Across the Acres

Jeff Czech

Elmdale | Morrison County

What are a few of your summertime hobbies? I enjoy fishing, gardening, grilling, cooking, community theater and fabricating new tools.

Which one do you enjoy most? Why? If I had to narrow it down, it would be gardening. Gardening is the start of plants and new life. Seeing vegetables, berries and different plants grow into the food we eat and enjoy is something I value. When family and friends come to visit, having fresh food available makes it a special time to get together. When vegetables and berries start ripening, I also enjoy canning and freezing the abundance so that I can enjoy them in the wintertime, too.

What is your best experience within this hobby? Growing up gardening and being actively involved with my dad. My dad had the “green thumb,” and not to discredit Mom — she did help — but Dad was the primary caretaker of the garden. We grew so much — potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, asparagus, raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb to name a few. My dad and my family tended to three-fourths of an acre, and that has remained the same size garden that I still tend to today since my parents have now passed away.

How do you make time for your hobbies? It’s making the time. I like to give myself something different from the everyday work or all the things that are going on day to day. Walking out and going into the garden is something different. It allows me to think differently, and seeing the fruits of my labor in a hands-on way is what I enjoy. I set aside time for my other hobbies, too; for instance, with fishing, if I hear reports from the neighborhood that the fish are biting and the weather conditions are good, I just take a break and go fishing. The community theater is a single show during the summer. If the practices and the show dates fit into my schedule, then I’ll step into it, and if it doesn’t, I take a break from that year’s show. Cooking and grilling are easy to make time for because we all have to eat. When it works, I like to entertain and have friends and family over. We play games or just be together. With all my hobbies, but with fishing in particular, I really just enjoy being present. Whether I go out with friends and family like I did while growing up or if it works to go out solo at the spur of the moment, I do. I really try to stop and take in the moment, look around and admire the wildlife. In the garden, too — although some in the garden are good and some are bad; it’s knowing the difference.

What is one hobby that you wish you had more time for or are starting to explore? The fabrication of tools and working on developing new ideas to make things I already do a little easier for myself, like developing new tools that have made rock picking in my garden much easier, for example. I fabricated my own rock-picker from a standard metal rake, and now, I can collect rocks much easier and faster than picking them up one after another. I have a few more garden and canning ideas that I am going to work on next.

Judy Frikke

Prinsburg | Kandiyohi County

What are a few of your summertime hobbies? Flower gardening, kayaking, biking and fishing.

Which one do you enjoy most? Why? Right now, I enjoy fishing the most because we have grandkids who like to go with me. It’s great spending that time together. It’s so peaceful and relaxing to be out on the water in the morning, enjoying God’s beautiful creation and making memories that will last forever.

What is your best experience within this hobby? When I have a day off and the grandkids say, “Let’s go fishing,” it’s hard to say no. We pack a picnic lunch and spend the day fishing and swimming. Everyone usually catches fish, and we have such a good time. At the end of the summer, we all enjoy a fish fry. But the best part of the day isn’t the fish we catch — it is the hugs I receive and hearing them say, “Thanks for taking us fishing, Grandma.” Such great memories are made.

How do you make time for your hobbies? I have been blessed, and I want to do these things while I can. The work will always be there, but my grandkids will only be young once. Spending time with them now is something I will never regret.

What is one hobby that you wish you had more time for or are starting to explore? Biking. I would like to get e-bikes and check out some of the many bike trails in Minnesota.

Kirsta Anderson

Farwell | Douglas County

What are a few of your summertime hobbies? Minnesota summers are too beautiful to spend inside, so most of my summertime hobbies are outdoors. I enjoy spending my free time paddleboarding on different lakes in the area. I also enjoy going on road trips in my vans. I have a 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon and a 1971 Chevy Beauville. They are fun to get out and cruise around in. Film photography is another pastime of mine, not necessarily just in summertime, but it is easier to click the shutter button when your hands aren’t frozen. A more recent hobby I have been getting into is processing cyanotypes. This is a slow-reacting, photographic printing formulation that’s sensitive to sunlight.

Which one do you enjoy most? Why? It is hard to pick which hobby I enjoy the most, but I would say it is probably paddleboarding. It’s a very peaceful hobby that allows me to immerse myself in nature and see many different species of wildlife.

What is your best experience within this hobby? One year, I packed up my board and headed west to Montana. I paddled on a spring-fed lake where the water looked as blue as Caribbean waters. I lucked out and found an island and camped there for the evening. As I left in the morning, a bald eagle scooped a fish out of the water no more than 30 feet away from me. It is a memory I won’t soon forget.

How do you make time for your hobbies? I work a lot of hours in the summer, so sometimes it is hard to find time, but I make sure to make my hobbies a priority in my life. I work on them mostly on the weekends and in whatever minute I can spare.

What is one hobby that you wish you had more time for or are starting to explore? The cyanotype process is one I want to delve into more.