Farmers: stewards of land, scourge of trees

La di dah, another day.
Another farmer has knocked down another bunch of trees on his land. It turns my stomach every time I drive past it. The first time, I nearly cried.
Farmers, like all of us, know that trees are essential for soil conservation. They provide a windbreak that we quite badly need around here.
They provide habitat for wildlife.
There is more to know about the importance of trees, of course, and farmers know it as well as any of us, if not better.
And yet they bulldoze those trees to get another few acres of croppable land.
It means more money in their pockets.
The bottom line is a big bold one.

Spring's Sprung

The trees are great big junkholders.

You might have some doubts as you look around my yard; however, out where we park, there are patches of grass appearing.

I have been walking shaped like the letter C for the past day.
This afternoon I went out into the sunshine, down the street to Charlene's clinic, and had my first shiatsu treatment. That's what it was, wasn't it, Charlene? Anyway, I got up off that mattress about 10 times easier than I got down onto it. Thank the goodness. I have been in a bad way for a couple weeks already, and the treatment gave some relief.

What whiners we people who hardly ever have an ache are, eh?
You'd think it was the end of the world.
I am still walking bent sideways though, and it is weird.

Monday

Need I say more?

Old Man Gary

Joan threw a surprise party for Gary's 50th birthday. Look how happy it made him! What a sweetie she is. Joan YOU ARE THE BEST.

Joan is my youngest sister. I like her blog COLLECTING HAPPY and could only like it more if she wrote five times a week.
However, she's a busy girl.
We take what we can get!

Johnson Brothers Elevator

The story's up on the Wadena News blog:

CLICK HERE.

Chef Emil

Emil making his breakfast this morning.

Which reminds me: it's suppertime.

We had snow today.

Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers

On the other hand, if it weren't for Facebook, I may never have seen this:

http://www.wimp.com/jumpinjive/

and it may well make all the scrolling past garbage worthwhile.

Watch all the way to the end; they get very athletic.

Blort

We are back in the deep dark depths of winter.

I am losing interest in blogging, and in Facebook and Twitter, the latter two being mostly time-wasters anyway, with very little substance. 

Hm. 

The Mild Mists of March

It won't be long till there are wild birds out there and the frogs will be croaking like crazy. 

From a journal handwritten in 1977 north of Arcola, Sask.:

“December Fifteenth.
Walking in the hills, an entire network of paths; they are always on the move. Coyote tracks, fox, rabbit turds, elk shit, squirrel tracks – enchanting… until I thought ‘They’re following each other around…’ "

2:39 p.m.

I am making a big pot of fagioli soup and does it ever smell good, reading Uncle Carl’s manuscript (more than two-thirds through; just finished chapter 42) a second time, sipping on a tea made with spearmint leaves, raspberry leaves, rosehips and a pinch of commercial blueberry tea.

On My Walk

These unused granaries are in a field north of our place. I see them from the road. Never walked in there, though drove past from the other side one day last fall after helping herd some cattle. 

We had a week of melty dripping balmy watery spring weather. Fabulous.
Then we had a weekend of winter days again, and apparently there was complaining.

I hear there is at least one duck back.
And today on the way home we saw a pair of Canada geese.

These things make us happy. All of us.

Shortest Walk Ever

At 8:10 a.m. I put on my boots and parka and yes, ski pants, and went outside. Scott hoped to be picking me up at quarter-after so he could be on the job in town at 8:30, and I had to fill the bird feeders first. When his half-ton didn't appear as expected, I walked to the road and back about six times for something to do and for the sake of walking. The dog got bored and waited for me in the middle of the driveway. 

Next thing I knew, it was 3 o'clock, I was at my desk at the office, and it was almost time to come home again. My kinda day.

Four Deer in Jenna's Headlights

Click photo to enlarge

The deer have just stepped out of the bush, crossed the snow-filled ditch, and will turn and trot south to the end of the road. Jenna and I will turn back the other way and head for home.

The Office

On mornings I walk to work, I sometimes enter through the front door. 

This painting on the south side of the building is of a cattle drive at Wadena in 1901.

The streets and everywhere you walk are terribly, terribly icy. I could have skated to the office if the ice wasn't so lumpy. The above photo was taken later in the day, when ice on the sidewalk had melted. It really did feel like spring for a while there. Water dripping noisily from roofs and eaves. Jacket open, no gloves, but the wind still blew and you needed to cover your head. After dark the breeze must have slept, and making my way through the streets was relaxed and slow instead of crisp and hurried. A welcome change. Unexpectedly a relief.

Twisted Teapot

image from the web

"The trouble with you staying here on Thursday nights," says my son Everett to me, "is that we stay up too late."

We'd been talking and laughing for hours, and neither of us wanted to call it a night, but it was a "school night" after all, and so around 11:30 we wrapped it up. He ascended to his mattress on the floor upstairs, and I stretched out on the mattress on the living room floor. The lad still doesn't have his house set up in any manner I find comfortable, but he's content and that's what matters.

Yesterday he got a haircut and had his ugly beard shaved off, and now he is a babyface again.

Flower Gown

Image from Web; click to enlarge.

We all need a little inspiration.
I put a few seeds into pots this past weekend.

Someone unplugged the Deep Freeze

A most beautiful day, when tea on the back step was called for. 

I had been to town in the morning so Everett would have the car for his driving test. He passed it, and I hopped into Little Green and toodled back on home.

I turned north down the sunny pavement with water laying all over it, and drove like a little old granny through the shiny melty land.

Look at that snow go!

Kathy's Roof

Scott swept the snow from the roof on a lovely spring day.
It's snowman-making weather.

Wadena of a Morning

It's a 10-minute walk from Everett's place to the news office.

Joni sings: Just Like This Train

http://jonimitchell.com/library/video.cfm?id=373

Brenda's Roof

How gorgeous are these willow ptarmigan ... CLICK IMAGE for full story on Brenda's blog.