Paul Deaton
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I called off work at the farm because of the six stitches in my right hand. I had hoped to resume soil blocking today, but not yet. On deck is transplanting basil into larger plastic pots, preparing containers for potato planting, and radishes, turnips and spinach planted in the ground as the temperature rises to… Read more
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Yesterday was a punk day. We called the day between Good Friday and Easter Holy Saturday when I was a grader. It was not as important as Easter’s main event in the liturgical year. On Easter Sunday we dressed in our best clothes to attend Mass with Grandmother. We’d return home for Easter dinner and… Read more
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It’s time for a new discussion about wages. People who harp about hourly wages are tedious and mostly fooling themselves. The economic instinct in society should be and is making a decent life from what we have and are given. Wages are a part of that, but there is a lot more. A person can’t… Read more
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I cut my right hand at work yesterday and had to get stitches — six of them at the base of my thumb. It doesn’t hurt much, and my motor skills haven’t been impaired, however, the doctor said I’m supposed to minimize the use of my hand until a worker’s comp doctor reviews my healing… Read more
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Chives, lettuce and garlic are up in the garden, beckoning my presence. On yesterday’s last day of winter I spent a couple of hours burying four large plastic tubs for an experiment in carrot growing. 18-inches deep, I filled them with compost. After settling overnight, they will be re-filled and planted with four varieties of… Read more
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The first two lambs were born at the farm last Sunday, evidence of spring. I’m ready to work in the garden as soon as time off work aligns with precipitation-free days — maybe Saturday morning. Despite heavy winter precipitation it looks like the upper Mississippi River basin will be spared severe flooding this spring. The… Read more
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JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa — Democratic delegates met in all 99 Iowa counties on Saturday, March 12. The day was overcast, but hopeful. A bellwether was the fact I didn’t recognize many of the hundreds of people at the Tiffin High School auditorium where our county convention was held. Old timers are giving way to a… Read more
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The family-owned home, farm and auto supply store put me on a Monday through Friday schedule this year. It created something rare — a regular weekend off. As winter ends, work at home and at the farm returns to center stage. It was possible to feel I got something done this weekend. I did — indoors and… Read more
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BIG GROVE TOWNSHIP, Iowa — This headline in this morning’s Boston Globe says it well, “Clinton and Trump are now the presumptive nominees. Get used to it.” Author James Pindell attributes the appellation to math. “They have accumulated more delegates than any other candidates in their parties for the national conventions,” he wrote. “Both won… Read more
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The first spadeful of earth was waterlogged. There was no frost more than a foot deep, so I’ll be ready to plant lettuce March 2. My maternal grandmother called this planting “Belgian lettuce.” I follow the tradition whenever conditions permit. Reserving some lettuce seeds to plant in trays, the rest will be broadcast in a… Read more
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