Being Wisconsin born and raised on a farm, I can honestly say that I’ve dealt with much of the worst that winter can offer. I have cut wood in snow up to my waist, pounded on frozen manure spreader...

The classic harbingers of spring are the return of the robins, the maple sap run or the first blooms to sprout from the thawing earth. But sometimes the signs of spring are actual signs of spring –...

While politicians and others way above my station and pay grade continue to debate, expound upon and expunge homosapien influence on the stratosphere, one thing I know for sure. The winter weather has...

A home should be a peaceful sanctuary for its inhabitants, a quiet place of comfort and solitude. But when you live in the country, sometimes your abode is sought after by critters other than humans. Rodents,...

So many Super Bowls have faded into my memory, but there is one Super Bowl Sunday that I will never forget. It was Jan. 20, 1980. Los Angeles Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers won, 31-19, after...

I have completed my quinquennial agricultural legal reporting duties with a week to spare. My 2022 Census of Agriculture – with a deadline of Feb. 6 – is in the books, a mandatory reporting requirement...

There are quite a few Chris Hardie’s in the world – or at least a few others that share the same name. Years ago when social media was new, I sought a few out and we exchanged some messages. But...

I don’t play the lottery and don’t frequent casinos, but if I were a betting man, I’d lay odds that sometime in the next few years I will be involved in a deer-vehicle collision. A deer crash...

A lot of time and money has been spent in our country coming up with increased security and contingency plans for the possibility of a terrorist or cyber-attack on our electrical grid. With winter weather...

Thanksgiving has come and gone but perhaps this can be the year that we turn a day of thankfulness into a holiday season of gratitude. I can see, smell and hear the ghosts of Thanksgiving’s past when...

Life is measured by the passage of time and the season of deer hunting gives me plenty of moments to reflect on past memories. This is my 47th year of gun deer hunting and there is no place I’d rather...

The end of October and early November brings the fall breeding season for deer, also known as the rut. It’s a time of physiological, behavior and chemical changes for deer as well as for bow hunters...