The scene was the backyard of an average-looking home somewhere in the middle of a sleepy college town. As I discreetly watched from a safe distance, a small group of women performed a pagan …
Mankind has invented some extraordinary things such as the Hoover Dam, space travel and that substance known as ShamWow. One hugely spectacular spectacle is our state fairs, a wham-bam blowout …
Not too many fathers get a phone call that goes like this: “Hey, Dad,” said our oldest son, Paul. “Want to go to a steam threshing show?” It’s our own fault. When Paul was a …
I take our dog, Bella, for a walk early on these summer mornings when the air is cool and saturated with the sensuous aroma of sex. Plant sex, that is. The corn is pollinating lustily, with …
These are the so-called “dog days” of summer, a time of year that got its nickname from such homespun colloquialisms as “It’s hot enough to fry a hot dog on the driveway” and “It’s so …
The truly hot temperatures have at last arrived, which is a good thing, because it will force us to find new ways to complain about the weather. Let’s face it: We’ve had approximately 11 …
Summertime has truly arrived. Proof of this is that the mosquitoes have become so thick that I have to fill out a blood donor card just to walk to our mailbox. Despite all the pests — annoying …
The government sentenced them to death for the simple crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It goes against my grain to cut down a perfectly good tree. Trees are our true friends …
June is almost upon us, which means it will soon be dairy month. During June Dairy Month, we celebrate the grand tradition of enjoying dairy products, a custom that was established by Christopher …
Winter is finally over. The wicked witch of winter is dead. This vernal season dredges up numerous memories. There’s the aroma of new-mown grass, the sweaty palms and the heart-in-your-throat …
A lot of people have become seriously irritated in our area lately. By “seriously irritated,” I mean really steamed as in, “I was so ticked off, why, I had half a mind to write a letter to the …
I was motoring along on a quiet country highway and had to do a double take when I first saw the camels. A second glance confirmed the first. There stood a pair of camels in a pasture located …
She had let herself go, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she was shabby. Having passed her 10th decade, her best years were certainly behind her. She had become a decrepit derelict; …
One of the things that sealed the deal for my wife when she met me was the fact that I have five sisters. I didn’t realize the importance of this until I happened to overhear her describing me as …
Attending the Central Plains Dairy Expo — one of the few events where it isn’t an insult to be called “cheese breath” — is always entertaining and educational. One year, the welcome …
The temperatures here in the Northland have plummeted. This development often induces an equal and opposite rise in the levels of domestic tensions. This is not due to the pervasiveness of …
Stones are the bane of every farmer’s life. We curse them as we pick them and grumble as we toss them onto the pile. When we bury them, it’s often with a muttered “good riddance.” But …
There is a group of people who are disdained for the way they smell — not so much for the methods they use to smell, but more for the aromas they exude. This downtrodden demographic is …
Santa Claus is probably the world’s savviest businessman. His enthusiastic workforce toils 364 days of the year in a tax-free zone called the North Pole. He keeps his costs low by using an …
They say that a brave man dies just once, but a coward dies a thousand times. I must not be very brave because I’ve dang near died a whole bunch of times. One of my first DND (Dang Near …