Thank you for visiting my online backyard.
Make yourself at home and enjoy the stories...
                                        — Douglas Clough

Ponder these Mother's Day mother-isms Mothers say some of the darnedest things... John Blanco - Leader of the Band Music is a thread of a man's life Trucker hits century mark A man defines his life through family, friendship, and hauling for farmers Fishing poles, cigars, strong coffee Remembering a brother who became a friend Ryen resolves to be the best he can be A high school football player sets goals that align with his dreams Sacred Heart dedication celebrates 'diamonds in a new setting' A Father nurtures scripture through architecture Warnke family works together year round to maintain tree farm A Christmas tree farm thrives on family and year-round care Avenue of Flags An Iraqi Veteran and Eagle Scout make an Avenue of Remembrance Old Town Vineyard and Winery A retired doc and his life partner open a local vineyard & winery Brushstrokes A Painter Makes a Canvas out of his Boyhood Home The Rookie A retired teacher shows that school is always in session... Lilacs in July Boy meets girl over lilacs on a humid Iowa evening... You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive A driver's ed flunky finds himself coaching rookie drivers... A Couple of Tough Cookies... One of the many reasons that I should just stick to being a columnist... Don't Just Stand There with Your Teeth in Your Mouth A Father Knows the Wisdom of Silence as Well as the Impact of a Great One-Liner That's Good Home Cookin' A farm cook keeps it in the family Frayed Collars and New Cars Fashion-concious daughter meets comfort-concious dad... Septer Celebrates Century Mark Cattleman, soldier, farm manager, loan officer, dad... Albrecht Heads Communications for Branstad A former teacher meets a high-profile graduate Walk this Way Aerosmith's number one fan gets backstage passes... Bad Kitty I've determined that I am clearly my father's son... The Original Doctor's Car Doc's “patient” is a five-passenger 1928 Buick Town Brougham. One Lump or Two? There’s a sea of red in the backyard’s garden... Summers with Charlie I like to think every family has a maverick; an individual who doesn't know the meaning of... Growin' Old Ain't for Cowards Groucho Marx once quipped, Miss Pig-(hee-hee-hee!)-nary Don't for a moment think that I made that name up. I belong here. This is who I am. Deal with it. I have a stalking Labradoodle. It may seem unlikely that a dog with a nursery-rhyme name could be capable of... Underdogs in June You know it's been a hard winter when you find yourself shoveling snow from the top of the house and think... The Quiet Thrill of Thrift I know an Ida Grove woman that has a dozen ketchup bottles in her pantry. She buys them on sale. While most would wonder how anyone could consume that much ketchup in a lifetime, I wonder how she'll make room for a dozen jars of... Cell Phone Junkie From the personal computer to Atari home video games, our late 1970s family was on the electronic frontier. This background put me at ease with almost every new technology. In retrospect, it was really no wonder that I was intrigued by the emergence of cell phones. Gone were the days of... Honoring Those Who Serve This past summer, my son's wish to go fishing at Cobb Park led me to take a personal detour into the Ida County Veteran's War Memorial. I marveled at the war memorabilia and wondered... Kohlrabi, a Labradoodle, and Saying Goodbye to Summer Like any kid in the thick of a sweltering summer day, my Labradoodle, Abby, loves to drink from a garden hose. Without fail, she bides her time by the backyard spigot, anxiously waiting for... Thanks, Mom, for your love - and Forgiveness My brothers and I all live in separate towns. Like seeds of a dandelion, the winds of life have scattered us from Arizona to Wisconsin. It wasn't always this way. The family up the street from my home in Ida Grove reminds me... Good dad + bicycle + cute girls = motivation to get healthy I'm 43 years old and am as fit as I'll ever be. I don't have a six-pack (unless you count the occasional Miller Lite in my fridge), but I'm healthy. I'm into running now but was... More than Pork Chops, Politics Like the New Yorker who's never set foot on Ellis Island or climbed all those stairs to the top of lady liberty since an elementary school field trip, I had not attended the...