What was the color of your favorite farm tractor? Red, orange, green, yellow or blue…who knew the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was hooked up to a tractor! Was the first tractor you drove a letter – B, C or H – or a number 50, 60 or 300? Horsepower was key as the 4 wheels replaced the 4 legs of your horse on the farm. Let’s dust off the as we fire up your memories of farm tractors during the baby boomer years. Time to get the podcast rolling and don’t pop the clutch!

The oil is boiling as Mom slides the donuts into their 375 degree bath. The smell of baking bread drifts upstairs pulling you out of bed. But DON’T JUMP around the oven as you race into the kitchen or the bread will…! We’re back with a couple more courses along with a few desserts. Mounds of mashed potatoes and gravy in TV dinners and from our gardens were devoured as we watched the Waltons and Green Acres. Shake ‘n Bake chicken, hotcakes/pancakes and banana flips are on the menu as we heat up leftovers. Grab your spoon and dig in but don’t forget the butter…lots of butter!

Pickled herring and pickled pigs feet, stuff of nightmares or tasty treats. Watermelon chilled all day in the tank. Hot sweet corn slathered with butter fresh from the field. Meat and potatoes seven days a week. We’re diving in teeth first recalling the food that made us who we are today. Pour a cup of coffee or grab a glass of milk. We have sandwiches with cheese, bologna or weisswurst. Chicken noodle soup for what ails you - homemade or from a can. The dinner bell is ringing and the table has been set. Time to sit, pray and eat before it gets cold!

Where’s the beef… and why should you care? Welcome to Farm Sayings II: The Idioms Return! Ham and eggs taught us the difference between commitment and involvement. We’re digging further into the barnyard lexicon and trust us it’s no wild goose chase! We are committed to having a good time with this podcast! Definitely not trying to ruffle any feathers as we attempt to stay out of the doghouse! Join our totally unofficial campaign to add a required semester of “Green Acres: Back to Basics” for graduating seniors. So, whether you sweat like a pig or are as cool as a cucumber, saddle up and enjoy the ride!

You didn’t care that the official paint since 1939 for your bus was “National School Bus Glossy Yellow”. That bus was already around the corner, and you were late! You grabbed your new notebooks, #2 pencils and crayons and shouted “good bye” to Mom as you slammed the kitchen door.   The bus driver (usually a neighbor) was backing up the hill with red lights flashing as your new tennis shoes kicked up puffs of dust on the driveway gravel. The doors swung open, you flew up the steps and slid into your seat. Your bus started rolling toward a new teacher, a new class and a new year!

Temps in the 90’s, humidity and sweat soaked your shirt. The evening chores finally done. You step out of the barn into a Summer Evening Symphony created by birds, bugs and gentle southerly “wood” winds. During the baby boomer years, we used front porches, root beer floats and box fans to temper the summer solstice.   Grab your favorite ice cream treat and join us as we relive nighttime bike rides, station wagon drives and life before AC. Get ready to enjoy the stars on the drive-in movie screen, the starlit skies on the really big screen, and the magic of those rural summer nights!!   Photo Credit: Karen Fischer

So hot you can hear the corn grow…living high on the hog, and party till the cows come home – then party with the cows! These farm sayings and so many more have been with us since childhood. Some with obvious meanings while others may require some thought.   Grab a cool glass of your favorite beverage and kick off your shoes as we take you back to sayings that have been around since Hector was a pup! We’re not going to pull the wool over your eyes but some of them are rarer than hen’s teeth…HONEST!

Neighbors gather as the behemoth slowly emerges from the shed. The earth shakes and gravel crunches under steel wheels as it rolls into position. Shocks of oats stand mutely in the field unable to move as they await their fate. The belts tighten, bearings and sprockets start to spin faster and faster as the machine roars to life. Bundles of oats are delivered heads up, and then devoured by the gathering teeth! The straw pile grows as oats are bagged and bound. Tables are overloaded with food and second helpings of pie and ice cream are encouraged – “ Thrashing” season has arrived!

