I told Ginnie that our life here on the Empty Nest Farm was all part of our art—the garden, and the animals, even the aronia bushes. She agreed. Our life is like a poem, flowing [Read More…]
I’ve known for a long time that there were bones under our hen house. A year ago this spring, when I was patching up the floor of the shed, getting ready to turn the shed [Read More…]
Willy Amos of Mt. Pleasant is the poster child for Hy-Vee’s “Helpful Smile in Every Aisle.” And it’s genuine. If it wasn’t for his wheelchair, you would never know that he is paralyzed from the [Read More…]
I’m going to recommended a slew of books for this summer’s reading, starting with “Varina,” by Charles Frazier; “The Nix,” by Nathan Hill; and “Mrs. Fletcher,” by Tom Perrotta. All three of these books were [Read More…]
We moved Annie, along with her brother, to Mt. Pleasant from Colorado, completely against their will when they were teenagers. They thought we, the parents, had lost our marbles. They would attend a Christian school [Read More…]
Blossom doesn’t like being weaned. Not one bit. When I go in her pen to check her calf starter, hay, and water, she pesters me to no end, nose bumping me for milk and sucking [Read More…]
The letter was addressed to “Buddy Swarm.” It was from 94-year old Wilbur Swindler, of Ottumwa. Wilbur was asking Buddy to come visit, and to “bring Curt and Ginnie.” Wilbur had just completed his patio [Read More…]
Linda Pohren of Mt. Pleasant, and her daughter, Tammy Mumme (pronounced “Mummy”), have always done things together. But, according to Linda, “This is ridiculous!” Both Linda and her daughter have breast cancer—Linda, Stage II, and [Read More…]
Randy Tebo was my friend. He was an American Indian of the Ho-Chunk Tribe. Like many people, I’d never heard of Ho-Chunk. Patiently, Randy explained that Ho-Chunk were originally from Wisconsin. Like most tribes, they [Read More…]
We had put this off for as long as possible. The hen house needed cleaned out bad. The hens were staging daily walkouts carrying signs: “Dirty straw, dirty eggs!” “How would u like to live [Read More…]
Ginnie’s been having a rough go lately. The other night she was delivering a dozen eggs to my son and his family. She had a nice chat with my son and his wife at their [Read More…]
The following story was written by one of my readers, Janet Swaby, from Unionville, Iowa. Janet, after reading the story I wrote about our bucket calf, Blossom, couldn’t resist telling me about their bucket calf, [Read More…]
By Bob Gardner, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations and Alan Beste, Executive Director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association Many parents across America are trying to live the [Read More…]
Ginnie is becoming a farm girl!It was Easter Sunday (also April Fools Day). We walked into church and the first thing Ginnie and I heard from the door greeters was, “We have a calf for [Read More…]
I’ve written about happiness before. In fact, that’s how I met Ginnie. It was from that first article I wrote about happiness. She sent me an email concerning happiness and, quick like Curtis thinks, I [Read More…]
I needed Ginnie to help me string the electric chicken wire fence—her to hold the roll while I shoved the stakes in the ground. I figured it would be a good time for her and [Read More…]
Ginnie and I may be entering our second childhood. We actually went out after dark three nights in a row. Can you believe it?! The first night, a Thursday, we went to a stand-up comedy [Read More…]
Tim Olson, a well-known mortician in Mt. Pleasant, could also be a standup (or lay-down—get it?) comedian. He likes to tell people he has a PhD—Professional Hearse Driver. Tim’s ancestry and history are colorful. His [Read More…]
I don’t know what it is about the “first-time-you-have-something, you-use-it,” but I’ve seen it play out way too often, not only with me, but with others. I had just passed my EMT test in Ft. [Read More…]
Chicken Thief! I opened the hen house door to a troubling sight. There were a lot of feathers and, in the corner of the hen house, a dead hen—Red, one of our “adopted” hens. Her [Read More…]
They don’t make the headlines. Their names are not in the box scores. They don’t make the all-star teams. But some of the most important individuals in high school sports are the contest officials. These [Read More…]
It’s been a tough winter. But tough winters, with the accompanying housebound syndrome and flu, is perfect for you know what—yes, reading! Here’s my recommendation for keeping the howling north wind and frigid temperatures at [Read More…]
Because of Donald Kaul, I’m a columnist today. Donald Kaul was a columnist for the Des Moines Register and Tribune back in the sixties and seventies. I was an English Major at Iowa State University, [Read More…]
Our first spring at the Empty Nest Farm was a busy time for Ginnie and me. There was the garden to plow and plant, the barn to clean out from moving (everything we didn’t know [Read More…]
Have you ever looked up at the stars when you’re away from a city and thought you saw purple stars? It’s some atmospheric condition known informally as a “nervous atmosphere”. That’s extremely apropos in my [Read More…]
