With the death of my grandfather on November 1, God called another farmer, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend home. Robert Glenn Sandfort was 94 wonderful years old when he passed to his heavenly home. But you, my readers, knew him simply as “Grandpa.” I began writing my AgWalk stories in June 2010. My motivation was being able …
MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY
Today, Aunt Jeanette writes: How does your garden grow? With bleeding hearts, hostas, hyacinths, daffodils, clematis, moonflowers, roses, coral bells, and … BATS. What? This little baby was hanging by my front door one afternoon when our son happened to see it. It startled me, and I have to admit, kind of scared me. I know bats are nocturnal and …
Mud Pie
Today Aunt Jeanette writes: When I was a little girl, making mud pies was great fun! They were flavor-enhanced with gravel, twigs and leaves. I baked them in the sweltering sun on an old, discarded board until they were a delicious slate gray. However, finding a newly born mud pie in the dead of winter, treading water, and trying to …
Old Things Connect the New Things
Over and over I have said life is a funny set of odd circumstances. People are brought together by unforeseen forces, odd coincidences tie us together, and those connections are oftentimes closer than we may realize. For years now, I’ve written AgWalk stories about “old” antique items. A couple of years ago, my Aunt Jeanette joined forces and started sharing …
Sun Going Down On An …
Today Aunt Jeanette writes: No, this isn’t an L.A. freeway! Sorry, Brooks and Dunn, I will take the sun going down behind our farm any day. Our neighbor/friend took this picture from across the section while she was going for an evening walk. I thought it was a gorgeous picture! It gives me a peaceful, relaxed feeling that comes from …
The Hibbity-Jibbities
My bedroom when I was a child had two windows and in the fall (despite my horrible allergies to weeds, grass, pollen, mold, dust, you name it) I would keep my windows open as I fell asleep. I’d lie awake listening to the sounds of crickets and cicadas in the weeping willow tree. Below each window was a large evergreen …
Kings and Queens of the Butterflies
Today Aunt Jeanette writes: “This looks like a 5-star place to spend the night.” “It is quiet, our sleep won’t be disrupted, and we can get a good night’s rest.” “There will be a continental breakfast buffet on the deck (and the roadside ditch) in the morning.” “The pond across the road has an abundance of drinking water.” “I will …
Bales of Fun
What’s not to love about living on the farm? Wide open spaces, beautiful sunsets, the lake nearby, wheat field lining the driveway, and kids climbing on hay bales? The list goes on… For a while, I’d lost my “holiday spirit”. Yes, I decorated for Christmas and set out a few pumpkins at Halloween, but I lost the love for the …
Where the Sidewalk Ends
By Shel Silverstein When I was young, I loved to go to “work” with my dad. Mind you, while he was really working, I was sitting in the old hay loft, writing and reading poetry. One of my all-time favorites was the collection of Shel Silverstein poems, and this one in particular: There is a place where the sidewalk ends …
All In A Day’s Walk
Today Aunt Jeanette writes: 95 degrees…wind blowing from the south at 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 25. Should I or shouldn’t I? I should…and I did! I started on my walk thinking to myself, “If it is too unbearable I can always turn around and walk back home.” However, the farther I walked, the more interesting things …