A big help

October 30, 2020Family, worksusanmanzke

Daughter Rebecca had a day off of work and she volunteered to do work for me.

The job I gave her was cleaning out the gutters over the two porches.

First, she had to scrape the guck out, which was half-frozen.

Then she blew out leaves and muck. It was a lot of work, but managed without use of a ladder.

I so appreciated her help. To get to the front deck you have to go through a window. I used to be able to do that, but I don’t bend so well anymore.

Looking over Rebecca’s shoulder you can see the leaves of a maple tree that need to fall yet. I’m afraid Rebecca might be out blowing out gutters again after all the leaves are down.

Thank you very much, Rebecca.

A Halloween memory

October 30, 2020Family, funsusanmanzke

Things never changed for me. The kids wanted a fancy costume for Halloween but they had a mother who insisted on raiding the closets for old clothes to use.

In the end, the kids figured out how to make costumes from everything from a garbage bag to Dad’s old work clothes, which after Halloween, would go back into Bob’s to-be-worn clothes.

National Cat Day

October 29, 2020catssusanmanzke

A cat from the past, posted today because we are close to Halloween.

When the yowling starts, it’s probably these two tomcats.

Cruella can be a sweetie, but not always.

Car-E plays like a kitten but now he’s a big boy.

Having cats and a dog mean I have to get up in the morning, get dressed, and take care of them. Othello and Car-E sleep with me and mostly don’t fight for a prime spot. When they do fight, I cover my head and wait for calm to return. Thank goodness most of the night is peaceful.

I thought I’d give you photos of some of the cats of Sunnybook Farm for National Cat Day.

Halloween costume suggestions

October 29, 2020Columns, Family, funsusanmanzke

I’ve never bought a Halloween costume. Only homemade for me, which was a problem when I didn’t have time to sew, or even cared to sew.

This column from 1981, has children asking for the impossible.

Good thing they settled for easy homemade, slap-together costumes.

No matter what they were, they ended up with too much candy.

Another farmer prayer

October 28, 2020Columns, Farming, Weathersusanmanzke

Prayers on farms never seem to end. I’ve written about praying before and probably will again.

This one is from October 1983.

Weather wishes don’t change much. We farmers would love a perfect weather year, but that’s hard to come by. Still, we keep praying for one.

As I’ve said before, more prayers are sent heavenward from the seat of a tractor, combine, or in a barn than in a church. We pray where the action is, or isn’t. There’s no time to stop work and run to a church. A silent prayer anywhere gets to God just the same.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person

A big help

A Halloween memory

National Cat Day

Halloween costume suggestions

Another farmer prayer