Knoephle Soup

No I'm not a German from Russia, not much German at all when it comes to that ... but boy do I love knoephle soup!

I looked on line for recipes and found a bunch. They're all pretty similar but each has its own take on the basic recipe. People add and change all kinds of things to suit themselves, so feel free to to likewise.

Because my daughter reminded me only just this morning, I figured now would be a fine time to add my own take to the mix.

First of all, the best chicken broth comes from *are you ready for this?* boiling a chicken, preferably pre-plucked and gutted and washed. 

Second of all, nothing can really replace rich thick cream and real butter - nothing. The cream goes in last of all, by the way, after the neffles even.

Third of all, valley reds are better potatoes for this than Idaho baking spuds.

Fourth of all, chopped or coarse grated carrots add a bit of color.

Fifth of all, the 'neffle' (my own term, beg pardon) dough is supposed to be droopy and you better be quick with your kitchen shears when you're snipping those little bits of it into the boiling soup.

Sixth of all, since you have a cooked chicken sitting right there, put some into the soup.

By now you've got the gist of what knoephle soup is all about. It's rich and creamy and filling - and totally delicious.

But here's the method behind the madness:

1/ Boil a chicken 
2/ While the chicken is boiling make your neffle dough out of a beaten egg, a few tablespoons of milk, and flour added until the dough is formed enough to halfway handle. It's going to be sticky as all get-out so flour your hands. Form it into a ball, cover it, and set it aside. How much you want is how much you make; might have to use two eggs and yada yada.
3/ Cube your potatoes to about a half inch. If you leave the skins on they're healthier but then you've got bits of potato skin in your soup because, you know, they don't stay on the potatoes when you cook them.
4/ Chop or coarse grate a couple three carrots if you want them in there for color or nutritional value.
5/ When your chicken is done boiling, use a strainer and put the broth into your soup kettle. You can add canned broth (Not Water) if you want, depending on how much water you used for boiling the chicken and how much steamed away in the process. Cover the chicken in an appropriate bowl and set it aside.
6/ Into the broth put the potatoes (and carrots if you used them) and cook them until they're done (when you can easily poke a fork into the potatoes).
7/ By now your chicken ought to be cool enough to get the meat off the bones, so do that and cut the chicken into small pieces (whatever size you like). Put however much chicken you want into the broth and do what you want with the skin and bones.
8/ Your neffle dough has been patiently waiting its turn for all this time so roll it out into a snake, hold it up pretty high over the boiling soup kettle, and start snipping like crazy because if you don't that whole snake is going to droop right down into the soup and you'll be screwed. The thing here is to snip as fast as you can so the neffles start cooking at as close to the same time as possible. They'll first sink and disappear into the broth and stuff but they'll pop back up pretty quick and get in the way of the ones you're snipping, so HURRY!
9/ You can turn the heat down a notch or two right about now so you don't burn your soup, and give it a stir once in a while to keep the neffles circulating. You'll have to test them now and again. They're done when they're all floating around in there and are little funny looking dumplings of various shapes (but should be all about the same size if you've done your snipping right - about a half inch up to an inch or so - you are not going to be able to get them uniform so don't worry about it). When they're dumplings, they're done.
10/ Take the kettle off of the heat now and stir in as much butter as you think appropriate - about a stick for a normal batch, more if you're making more.
11/ You'll notice that the only milk called for so far has been the few tablespoons that go into the neffle dough. That's because we aren't using milk but thick rich cream, the thicker the better. And now, just before you're going to serve it up, you add about half as much cream as you have soup broth (or more if you want it creamier), give it a good stir, ladle it into bowls, sprinkle parsley for decoration, and serve it up. It will be thick and creamy, not thin and watery the way some are, with hopefully lots of potatoes and neffles - YUM!
NOTE: you may have noticed that I didn't include any salt or pepper - that's because different people like different amounts and some can't have any salt at all - so make sure there are salt and pepper shakers within everyone's reach so they can use what they want.
ALSO NOTE: if you're one that has to have specific amounts of ingredients, this recipe is obviously not for you.
ONE MORE NOTE: you can cut your prep time down significantly if you've done some pressure canning ahead of time and have your broth and your chicken (sans skin and bones and cut into bite-sized pieces) already canned. A couple quarts of broth and a pint of chicken ought to do you for a normal sized batch.

