculars is frowned upon when one studies the sapiens species. An increasingly …

Some sneaky, creepy creatures have been slinking around hereabouts.       No, I’m not talking about the latest crop of political candidates. What have been sighted several …

After nearly 150 years, the James gang and their Northfield bank robbery still loom large in our collective imagination. Small-town celebrations have played a big part in keeping this legacy alive. …

Like many Baby Boomers, I was raised on a steady diet of movies about the Second World War. I especially enjoyed films that were airplane centric. As a kid, I often pretended that I was an ace …

The June cloudburst sweeps across the field, pounding the young corn plants as I scramble for shelter beneath the belly of the John Deere A tractor. This is tricky, as that area is occupied by a …

It’s time for us to gird our gardening loins and wage war against a relentless army of evildoers. Yes, it’s weeding season once again. They say that a weed is just a plant that has …

The timeworn phrase, “Kids sure have it good nowadays!” has never been truer than it is nowadays. I blame the so-called digital age, which led to the advent of the so-called …

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 …