LeAnn R. Ralph

“Wouldn’t you just know it,” muttered my husband, Randy.We had already been driving for a couple of hours in a pickup truck that we had borrowed from a friend, and now it was completely dark.

It was a warm, sunny October afternoon one day when I was a kid, and as I walked up the hill of our driveway after getting off the school bus at our Wisconsin dairy farm, I wondered how many more nice days we would have before winter came.I was...

From the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)When I was a kid growing up on our dairy farm in Wisconsin 40 years ago, cookies with a date filling were my dad's favorite kind. Here is the recipe.

Country Christmas Idea: Milkweed Pod Poinsettia OrnamentsAt first glance, milkweed plants and poinsettias don't seem to have much in common. If you live in an area where milkweed grows wild, however, you can use the dried milkweed pods to make...

If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting in envelopes. Pictures from birthday parties, weddings, family gatherings, anniversaries, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

From the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) http://ruralroute2.comAs we drove along the dirt road north of our farm one Sunday afternoon, the color of the sky reminded me of Mom's silver cream and sugar servers...

~ "Sot Suppe" ~ (Norwegian Sweet Soup)My mother was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants who homesteaded our small Wisconsin dairy farm in the late 1800s.

As featured in the story "A Candle For Christmas" from the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm)Materials: 1 wax carton (quart) (milk, fabric softener, or orange juice) 1 pound of paraffin wax 4 or 5 old...

Preserve Your Family History by Writing Family Stories"Everyone has a story to tell." It seems like a cliche—but it's true. After working as a newspaper reporter for more than eight years, I know that everyone does, indeed, have...

Remember when no one started Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving?Wisconsin author LeAnn R. Ralph remembers it very well."When I was growing up on our dairy farm forty years ago, the stores didn't put up Christmas displays until the...