Got a Couple of Things on My Mind

2015  09  25

First of all, the Pope is visiting the United States. Next month it will be the Dalai Lama. The words of these two men will impact many, perhaps for a short time, perhaps for longer. People tend to make a big deal out of such things and then just get on with getting on, doing what they do for good or for ill.

Second, being as I'm an American and my family has been since the founding of the United States of America, I can't bring myself to ignore what's going on in this nation. See, we don't have a Pope to guide us; we don't have a Dalai Lama. We'll listen to what they have to say, but they aren't 'ours' so to speak. Some of us will listen harder, pay closer attention, try a little more to understand what they're trying to tell us - but ... well ... only some of us are Catholic and even fewer are Buddhist. We're a conglomerate of all sorts of peoples here. That's what this nation is all about, after all, or is supposed to be. People who believe in Family, Friends, Freedom, the Future, and have Faith that a way will be found to fuse all of us into a united country.

I think most everybody tends to forget how really young we are as a nation, only a couple of hundred years. Compared to most of the rest of our world, we are incredibly diverse - and we are young as a nation. We are working to figure out how our Constitutional Republic is supposed to function. Our founders gifted us with a legacy, and the instructions as to how to use it. We as a People haven't been paying real close attention to what they told us. As challenges arise, that's changing a little. But this isn't going to be about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the Federalist Papers.

I'm puzzling in my mind the reactions to those who are coming within our borders.

Now, on the one hand we've got millions of refugees who need a place of safety. On the other hand, here in the USA, we've got many more millions who are just coming on in without being invited. 

Some of us are saying we ought to close our borders completely, find and evict those who are just barging in on us, and not let anybody else in until we've taken care of our own current citizens. Heaven knows we've got plenty of internal issues among us that could use a sorting out.

Others say to kick out the illegals and use the resources we've been spending on them to first of all help our own and secondly to help those who are seeking sanctuary in the legitimate use of the concept, asking for and coming in only when given permission by the People of the United States.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. We are fussin' and feudin' among our own selves over this, that, and the other thing. Different folks have different views on all kinds of things, and  they're all strong in their opinions. It's been that way since the dawn of mankind. You'd think we'd have figured out how to manage ourselves by now, make allowances for people who don't see things in exactly the same way we do, and get on with developing our culture in a way that makes sense.

*laughing*

Right.

What makes perfect sense to one person is another person's idea of insanity.

#  2015  09  26

I found out that both China and Russia (their heads of state) are going to be meeting with our own in short order although not at the same time. Would it not be a good thing for both the Pope and Dalai Lama to sit down with them and a few other heads of state at the same table and come up with some solutions? 

Separation of church and state is not a bad thing, and I'm not advocating by any means a return to the bad old days when it was otherwise. Even so, I can't help but think it wouldn't hurt anything to throw in a couple of other perspectives. When it comes to that, add Cousin Rick to the mix. He's rich, and an atheist; his perspective might come in handy, too. For that matter, it would be a fine idea to take along a couple of ordinary citizens ... you know, the ones who have to live with the consequences of whatever the 'leaders' choose to do.

Back on topic ... I was reading the other day about the hissy fits people were having back when the Scots and Irish were coming over in big numbers. Some wanted to shut that down, too. Fortunately, things were a little different then; there was a lot of space to expand.  But it wasn't all peaches and roses by a long shot and that's a kind of sad fact.

And so I'm reminded of something we tend to forget about. There was a time when such things as 'Orphan Trains' were running. If you don't know about them, look it up. The cities in the east loaded up kids onto trains and sent them west. Many found good homes; some found a lot of really hard work - or was it the other way around? I guess that depends on which perspective you're looking at it from.

Then there were the WPA projects ... make-work for people in need of jobs. A lot of building got done. My Grandad helped to build a railroad; it wasn't in his home state, but he went and did it. And so our family had a little money and a big job got done. The fairgrounds of the county I live in has a beautiful stone building that got built at that time - we use it for all kinds of things.

