Rural Delivery

by Michael Hofferber. Copyright © 1993. All rights reserved.

Call me Pooh Bear.
My three-year-old son is Piglet. We walk side by side, the best of friends, in pursuit of adventures. All things are possible.
Some days I am Rabbit, who frets and worries, or the bouncing Tigger, especially after a cup too much of coffee.
Then there are [...]

by Michael Hofferber. Copyright © 1994. All rights reserved.
As Patrick Shannahan’s stock dogs work a herd of sheep they are quiet and serious. No movement is wasted. No turn escapes their attention.
Shannahan’s voice is soft but authoritative as he calls out commands to his trio of border collies. Meg and Spud and Hannah respond immediately, [...]

by Michael Hofferber. Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.
I spent many hours of my childhood in chicken coops. If I wasn’t gathering eggs from my Grandpa’s laying hens or teasing his rooster I was likely with my cousins in the abandoned coop behind my uncle’s place that we’d claimed as a clubhouse.

Every home was built [...]

Once upon a time a group of cattlemen shared a common field of grass on which they would graze their herds.
All was well until one rancher decided to increase his herd to boost his profit at market.
Consequently, his herd consumes more of the common pasture. He benefits individually but the collective bears the weight of [...]

Early on any given spring morning somewhere between the Dakotas and the eastern flanks of the Cascades or the Sierras, where the sagebrush grows high and thick far from highways and houses and oil wells, there will be a clearing where a group of large chicken-like birds with long pointed tails and feathered legs will [...]

As the temperatures drop, wildlife begin to prepare for the hardships of winter. Assisting wild animals with food and shelter will not  only help them survive the season, but will also bring colorful and entertaining visitors to your yard.
Bird feeders are a popular way to attract and support wildlife. During the winter, birds will become [...]