Buffalo Gal

This past Saturday, Buffaloguy and I traveled all the backroads of Tansem Township, Clay County.  It is one of the "border townships" in the county and is on the extreme southeast border abutting both Wilkin and Otter Tail counties.  My dad was raised on a homestead farm in Tansem Township in the early 1900′s and I have visited that farm many times;  however I had never been on all the backroads that interlace the township but recently we have been campaigning for a candidate for the Clay County Commission and have traveled all the backroads in 3 townships in Eastern Clay County, Eglon, Parke and Tansem….and as a result have discovered the amazing scenery, the increasing heights and the friendly people of those townships.  It has been a great experience for us.  I did not realize how high this part of the county is….from many hilltops you can see the cities of Fargo-Moorhead, Breckenridge, Barnesville and Hawley and I would guess that at night, from these hilltops, you could see many more towns miles away.  It was awesome to look to the West and East and see so far away.  No wonder all the "tall towers" for communications are situated in this township.  It is also rich with underground gravel laid down long ago by the slow- moving glaciers of the last Ice Age in North America.   Many gravel pits have been "opened" in Tansem and many residents are not extremely overjoyed by this development as gravel pit owners are notorious for taking the gravel but never restoring the empty pits.  One can see that all over Clay County as well as in other areas along the rivers that dot our landscape. Tansem also retains a lot of its original oak forests which must have covered the entire township at one time.  Only the diligent efforts of early settlers cleared land for farming but the hills are a deterrent to farming—-many are much too high and gravelly for productive fields.   I feel nostalgic when we drive by the old Tansem Township hall on  MN highway 32 south of Rollag MN.  My dad’s memories of being in the Tansem Township band directed by a Mr. Anderson, are precious.  Imagine the community spirit in the rural counties at the time—they had a "town band" and all the kids and adults who wanted to learn to play instruments were taught by Mr.Anderson who also directed the band.  I can imagine the fun and fellowhip that went on in that town hall in the early 1900′s when life was mostly hard work and your neighbors were your only close friends.  Travel was by horse and buggy so people did not travel far from their homes.  My dad’s recollections of the Tansem neighbors celebrating the "12 Days of Christmas" were also vivid for him and he passed them on to me.  After December 24, all hard work ceased for 12 days—only the livestock chores were done….and then families visited each other, taking turns hosting other families.  Everyone brought food and the feasting went on til January 6….and the fun!  I can just imagine the men gathering in one room and the women in the other (still a hearty Scandinavian custom) having wonderful conversations and catching up on each others’ lives, new babies, news from the "old country" and such things.  The kids must have played themselves out, either gathering in another room or playing outside, skating on frozen sloughs, sliding down the huge Tansem hills on homemade sleds or the seats of their pants, if necessary.  All of them would have been chattering in Norwegian all the while. My dad was born in town (Barnesville) when his family lived  til it was time to "rake over the farm" from the aging grandparents, so my dad had to learn to speak Norwegian when he started country school or the other kids would not play with him!!!!  He learned fast because he did not want to be left out of the games and fun on the school yard.  Visiting the old homestead during our Tansem travels brought tears to my eyes….our family is no longer living there but the home remains and the barn my uncle built and other landmarks familiar to my childhood days.  When one of my cousins died several years ago, he asked his family to scatter his ashes under a tree in the pasture at the "homeplace".  It had been his thinking place and climbing tree when he grew up as the third generation on the homestead.  I thought of him that day and how he  is now part of the farm and the soil and the township he loved so well.   Dear Cousin Curt….how I miss you and remember all the fun we had on the frozen lake across from the farm and the hills we rambled over many years ago, letting our imaginations take us to faraway places we would never go in real life.   Tansem Township is part of me as long as I live.  I am glad I had a reason to go back there recently……and I really hope "my candidate" becomes a new county commissioner on November 7!   Revisiting Tansem Township is more important than an election to me right now.   But I do want "my candidate" to win on Nov. 7!!   We shall just have to "wait and see."

