One jar – that’s all I got – and it wasn’t even a full jar but it made me proud. This was my first attempt at stewed tomatoes from the fresh ones I harvested from my garden. And I’ve got about 20 more tomatoes ripening in the window by the washer and dryer. It’s been so hot outside that I …

Last week was county fair week and that means one of our local towns was filled with carnival sights, funnel cake smells and 4-H animal sounds. Our son loved every minute of it and the entire time I kept thinking how much better this all was when I was a kid – funny how growing up ruins everything. Getting to …

Have you seen the drought map of the U.S. lately? It’s not good to see much dark orange, red or dark red and unfortunately, those are the colors that envelop most of the map. The July 4th holiday news reported that 25 states were in drought alerts and 20 states cancelled fireworks celebrations, and for good reason. It’s just depressing. …

Kansas wins the prize for the first state to sell 15% ethanol-blended gasoline (E15) under the Environmental Protection Agency waiver. The nation’s first E15 gallons were pumped at the Zarco 66 “Oasis” station in Lawrence, Kansas on Tuesday and, not coincidentally, the first customer to buy it was Jere White, Executive Director of the Kansas Corn Commission. “We were there …

Here I go again, thinking about the past and appreciating (to the utmost extent these days, appreciating and LOVING the A/C) the modern luxuries that we have. Our second child is expected to come along here in about four short weeks and with the weather in southeast Nebraska, I will be the first to admit that I’ve become accustomed to …

With 100-degree weather in Nebraska this week, it seems odd to draw a comparison to a Christmas song, but the title of this post reminded me of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. But this story has nothing to do with a mouse. Just like any good farmer, my grandmother’s family had a little bit of everything in the late 1930s, …

Maybe it was the 90th birthday party that perked him up, or maybe the hospital trip where they took him off all the unnecessary meds (thank goodness), but my grandpa is back at it, his voice is 100 percent and we’re recording audio about life on the farm back in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s. Even though I grew …

This week, one of our neighbors combined his wheat fields and this is the stubble that’s left. From the road it looks like butter. Or yellow cotton candy. Like running my fingers through a little chick’s peach fuzz. It’s wheat stubble though, so I’m sure it’s not soft and plush. I wanted to write about wheat because in our area, …

It is better to Twive than receive. Especially if it benefits the AgChat Foundation. To help this effort out all you have to do is make a donation here. My name is Chuck Zimmerman and I approve this message. AgChat Foundation was selected to take part in a nationwide giving event on Thursday,June 14th. Across the nation, not-for-profit organizations will …

This is one of the many cracks in our front yard. Granted, no grass grew here anyway, but look at how wide that crevasse is – you can almost see to the center of the Earth. At least it feels that dry. A drought alert has been issued in the state of Nebraska and if you look at the drought …