Even at 55-plus, I can show you a thing or two about technology.

“Son, your barn is a mess,” I said.
“Don’t touch a thing in there,” he answered.

My son and I worked calves the other day. Not many, just enough to get hot and sweaty.

You didn’t know it, but behind the scenes, Ag Proud – Idaho has been in planned chaos for roughly a year.

Summer memories warm cold winter days.

Alan 11/16

"And that is the difference between me and the men in my life. To them, fire is a solution. To me, fire – I should say specifically fire in their hands – is a threat."

Dave keeps a shoebox on his closet shelf. He uses it to put his odds and ends in, things he empties out of or puts back into his pockets whenever he changes. Every so once in a while, when I get a spring-cleaning burr under my saddle, I’ll muck out the closet – and with it, the shoebox.

I am coming to understand there are things in life I just can’t have. Yardsticks, for example. I can’t have yardsticks.

I employ an organizational method I call “creative layering.” An example of my technique can be seen on my bookshelves. Where the books are low-profile, I have them double shelved – or rather, I have two rows of books per shelf.

Our school had its annual fall fundraiser, an evening of family fun activities with food and a live auction, put on by a group of volunteer parents, teachers and staff members.

One of my favourite stories to tell is about the time my grandmother made pancakes with a dead mouse.

Some people spend their summers at the beach or on a lake. With second or third crop in by now, you’re probably thinking you’ve spent some significant time in a hayfield. 

Something I love about the nativity is that, despite being strangers from different walks of life, this group of people is united in this moment – gathered together to celebrate a child’s birth.

Are you team Apple or Android?

As a calf roper on the high school rodeo team in the early aughts, I used to scoff at other teenagers’ inability to throw a calf on the end of a rope. Countless kids would throw a beautiful loop, dismount gracefully, jet down the rope, and … struggle. “Hapless” is the word that comes to mind. 

You’ve been there, trying not to make your eyerolls too terribly obvious, as the guy who always, always has to make dang sure everyone knows just how much of a cowboy he is asserts control of the situation.
     

Fall is a very busy time of year out here on the farm as we get the crops all harvested and prepare for the long winter ahead up here in northern Wisconsin. Even though there is much work to do, we greatly enjoy it. Being outdoors working this time of year is wonderful.

It was a beautiful, fall day, lots of sunshine and a clear, blue sky. Earlier that day, we had done our morning chores and then went to church.

In life, it seems like there is always something. Maybe you’re in the middle of a drought year and it decides to rain only after you cut your hay. Maybe you left the gate open and now your cows are in the neighbor’s yard.

They don’t need praise, but thanks are never not appreciated in a career that can feel underappreciated.

“Why do you drive that old thing? With the money you’re making, you could afford a new one!” said a friend of mine as a teenager. The fellow he was talking to was one of his dad’s employees, a talented older mechanic.

How about we keep our eyes and ears open all day every day.  Someone may be in need, and five or 10 minutes of our time may make us a hero by changing another’s day from a disaster into a slight delay.

About a decade ago we had upgraded the car Elli would be driving to work every day. With the odometer on the old rig pushing 300,000 miles, the dealer had declined to take it in trade. 

“I wasn’t sure whether Mary had got home yet,” a perplexed Leo said, then went on with, “I was down in my basement tinkering with one of my firearms and experienced the ultimate embarrassment of having an accidental discharge. I sat in silence, and when no sounds came from upstairs, I deduced that Mary wasn’t home yet."

Parma, Idaho – 1955. The first year since we’d moved there in 1952 that the spring frosts had missed our huge old apricot tree. It was so loaded Dad thought it might break down.

Veteran’s Day has always been a day of pride for me. My father and uncles served in World War II, and others in the family served in the Korean War.

It is election time again. Ads splatter every channel with “vote-for-me” slogans and promises. Truth is shaped to an advantage and lies are disseminated as gospel, and we are expected to decipher which candidate is the lamb and which is the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The other day, I was driving in Phoenix; I was not sure where I was going. I turned on the GPS and listened for directions. It wasn't long before the GPS voice blared, “Rerouting, rerouting! Take the next left.” I ignored the urgent voice and sped past the turn.

When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, the Lord told Adam that the earth would be cursed for his sake.

I spent a lot of time traveling around this past year, and I need to share some of what I’ve heard and learned along the way.

If you’ve ever had the “soup of the day” at a restaurant, chances are you just ate food that was close to its expiration date. Just like your granny used to, soup is an easy way to use up leftovers.

According to climate alarmists, the world will end in just a few short years. If what they say is true, then why should I continue to pay my mortgage, eat right and visit the dentist? We should all just go on permanent vacation and let the world fall apart around us.

I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for telemarketers my phone would never ring. Apparently, my student loan debt is due, my Amazon account needs attention, I’m part of a class-action law suit that needs my information, and I won a cruise to the Bahamas.

Mankind owes a lot to the cow. The first animal to be domesticated, humans began capturing the large and aggressive auroch 10,000 years ago and selectively breeding it for more docile behavior.

At one point in the tour, the owner of the property stopped at a small shack. He pulled back the curtain to reveal a toilet made from a plastic bucket. He held up a finger and said something stern in Spanish. My wife leaned in to translate.

Whatever else about the world, there’s one advantage to being alive now: Travel is easier than ever before. All the faraway places one heard about on TV as a child are now within reach after spending 10 minutes online to buy a flight.

Biologist Allan Savory made an international stir nine years ago with this provocative statement:
“Only livestock can save us.” 

In July, I had an event with Leslie Danks Burke, a state senate candidate for the 52nd District in New York state. Held in Ithaca, New York, we discussed agriculture, climate change and literature in front of an engaged crowd. Before we were about to take our last question from the audience, Leslie leans over and whispers into my ear.

The Lord spoke to the heavy hearts
 that stood with hats in hand.
“Your sadness pains me deeply
and I know you’ll miss this man.

As soon as we enter fall, whenever my kids start asking for something, I suggest they put it on their Christmas list, and I try to make a mental note to remember it myself.

Last week, I finally had a chance to catch up with some college friends I hadn’t seen in well over a year. Between kids, house renovations, work, travel and living in different time zones, finding time for a phone call can be challenging and seeing each other in person is a rare treat.

Investing a little time up-front in creating a plan to ensure clean data can return dividends.

Have you ever wanted access to a wide range of agricultural information and services without visiting numerous websites?