I have been perusing this morning’s FORUM and noted that a new coffee shop has opened in a strip mall in Osgood….yipee!  I love coffee shops…everything about them….the delicious aroma when you walk into one of them….the choices of coffees, lattes, espressos and all the rest.  I haved loved coffee for many years and am drinking a cup of my own flavored brew as I type this….I used plain coffee but added about a tablespoon of the Mexican vanilla I brought home last winter….Mmmmmm, good!     Last night we went to Happy Joe’s in south Fargo to celebrate grandson Aaron’s 9th birthday with his family and another young family (good friends) who recently moved back to F-M from Seattle.  The "Dad" was wondering if there were any Starbucks here now and I was happy to inform him that he has more than one to choose from.   He said Starbucks would have been sorely missed if Fargo did not have them but I have seen several sprouting up in various locations around the city…..so he is "safe" on that issue!       I know that on a regular basis, I read articles about how coffee is not good for you, but then…also on a regular basis, I read some that say it is really beneficial.  Since I enjoy the morning cups so much, I am going with the latter and thinking how good it is for me when I enjoy that first sip in the morning.  My parents and grandparents lived on the stuff….strong coffee brewed in an enamel pot that sat on the stove all day. There was nothing fancy about the pot….just fill ‘er up with fresh water in the morning and add a few scoops of coffee and let it boil til it was "just right"…let the grounds settle, pour it up, and WOW!  Wake up, Jacob!  During the day they would add some more water and some more coffee grounds and heat it up and enjoy it again.  By the end of the day, it was pretty powerful.  At my Grandma’s farm, the pot simmered on the wood stove during the day when the weather was cold…that way  my Uncle could come in for a break and rejuvenate himself with some potent coffee from the enamel pot on the stove.  At church there were huge white enamel pots for coffee and only one woman—-"Nita"—-could brew the coffee for Ladies Aid or Harvest Home suppers, family night suppers and Luther League.   She was the "egg coffee expert".   Oh, how I would love to smell that aroma of white – enamel coffee pot- egg coffee  in a church basement again.  Nita’s secret was to first boil your water, let it cool, let the "scum" settle and use the boiled water for the coffee.

Of course the mixing of the eggs with the dry coffee was a work of art also and I can still see those old white church bowls full of "egg-coffee" mixture ready to go into the white enamel pot to brew for the proper length of time and then get strained before you put it in the coffee servers.  That was true coffee!!!!!   Every now and then,  I try it in a small kettle but it is just not the same as the big – pot coffee that Nita made.    When I was just a little girl, my parents, and especially my Grandma Ida, would fix up a special cup of coffee for me to dip toast or cookies in—-it was half cream and half coffee and today I think they call that a Breve in the coffee shops I love to frequent.   I started early and so did my cousin who was close to my age; we always had coffee with Grandma in the afternoon and the taste of a  coffee-dipped home-made sugar or molasses cookie is in comparable!   I wish I had one now but instead I will just go into the kitchen and get a refill and get ready for the day.   I am wide awake and feeling healthier by the minute!!!!

I have just returned from a wonderful visit with a good friend who lives in Ogden, Utah and one of the things we did together was to attend a surprise birthday party for one of my friend’s good friends who was turning the BIG 50!!!    On the day of her party, she got another huge surprise when her son- in- law, who had been serving in the US army in Afghanistan, called from Dallas to advise his wife and mother- in- law that he would be arriving later in the day!   He arrived before the guests did and saw his 4-month old baby boy for the first time!  But that was only the first joyful reunion…that night, during the birthday party with all the guests assembled, the door was locked before his own parents arrived to celebrate the birthday…or so they thought….since the arrival of their son had been kept a secret from them until that night of their arrival at the birthday celebration.  We all waited breathlessly as the young soldier, Rob,  appoached the door when the bell rang and the "sentinel" at the window, announced his parents’ arrival at the door.  He unlocked and opened the door and that was the moment I will never forget…a reunion like none other I have seen…..Rob’s mother saw him and was stunned into inertia and total shocked silence, but only for a few seconds.  While his dad, who was standing behind his wife, blurted out "Holy Cats!!" the mom grabbed her beloved son and held onto him like she would never again let him go, weeping with happiness and thankfulness for his safe return, all the while.   That process was repeated with his dad shortly thereafter.  All through the party’s duration, Rob’s mom would return to him again and again and hold him tightly.  He and his dad…two look-alikes if you ever saw them….spent most of the party time in close face- to- face conversation, making up for the endless time that Rob had been away…in his parents’ thoughts for sure.  I am sure his young wife and baby had gone through the same joyful reunion earlier in the day but being an eyewitness to Rob’s reunion with his mom and dad is something I will NEVER forget…..I know that such joyful and thankful reunions have taken place thousands and thousands of times over the course of recent and long-past wars.   Seeing it for yourself is a totally different thing than reading about it or even seeing it on  TV news reports.    I am so grateful that it was part of my Utah experience of just last week.

