Last weekend, while presenting my Marketing Your Uniqueness workshop at the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Convention, I posed this question: "Why do you do what you do; what drives you?" Put another way: What is your passion? My workshop ...
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This, my first day back to work in the New Year, is always one of my favorites. I've got a new calendar all ready to go, the sun is shining, and I'm absolutely full of anticipation. Don't get me wrong, ...
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Isn't this a cool tractor? It's a 1939 Ford 9N, packing in 80 years of all-purpose, workhorse reliability. These days its main jobs are moving our chicken coops in summer and hauling wood in winter. With a bit of patience ...
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I'm into my fourth year of beekeeping and while I still consider myself a newbie, I do feel I've come a long way. For one—and an important one at that—I can now find the queen. Finding the queen—or queenspotting, as ...
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I just returned from the Women in Sustainable Ag Conference (WISA), followed by a glorious vacation. Now that I'm back, I'm cultivating relationships with all the wonderful people I met. The business cards I acquired make this an easy task ...
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Happy Harvest Moon! It's also Friday the 13th, which, if you’re so inclined, could potentially make for a spooky night. What I think is even more interesting, however, is its relation to the autumnal equinox and its cultural tradition (I ...
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We certainly love our local brews. However, a few weeks ago my husband received a birthday gift of assorted Oktoberfest beers from outside our WiscoBeer realm. They say it’s good to expand your thinking, so in preparation for our upcoming ...
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News flash! Fermentation Fest event guides are hot off the press and heading out to exciting venues throughout Wisconsin. This 24-pg, can’t-miss guide is bubbling with interesting articles, art, class listings and city map—all the ingredients necessary for two weekends ...
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Last weekend I harvested my winter wheat. I felt all Winslow Homer Reaper-ish while using an antique scythe I found hanging in our barn. My wheat field—call it what you will—was a 20 x 20 ft. patch of amber waves ...
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Several years ago the bulb in our yard light burned out. It was one of those dawn-to-dusk lights set high on a line pole and even though my husband's job is to regularly climb such poles, he just never got ...
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