My summer as a kitchen migrant
Sometime in the early summer of 1965 I migrated from my mother's hot kitchen and the family's enormous garden to our farm's sweltering hayfields and crowded milking parlor.
Diagnosing rattle fatigue on the farm
Do you know what rattle fatigue is? There are no Census Bureau statistics available regarding this, but I'd be willing to bet that nearly 90 percent of all farmers have experienced it at one time.
What does it take to farm? Numbers
"What does it take to earn a living on the farm?" Good question. What's the answer? Actually, the question was the title of a report from a Minnesota Extension educator (we used to call them 'agents,' remember?).
The fact and fiction of fast food
America's food industry, like the nation's church leaders, spent much of May wringing its hands over, by all accounts, pieces of poorly written, poorly acted fiction.
An awakening of life and books
Pulitzer-Prize winning author Annie Dillard, considered by many to be the voice of American baby boomers, once said a child is in many ways a closed door until about the age of 10, when there is an awakening.
The key: Act a little less natural
In an effort to offset some of the eventual bad habits our children might learn from us, such as muttering unkind and possibly impure thoughts under their breaths while driving, or wearing white shoes after Labor Day, we're trying to raise them to become productive and law-abiding citizens of the world.
Jobs for Jo
With a year of college behind her, Josie moved her stuff back home (it's always more than you start out with) and jumped with both feet into the job market.
Employing minors on your farm? Be sure to understand the rules
With the school year coming to a close in the next few weeks, many students will be looking for employment on farms to do a variety of tasks ranging from baling hay to milking cows to operating machinery.
I (don’t) brake for summer vacation
I was kicking around the idea of writing about all the questionable things our parents did to and with us as children and calling together a support group of sorts.
TV’s Season Finishes Larger Than Life
My Sunday paper's weekend magazine says, "Cancel your plans, unplug the phone and rev up that Tivo." The month of May has become the big finale season for TV entertainment.
