Author Archives: This Prairie Life.

Your feelings don’t matter — and that’s a good thing.

We finally got to leave for harvest recently. Like many harvesters, we saw the first part of our harvest run somewhat wrecked by weather conditions — drought last summer and fall, continued drought through the winter, the record-setting cold snap, a late freeze and then rain that started just in time to save some ofContinue reading “Your feelings don’t matter — and that’s a good thing.”

Prairie in the title: “Prairie Nocturne.”

I do sometimes choose a book by the cover or the title, or both, and goodness, do I love it when that works out. Case in point: By the time I was halfway through “Prairie Nocturne,” I’d texted my mom, Tara, and two friends to tell them to read it. I concede the dubious qualityContinue reading “Prairie in the title: “Prairie Nocturne.””

Strawberry moonshine.

One would assume the strawberry supermoon is thusly named because of its color. In fact, nope. It’s a supermoon because it’s a full moon at perigee and it’s strawberry because June is when strawberries ripen, so the June full moon is always a strawberry moon, color of strawberries or not. I set out to takeContinue reading “Strawberry moonshine.”

A few words on a Wednesday morning.

The oldest has a job for a neighbor this summer, and this week is Westmark’s VBS, meaning I can wake up one kid and send him off, then wake up four more kids and drive almost two miles and leave them off, and get three hours — three blessed hours — to myself (though admittedlyContinue reading “A few words on a Wednesday morning.”

Things I love about summer.

I’m glad the prairie is a place with seasonal change — there’s something about that seasonal change that is invaluable for perspective. And while each season has its high points, somehow I’ve settled into a strong preference for this one. It is missing some good things (*cough* school *cough*) and has some annoyances (ugh, humidity!)Continue reading “Things I love about summer.”

We are God’s disaster bread.

Every year we save a little of the wheat we harvest. My mom, Dianne, has a flour mill, and she grinds the wheat into whole-wheat flour, which she uses to make bread. My mom’s bread is kind of locally famous. If there’s a food event, bread is what she brings. It’s what people expect andContinue reading “We are God’s disaster bread.”

Elon Musk’s string of lights.

Who owns the night sky? I wondered about that while sitting on my deck about a week ago, enjoying the near-perfect weather and delighting in the stars as they unfolded overhead. As I looked up, I noticed a string of star-like lights moving quickly, all in a row, from the southwest to the northeast. MyContinue reading “Elon Musk’s string of lights.”

This — this! — is rural VBS.

It’s Vacation Bible School week at our church. Hope is three miles from a tiny town and five miles from our school town, so not in any town at all. This area is actually riddled with rural churches. If I tip my head to the side, roll my eyeballs oddly, and think for a second,Continue reading “This — this! — is rural VBS.”