A few observations from the high hills overlooking the Buffalo River in western Minnesota:

You know winter is not too far way when———– 1. your husband takes the snowmobile out on the grass for a "test ride".       2.  You walk into the local bank and see that they have put the snowshovels and ice scrapers in the entryway, already.   3.   You see wild geese flying  north… unlike the local Fergus Falls permanent resident geese that we see all the time.       4.  "Our" deer are now wearing their gray winter coats that match the winter environs.    5.  The trees are totally bare of dry leaves after a few days of 40 mile per hour winds out of the southeast.     5.  You discover a "beaver house" all built and ready for winter accompanied by the cutting of small trees for winter food that have been dragged into the water near the beavers’ home (this gets very  hard on your woodland when the beavers cut down trees you would rather save for the future)           6. You get your annual call from the Salvation Army about ringing bells for the "Red Kettle" campaign and you are more than eager to participate once again.      7. You have been seeing Christmas things in  the regional business places since early October and realize that  you are now getting interested in buying some of those things.    8.  You make a batch of home-made lefse with a friend and it tastes really good because it is "the right time for lefse making and eating   9. You also feel like cooking things like chili, baking homemade bread and a gingerbread cake and also began searching for those good recipes for homemade soup for the crockpot (a vessel that has been mostly ignored throughout summertime)       10.  You have cleaned up the garden beds, cut down long grass that will hold the snow in crucial spots you do not want the snow held, you have wrapped and fenced the apple trees that wild rabbits "got to" last winter and the snowblower has been put onto the big tractor that is used for clearing those monster drifts that began to appear in………..we’ll just have to "wait and see" (my dear mom’s favorite saying when she was still alive)    We might  as well all "get real" and "face the {coming } music".  What do you think?????    I am once again prepared for the season  of dark  short days and long nights, of blowing, drifting snow, of reduced visiiblilty and days of icy roads, of needing to dress like Charlie Brown (who falls over in his snow gear and cries helplessly for someone to set him upright )….just for going out to the garbage can or out to pick up the daily mail.   And finally, I am going to have to put my beloved bike away for the winter as soon as the road becomes un-rideable (covered with snow-pack)          The change of seasons is my preferred way of life but the change to winter is always the hardest one to anticipate.   Oh well, we have nothing to say or do about when it happens so preparing mentally and physically is the best way to transition to our longer- than- usual winters here in the valley and the surrounding areas.   Bring it on.  I am ready for it.                                                          

Tomorrow morning I am flying to Salt Lake City.(NOT on my broom!!)   Delta Airlines has a direct flight from Fargo to Salt Lake now and I am taking advantage of the less than 2 – hour flight to visit a good friend who lives in Ogden.  I have known her most of my life but when she came to "town school" as a 9th grader, we really got to know each other and have been friends for more than 50 years.     Friendships such as these are rare these days…maybe always have been.  You can fall in and out of friendship just as you can fall in and out of love…..but when you develop a solid friendship, it lasts and lasts.  I would say I have about 3 of these kinds of friendships which is not a lot for all the people I have known and been friends with.  The lasting friendships have certain qualities:  you can trust your friend with anything and know it won’t get spread around;  when you meet each other, no matter how long it has been, you take up where you left off;  your friend will stick with you in your hard times as well as your good times; and sometimes you do not need to say anything to each other and you are still comfortable.   As I type this, I recognize that these are the same qualities of a good marriage.  You really have to know how to be a friend to each other in order to stay married long-term, just as maintaining a lasting friendship needs that same element.    I am so grateful for my good and lasting friendships; they will be with me til the day I leave this earth.    And it sure is going to be fun to fly to Salt Lake City tomorrow!!!

