What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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Letter to the Editor, It was Sept. 21, 2023 when the sign first appeared in the early morning fall colored light …”Love Life” many I’m sure drove by thinking … just another homeless person reaching out for a helping hand. But you’d be mistaken by such a thought. I stopped (along with my wife Judy), as I was drawn to this articulate and kind hearted 70ish year old man with an odd looking shaded-sign on a backpack, that simply read in red lettering …“Love Life.” As inquisitive as I was, I turned the car around got out and approached him. I didn’t...
Today’s “Under The Wire” begins with a question. “How would you like to work at a job requiring 24/7 attendance at largely manual labor? As a reward for your tenacity your salary will arrive as a check once a year.” Yep, one annual payday every year. No bonuses, 401 K or retirement plan of any kind. “You would have to be out of your mind,” is probably most reader’s response. I said most but not all. One group will recognize their own occupation. That group, of which Sue and I happen to be me...
At the risk of others knowing how often I counsel our dogs, one phrase comes to mind. Read the room. Such wisdom is mostly imparted when calamity is a probable outcome. It is frequently shared when the dogs are not paying one whit of attention to things such as their sworn enemy (the cat) blocking the doorway, or jumping up on someone they are sure they love, but instead knocking them over (the neighbor for instance). In their eager one-size-fits-all focused bearing, they rarely piece together...
Paying for health care can be challenging — but are you taking full advantage of all the resources available to you? You might have access to a Health Savings Account or a Flexible Spending Account, so let’s look at both. An HSA is a personal savings account used to pay health care costs. If you’re enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, you also may be eligible to contribute to an HSA. You aren’t taxed on the money you put into this account or on the earnings generated from your contributions, as long as withdrawals are used for qualifi...
Everyone has their weaknesses. For some it’s chocolate, others cave in when it comes to caffeine. There are, of course, several very serious addictions that can affect lives. I have one of those. My addiction, while not as widely publicized as some, is not all that uncommon. I am addicted to ... horses. I consider myself a fairly ‘got it together’ type of guy until a horse gets close by. Then I’m gone. This is a habit, as many of you know, that is hard to break. It’s sneaky. Let me give you an e...
We hear it from a young age, “Don’t play with your food.” Mostly, it is about not making a mess for others to clean up, but it is also a reminder that food is a gift and resource not to be squandered. To be sure, we had our share of fun most times when food was integral to a gathering. It is a habit that grows with us into adulthood. Cliches abound regarding how to get the youngest among us to eat all their food rather than waste it. Meals become a game at times, a test of wills on other occas...
As I travel the Golden Plains Area, I see mistakes that potentially end up contributing to the death of the new tree that was purchased. These are only some of the biggest mistakes. • Before even purchasing a tree do some homework and learn what type of soil on the property and particularly the location of the tree. Every tree has either a range of soils or a soil type that the tree prefers. Elm trees are tolerant of clay, loam or sand that is both acid and alkaline soil. • When shopping at the nursery, check to see the overall health of the pl...
“Hello, Mr. Hodgson?” the voice on the telephone asked when I answered the ring. “Yes, sir. That’s me,” I said. “My name is I.M. Fullabulla. You recently filled out a questionnaire in response to a fax we sent your office,” he began. “Oh, are you the guy selling weed spray that keeps the thistle out of my hay field for seven years, or the man who was selling the oil I could put in my pickup and never have to change it again?” thinking back over the amazing deals I have been offered this week...
One of the advantages of growing up along the Front Range was the opportunity to experience varied climates, elevations and biomes within a relatively short distance. One could be at the top of Trail Ridge Road and home again on the plains that same evening. If one was observant enough upon their return near dusk, the headlights of cars coming around Rainbow Curve in Rocky Mountain National Park could be seen some three hours of driving time away. The sights and smells and chill air remained...
If you own a small business or are self-employed, you’ve always got plenty to do, but you can’t forget about the days when you’ll be less busy — that is, when you’re retired. How can you prepare for that time of your life? One key step is establishing a retirement plan for your business or yourself. And thanks to the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act, you can now receive tax credits for opening and administering a 401(k), SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA. These aren’t the only plans available for small businesses...
I was riding my horse checking cows a few days ago in a pasture bordered by a corn field. The cows looked great, every so often old “Freckles” was grabbing a mouthful of grass high enough he didn’t even have to put his head down to get it and the sun was beginning to take the fall chill out of the air. In this idyllic setting, guess what I was thinking about? Cutting corn silage. How weird is that? Stranger yet, it wasn’t my corn field. In fact, I have never owned a cornfield. If life keeps me o...
We are born of generations that covet finishing on top. From sports to academics to making the most of position, wealth, power and influence. Excelling is an admirable trait within its boundaries and most of us agree that striving to be our best is a discipline worth nurturing. What happens, then, despite best efforts, we fail to reach the pinnacle of our endeavors? Is it failure or opportunity, disappointment, or enlightenment? Reasons can be found to covet second place, but in the natural...
