Magic is like a rain dance. Timing is everything. Same goes for convincing a youngster that you can make the traffic light change to green by coughing.

I’d never consider trading her off for another – no matter how rich or feisty or attractive. But I still counsel young men to never marry someone who doesn’t already have a driver’s license.

The boy’s mother was quietly reprimanding him. A fellow had knocked on their door. Said he had run out of gas and was hoping he could buy like 5 gallons from the farm.

I suppose I’m spoiled. Too many years dealing with things that will start and run with only air, fuel, spark and enough starting momentum to create the initial compression to make an engine run.

I’m not allowed to name dogs. Over 50 years ago, we were given a border collie cross puppy and I named him “Sour Mash.”

A man’s toolbox should be small enough that he can move it from place to place as needed – but big and awkward enough that his neighbor and his brother-in-law can’t.

Never volunteer. Fellows I’ve known with a military background say that’s the first thing they learn when wearing the uniform. The realities of rural communities, however, are such that without volunteers, not much would happen.

I discovered the Great Divide Basin the year we delivered a few loads of hay to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. It’s an area roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park and is located just southeast of the park.

I worked for Don Tobler years ago, and closely with his son Harmon. At first it was an all-Jersey dairy farm. Then the butterfat premium for the milk they sold was changed, and they slowly moved to an all-Holstein herd.