In my last blog I suggested that someone should set "Oh what a beautiful evening" to music…but now I am actually singing a parody of a Gene Kelly song from the 1950′s….sing with me:  "I’m digging in the rain, just digging in the rain, what a glorious feeling, I’m happy again…"    Well not exactly happy but doing what needs to be done in mid-October. With another forecast for rain mixed with snow for Tuesday I grudgingly picked up my digging fork, garden spade, mud-encrusted garden gloves, bulb fertilizer and 2 bags of tulip bulbs and went out in the light rain to do my duty.  I know that when early May comes and the tulips are beginning to bloom, I will have forgotten all about getting soggy on this damp, gray, lowering day in October.  Just the thought of bunches of yellow and cream colored tulips is enough to make my heart lighten up!!  While I was outside messing in the mud, really crazy thoughts bounce around in my head.  For instance:  why do we all say we are "going down to….." when we are heading in a southerly direction.  I always say "down to Minneapolis…down to Missouri…..down to the Gulf Coast….etc."   But when heading northward I say I am going "up to Grand Forks…up to Winnipeg….et.al.     When I go to Barnesville, I have always said "Going OVER to Barnesville"   This doesn’t make sense because Barnesville is actually south of where I live.  I never say "down to Barnesville"

Every summer we go "Out to Montana"    We are actually going "up" all the way but we only go "out" there.   I also go "down" to Detroit Lakes but go up all the way geographically until I drop "down" into the city itself.   We really go "down" to Fargo as we drop into the Red River Valley…. yet I always go "up to Fargo" from here.       It must have something to do with looking at maps….south is always "down" on a map and north is always "up".  I guess east and west must be "out" to the sides of the map.  If we consulted a globe we would go "around" to everywhere, right????  I am getting dizzy just thinking about it.  I need to hit my recliner and "veg" out (not "down" or "up") on some news…. but I cannot imagine why….it is depressing to tune in the news every time you see a bit of it….who got killed?  what place has a horrible fire or earthquake or flood?  Who is saying "Vote for me…my opponent is a Nincompoop"?    Well I can watch the World’s Funniest Animals….they aren’t doing anyone violence or campaigning for office.  Good idea!!!

"Oh what a beautiful evening!"  Someone should set that to music…..wait…Rodgers and Hammerstein already did but it was a "beautiful morning".  Oh well.  I just came in from a walk before the light fades away tonight; also sat down and caught my breath in our home-made yard swing constructed from ash poles from our own woodlot. What a lovely sight as the sun  set leaving a coral-colored horizon silhouetting  the now bare trees in the woods below our yard. The trees look like delicate fretwork on a New Orleans balcony.    A large flock of Canadian geese took off honking and complaining to the west of us where our neighbor’s cornfield lies.  Maybe a wandering fox scared them up. They flew to the north so they aren’t heading south, at least tonight.  They probably had their dinners disturbed and are all out of sorts..they certainly sounded crabby.  I could hear the night birds beginning to make their eerie night sounds….some of the calls in the dark are downright scary.  I have no idea which birds make them but they make me want to get inside fast.  There are definite benefits to the recent hard frosts and the early snow of a couple days ago.  There are no more mosquitos, gnats or other pesky insects that bite people and that is such a great benefit for me. All spring and summer and early fall I can hardly step out into the yard without getting bitten by some flying insect.  Going to the clothesline often means a deer fly bite that swells up bigger than the size of a quarter in seconds.  Only a plaster made of baking soda and water can relieve it.  Now I can go freely outdoors, into the woods, out in the evening…..and nothing will bite me until late April or early May.  The fact that I had to wear my winter parka and gloves did not take any of the pleasure away.  I love insect-free nights and days and they are finally here thanks to several hard frosts and a bit of snow.  Now let the true "Indian Summer" began!   I am so ready for it.

I got some terrific advice today regarding Home Remedies.  I have firmly believed in Home Remedies since the days when my mother used to make me hot lemonade from  REAL lemons) and slather my neck and chest with Vicks Vaporub followed with a flannel rag wrapped around my neck and secured with a huge diaper- sized  pin.  I have added Echinacea, Ester-C in high doses, mild salt water drops for nasal passages and also for gargling and so far I have defeated many a "headcold" and skipped over the nasty stages of unmentionably icky drainage from sinus cavities plus the night-time coughing. So I firmly believe in good Home Remedies.  But today’s advice was a bit out of the ordinary but I shall pass it on anyway.       1. A set mouse trap, placed on top of an alarm clock, will keep you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you press the "snooze" button.       2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxative, and you won’t dare cough.    3.Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink instead. (oh horrors!)  4.  Have a bad toothache?  Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the toothache.    5. There are only two tools you need in life:  WD-40 and Duct Tape.  If it is supposed to move and doesn’t, use WD-40; if it shouldn’t move and does, use Duct Tape. And finally:  be really nice to your family and friends…..you never know when you might need them to empty your bedpan.                       That is really far from my  Mom’s old Home Remedies but some of them are kind of sensible.  I just hope BuffaloGuy doesn’t find out about the toilet seat one.

