Reading Time: 5 minutes “Donna Hanson was beyond disappointed. “I understand,” she told her daughter Trina over the phone. “These COVID travel rules keep changing. Of course you can’t risk having to quarantine.” Trina and her husband Tom had taken job transfers from North Carolina to Germany last year, both working for ag chemical companies. Between the move, and […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Here’s the joy of Christmas secrets
When his sister called, Jeff knew his Mom would be surprised. But not this much
Hanson Acres: Putting it out in the open for all to see
Sometimes, you know it instantly. No one will ever forget what you've just done.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jenny and Connor were ready and waiting, backpacks on over light fall jackets. Outside, Flora, their grandfather’s dog, started barking. It was an urgent, loud bark, as if she was alerting the Hansons to an emergency. “Bus is here!” Connor shouted, grabbing the door handle. “Bye!” his little sister Jenny called, running after him. Their […] Read more
Hanson Acres: It never rains but it pours somewhere
What can you say when a truckload of 4-H’ers catch you in the act?
Reading Time: 5 minutes “We never should’ve gone to the lake,” Jeff grumbled. Way back in August, the Hansons thought they would be finished harvest in record time. After a long stretch of hot, dry days with no breakdowns, they surprised even themselves by shutting down early one day to spend an afternoon and evening at the lake. But […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Keeping a weather eye on the family too
Sometimes you have to take what the season will give
Reading Time: 4 minutes By the beginning of September, the Hansons were nearly finished harvest. “Not that getting done fast is anything to brag about,” Jeff said. “This is the worst harvest ever.” Jeff’s father Dale, with his fully detailed recall of 1988, insisted that 2021 wasn’t anything like the worst harvest in Hanson history, but it was still […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Summer on the farm, a time to remember
“You’ve got to come and see this,” Jeff said. But that was only the start of the story
Reading Time: 5 minutes “We’ve been walking forever!” Six-year-old Jenny had started to gripe a few minutes earlier, and now she was breaking out in a full-fledged whine. Jenny’s mother Elaine rolled her eyes. “It’s only been 10 minutes.” “But it’s soooooo hot.” Jenny pretended to stagger, as if she couldn’t possibly keep up the pace. Elaine couldn’t argue […] Read more
Hanson Acres: “Remember the guy who was out here Monday morning?”
In a heartbeat, the Hansons’ year takes an unhealthy turn
Reading Time: 4 minutes After they spent the first few days of the spring seeding season working out the kinks, the Hansons had things well underway by the beginning of the second week. Until late Friday morning when Jeff’s cell phone rang. Jeff was in the tractor seeding canola, just about to break into his lunch cooler. “Hey,” Jeff […] Read more
Hanson Acres: This spring, the Hansons think maybe they’ve got it figured out
The family has been at this farming thing for generations. It’s time for that to show
Reading Time: 4 minutes After Jeff knocked on his parents’ door he was too impatient to wait for an answer. He opened the door and stepped in. “Come and see this!” he yelled, holding up a sheet of paper. “Is everything okay?” his mom, Donna, called from the basement. “You bet it is!” Jeff called back. By the time […] Read more
Hanson Acres: The big day is here, but does it matter?
On the Hanson farm there’s a new rule. COVID-19 doesn’t always get to win
Reading Time: 5 minutes “They’d had lunch, and Donna Hanson was finishing her cup of coffee at the kitchen table, flipping through the latest mail and trying to decide what to do with her afternoon. “I’m heading out to the shop,” her husband Dale called from the porch where he was playing a fierce game of tug-of-war with his […] Read more
Hanson Acres: The votes are in, so tell us who won!
It’s election day, and on the Hanson farm, the tension is mounting and mounting
Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine Hanson’s laptop was propped up at the end of the kitchen table, and Elaine, her husband Jeff, and Jeff’s parents Dale and Donna sat clustered in their chairs at the other end, drinking coffee and watching the screen. Elaine bit her lip, one eye on the screen and the other on her phone, where […] Read more
Hanson Acres: “Where did she go? I just saw her a minute ago!”
Sometimes it’s a dog’s life on the farm, but only if you’re very, very lucky
Reading Time: 5 minutes Dale’s heart was beating louder than the seed cleaning plant motor. In full panic mode, he shouted again, but still no response. He could feel the sweat on his forehead turning his toque damp. He spun in a slow circle, looking around the yard. No traffic was going by on the road. That at least […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