Am I still on topic?

Yes.

In the past we've found or created solutions to problems. Maybe they weren't ideal solutions but they seem to have at least done a little good along the way.

Populations that weren't particularly welcomed by what was then the 'mainstream' have ended up becoming many of the vertebrae of our backbone, not to mention the strong body attached to that strong back. 

What the heck.

It is my considered opinion that Louis L'Amour ought to be required reading, and Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Oh I forgot. 

We don't read any more.

Well then, somebody ought to make movies out of all of the books of those authors, the ones that haven't already been done - and require us all to watch them if we won't read the books.

It would remind those of us who have forgotten, and inform those who have never known, what this nation is supposed to be all about and that freedom comes with a price tag. It would also serve to introduce our nation and our culture to those who wish to join us, so they have some kind of idea about where we've come from. 

No, it isn't necessarily where we're at right now, but for the vast majority of us those books are pretty good indicators of the families whose strengths built this nation. It's only fair to those who come here to know sort of what they're getting themselves into. Don't forget, we're a fairly new nation. Our roots are closer than a body might think.

And I'll get off my soapbox now. I've got a lot of firewood to gather if I don't want to freeze to death during this coming Dakota Long Dark. It's time to put my work boots on and pick up my chain saw.

Even us little old gramma ladies, in these here parts, do what needs doing when it needs doing. There are times when others might pitch in and give us a hand, but we sure as heck don't expect someone else to do every last little thing for us. My young daughter and I re-wired this house. We painted it. We plumbed it. We shingled it. We built a stout fence. Now I'm going to see to it that I can keep myself halfway warm this winter. Those steel-toed work boots in that photo didn't get into the condition they're in by sitting around on a shelf doing nothing. My sister's work boots look about the same - and you should see her work coveralls.

I think my point here with all this blathering about firewood and such (aside from the procrastination factor) is that unless you're ready, willing, and able to wear out a pair of steel-toed work boots you might not quite realize the standards this nation was built on and might want to think about that a little (no, think about it a LOT) if you want to call yourself an American.

Whoooop!! Gotta Love OSHA Training!

As the time draws near for me to begin stocking firewood for this coming Long Dark I went down to my cutting and storage space.

Yep.

I should have taken a 'before' photo. I had a lot of sawdust and wood chips to sweep up.

This little pile would have been long gone if I were adept at splitting wood. They're too big around to fit into the firebox of my woodstove. I'm lucky there are so few of them.

I think these four lonely little logs will fit when I cut them to length. They were hiding under the big logs.

These average a couple of inches in diameter - they're a great size for cooking.

No shortage of kindling!

Here's my work area for firewood. I don't know what that blur is. Since I had just swept I'd not be surprised to find some little circle dust mote images - but that's not what this was - it was moving.

Whatever it was, it isn't in this shot. What the heck. Strange things happen in this old world of ours.

At any rate, clearing out the firewood room BEFORE adding anything to it is the direct result of old OSHA training ... clear your path before you go to use it. Almost all of that stuff was practically smack in the middle of the floor, not to mention a pretty thick pad of dust and bark and bits and pieces.

Now that my path is cleared, I can begin my gather of firewood - deadwood from a shelter belt on a friend's farm. 

The 'shelter belts' are wind breaks for farmsteads and in this neck of the non-woods are often the only trees to be found in any number. Some of them are generations old. Many have been cut and cleared away as old abandoned farmsteads are razed and turned to cropland. 

So if you ever visit the Great Plains ... no, the trees do not naturally grow in straight lines. Naturally speaking, few grow at all here. In this area the 'Tree Claim Act' of the pioneering and settlement days pretty much failed. People came all right, but they had a darned hard time getting their required trees to survive. Very hot summers, bitterly cold winters, harsh winds ... some trees don't do well in those conditions. We've learned much since then and plant trees all the time. But the old shelter belts from generations past are dying out.

That many of our local farmers still have them is a definite bonus for me. I get firewood; they get rid of deadwood and have healthier shelter belts as a result.

