Farmer Gary is a renaissance man. His decades of planting and harvesting crops have taken him into the realms of botany, nutrition, chemistry, geology, meteorology. There’s math, engineering, economics, accounting, Even a bit of stand-up comedy. “Back when they were doing some digging work over at Mom’s home place, I noticed one of the bulldozers was a Japanese brand, so I asked the mechanic how he liked working on the equipment. He told me ‘the hardest part was learning to…
Wreaths are a welcome part of our family’s Christmas decorations. Off the top of my head, I can count at least seven wreaths around our house, inside and out. Maybe more. I have a thing for wreaths. No doubt, I got it from Mom. Farmer Gary, however, is more than willing to take them down as we move into double digits during the twelve days of Christmas. Because, around here anyway, those wreaths make festive homes for birds. This afternoon,…
When I hear people complain about how breathing is uncomfortable in the year of pandemic mask-wearing, I think back to how we put up with a bit of discomfort when there was candy to be gotten. I mean, just look at this thing! See those two tiny holes right beneath this hideous cat’s nose? And right above the back of kitty’s tongue – that tiny slit? That’s how we breathed on Halloween. And no one complained. Growing up in the…
Have you ever felt a sense of grace while going through a really hard time? Have you found something to smile or chuckle about through your tears of grief? Mom called this “a sense of holy laughter” in a recorded interview, below. She was referencing how she and her siblings managed to laugh as they stepped cautiously through the final weeks of their father’s life in the spring of 1982. A sense of holy laughter. Grandpa loved a good laugh….
Gosh, I miss Robin Williams. He’s been gone for nearly six years. But today is his birthday, so let’s celebrate his life. What an amazing actor and improviser! What a comedian … and humanitarian. My brother Dave’s daughter, Becky, met Robin by chance back in 2002. You know, she’s really not a pushy dame, but she couldn’t pass up the chance to meet him. Here’s Becky’s recollection of that day: I met him while traveling to San Francisco with my…
Look! It’s a fingernail moon! Little Thomas was barely more than a toddler when he pointed to the night sky and proclaimed the waxing (or maybe it was waning) moon looked like a fingernail. We were driving at the time (pre-cell-phone days), and I couldn’t wait to get home to call Mom. Her first grandchild had a poet’s heart. Mom absolutely loved the moon. She was fascinated by the changing sizes, shapes, and colors of the moon. Harvest moon, crescent…
Mom wrote this poem, called simply Cherries, when her granddaughter Lucy was just a few months old. It may be that this cute little outfit inspired her. Cherries Lucy’s little yellow dress is cherried Take her to the hammock under cherry treesand in the early evening wrap herin the childhood cherry spreadremembering another eveningwhen we rode a ferris wheelafter a day of cherry picking Grandchildren and sister loved the cherriessent for summer birthdaysand from a country marketwe wooed each otherwith…
Okay, so technically I’m a farmer’s wife, but after 37 years of marriage, I know a thing or two – and nearly everything about farming applies to tips for getting through this Coronavirus pandemic. (1) Wash your stinkin’ hands! Farmers get dirty. Whether it’s dirt, sweat, animal entrails, manure, or some combination of the above, your wife doesn’t want you dragging it in the house. Wash up. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says scrub for 20 seconds. That’s exactly…
Today marks the anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. As the shuttle returned to Earth on February 1, 2003, it broke apart upon re-entry to our planet’s atmosphere. The faces in the crew photo, above, express such hope and excitement. The astronauts are full of knowledge and curiosity. And youth. They look so young. Here are their names, from left: mission specialist David Brown. commander Rick Husband, mission specialist Laurel Clark, mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist Michael Anderson,…
Mom collected “-isms” as we grew up. When one of us used a word or phrase in an unusual or mispronounced way, it became part of the family’s lexicon. There were Harry-isms, Dave-isms, etc. We’ll no doubt revisit this topic as my brothers and I dust off our memories from long ago, but for now here are some from Gary’s and my sons. Uh-oh! Monsters! Youngest son James never missed a chance to visit Grandma’s side of the farm (she…