farm-life
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The Barnyard
I’m on vacation this week, so I thought you might enjoy a visit with Rose’s barnyard companions. Feeding and watering of these critters would be solely her responsibility. And, truth is, she’s a bit more attached to them than a farm wife ought to be.
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When your plow is a pencil…
Old Ike once said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” [1] Of course, he wasn’t talking about aspiring novelists who’ve set their story-world smack dab in the middle of a Depression-era farm.
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A Quiz
You probably didn’t realize it was Pop Quiz day. Or thought that you had outgrown that particular form of hell when you graduated from high school. Mwhahahaha! Turns out, life is a daily Pop Quiz, of one sort or another. (But this particular quiz won’t be painful, I promise.)
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April showers bring…
It’s raining today. So my mind is on April showers. The old children’s riddle comes to mind: “April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring?” I started reading the 1929/1930 Iowa farm wife’s diary I have. You won’t believe what those showers brought to the farm…
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On Death
Pardon me while I get maudlin… Yesterday, I read this in the 1930 diary I have: Had 16 little piglets today, but the old mother laid on 4 and killed them. This made me sad. Especially if you’ve seen the cute piglet pictures I posted here. But it also got me thinking about how common…
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Boy Loses Thumb
I ran across this article in a rural newspaper published on this day in 1930: Harry Hansen … had the misfortune to lose the thumb of his right hand Wednesday afternoon when his hand was caught in a corn sheller. Mr. Hansen was helping with corn shelling … when the accident occurred. The article really…
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Gorgeous George
Rose has a little story to tell us. About Gorgeous George. Get a cup of coffee (or whatever your favorite beverage might be) then sit down and enjoy!
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December Fate
I started Christmas shopping. It was a dismal affair. Mainly because my inner Grinch decided to come along with me. In fact, I had quite an entourage roaming the mall with me, once you figure in the fictional characters that are always lurking at the back of my consciousness. As usual, I began wondering what…
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First Meetings (part 3)
If you’ve just joined us, Rose and I have been talking about how she and Harold first met, an exercise suggested by the editor to whom I pitched my story idea at the recent writers’ conference I attended. It’s turned out to be a rather long, drawn-out story. You can catch up with Part 1…
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First Meetings (part 2)
If you recall, Rose and I have been talking about how she and Harold first met—an exercise suggested to me by the editor that heard my story pitch. When we left Rose last time, she had stopped mid-story for a glass of lemonade. I don’t know about you, but the wait has been excruciating. Finally, I’ve…