Dad rolled the head of oats between his fingers as we watched Bullwinkle on TV telling us to “Go with Cheerios!” Temps in the 90s and the oats turning golden were sure signs that grain harvest had arrived. Did you have a shocking experience with a grain binder or watch the combine in a cloud of dust? Our oat adventures include binder ballet, swallowing mayflies and sneezing our fool heads off! So grab your hanky and a grease gun as we make sure the Bull Wheel and not Bullwinkle is ready to “Go with Oats”!

Why did the chicken cross the road – find out the untold story! Plus brooder houses, broilers and fryers, and Pullets.  Pick some eggs with Dan and Daryl as they dust off the feathers from their rural roots. Plus, you’ll hear an actual conversation with chickens. And discover that bird brain is only a figure of speech when it comes to chickens. If you know anyone who’s had an issue with a Rogue Rooster at their Rural Route address – be sure to give them a “heads up” about this episode!

Schools out for the summer…WOW…3 months of no school, sleeping late and trips to the pool...Hey, wake up, you’re dreaming, it’s time to milk the cows and tackle another day of summer life on a dairy farm. But there were evening family ball games after milking. Cool breezes as you lay in the grass looking up at the incredible expanse of rural sky. And the fair where you catch up with old friends and new – bragging rights, water fights - and other life threatening adventures! Summers were like no other, down on the farm!

Shake out the coveralls and add another layer because it’s time to head out and milk the cows. We used milk cans, Surge buckets and step savers to move milk from the cow, to the tank, to the creamery. Remember milking cows when the power went out? And thawing frozen drinking cups? Dessert twice a day for the cats and dogs was a part of everyday life on our farms. You’ll also find the cure for chapped hands – and who knows more about chapped hands than a dairy farmer or a Manicurist!

Help Wanted – excellent opportunity to work from home 7 days a week/365 days a year. Morning and evening milking hours, plus perform a variety of tasks. Must be able to lift heavy weights repetitively while avoiding slippery floors, swinging tails and flying hoofs. Ability to think on and off your feet is essential! Intern options available as Daddy’s Little Helper. Advancement opportunities include feeding calves, tossing down hay and other tasks as determined by Senior Level Managers (Mom & Dad). There is no PTO when COW milking! The chance to grow up on a baby boomer family farm…Priceless!

Blest be the ties that bind…and shred and pick corn during Farm Tale days! USDA predicts a record corn crop for 2025. But domestic use and exports were definitely not what we thought about as the corn picker parade rattled and banged down the field driveway. Join Dan and Daryl as they look back at corn harvest during the Baby Boomer years. Scoop shovels, portable (not so much) elevators, and a corn crib (why crib?) were the tools of the day. A 24 row corn head wasn’t even on the horizon as we pulled another load of ear corn home behind the Farmall “H”. And don’t forget to …DUCK!  

“Sweatin’ to the oldies” was how you felt as you stacked hay in the baby boomer days. The chaff plugged your nose as sweat streams trickled down your back. After each load you’d escape the tin roof oven for a cool breeze and a deep drink that gave you strength for another round in the mow! Put your chore gloves on as Dan and Daryl take you back to those summer hay days. On the wagon or in the haymow the bale stream ebbed and flowed with the rhythm of the farm. Guess what you’ll find in the boogey shed?!

Hey, it’s time to make hay the old fashioned way! So let’s hook up the rake to the “H” or “M” and get rolling. Dads pulling the baler out of the back corner of the shed and greasing it up. That first crop looks great, but it won’t bale itself at least not during the baby boomer years. Thanks for joining Dan and Daryl today as they share tales of farmer tans, high fashion holey jeans and the girl next door. State Prison Hill has a great first crop and the thermometer says “HOT”! So ready or not, here we come – last one out has to clean calf pens.

Farming during the Baby Boomer years had many tales. Remember how that first cutting of hay always smelled like spring! Whether you grew up on Chipmunk Ridge in WI, over the hill in MN or insert your “rural route address.” These farm tales take us back to a simpler time. Join Dan and Daryl reminiscing about the good old days, down on the farm. We’re firing up our podcast with sharp sickles, a sharp eye and enjoying an ice cold swallow of your favorite drink! Don’t step in any cow pies as the past 40 years fade and you get ready to bale hay.