Aria helps grandpa gather eggs If there’s snow on the ground, our hens won’t venture from the hen house. They come to the threshold, peck at the snow, but opt to stay indoors. That’s fine [Read More…]
Like to write? I’m teaching a creative writing class starting on Saturday, January 20th, at 1:00 p.m., at our Empty Nest Farm in rural Mt. Pleasant. We will meet for six Saturdays in a row [Read More…]
When Jens (pronounced “Yens”) Carlsen drove down the hill for the first time on Highway 61, past the Iowa State Penitentiary, into Ft. Madison and saw the frozen Mississippi River, he wondered if he had [Read More…]
When Sharon Smith was seven years old, she was taken to town to see Santa Claus. She looked up into the eyes of Santa and told him what she wanted for Christmas—a doll that walked. [Read More…]
December 12th is hard for 62-year old Susie Clark. It’s the date her teenage daughter, Lisa, passed away 15 years ago. Memories come flooding back, like the murky water spilling over the dam at Oakland [Read More…]
BY AVA PEITZ PCC EDITORIAL INTERN Last month, things began to look up for students with fine arts interests in Iowa. In early November, the Iowa Board of Education adopted new fine arts standards for [Read More…]
Creative Writing Class: I will be teaching a creative writing class in my home in Mt. Pleasant this January and February. We will meet for six sessions on Saturday mornings for a couple of hours [Read More…]
I was leaning on the tailgate of the pick-up, talking on my smart phone, when there was a flurry, squawk and something gripped my shoulder like a claw. I’ll be danged if a hen hadn’t [Read More…]
TGITG! Thank Goodness It’s Thanks Giving! I know, Thanksgiving is one word, but I wanted to do a spinoff of TGIF. November is a memorable month for me, and I have a lot to be [Read More…]
If there’s one motto I’ve lived by all my life, and especially now that I’m a (ahem) “senior citizen” it is, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.” I often get caught up in the morning [Read More…]
Everything seems to happen at once. Ginnie’s mother died in Ozark, Missouri, and there was my brother’s birthday party in Ashland, Wisconsin. My place is definitely with my wife in time of grief, but my [Read More…]
Sometimes death confuses me. It’s usually with the death of a younger person, a person who has not had the privilege of living to a “ripe old age.” Somehow, for me anyway, it doesn’t seem [Read More…]
By Patrick Lamb Assistant Principal, Fort Madison High School “There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You would think that the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the [Read More…]
Ginnie had been shopping all afternoon and was abuzz with shopitus when she pulled into the garage. I helped her unload the car as she debriefed, shooing the chickens out of the garage with one [Read More…]
Anniversary Before I forget this (how could I?), I have a book signing scheduled for Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., at SIP in Mt. Pleasant, 120 S Main St. It’s a coffee house. I will [Read More…]
I got a text from Ginnie while she was at work. “What’s going on today?” I text back, “Buddy to the vet, lady bringing her two hens, pet blessing on Sunday.” “It’s all about animals,” [Read More…]
I met Michael Childress at an Art-in-the-Park in Ft. Madison. His display was set up across from mine with a group of artists called Artist Trax Studio. We were both displaying metal art, however, mine [Read More…]
Editor’s Note – Patrick Lamb, Assistant Principal at Fort Madison High School has started a blog and the Pen City Current has asked to print his blog posts here monthly. We hope you enjoy his [Read More…]
All those double-yolk eggs might not be bringing the good luck I thought they would. I was backing the tractor into the garage to fill the fuel tank with diesel when I heard a crunch, [Read More…]
Ginnie came to me in a panic. “I can’t find Roomba!” Roomba is a computerized vacuum cleaner I gave Ginnie for her birthday. I know, you shouldn’t give your wife a vacuum cleaner for her [Read More…]
It happened in a class four or five years ahead of me in school. The senior class had a gang of boys more interested in shenanigans than anything serious, like the impression they made on [Read More…]
Thank you for this forum and the opportunity to let you get to know me on a personal, professional and community service level. For almost my entire life I have lived in the Denmark area [Read More…]
Letter to the Editor With the upcoming School and City Elections, I would like to take a minute to educate voters on new legislation passed this year on the topic of providing identification when you [Read More…]
“Everything in these two rows of tables, fifty cents,” I told the dark-skinned couple as they moved slowly down the aisle, stopping occasionally to pick up an item and inspect it, an old-style eggbeater, a [Read More…]
Isn’t it amazing that the moon is exactly the right size and exactly the right distance from the earth to completely block out the light from the sun? Is this happenstance? Me thinks not. Me [Read More…]
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