Category Archives: Columns

Before blacktop

Columns, Friends, fun

This column from September 1986 tells of a dirt road on its way to being blacktopped.

Rain changed the dirt road to mud and made an adventure for children getting to school.

No photos, but tons of memories as a neighbor, Buddy Wojciehowski, came to the rescue and got the Gardner Rd kids to the bus.

I watched from the house but wished I had been on that pickup with Buddy. From the whoops coming from the ten children, it had to be a fun ride.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Copyright © 2021 Susan Manzke, all rights reserved

Gravel road changes

Columns, Wisconsin

A gravel road can have many issues: dust, holes, bumps, and loose gravel that sends a bicycle flying. After years of living on such a road, you get used to it.

This column is about big changes that took place to Gardner Road starting in 1986.

Eventually, the greenery returned but tree replacements took many more years of growth.

Still, for the Manzke family, there were many memories that started with gravel.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Copyright © 2021 Susan Manzke, all rights reserved

The Charm of Clouds

Columns

I’ve always been fascinated by clouds. As a child, I’d lay back in the grass and watch them float through the sky.

During recess in elementary school, my friend Joyce and I gave them numbers so we could recognize them. We had to know which was which because we bought, or at least laid claim to the prettiest clouds.

Imagine riding a cloud. Going to other places. Seeing other lands. A cloud and playful fantasies can take you on wonderful trips without leaving your backyard.

May good clouds come your way. If you need rain, may they bring your land needed moisture. If you are dreaming, may clouds take you on adventures of the mind. And if you wish to see magic may a rabbit hop overhead, or a pegasus fly, or a giant dance across the sky.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Copyright © 2021 Susan Manzke, all rights reserved

Ground fog’s beauty

Columns

Before the sunrise this morning, I took this video of the farm.

Usually, sandhill cranes are talking and flying. Today they were quiet.

Hardly a bird twittered a greeting.

Soon the sun rose and the fog vanished.

The quiet beauty remained with me.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Copyright © 2021 Susan Manzke, all rights reserved

Old lawnmower

Columns

My son-in-law David, Rachel’s husband, worked hard on this old mower of Bob’s. He bought a new engine for it, installed it, and then fiddled with all the wires and controls, trying to get it going.

For a time, it looked like a lost cause, but David wasn’t giving up. Eventually, he got the engine going and then he had to get it rolling. Bob had stuck it on a pallet with the front wheels off the wood. The machine had to back up, but it refused over and over. That’s when I found a booklet about the mower. It gave David the information he needed to get both wheels turning together.

That filthy machine has been moved from the farm and hopefully, it will do a lot of mowing around their cabin.

It would be a three-hour drive to the cabin.

I’m sure Bob would approve and be happy our youngest married a determined man.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Copyright © 2021 Susan Manzke, all rights reserved