When it comes to the actually gathering of firewood, OSHA training again comes in right handy I have to say. In many ways, but in particular it sticks in my mind to be sure I'll be able to get that deadwood out of there. It behooves me to make a clear path as I go along.

2015 May: Robin Hood

While mowing my front yard last week a pair of agitated robins kept making their warning cheep and swooping around the corner of my house. I looked in the honeysuckle and up into the trees nearby but didn't see a nest that they would be defending, so finished my mowing and they calmed down.

Yesterday when I mowed again they did the same thing and this time I found the nest - tucked into the corner of the outside window ledge at the front corner of my porch.

The grass will likely get a little long right around there for a while here. I'm fine with that.

Today, while out in my porch, I glanced over that way and saw a wide open baby robin beak waving around and ran to get my camera. By the time I got close enough to have taken a photo, a sharp cheep from a parent had that baby huddled down playing possum in the nest.

After a little while along comes a parent with a worm in its beak, landing on a little branch of the honeysuckle. It cocked its head at me one way, then cocked it the other way, and the baby kept its head down in the nest. I watched for a while, hoping to get a nice photo of the little one getting that worm, but that parent bird just kept giving me that old eagle eye so I'm leaving them alone for a while.

I did, however, raise the blind of that window right there so as to be able to have a better view. It gives them a better view, too. When I went back out, a parent was on the nest, watching me through the window.

Heh heh.

I just got myself a scolding from a bird.

I also got a 'sort of' picture of that baby's open mouth ... 

I'm fascinated by having a bird's nest that's only a windowpane away and it's tempting to just sit out there and watch- but I won't. It's not worth it to cause the parents the worry or to interfere with the baby's feeding, not just because I want to watch them and try to take pictures of them. 

While doing yard work on the other side of the house I saw that a nest in my ash tree over there wasn't the old abandoned nest that I had thought it was!

I'm surrounded!

Ah yes, life in the Robin Hood ... 

Local Couple Brings a Bit of History Home to Share

Photo by Shelly Weigelt

Frank Hockridge knows what he's talking about as he explains the photographs reproduced on this unique quilt.

The first photo is from 1902 and shows a band of Native Americans at the North Dakota State Fair, then held in Mandan, ND.

The State Fair apparently moved around a bit back in the day before settling itself in Minot in the 1960s. There are photos from both Fargo and Grand Forks, who took turns hosting it for years.

There are photos of County Fairs from the early 1900s on through more recent years.

Too many of the photos have sad endings ... 'doesn't exist any more' ... 'went bust' ... 'no longer there' ... 

The photos are enchanting, but some of the Fairs they represent will only ever live again through photos such as have been preserved in this quilt.

On the bright side, Frank and Glenda Hockridge have been collecting Fair things for quite a while. One of the photos of the Quilt they found in Iowa. Glenda laughs and says, 'You just never know what you're going to run across!'

And just exactly WHY is this local couple so fascinated by Fairs?

Oh. Well. It's what they do, you know.

Both of them were brought up in the industry, love it, and love to share with others (like us!). They had businesses facing one another at the State Fair in Kansas lo these many years ago, became good friends, and eventually married. Their kids are carrying on the family tradition, the fourth generation to do so.

Locally, the pair is well-known and well-loved.

Frank is our go-to person about anything having to do with our fair, and now we know he can also be our go-to person about much of our state's history as well! Glenda's big smile and happy laugh can often be found at our local (and internationally famous, made so by anyone who's eaten there and gone anywhere else in the world) Rosa's Pizza where she gives a hand when she has time.

Their affection for one another is palpable in the air around them. You can't see them, together or apart, and not grin. And they've brought us a most wonderful gift, besides their own selves.

The ND Fair Quilt is currently hanging at Close to Home, a shop that carries gifts of local origin. Owned and operated by Deronda O'Neill of Deronda Designs (also known all over the world for her 'OMG I can't believe you MADE those!' lampwork beads, enamel pieces, and metal-worked jewelry), Close to Home has expanded to include the work of other locals or people with local connections - all unique and individualistic pieces. So it's a great place to hang this ND Fair Quilt. 

