Iowa Hall of Pride netINS, Inc. Butler House on Grand B&B Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' Barack Obama story & coloring book The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Jared Strong's columns Guest Columns The Simple Serenity Farm columns Farm Photos, 2006 - 2008 Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way  What’s the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  After the toughest, snowiest winter that either of us can remember, we have now reached the point in early February where snow is stacked everywhere. Piles are six or seven feet high. The dogs can drop full-body into snowdrifts if they're not moving fast enough. Some drifts are five or six feet tall, and 30 or 40 feet long. Whew! Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series 
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OFFENBLOGGER
The ''Hy-Vee Championship Radio Network'' is carrying all games in the Iowa boys state basketball tournament. Des Moines ''Christian station'' 940-AM is carrying the network broadcasts. Between games, they break for a quick hymn. Today's first one: ''How Great Thou Art!'' Chuck O at 3/9/2010 1:39:42 PM Third electrical outage in last 30 hours at our farm in west central IA, and in the nicest weather we've had in three months. Come on, REC, we'e cheering for you! Chuck O at 3/7/2010 9:08:04 PM Republican state chairman Matt Strawn just fired up all of us at the Greene County convention in Jefferson IA. I keep thinking Strawn should be running for governor. He is a real ''uniter.'' Chuck O at 3/9/2010 3:46:23 PM My goodness! We Greene County Republicans just voted 31-17 in favor of 12-year limits on service of federal & state reps and senators. Hmm, wonder what Chuck Grassley and Tom Latham will think of that? Chuck O at 3/6/2010 10:44:48 AM I know you've heard me say this before, but it's really true now: Saddle shoes are making a real comeback, this spring! The major fashion mags and shoemakers are all touting them! And here is how I explained it today to my readers in the KMA Advantage Club Newsletter: click here. Chuck O at 3/5/2010 2:43:17 PM That is one fine choir that Morningside College of Sioux City has on spring tour this week. They were fantastic last night (March 3) at Jefferson Methodist Church, sing at Storm Lake Methodist at 7 p.m. tonight (March 4) and at St. Phil' Lutheran in Fridley MN Saturday (March 6) at 6:15 p.m. They have 34 exceptional voices, great dynamics and varied program of classical, pop, jazz and gospel. They do gospel really, really well. Chuck O at 3/4/2010 8:41:36 AM Granted I live out here in the boonies. But am I the last person to know that new computers no longer come with standard programs loaded on them -- that you have to buy those extra and load them yourself? Sticker shock! Chuck O at 3/1/2010 3:39:53 PM Any Iowa high schools ever schedule a wrestling-basketball doubleheader? Chuck O at 1/28/2010 1:41:58 PM Why do most candidates & officials harp on wanting to ''fight'' for us? I'd prefer someone who wants to represent us & even negotiate for us. Chuck O at 1/28/2010 9:39:36 AM Great time in my ol' hometown of Shenandoah Monday night. I spoke at the annual banquet of the Shenandoah Chamber & Industry Association. I was especially flattered that nine of my SHS '65 classmates attended. Lemme brag -- Shenandoah is really on a roll! Chuck O at 1/27/2010 9:43:19 AM The new 42-room Shenandoah Inn & Suites has all three stories up and enclosed in the heart of the business district, with work now moving to the interior. I met the owners/operators Paul & Priscilla Latin on Monday night, and they're solid folks. This is an amazingly visionary and bold project for Shenandoah! Chuck O at 1/27/2010 9:42:09 AM Noticed deer running in big herds recently? Saw two big groups of them, with 15 or more deer in each, in the Guthrie Center and Bagley areas of west central Iowa this afternoon. Chuck O at 1/26/2010 5:41:20 PM What was supposed to be a nice, light snow somehow has turned into four or five inches with winds howling up to 50 miles per hour! We seem to be locked into a winter cycle the likes of which I've never seen. Chuck O at 1/25/2010 8:50:47 AM Word is we have had electrical