Barn Boards and Baling Wire

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Valerie Mangion rides her horse, Dewey, on her farm near Boaz in Richland County, Wisconsin.

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Valerie Mangion’s painting of her horse, Dewey, at 21, shows him a few hours before his death in March 2021.

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Valerie Mangion says, 'It doesn’t matter to me if no one believes that Ellis and I had nothing to do with this ratty old hairbrush appearing on Dewey’s body this morning.'

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Valerie Mangion lives on a 56-acre farm with her husband, Ellis Felker, in the beautiful Driftless region of southwest Wisconsin. It’s a “two-story” farm with an upper hayfield reached by a ridge road. There were only two owners of the farm previous to them buying it in 1995, going back to 1915 when the woods were logged by a John Hanson on-site; the logs were used to build the house. There are 16-inch-wide single-board baseboards in two of the rooms; the lath in the walls is made of red oak.

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Valerie Mangion and Ellis Felker’s 109-year-old farmhouse sits in the town of Akan in Richland County, Wisconsin.

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John Sumwalt For Agri-View

Have you had a mystical experience that involves a beloved horse? Did it occur while your horse was alive or after death? Those who love horses will recognize these as serious questions. If those two questions didn’t “weird you out” as my old hippie college roommate would say, this next one might. Have you ever consulted a pet psychic?

John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives” and “How to Preach the Miracles.” Email johnsumwalt@gmail.com or call 414-339-0676 to reach him.

Valerie Mangion is an artist who has been drawing and painting animals since she was 4 years old. She says, “For me, loving and caring for and painting animals makes living worthwhile. I aim to be a voice for the voiceless through my art; I want animals to be seen.” Her art was featured in 2023 in a five–woman show “Kindred Spirits” at the Rountree Gallery in Platteville, Wisconsin. Visit www.valeriemangion.com for more information.