Chris Hardie

falling branches

Beware of dangerous falling branches

It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon on the farm the day after a much-needed late-June rain. Suddenly, the sleepy midday was shattered by two loud bangs. The source of the noise? Two large limbs from an oak tree in our yard suddenly and violently plummeted to the ground.

hay

Hay harvesting goes old school

Chris Hardie’s first cutting of hay is complete but without some rain soon, prospects of second or third cuttings are not very promising.

deer tick

Brazen tick attacks unmentionables

Summer hasn’t even started yet and I’ve already been to the doctor twice for imbedded ticks. The first was on my arm. I also removed several others crawling over my body. This past summer I had Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by a tick bite.

robins

Robins find unusual nesting spots

The Hardies have had robins build nests in many places through the years — including on the rear bumper of a pickup truck when it was parked for a while with the tailgate down.

dandelion

Dandelion — friend or foe?

A sure sign of spring is yellow in the green — the annual appearance of the ubiquitous dandelion. You may hate how it looks in your lawn, but the dandelion does have its benefits.

Aging comes less than gracefully

One of the insults of aging is that I still think I can do all the activities exactly the same as I did when I was younger. But I can’t.