hanson acres

Hanson Acres: ‘It’s my crop too’

Elaine wonders, why are they all headed toward my SUV?

Reading Time: 5 minutes We’re 65 per cent done harvest tonight,” Jeff said as he came in the door at 10 o’clock, a trail of durum kernels falling out of the leg of his blue jeans and onto the porch floor. Elaine’s eyes widened. Sixty-five? She was feeling 100 per cent done these days. “That’s great,” she said. Jeff […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Just get in that combine and drive

The big milestones don’t always come with brass bands

Reading Time: 4 minutes   What are you waiting for?” Jeff asked his father. “Get in the combine and let’s get going. These peas aren’t going to harvest themselves.” Dale stood with Jeff, looking up at the cab. “You go ahead. You can make the first round this year.” Jeff looked surprised. “But you always combine the first round […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: Who ordered the parade?

“You OK?” Jeff asked his dad. “You look kind of pale.”

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale parked the sprayer beside the dugout at the west end of the Hansons’ yard to fill. Before he got started, he walked to the house to refill his water bottle and hunt for a snack. With Donna away camping — for the second time already this summer, Dale grumbled to himself — he wasn’t […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: The case of the barking dog in the night-time

Dale gets an answer to his question, “What do I have to pay to get a decent sleep around here?”

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale was out in the shop alone early on Tuesday morning, bent over the collie as it slept in its cushioned bed. Dale was barking at the dog. Loudly. “Ruff! Ruff!” Jeff came in to pick up a wrench to tighten a dripping hose fitting on the air seeder before he took it to the […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: When tomorrow comes…

Maybe someone will lose those stupid signs anyway

Reading Time: 4 minutes The first day, Dale found ways to cope with the frustration. He watched from his truck, driving out to the field and back. He paced the yard, if hopping around the yard on crutches could be called pacing. He phoned his son, texted his father. But by 10 a.m. on Day 2, Dale hit the […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Ouch!!!… Now the Hansons really need help

The question is, is Elaine’s idea for finding that help as harebrained as one person in particular seems to think?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Thanks, Elaine,” Donna said, watching her daughter-in-law clear the supper table while Elaine’s son Connor wandered off to play and the baby napped in the corner. “You two need all the help you can get,” Elaine laughed, looking at Donna’s casted foot resting on a flowered pillow. Dale hadn’t wanted to say, “I told you […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: Where is this flight heading?

When the tourist brochure arrived, it looked so innocent

Reading Time: 5 minutes You’re really sure this is a good idea?” Dale asked his wife. “Dale, I’ve had the tickets since December,” Donna said. Then her phone beeped and she looked down at the screen in her hand while she kept talking. “It’s a little late to go changing my mind now. I’d let the other women down. […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Please answer the phone!

By the morning of the third day, Dale Hanson was worried

Reading Time: 4 minutes “I don’t know why he’s not answering his phone,” Dale said to his wife Donna. “Remember the last time you got all worked up about Ed not answering the phone?” Donna said, looking up from her magazine. “He was at a fish fry in the trailer court.” The first year his father had packed up […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: It’s a rink out there

When Dale takes grandson Connor to the arena, all sorts of things begin to slip

Reading Time: 5 minutes Dale Hanson and his son Jeff were out in the shop, trying to fix the electric tarp on their semi trailer. They’d hoped it was just a bad switch, but by mid-morning they’d figured out that the electric motor was seized. They were going to have to go to Regina for a new one before […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Slipping into the dealership

It’s business — big business — but they’re off to a bumpy start

Reading Time: 5 minutes Damn idiot ought to get a ticket. Driving like that,” Dale shouted, hitting the brakes. The truck slid a little on the slippery highway, but Dale held the wheel and slowed to 80 without coming too close to the back of the green Chevy Malibu in front of them. Dale waited impatiently for his chance […] Read more