Reading Time: 5 minutes When Dale Hanson looked at his phone and saw it was his sister calling, he set his wrench on the workbench and answered. “Good morning, Margaret.” Her response was garbled. “What’s that?” he asked. “Are you okay?” She answered, but Dale still couldn’t understand. “Is something wrong with Aunt Margaret,” Dale’s son Jeff called over […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Dale gets a lesson: “Sisters are like that, but …”
It was his aunt on the phone, so Jeff knew his Mom would be surprised. And maybe worse
Hanson Acres: There’s a secret to happily hanging around
It isn’t always easy to find your place on a farm, until someone reaches out
Reading Time: 5 minutes “I’m not going skiing with a bunch of older boys,” nine-year-old Jenny said on Saturday morning. “They won’t wait for me.” “They will,” her mother, Elaine, said. “The twins might get sick of waiting for her,” Jenny’s 12-year-old brother, Connor, said. “Their mom will make them wait,” Elaine said. “They won’t want to, so they […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Hello or goodbye. Which is it going to be?
“Eventually we’ll have to,” Dale said. Donna didn’t answer
Reading Time: 4 minutes Donna and Dale had been home from Arizona for a week when Donna drove back from town on a Thursday afternoon to find their farmhouse cold. She checked the thermostat, inspected all the windows, then called Dale to come in from the shop and take a look. She was still putting the groceries away when […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Getting away, maybe for good
When friends announce their surprise plans, it has a way of making everyone think
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jeff stomped his boots on the step before he opened the door, then stomped again inside the porch to shake the rest of the snow loose. “March is coming in like a lion,” he shouted down the hall to his wife Elaine. “It’s snowing so hard out there I could barely see the road. And […] Read more
Hanson Acres: It never gets that cold – not really!
“Won’t it be too cold for ice cream?”
Reading Time: 5 minutes The air compressor was running so Mark Edwards didn’t hear Elaine Hanson come into the Hanson’s shop. But once it shut off, it made him jump to find her standing right behind him, waving a piece of paper and yelling. He frowned, then started to grin. “You must’ve picked up the mail,” he nodded. Elaine’s […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Nothing to worry about, not on a fine day like this
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jeff walked over from the shop to say goodbye to his wife, Elaine, as she was getting into her SUV on Sunday afternoon. “Have a good meeting,” he said. “I’ll be home late on Tuesday,” she reminded him. “The kids are skating on the dugout. I left stew in the crock pot for you and […] Read more
Hanson Acres: “It’s moving east!”
Neighbours drop everything, Donna races home … our story continues
Reading Time: 5 minutes The smoke had worked its way into the tractor cab, making it harder for Jeff to see. His cell phone buzzed and he grabbed it. “I don’t know if we can keep this fire out of your yard.” It was Brian Miller. “My son’s got the Pro-Till over there. There’s flames right behind him.” Jeff […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Fire threatens the farm
“It’s moving east too,” Jeff said, and everyone knew what that meant
Reading Time: 5 minutes Harvest was finished at the Hanson farm. No longer needed out in the field, Elaine finally had time to get the books back up to date. She had been doing the Hanson’s bookkeeping for years since her mother-in-law had turned the software over, and she hated getting too far behind, especially with year-end coming up. […] Read more
Hanson Acres: On the farm, it matters what you keep your eye on
There’s magic in this farming life
Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine kept a close watch on the combine header as the canola fed in, glancing over to check the moisture reading on the screen every few seconds. The combine’s night lights lit up the dust floating over the field. It was only a little after eight-thirty, but already dark enough that, outside the circle of […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Roll that window down, breathe some good Prairie…
Sometimes it’s best when life on the farm doesn’t go exactly to plan
Reading Time: 5 minutes When they’d finished discussing their harvest plans for the day, everyone on the Hanson farm had got up and set their coffee mugs in the second-hand dishwasher Jeff’s wife, Elaine, had bought for Father’s Day. Then they all set out for the field. “For the love of God, don’t break anything,” Jeff Hanson had called […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
