Rural Lifestyle

Make the most out of your small farm or acreage with these tips and resources. This section contains information on raising animals, gardening tips, machinery maintenance, improving pastures, and maintaining ponds.

Following the call of music in Mason City

Warm weather prompted Columnist Jerry Nelson and his wife to visit Mason City, Iowa for the annual Band Festival.

Marching band students wear red band uniforms

Article

Playing with fire

Columnist Jerry Nelson sets ablaze the remnants of last year's derecho.

Article

Working hard to avoid labor

Columnist Jerry Nelson readies his garden but encounters obstacles that cause him to question the costs of his efforts to reduce back-breaking labor.

Article

A farewell to boys and cows

Lisa Prater's sons raised their own cattle herds, but as they graduated from high school, those cattle were sold. Now as her youngest son prepares to leave the nest, the pastures are empty.

Article

Springtime cleaning: Yard edition

Columnist Jerry Nelson says nice weather only lasts for a short time in the Midwest in early spring. And Nelson can't wait for warmer weather so he can clean up the winter's damage on his lawn.

Article

Spring has arrived!

Spring has finally arrived to Columnist Jerry Nelson’s neighborhood. He recounts the sights and sounds of spring happening in his backyard.

Article

A mystery: The tale of the missing cottontail rabbit

Life in the country is by no means ordinary, says Columnist Jerry Nelson. It sometimes means putting on your Sherlock Holmes hat and solving a mystery.

A fox looks right at the camera, sitting in a shaft of sunlight

Article

A clothing conundrum

Shopping for clothes is not an activity columnist Jerry Nelson often does for himself. But an opportunity for free clothing samples is an offer that he couldn't resist.