At first, it looked like an onion sitting on the counter. As I got closer, the end still looked just looked like an onion, but it was actually the first yellow squash from our spring garden.
The onions won’t be far behind.
There is a sense of independence and pride that comes with being able to walk out your back door and harvest most, if not all, of your evening meal.
I can’t take much credit for our garden, because my wife does ...
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After living in the city my entire life, in 2003, we decided to give country living a try.
The transition wasn’t too different from Eddie Albert’s Manhattan to Hooterville move on the TV show, “Green Acres.” The only difference was that I wasn’t a wealthy New York attorney and our move was from Tyler to South of Whitehouse. Other than that, it was exactly the same.
I grew up in rural Arkansas, so I’d been around country settings in my youth, but ...
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Walking down the sloped driveway, newspaper in hand, I strain to see the house, which is shrouded in fog. As I pass the truck parked in the drive, the mist has frosted the glass and offers the illusion of being covered in ice. The quiet is broken by a single crow, announcing his presence as he pierces the fog near the chimney and flies to my left, on the way to the rest of his day. The cat greets me ...
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As a kid, I hated the vegetable garden. If you stood on our back porch, it was to your left. It took up the entire corner of our large yard.
To me, gardens were work and nothing more. From planting, to weeding, to harvesting, to canning, it was a waste of valuable play time. It also took away the area of the yard that the neighborhood kids and I liked using for a baseball diamond.
I would watch television and see advertisements ...
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This week, for the first time in my life, I made my own butter.
But to get to the beginning of this tasty story, we have to go back a few years.
In 2013, I was sitting in the waiting room at my sleep doctor’s office when I became tired of the talking heads on the news network arguing with each other, so I struck up a conversation with an older gentleman and his wife. Turns out, they were also sick of ...
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Raise your hand if you’ve ever used an outhouse.
During a recent discussion with friends, the topic of outhouses came up. I honestly don’t remember why it made its way into the conversation, but boy, did it ever.
So, I posed the question on my Facebook page, yes or no, have you ever used an outhouse? I was shocked at not only the number of people who said yes, but also at the number of people who responded with comments about their ...
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While much of America enjoys four equal seasons, those of us in Texas celebrate two: Hot and less hot.
Between October and February, it’s kinda cold in Texas. The rest of the year, it’s hot and humid.
But, as September gives way to October, there is a feeling, albeit a fleeting one, of relief.
Fall is here.
Generally, Arkansas has colder winters than we do in the Lone Star State. Consequently, I spent much of the spring of my life splitting firewood. Lots of ...
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There’s no better feeling than accomplishing something with your own two hands.
We recently completed a construction project at our home. I watched each member of the work crew ply their trade with certainty and skill. I was envious.
I sit in a climate-controlled office most days typing on a keyboard and talking on a phone. I don’t mean to belittle what I do, because I worked very hard on my education and to become proficient at my profession. But as I ...
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