In the past several months I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some of North America’s most successful anglers. Some were tournament angler; some were fishing guides. Others were people who just enjoyed fishing and did so whenever they could. Some of these anglers are well-known, others aren’t. But when we talked about techniques, it was surprising how many anglers employed the same or similar techniques.

Today, in one of the most heavily anticipated non-presidential elections of the past 50 years, hopefully every eligible voter across the country will take the time out of their busy schedule and exercise their civic duty to cast a ballot. Even if it proves to be a little inconvenient.

Long ago and far away (in the 1960s), the term "victimless crimes" came into our lexicon. It was a popular expression among those who held that it is absurd to punish people who commit "crimes" that do no harm to anybody except, perhaps, to folks who voluntarily participate in these "criminal” activities.

I realize that you are supposed to use a synonym to the four-letter word in the title but we have never been that sensitive to it where I grew up. My dad did not tell me to go out and haul dung, or wash the feces off, or clean up pig poo-poo. About as sensitive as he was is to call it manure. I had a long conversation recently with someone who is my age, also a farmer, who went through the Ag Depression of the 1980s as I did where we mused about the differences between then and now.

Give a gift that helps your favorite gardeners enjoy the flavors of their garden well past the end of the growing season. Both new and experienced gardeners often spend their gardening budget on plants and seeds, leaving little or none to invest in food preservation equipment and supplies. Prepare your favorite gardener for the next harvest season with some food preservation supplies and equipment.

Now that harvest is mostly wrapped up, I want to share some helpful agriculture-related resources from ISU as well as some up coming agriculture-programming information.

I suppose one could call it performance art.

Climate protesters threw a can of soup on a Van Gogh last month, according to the Associated Press.

Others threw mashed potatoes on a Monet a couple weeks later.

Most recently, a pair of protestors attempted to glue themselves to a Vermeer while one poured "a can of red substance" over the other.

This weekend, Leah and I founds ourselves in the southern part of the country on family business. Being away from our home church, it would have been easy to come up with any number of excuses not to attend Mass Sunday morning but we sought out area parish near our location and dedicated an hour to worship alongside total strangers.

The 2022 open water fishing season is over for this angler. Unless something very unusual comes up on the open water scene, I’m waiting for ice. It wasn’t that many years ago that there were usually only a couple of days between my last open water trip and my first foray of the season onto the ice.

There’s something to be said for the brightness of day, of course, when the energies of the world improve our lot in life. But for a special time, give me the night. Give me the soft, velvety quiet of a country evening and its own sounds and flavors and scents.

I mean really … things could not be going much better in the war in Ukraine against Russia for the West. The well-planned and executed Ukraine offensive has exceeded most expectations. I was one of the optimists and it is even meeting my expectations. The Russian military has been proven to be a paper tiger. Russia, the nation, is an ally cat and the failure of their war will have started a societal implosion of Russia as a nation.

Boost your spirits and winter décor with new shapes and colors of amaryllis. Today there are many beautiful options beyond the traditional red.

Iowa State Extension and Outreach Clay County is partnering with the Spencer Schools’ No Boundaries program!

Editor's Note: Former Spencer Reporter writer Seth Boyes, now editor at our sister paper, the Dickinson County News, not only provided the editorial cartoon this week, but shares a column modeling our beliefs as well when it comes to reader submitted political commentary. Thanks for reading.

Recently I had knee replacement surgery. How extremely lucky we are to have Northwest Iowa Bone Joint & Sports Surgeons! Staffed with great surgeons and support staff. You’ll find that same quality of professionalism at our Avera Medical Clinic. A quote from my sister in law from Memphis: “Spencer is really a cool little town!” The other day I picked up a sandwich and was headed out of town, my phone was buzzing so I pulled into a cornfield drive to eat and return messages.