These poppies won’t be around long. The first ones to blossom are already dropping their petals.
Today you can see them.
By next week most will be gone, leaving a confetti of orange.
Close at hand is this lovely iris.
I wish it would stay all summer, but it won’t be long before this iris will be a memory…and a photo.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Manzke, all rights reserved
My late husband had all kinds of things happen to him while farming, afterward he would recount them to me.
Some stories were about machinery breakdowns. This one concerned wild weather.
No matter what happened, Bob laughed. Even this time, when he almost bought-the-farm.
I continue to live on the farm. Though others work the ground, Bob’s heart and soul is still here on Sunnybook Farm.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Manzke, all rights reserved
In May 1988, I found Bob doing a lot of farm figuring in the middle of the night.
Bob’s work-life concerned farming 24/7. This night he was trying to make plans for spring. Everything looked good on paper, but…
Thinking about farming happened at night and during the day. Until planting was complete, Bob’s life centered on farming.
I did drive a tractor and worked up the ground before Bob planted. But it wouldn’t take much imagination to figure out that I handled a lot of our family activities.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Manzke, all rights reserved
This column from May 1988 tells how the Manzkes had fun with bubbles–big bubbles and little bubbles.
If you want to make a big bubble take an old T-shirt, cut a circle from around the lower half of shirt about an inch wide. Tie two dowels to material with 1/3 of the material between dowels and the rest hanging down. Dip material into soap mixture, pick up and slowly pull dowels apart. This should give you a big bubble.
Bubble recipe: 6 to 1 — 6 cups of water to 1 cup of Dove dish soap. I never added corn syrup or glycerin. Do not mix vigorously because you’ll foam the mixture which isn’t good for making bubbles.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Manzke, all rights reserved
When it came to farming, there was a sharp learning curve getting me up-to-speed every spring. Each year I had to relearn which leaver to pull or push to get my field cultivator in and out of the ground.
Sometimes there were accidents. This one wasn’t my fault. Listen as I read from May 1990 to hear what happened.
I figure I’m lucky to be here. I could have been a statistic that day. Of course, after Bob’s pep talk I debated about getting back up in the driver’s seat. I did, but with trepidation.
There are all kinds of farm stories. This is just one.
FYI: Remember when you are driving country roads to have patience for those slow-moving farm machines. Farmers are just trying to get safely to their next field.
Copyright © 2021 by Susan Manzke, all rights reserved