Close to Home is located in the old Quarve Building at 97 South Main Avenue in Fessenden, ND USA - the same Fessenden of the book called 'Small Town USA' written by another local, Shiela Branson.

If you happen to be driving Highway 52 in ND, swing in and grab a coffee (or any of the creative beverages the Coffee Shop is becoming noted for). The town of Fessenden is located smack at the end of Highway 15, which begins near the MN border at a little town called Thompson near Grand Forks, ND. If you're traveling from the Forks to Bismarck, give yourself a treat and take 15 for a lovely change of scenery - and stop in Fessenden along the way for yet another treat! Shelly Weigelt carries an amazing variety of vintage and just plain interesting things; Ann West has clothing and accessories; Eldredge Publishing has an office; Carson's Computer store comes in mighty handy, and Justin's Stuffitorium has antiques and is a dangerous place to visit (very difficult to walk out of without having added something you didn't even know you HAVE to have - don't say you weren't warned); and soon a hair stylist will be joining us in that old Quarve Building. (that building will be getting a story of its own in due course, so hang onto your hats folks - we're in for a bit of a ride here I think).

If you come through before June 1, 2015 you will find the ND Fair Quilt on display at Close to Home; it will then go to other places in the state, including coming back here for our own County Fair in mid-June. It's slated to go to Bottineau, Jamestown, and up to Pembina County before it gets much of a rest. 

AND, best news of all (from my point of view) Frank and Glenda are talking about bringing more of their collection out of storage. They have enough to put together a museum of their own! Hearing about it is fascinating; seeing it all would be a wondrous thing. My personal favorite of the things they talked about (one of the photos of the Quilt has an example) are what they call the Funny ...something or others... (shhh, it's my memory slipping again) ... where different scenes are painted and there are face holes for people ... anyway, THOSE would be tremendous fun, and Frank and Glenda have a collection. For that matter, we could certainly make a few of our own, now that I think of it. Maybe not in time for this year's Fair, but almost certainly for next year! So bring your smiles and your cameras.

To close, here's a photo of the ND Fair Quilt with Glenda and Frank by it. If you zoom in you might be able to see some of the photos better. Or you could wait a few days to give us time to take close ups of them all, pair them up with Frank's explanations, and post them on line! This is one awesome couple and their inspiration has produced an awesome Keeper of Memories for our state. 

Thank you so very much, Glenda and Frank, for everything you do and for simply being the great people that you are. We love you.

Photo by Deronda O'Neill

Goodbye January!

Somehow seeing the end of January always makes me feel like SPRING is right around the corner.

Birds singing in the dawn, green grass everywhere, flowers shouting their colors, rainbows and roses and all that good stuff.

It's always a nice little feeling, saying goodbye to January, while it lasts.

Of course it never lasts long.

Take tonight, for instance.

Goodbye January ... and hello sub-zero temps as February comes along.

Where are the singing birds?
Where are the shouting flowers?
Where are the green lawns?
Where are all those rainbows and roses and such?

Not here, that's for sure.

Here and now, there's snow on the ground and more in the forecast. There are ice-slicks everywhere. There are plummeting temperatures.

We are still in the throes of winter, with or without January.

Even so, the greening gets closer day by day. 

We can stand February. It's three days shorter than January. 
Then comes March - it often brings blizzards howling down on us ... but not always.
And April is right behind it. April is never ever EVER as wonderful as we think it ought to be, but guess what. Sometimes it is. 

Me, I'm seriously looking forward to May Day.

Because that's really when it all begins, the greening, the singing, the shouting, and the rainbows and roses are on their way!

My Sister's Farm: DAKOTA MORNING

Dakota Morning Farm is where Mary Kittelson lives and works.  A typical sunrise finds her outside, whether it is a stunningly beautiful summer sunrise or no actual sunrise at all because a blizzard is in progress. 

She steps outside her door and is surrounded before it closes behind her.  Dogs, cats, a goose or two, maybe a horse if one has managed to open the gate again and of course any of the kids who aren’t in with the rest of the herd yet. 

