Last year’s growing season seemed longer than normal. Windy, dry days with rising prices of fertilizer, fuel, and other supplies became frustrating. Equipment seemed to constantly break. I began to fall out of love with my job. My mood was touchy, irritable, and defensive. I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. The seasonal aches and pains seemed extra achy. Add this to dealing … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Raging ravines, icy bluffs, miscues and rescues
Part five of a series. John Prieve was able to save the life of Nicholas Smith and also rescue his team of horses after a surge of water had caught them in a gulch deep enough to prevent escape on either side. Smith’s wagon was never seen again; the wagon wheels were found among driftwood a mile down the ravine in the Crooked Creek valley southeast of Caledonia. Some others … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion: Please and thank you…
By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free The desperation of my heart came pouring out. I wanted healing to happen and life to return to normal. I wanted everything to be ok, but it wasn’t. I started looking up, eventually my eyes drifted down feeling defeated, and then I hit my knees. When it was all said and done my face was flat on the floor, profound … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – An attitude of gratitude
By Rev. Deanna Woodward Maple Leaf Parish United Methodist Churches of Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston and Spring Valley If I had my “druthers” in the winter, I would either fly to a warmer climate like the snowbirds, or go into hibernation like some other woodland creatures. I’m not a fan of winter. It’s common at this time of the year to go for weeks without seeing my … [Read more...]
A peacock doesn’t look that good wearing cargo shorts
You couldn’t sneak up on us. On our farm, we had worthy watchdogs. One was a dog that doubled as a cattle dog. The second was a flock of guinea fowl. The babies are called keets. It’s claimed that guinea fowl eat ticks, Japanese beetles, earwigs and grasshoppers. I know they loudly announce visitors, warning poultry and humans. A relative removed his hearing aids and claimed … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past When first built, it was claimed to be the best in state
Part four of a series. An 1882 history of Houston County included a collection of occurrences that reflected life in the county during its first three decades. One typographical error has been corrected, but otherwise, the following text is quoted with the original spelling, capitalization and punctuation (or lack thereof) from that large hardbound volume. Current 2022 … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion: Do not lose heart
By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish - St. Paul, Saetersdal and St. Matthew’s, Granger In his letters to the Corinthian church 2,000 years ago, St. Paul writes about successes and disappoint-ments in their community, occasions for celebration and causes for dismay. He could easily have written much the same to our world today. We’ve seen progress against COVID with … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Sleeping on the counter, running unclothed for his life
Part three of a series. Two men had been observed around town making small purchases. One claimed he was working on a model for which he would soon be applying for a patent. In 1870, it was surely common to see non-residents in a town on the heavily-traveled Mississippi River. It was later learned these two men had been staying in a log cabin not far from town – again not … [Read more...]
If I only had a brain with more bran
We didn’t have The Weather Channel. But we still had weather during my formative years. Things have changed. We continue to have weather, but today, The Weather Channel produces it, except for the wind. Wind turbines generate the wind. When I was a clever teenager, I’d noticed that all adults talked about was the weather. I grew up in Minnesota. The weather was a constant … [Read more...]
Fresh off the farm
My real (not “reel”) habit story for 2022 My daughters and I were struggling. Specifically with school attitudes. For three years, I tried all the bells and whistles to make homeschooling more fun, do the energetic “cool teacher” thing, or adapt the assignment. I felt like I was running laps in a three-ring circus – with pom poms. This story wouldn’t make the … [Read more...]