I like to study maps…road maps that is.  I have developed a hobby of looking on a state map for names of towns that strike my fancy.  Every state has some doozies…take my word for it.  I entertain myself while riding in a car (not driving!!) by looking for odd town names, outrageous town names, and the funniest town names I can find.  You need a good pair of bifocals or dollar store magnifers to play this game…especially if you are a "seasoned citizen".  Here’s how you do it:  start with a small section of a state map; study all the names on the map and take notes when you find a good one.  Carry your notebook home and put it on your blog, which I shall proceed to do just now!      TOWN NAMES IN  MISSOURI THAT ARE NAMES OF OTHER TOWNS IN OTHER STATES:  Amsterdam, Buffalo, Montreal, Passaic, Spokane, Oregon, Nevada, Carthage, Lebanon, Mexico, Macon,Trenton,Loma Linda, Richmond, Japan, Mount Vernon and of course, SPRINGFIELD…every state has a Springfield!     "ROCK" TOWNS IN MISSOURI:  Rockport, Rockville, Rock Bridge, Rockaway Beach, Rocky Comfort (that one sounds like whiskey)  (Every state has a lot of "Rock" towns.)     EXTREMELY ODD OR FUNNY SOUNDING TOWN NAMES IN MISSOURI:  Ponce De Leon, Halfway, Coal, Knob Noster, Sundown, Shell Nob, Theodosia, Isabella, Competition, Licking (I am not kidding); Honey Branch, Brown Branch, Fairdealing, Grain Valley, Sarcoxie, Success, Fidelity….and now the winners!!!!   Tightwad, Peculiar, and Humansville. (I am not making this up)    TOWNS THAT SOUND REALLY SOUTHERN:  Bushwhacker, Taneyville, Neelyville, Windyville, Tecumseh, Jenkins, Purdy, Big Sugar Creek, Huckleberry Ridge, Eudora, Huggins, and Bourbon  TOWNS THAT SOUND COZY AND WELCOMING:  Prairie Home, Siloam Springs, Willow Creek, Peaceville,
White Church, Birchtree, Cherryville, Mary’s Home, and Howe’s Mill.  TOWN NAME THAT REALLY MAKES ME WONDER WHAT IS GOING ON THERE:  Climax Springs  (is this like "Hot Springs" that used to be written on honeymoon cars?)              There are also lots of names of presidents used in Missouri town names…Clinton, Washington, Jefferson(City)  Ford (City), Quincy, and many, many "Trumans"…lakes, highways,dams, boulevards….of course Harry S Truman was born in LeMar, Missouri, lived in Independence, and finally in Kansas City so his name is all over the place.          See? didn’t I tell you that studying maps can be fun?  It was for me and will be on the next road trip I take.   Try it, you’ll like it!!!                

Yesterday I took a good look around the territory we are currently occupying and have concluded that Fall is truly upon us.  While we were away last week,a big wind stripped all the dry leaves off the trees in our woods down by the river.  The trees are now wearing their winter gray color. (argh!)  The squash vines were droooping limply telling me they froze sometime last week. I cut them off and threw them over the grassy bank near the house to join with nature’s other creations in the long grass that is nearing deadness. (arghh!)   We are eating the very last of the Yellow Doll melons that were so gloriously hiding among green vines just 2 weeks back.  I threw those formerly green vines over the bank with the squash vines.  It is looking bare and black in that particular garden bed. (arghh!)  I started pulling the dry and dismal looking zinnia bushes out; they looked good a few days ago but no more. (argh)  I know I better dig up the dahlia roots and dry them out to store over the (gag) winter.  Has anyone gotten the message that I am not eager for winter?   Now I heard all the weather forecasts for tonight and tomorrow and it appears we can anticipate rain plus a bit of (gag) snow!!!  This is not my cup of tea.  I  don’t want to  think about slippery roads tomorrow; I want to meet my retired teacher friends at Detroit Lakes for breakfast and I do NOT want to worry about icy roads!!!

Why am I fussing?  I can’t change a thing about the oncoming late fall gloom and gloop; it will arrive right on time no matter how much I kick and scream……but maybe it would feel good to kick and scream.  I might go down in the woods and do just that today….shake my fist in nature’s face for a short time just to feel like I am doing something about the oncoming "weather" tomnorrow and in the future.  I better do it before it snows because I am not going to roll around in any snow and have my tantrum.