Kids indeed.  These kids technically belong to the goat does who gave birth to them, but they are Mary’s kids.  She laughs and says, “I tell my sons they’ve been replaced by goats!”  The goats require about the same amount of attention as raising children, maybe more. 

Suffering from ‘empty nest syndrome’ in the spring of 2005, Mary figured out a way to help ease it.  She noticed the big barn, on the farmstead where she and her husband Brian Kittelson live, was also suffering from ‘empty nest syndrome’.  She began thinking of ways to fill it up.  Filling up her time was also a goal. 

After some research Mary Kittelson decided to try dairy goats.  She narrowed her field further to the Alpine breed, a mountain goat that can take the North Dakota weather.  She found a source in Minnesota, ordered two registered does (females) and one wether (neutered male) via the internet. 

The barn got cleaned and renovated in anticipation of its new occupants.  Fences got fixed and reinforced.  Goats can and will climb, jump, go under and through just about any obstacle.  Mary grins and chuckles, saying, “If you can’t find your goat, look on top of your vehicle!” 

After picking up the ‘babies’ Mary bottle fed them and watched them grow and become bonded with her.  They also bond with their guardian dog Athena, a Great Pyrenees who takes her responsibility seriously.  It’s in her breeding, and she lives up to the reputation for protectiveness of her charges.  Nobody’s going to hurt HER kids! 

When the does got old enough, Mary ordered a registered Alpine buck.  Her herd is now 28 goats strong and she has been selling some of them. 

Goats are versatile.  They are used for meat, milk, and cheese.  They can be trained to be pack animals for camping/hiking expeditions.  Mary mentions, “I want to train them to carry my tools and supplies for me when I go out to fix fence.”

A goat makes a wonderful 4H project.  A wether from a breed used for meat would be the best choice for a project as it can be sold at the end of the season.  Registered animals are not required for 4H projects. 

Goats also make great professional companions for race horses, a tradition that got started for a good reason. It works.  A goat can calm another animal, provide the soothing ‘herd animal’ contact for a more high-strung companion.  Mary suggests that’s where the phrase ‘get your goat’ comes from.  A horse might become upset if someone stole his security blanket, and not run as well. 

Mary milks the does daily.  Her original two does give her more than a gallon per day each. 

The milk is used for feeding the kids after pasteurization, to meet Mary’s strict rules for keeping every step in her program sanitary.  It’s also healthier for them and is a natural way of socializing them with humans.  Since the kids don’t require all the milk produced Mary drinks some of it, gives some away, and makes soap with some of it. 

Goat milk produced at Dakota Morning Farm comes from goats that have never been given antibiotics.  Kittelson chooses holistic treatments for any problems, using natural salves and adding nothing that is not natural to treatments or feed. 

Goat milk is very similar to cow milk but much more easily digested.  The smaller size of the particles makes the difference.  Studies on Crohn’s Disease have shown that one of the factors in the smaller rate of occurrence in Europe as opposed to the United States is the customary use of goat milk in the general population.  Statistically it seems to decrease the chance of developing the disease, and also can decrease the symptoms. 

In most places in the United States raw (unpasteurized) milk can’t be marketed, including North Dakota at the present time.  It can be used by individuals, however.  The most common use is soap-making.

The home-made soap is high in glycerin, which is a humectant that draws moisture to the skin.  It is very mild, has none of the harsh chemicals of a detergent-based bar of soap.  The natural fat particles of goat milk soften skin. 

Kittelson would like to address some rumors regarding goats.  “Goats have gotten a bum rap,” she says.  “They do not eat tin cans, for example.  As for stinking, a buck in rut is the only time that happens! They do, however, prefer flowers to grass, so use a fence!”

Goats need to be properly cared for, trained, socialized, and perhaps most importantly well-fenced!  As pets, the best place for them is outside.  While Mary brings new-born kids into her home for feeding and socialization, as soon as they’re able to get up onto the couch out they go!  Goats require regular hoof-trimming, and should be de-horned at a young age.  They love attention from their people and respond in kind.