A good friend who lives several hundred miles away and I keep a pretty steady stream of emails back and forth between us. We met as college freshmen, had similar college experiences, went our separate ways upon graduation and with hardly any contact the next 30 years, wound up living nearly identical lives. He on his ranch in southwestern Colorado, me on our ranch in northeastern Colorado, both running red cows. Recently he emailed an account of taking his grandson on an elk hunt in the...
If you desire clarity over ambiguity, certainty over speculation and cold hard facts over hypothetical conjecture, one arena to consider fleeing might be theology. As much as we like to condense it to plain, simple, understandable principles, its passionate insertion into our daily lives is part of the cost of holding our faith near and dear. Most of us wouldn’t have it any other way in spite of the challenges it brings to the everyday, places already filled to the brim with calendars ripped f...
You’ll find some big differences between traditional and speculative investments — and knowing these differences can matter a great deal when you’re trying to reach your financial goals. To begin with, let’s look at the basic types of traditional and speculative investments. Trxaditional investments are those with which you’re probably already familiar: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, government securities, certificates of deposit (CDs) and so on. Speculative investments include cryptocurrencies, foreign currencies and precious metals such as g...
Earlier this morning I returned from, of all places, Heaven. No, I didn’t “bite the big one," “croke” or “pass on.” I suppose that is rather obvious since I’m writing this at the moment. While that coveted location is envisioned differently by nearly all, my idea of Heaven is a half section, 320 acres for those not familiar with the description, of Southern Colorado Sandhills. This particular morning the 12 inch tall clumps of wide bladed grass were covered in droplets of water from the ligh...
It was bound to happen sooner or later; the writing was on the wall. The advent of affordable electronics coupled with insatiable curiosity seekers came together in the form of yet one more must have product to hit the market, especially for ornithologists. Behold the picture taking and audio communications capability of first-generation digital bird feeders. My first response was not exactly filled with overdue anticipation. Do we really need to encumber society with one more AI driven app in...
We live in a world filled with slogans, declarations, and jargon beyond caring. It is pervasive and unsettlingly, particularly when directed at our younger generations. Sound bites have become sound bits have become momentary flashes and glimpses of a life into which people are rushing headlong without safely looking in both directions. The result is equivalent to a multi-car pile-up of no small proportion, each driver blaming adjacent drivers for the predicament they are in. The falsities are...
“Under The Wire” columns quite often generate some very interesting responses. Most notable recently is one from “Jean.” She emailed a most fascinating response to my “Miller Moth” column from a few weeks ago. Her husband remembered reading about millers in Yellowstone National Park being eaten by, of all things, bears. The harvest takes place in August, according to the article taken from a book by Fred Bear, evidently a well-known outdoorsman and archer. According to this article, bears climb...
Are you interested in attracting bats? They seem to have a bad reputation. They have some great benefits. According to Bat Conservation International a colony of 150 big brown bats can protect local farmers from up to 18 million or more rootworms each summer. Bat droppings in caves support whole ecosystems of unique organisms, including bacteria useful in detoxifying wastes, improving detergents and producing gasohol and antibiotics. Gasohol is a mixture of gasoline an ethyl alcohol. If you can spot a bat at dusk on occasion, then it is a...
It’s time to dust off the boots, match your best jeans with your most colorful shirt and pull out that hat that’s been in the closet for the past 12 months. Fair time is at its height, a time-honored tradition drawing together both rural and urban elements, an opportunity to let down, get down, hoe down and claim a break from the pressures of daily life. Hardly a break, some would say. Leading up to its opening, young and old alike compete to be the best rider, show person, quilter, car...
Decades ago, our youngest daughter, then around 12, uttered a question to her mother and I that became part of family history and just this week popped back into my mind. Her question was, “when are we going to take a real vacation, you know, one without horses?” In those years we were rodeoing pretty hard, traveling across the country, not only pulling a trailer full of horses but also dragging along our young one, too little to leave alone. Horses, vital to our reason to travel, were always fi...
To be successful in most endeavors, it’s important to develop good habits — and that’s certainly the case for investors. And the earlier one develops these habits, the better. So, if you have teenagers who may be starting to work at part-time jobs, now may be a great time to introduce them to investing — and one place to begin might be a Roth IRA. As you may know, a Roth IRA is a popular retirement savings vehicle — its earnings can grow federally tax-free, provided withdrawals aren’t ta...
This past week’s district church conference was hosted by my alma mater, McPherson College. Many of the same campus features of some 40 years ago remain firmly etched in my mind. Like most former students, there are highlights as well as cringe-worthy moments of my college career, a mash up of experiences constituting undergraduate rites of passage. We actually went to class most days, resulting in an expanded knowledge base that pressed the boundaries of the time but also impressed upon us t...
I have never considered myself a superstitious person, in fact I have made fun of friends who believed in any type of that behavior. I will admit, however, if it is genetically heritable, I may have the gene. My grandfather with whom I was able to spend lots of wonderful time, would hardly leave the ranch house on Friday the 13th. I do always try to carry a “lucky coin” in my jean pocket. Usually lose it in a few days. These coins come from a variety of origins. Sue gave me an Irish coin onc...
