Oh ya... it’s just that time of year!
There are some days while living in Minnesota… like when the stock waterers freeze up and your fingers have deep cracks from exposure to the cold because you’re injecting medicine into an unwilling horse’s mouth… that cause me to look on the internet to see what kind of places are available in warmer climates.
.
One problem is that I would miss everyone living up here! On the other hand, where were you to help when the wind chill was 40 below zero and the waterers froze? But there are enough farmers around here who could ask where I was when their calves were being born at 3 a.m.! Guess that’s fair!
Still, for the past thirty years or so while traveling around the U.S., I checked out farms and ranches for sale. But I never found what I wanted.
I thought I wanted the mountains until I got there and was terrified driving through the passes! It didn’t help that our car kept conking out and we didn’t know if we would make it to the top at that altitude. I sure wouldn’t want to have to back a horse trailer down Wolf Creek pass!
We parked at one wayside rest that gave me the creeps. I wouldn’t even get out of the car. Later I was told that a car had gone over the edge and hadn’t been found for about a week. A little baby in the back seat survived but the parents didn’t.
A nicer story came when we found our way to a dude ranch – closed for the season – but the owner welcomed us and was interesting when explaining that he had been part of the crew watching out for animal safety when they were filming the movie, City Slickers in that area. We heard how they set up the movie sites, got the cattle to cross the river for the cameras, etc.
I came across more stories in other states. While looking at one empty house, I opened the door to a bedroom and saw a Uzi submachine gun hanging on the wall. The realtor had an interesting tale to tell about that one! I think if I had bought the place I would have put up a very large sign explaining it had new owners.
Another darling house had a creek running close by. I questioned whether it ever flooded and was assured it did not. But I had seen a stack of sand bags piled in the open garage and decided to skip that one.
Finally we were driving through a beautiful area down south when I exclaimed, this is it! I love it! And then I realized that it had the same rolling hills and valleys that we have in Cannon Falls!
So now, back home again, as I had finished chores in the frozen darkness and was grouchily heading back to the house I realized it was near the end of February.
I used to whine like this in January.
I must be getting better…
we’ve almost made it to spring!
.
