Creative Non Fiction: Dad in August, excerpt
Dad doesn't notice the Rose of Sharon that blooms papery white and sunset red outside his bedroom window.
He doesn't look for the gray speckled robins that steal pale Thompson grapes falling between the slats of the overhead arbor he built in 1983.
Instead, he pulls a steady hand through his beard, extracting inch by inch a long hair only he can see.
He pinches it between two careful fingers and watches it hang, presumably gently blowing in an equally invisible breeze.
He stares, then squints to focus better, on what is still not there before he brushes it against a purple knee and it vanishes even from his attention.
"Do you mind that I'm falling apart?" he asks....
Published in Grace Notes Magazine
July, 2010
http://notesandgracenotes.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Dad-in-August.html&Itemid=103
Non-Fiction Article: Meat for the Freezer
The long days of summer are waning. Looking out into the back barn lot, you see peacefully grazing the animal you bred especially for the table: healthy without artificial growth hormones, fattened on your own organic feed, and representing freedom from chemical-ridden commercial meat. The last step from pasture to freezer now needs to be taken and, if you choose not to do your own butchering, you are going to need some help.
Chances are your rural area has a professional butcher who can guide you to those perfect steaks and chops you're seeking. In Richland County, Wisconsin, that man is Carl Huth. A 20-year veteran of his family-owned Richland Locker, Huth handles locally grown animals almost exclusively. A large percentage of his business is custom work; that is, just the kind of pasture-to-freezer service you'll need....
Published in Country Journal
June, 1994
He doesn't look for the gray speckled robins that steal pale Thompson grapes falling between the slats of the overhead arbor he built in 1983.
Instead, he pulls a steady hand through his beard, extracting inch by inch a long hair only he can see.
He pinches it between two careful fingers and watches it hang, presumably gently blowing in an equally invisible breeze.
He stares, then squints to focus better, on what is still not there before he brushes it against a purple knee and it vanishes even from his attention.
"Do you mind that I'm falling apart?" he asks....
Published in Grace Notes Magazine
July, 2010
http://notesandgracenotes.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Dad-in-August.html&Itemid=103
Non-Fiction Article: Meat for the Freezer
The long days of summer are waning. Looking out into the back barn lot, you see peacefully grazing the animal you bred especially for the table: healthy without artificial growth hormones, fattened on your own organic feed, and representing freedom from chemical-ridden commercial meat. The last step from pasture to freezer now needs to be taken and, if you choose not to do your own butchering, you are going to need some help.
Chances are your rural area has a professional butcher who can guide you to those perfect steaks and chops you're seeking. In Richland County, Wisconsin, that man is Carl Huth. A 20-year veteran of his family-owned Richland Locker, Huth handles locally grown animals almost exclusively. A large percentage of his business is custom work; that is, just the kind of pasture-to-freezer service you'll need....
Published in Country Journal
June, 1994