Watch Dogs
We have bird feeders in our yard, and the local squirrels have developed a routine of regularly showing up for lunch. Our dogs, Otis and Snickers, are on to the squirrels, though, and as lunchtime approaches, the dogs start pacing back and forth to the screen door, their ears perked, watching for the intruders.
As soon as we open the door, the dogs rush out, and the chase is on. Luckily, they have never caught a squirrel, because the squirrels waste no time making their exit. However, they do sometimes run up on one of the buildings and tease the dogs.
Otis, a 10-year-old Westie, and Snickers, a 4-year-old Yorkie, always keep us entertained!
Irvin and Viola Kramer – Arkansas City, Kansas
Thanks for sharing this adorable photo, Irvin and Viola. All of us at CAPPER’S are animal lovers, and we enjoy seeing photos and hearing stories from readers about their pets. – Editors
Quilting Book
Over the years, I’ve seen many requests in Reader to Reader from people wanting to know how to make quilts using men’s neckties, so I thought I would pass along the name of a book that has instructions.
Shirley Botsford’s Daddy’s Ties is a book on how to make quilts, keepsakes and projects out of men’s neckties. It is published by Chilton Book Co., and is probably available at local libraries, as well as online and in bookstores.
Lucille Curnutte – Dittmer, Missouri
Thank you, Lucille. We did indeed find it on Amazon.com. – Editors
Ribbon Fence
After reading the article “Deer Control Made Easy” (January/February) by Oscar H. Will III, I just had to write to tell you this true story.
When I lived on a farm, I had a huge garden in the corner of a field. One day, I noticed some deer tracks, so I took some gift-wrapping ribbon and put it around the garden. Soon, I noticed there were no more deer tracks.
Our bull got out one day and headed toward the garden, but as soon as he saw the ribbon, he changed his mind.
I put ribbon around my smaller garden here in town now, in the hopes of keeping out the local dogs and cats, but it doesn’t work as well with domestic animals.
Esther Southard – Fairfax, Missouri
Wandering Bovine
The article “Backyard Escape Artists” by Jerry Schleicher (January/February) reminded me of my growing-up years on our family farm in Pennsylvania.
We had a heifer that constantly got out of the pasture and wandered into the corn fields. My parents watched the corn crops and the sneaky heifer closely.
Whenever the heifer got out, my pop would say, “That she-devil did it again. We’ll have to get her out (of the corn).”
Our collie, Jack, and I tagged along with Pop to get the heifer back in. Jack would watch and listen for her, dash under the fence and chase her out of the field, then herd her back into the pasture.
When his job was done, Jack would wait patiently for his reward: praise and a pat on the head.
Helen Snyder – Stillwater, Pennsylvania
Jars of Jelly
Not long ago, the CAPPER’S editorial department forwarded a letter written to me by a subscriber who had read my article on chokecherries (“Pucker Up!” November/December 2009). This subscriber puts up chokecherry jelly and offered to send me some.
When I received the jelly, I tried it on toast, and it was delicious! What a nice gesture. CAPPER’S subscribers are some of the nicest people in the country.
Jerry Schleicher – Parkville, Missouri
We think so, too, Jerry. Now you know why it’s a pleasure coming to work every day. – Editors
Awesome Magazine
My dear mother subscribed to your wonderful paper for many years, but as her eyesight worsened, she began having trouble reading, and eventually had to cancel her subscription to CAPPER’S.
However, she surprised me with a subscription. When I received my first issue in the mail, I immediately sat down and looked through this awesome magazine. Thank you for this new look.
Edna Kuhn – Havre, Montana
Childhood Remembered
The article “A Barn Full of Memories” by Ardie Wisner that appeared in the Looking Back section (November/December 2009) took me back to my own childhood days of make-believe.
My older brothers would help my younger brother and me climb up into the hayloft. Once there, we would either build forts and mazes, or we’d swing from ropes and pulleys.
The hay bales were a lot smaller back then, and we were able to lift them, even as children.
I remember the sunlight shining through the barn boards, the smell and scratchiness of the hay bales, the sound of my brothers laughing, and the warmth of the summer days as we played hide-and-seek and other games.
Growing up on a farm was certainly a feast for our senses, and our barn was a huge part of those growing-up years.
Thanks, Capper’s, for taking me back.
Shelly Lucero – Auburn, Kansas
It was our pleasure, Shelly. We, too, were taken back when we read that article. There is no doubt in our minds that hay barns are a great source of entertainment for children. – Editors
Shucks
I didn’t read the article “Ears to Corn” (May/June Page 64), but I did read the box entitled “Little Kernels of Fun,” in which the author states, “A bushel of corn contains around 30,000 kernels of corn.”
When I quit farming a few years ago, virtually all bags of seed corn sold had 80,000 kernels per bag. Depending on the seed size, one purchased many with 80,000 kernels in the small flats, and small rounds weighed about 45 pounds per bag. Most of the larger seed sizes rarely weighed over 56 pounds, which is one bushel of corn. When my father started irrigating in 1966, one could buy a bag of seed corn in the flats or rounds that weighed one bushel, and the seed count was right around 120,000 per bag.
Kenneth Naysmith – Belleville, Kansas
Excellent catch, Kenneth, and we regret the oversight. Thanks for pointing this out. – Editors
