Rural Reflections

My summer is shorter than most, it certainly is shorter than the calendar summer. The hottest days, the most humid afternoons - I leave those for someone else. My summer happens in little single-serving portions that I save like ketchup and mustard packets until I have enough for a meal. I assemble my summer from various parts until I can look back and say, “this is my summer.”

I don’t spend summer hiding indoors. If you live in northern Minnesota and do not use summer to your advantage, then you will spend the winter at a disadvantage. I take note of weaknesses created by winter and repair or re-engineer them. That said, I do try to plan my work so that it can end by every afternoon at three-thirty.

Cattle this year have been a good experience, without hoof trouble or sickness. The pasture is typically productive but this year it has been outstanding. Regrowth within the first week of cattle removal has never been better which is something that makes me feel like we always have enough for the next go-round. My trips to see the cattle have been full of little chunks of summer that fit together nicely. Birds pop out of the grass frequently as barn swallows constantly dart in out as they eat mosquitoes. There is something about the cows, the birds, the grass and me peacefully occupying space that just feels good.

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