“Goats are the funnest, most personable, loving and kind animals,” says Kittelson.  “I had eleven kids in the house.  One of them had a problem with her back leg strength and couldn’t get up onto her feet.  One of the others was ALWAYS with her, not always the same one.  It’s like they took turns keeping her company while she couldn’t get up to play with them.  She was never left all alone.  And the buck will protect the herd.”

Athena, the Great Pyrenees in charge of the farmyard, is an effective backup for the protective buck.  She’s big, beautiful, and instinctively knows her business.  She’s friendly and happy to meet new people, but until she’s sure there’s no threat to her charges, she will somehow manage to remain between a visitor and those she’s there to protect. 

Dakota Morning Farm is a great place to visit.  You can contact Mary at dakotamorning@gmail.com if you'd like.  Watching the goats at play is a treat; they're very photogenic.  Some are outright hams!

Coping With a Storm

What used to be a grain bin lies near the underpass at the east side of Fessenden. Trees and tree branches have been displaced from where they’re supposed to be. The water that flowed over curbs abated quickly, leaving the debris of leaves and small branches behind for home-owners to pick up.

Water also flooded the underpass, which was closed for a time to assure safety while the drains did their job.

Several places in Fessenden will have new landscaping due to the sudden absence of the trees that once provided grace and beauty as well as shade.

The city park got a dousing and the golf course lost a few trees.

Part of City Hall’s new roof took a flying leap.

Now there are blue skies with some clouds; the storm was short-lived but savage in its intensity. 

Fessenden people take it in stride. In this neck of the woods (although there are few woods, and apparently Mother Nature has chosen to subtract a few more) storms are not uncommon.

Undaunted, as soon as the skies clear, people are busy picking up the pieces and putting them away. Chain saws are also not uncommon. Pickups and trailers are put to good use and the city dump will get another large pile of storm-related debris. 

A man pauses in his clean-up efforts. “I saw that the tree in the next door yard was down, then looked out in my front yard and one of mine was down too,” he says.  “The wind sounded like a big train going by.”  He laughs and adds, “I was going to take down those two other trees, and now this one is gone. I don’t know if I’ll still take out the others or not.” The truck he has standing by is filling with branches, not the first load to go out to the dump.

Another man says he was lucky.  “Only lost this one big branch.” The remains of the branch fill a pickup bed, another load for the dump. 

One couple has a new look for one of their evergreens.  The wind broke the top off and dropped it in their yard.  With the help of a niece, they glove up and get busy cutting and carrying to load a trailer.  It will be yet another dump run for them. 

A woman looks at a neighbor’s tree, now caught in one of hers.  She says, “The wind was blowing in exactly the right direction for that tree to catch the one that went down. It could have landed on the house instead.” The sidewalk is broken from the tree’s roots tearing out of the ground beside it.

South of town one of a local farmer’s new bins lies in ruins. A few miles down the road and around the corner another one has taken a hit.  The bins will have to be replaced as mending them is impossible. 

After this storm, as after many, the goal is clear:  clean up the mess and get on with life as usual. 

The City Work Boss gets busy with the street sweeper to neaten up the community’s streets while residents cut and carry big branches or trees, pick up twigs that litter their yards, mow lawns, and fill holes left by now absent tree roots. 

“What the heck, it’s just another storm,” says one resident.  “We can cope with this.  We’ve had to cope with lots worse things and we’re still standing.  We have to be strong and so we are.  We help each other when we need it.  That’s all there is to it.” 

Dakota Harvest Bee

An old-fashioned Harvest Bee took place August 24, 2010 near Chaseley, North Dakota. Wells County did itself proud though the efforts of a number of friends of the Heintz family. Mother, Lorraine Heintz, and son Henry Heintz, farm near Chaseley.  Lorraine’s health condition has kept the family busy traveling in search of treatments. Friends, aware of the stress, have pitched in to offer support.

Londa and Rick Neumiller of Bowdon; Tom Nudd, Bruce and Lexi LaPlante of Harvey; and Leon Klocke of Fessenden, got together with Henry and his sisters, Twyla Delzer of Fessenden, and Kayme Melby of Bowdon. 