crews from as far away as Texas and Michigan working our area in these days after the horrendous ice storm. And it was all-hands-on-deck for our local utilities. They've got most of us powered up now. Hope no one was hurt in the dangerous work they were doing at all hours of the day and night. Thanks to 'em all! Chuck O at 1/23/2010 9:49:34 PM Amazing how quiet it is outdoors now in west central Iowa. Since the ice has melted off the trees, they're no longer popping, snapping and dropping like the last three days! It's a mess around here, but worse in our neighbor counties to the west. Chuck O at 1/23/2010 8:48:21 PM We all looked a little dazed at our Republican precinct caucus in Greene County this afternoon. All of us in our precinct are from rural areas, and nearly all had been without electricity at home for two to three days. We weren't our usual debating selves. Still fun, though. Chuck O at 1/23/2010 5:47:31 PM In west central Iowa, it's raining, 35 degrees, a little windy and really ugly -- which means it's a vast improvement over the last three days! Chuck O at 1/23/2010 8:46:04 AM I'm grateful for heat and Wifi at the Jefferson Public Library this afternoon, since we've been without electricity at the farm since 9 p.m. Wednesday. Many in Greene County are without power. Branches are down everywhere. It's dangerously slick. And at 1 p.m. today, the Mahanay Bell Tower's automated carillon played ''Sunny Side of the Street.'' I loved it! Chuck O at 1/21/2010 3:24:35 PM Yikes! A quarter- to half-inch of ice on everything at the farm in west central Iowa. We were powerless when we first awoke, but it was restored (thank you Midland Cooperative, our REC) so now we're just back to being clueless. Chuck O at 1/20/2010 11:43:16 AM Could that be a great horned owl that's looking back at me from the tree top out back of our farmhouse? Chuck O at 1/19/2010 11:42:13 AM Bill Meek of Des Moines was telling me on Sunday that if you're in a room of people anywhere in Iowa, ''at least one of them will be from Greene County.'' 'Course, he's married to one. Chuck O at 1/18/2010 3:41:07 PM Love the sign on a cup next to cash register at Burgie's Coffee shop in Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames: ''Fear change? Leave it here.'' Chuck O at 1/18/2010 10:40:12 AM We're barbecuing at the farm tonight in west central Iowa. It's the first time I've ever had to shovel-out the Webber grill! Chuck O at 1/16/2010 5:57:34 PM Rough as this winter has been so far, it has also given us some spectacularly beautiful days, like today. It's sunny and 23 degrees at midday at Simple Serenity Farm in west central Iowa, and an incredibly thick hoarfrost is still hanging on Chuck O at 1/16/2010 12:36:52 PM We're supposed to have a veritable ''heat wave'''' this week, and indeed it's 22 degrees this morning at the farm in west central Iowa and almost feels balmy. Chuck O at 1/11/2010 10:35:49 AM The beautiful day we were promised in rural Iowa got off to a good start, but it has now been rudely interrupted by an ugly high wind that is causing white-out conditions. When's it going to stop? Chuck O at 1/10/2010 8:32:30 AM We are officially snowed-in at Simple Serenity Farm in west central Iowa. For details and photos, click here. Chuck O at 1/7/2010 10:34:06 AM Just outdoors at our farmhouse in west central Iowa, tucking in our farm dogs for their cozy night in the garage. Must be four to five inches of fluffy new snow now, with the largest snowflakes I've ever seen, and it's still coming down. What if it starts blowing? Chuck O at 1/6/2010 9:32:51 PM Cool! There's a beautiful light snow falling at our farm in west central Iowa, and outside my office window I''m hearing ''bob white!'' chirps from a covey of quail skittering back and forth looking for seeds. Farm dogs obviously haven't seen the birds yet. Chuck O at 1/6/2010 2:31:11 PM Life on the frozen frontier: Our farm dogs have chased down and devoured two rabbits this afternoon. Dogs are now sacked out on porch, oblivious to the cold. Chuck O at 1/3/2010 2:29:14 PM You can write the Offenburgers using these e-mail addresses: carla@Offenburger.com or chuck@Offenburger.com.
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