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By Credit search: For the Monitor

By CAROLE SOULE

I was a vegetarian for five years, mostly because I didn’t want to support massive feed-lot operations which corral 150,000 cattle or more and can process 3,000 a day. I didn’t have any plan to save the planet from beef. But I did – and still do –...

By JONATHAN P. BAIRD

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently compared the abortion rights debate to the struggle to end slavery. Speaking at Colorado Christian University on Jan. 22, she said: “Lincoln contended with the pro-choice arguments of his day. They suggested...

By CAROLE SOULE

If a farmer wants to breed her cows, then at least one bull is required for “natural breeding.” We like our calves to be born in April and May when it’s warmish, and grass is growing, so breeding takes place nine months before then – in July and...

By CAROLE SOULE

‘How many cows do you have?” is a seemingly straightforward question that I get all the time. But I seldom know the answer because cattle are hard to count, and it keeps changing all the time.When I meet ranchers from Utah or Texas, they don’t...

By MICHAEL MOFFETT

In 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt sought an unprecedented third term as president. But while his first two elections were landslides, the political landscape had changed. Americans were inherently troubled by the notion of an entitled presidency and a...

By ROBIN SWEETSER

Like many women of a certain age, I am completely enamored of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the main character in the Three Pines Mystery Series by Louise Penny.Set in the fictional town of Three Pines Quebec, which is said to be located south of...

By CAROLE SOULE

‘What type of cow is that?” asked Jane, a visitor to the farm, pointing to Belle.When I told her Belle is a Milking Short Horn, Jane asked, “And when do you start milking her?” Astonished by the question, I realized that maybe Jane didn’t know why...

By RUTH SMITH

As leaves are shed from broad-leaved trees, details of the forest are revealed. Bird and squirrel nests, and hives of bald-faced hornet all seem to pop into view once the foliage has fallen. Trunks and branches reveal patterns and sometimes holes in...

By ROBERT L. FRIED

Whose rights are foremost in our Bill of Rights? Whose rights are largely ignored? Needless to say, teenagers – along with women, men who didn’t own property, Native Americans and enslaved African Americans – were left out of the framing of our...

By JEAN STIMMELL

I had a dream the other night I can’t shake: I am driving through a desolate land, over a maze of logging trails, trying to find the location of my new job, when suddenly a giant snapping turtle, almost as wide as my truck, steps into the path and...

By JONATHAN P. BAIRD

In studying the history of Italian and German fascism in the 1930s, it is fair to say that the world was not adequately warned about the danger. To a shocking extent, the American press of that era whitewashed and minimized the fascist threat. This...

By ERIC MacLEISH

It has already been a challenging summer for Alan Dershowitz. Now a Fox News favorite, he has been disinvited to cocktail parties on the Vineyard. Then, he was accused by two women of having underage sex with them, all arranged by former client and...

By CAROLE SOULE

The day-old calf had vanished. Yesterday the black-and-white heifer had been up and walking, and her Scottish Highlander mom, Laverne, had been cooing and fussing over her. The next day the calf had disappeared. The strange thing was that Laverne did...

By CAROLE SOULE

The dandelions disappeared as my cattle munched their way across the pasture. They snatched up the yellow flowers, which they seemed to prefer over the tall, green grass. Within hours the dandelions had been all eaten up.Even though our cattle are...

By JIM BAER

A recent article in the news caught my attention because of the author’s alarming statement. The writer commented on how important it was that our Constitution includes the name of God in its text. It does not. Nowhere in our Constitution does the...

By JONATHAN P. BAIRD

Mass shootings have become institutionalized as an almost normal part of American life, as have the responses to such shootings. After each massacre, victims, their families and gun-control advocates bemoan the latest atrocity and call for background...

By CAROLE SOULE

Topper’s horns were wedged tight in the metal hay feeder. While reaching for a tasty bit of hay, he pushed his head into the feeder and turned his horns just so. Like a Chinese finger trap, the feeder wouldn’t let him back up. But he didn’t panic; he...

By CAROLE SOULE

Kelsie struggled a bit in the squeeze chute as she settled in for her yearly pedicure. With a rope attached below her “dew claws,” we gently lifted her hoof, fastening the line to a bar at the top of the chute so that we could safely trim her long...

By JONATHAN P. BAIRD

How does a corrupt, high-ranking government official, who is under criminal investigation, maintain his grip on power? On TV, I saw Roger Stone describe the game plan: “Admit nothing, deny everything and counterattack.”Stone was not the first in...

By James W. Spain II

There was a time in the early years when the Merrimack River offered our ancestors a good life. It provided fertile grounds along the flood plain for planting crops and provided food to the hungry.Along the banks our ancestors found American Elm...