Twyla says, “It’s good to know that even in our society when everyone’s so busy and so rushed, you’ve got friends who are out there who are ready to help you in a time of need. Henry felt like a heavy load had been lifted, he was like a different person.” Kayme agrees. “We want people to know that there are still good neighbors out there, and we appreciate them.”

The crew worked the afternoon, from dinner time to supper time, and cleared 250 acres of spring wheat for the Heintz family. 

They brought their combines and semi trucks. “All Henry did was stay in the yard and help unload trucks into the bins,” says Delzer. “We didn’t even have to get out our own combine.” 

The team worked together smoothly, some in the combines, some in the trucks. “Lexi would drive up beside the combines, they would load into her grain wagon, then she’d drive to the semis to unload and go back for more.”

Twyla says, “Rick Neumiller brought the filled semis and trucks in, Henry unloaded them. Londa, Bruce, and Leon were in the combines. Everyone else helped drive and unload trucks.”

It was a hectic afternoon, but the teamwork of longtime friends paid off and the job got done. 

Ruth and Butch Rexine and their son Scott brought over supper, a traditional hearty hotdish at the end of a strenuous day of harvesting. Dinner was a quick and simple sloppy joe meal, eaten in the trucks and combines.

The Heintz family has cause to be very proud of their friends and relatives, as well as being grateful for their support. “Sometimes a family just needs that extra from others, when things get stressful and hard. Having good friends who are like family be there to pitch in their emotional support as well as practical help – it’s pretty awesome. We love these guys.” Recently a cousin, George Grossman of Fargo, drove the family to Rochester, Minnesota. The Flicks, Steve, Mike and Nona, Dave and Cheryl, and John Pervix have helped out often, and are close neighbors. John and Linda Roller have also been extremely supportive. The extended family has grown closer through these trying months, and Lorraine’s son and daughters are thankful for everybody who has stepped up to the plate to help. 

“We didn’t even ask. I think Leon just let them know we could use a hand, and they came,” says Twyla.

“A team photo was not taken because somebody, who shall remain nameless, thinks pictures add twenty pounds,” she explains, when asked for a group picture. Also, people were in motion the entire time, too busy to pose for a camera. 

Twyla remembers, “When I was a little kid, my dad got badly burned and friends and neighbors did the same thing, they got the crop in. I guess some things just don’t change around here, and I’m glad.”

Wells County Fair

Moose Eyes Ribbon at Wells County Fair

Fair time in Fessenden is a sentimental journey for many. It’s the one time of the year when one can count on meeting up with family and friends who may not have seen each other since last year at fair time, or the year before that, or many years ago.

Classes plan reunions for fair time. Families whose members may be scattered far and wide know it is a good time for get-togethers. While the winter holidays may be the more traditional gathering season, the weather can be unpredictable. Summer is better for travel. Friends from childhood are likely to be in town during fair time, whether their school classes have reunions planned or not. 

Frank Hawkridge says, “It’s Old Home Week.  It’s when families get together.” His wife Glenda agrees.  “It’s a family tradition, the way you’re brought up. You come home for the fair.  Everyone’s always so happy and just have a good time.” The Hawkridge family is familiar to Wells County fair-goers. They provide good food and drinks from their stands, sustenance for busy and hungry people. Two of their three children help with the family business.

Rick Jensen from Harvey’s KHND sets up to cover the fair live. He posts current photos and some video on the web site.

It’s just a good time all the way around. Besides the carnival atmosphere, the fair entertainment offers festive activities, live music to dance to, and ribbons by the score in the competitions. Celebrating with friends and family makes it all more special.

When generations of families gather together at fair time, the oldsters may well start talking about ‘the good old days’ (which weren’t always so good, more of a challenge most often) and the youngsters get a chance to listen and learn. If they pay attention they can learn much of great value.  Their elders have the advantage of years of perspective, decades of experience, and lifetimes of learning from successes, and mistakes. The stories are interesting, more so because they involve people you know and are probably related to.

Memories abound at fair time. Everyone has a favorite memory that revolves around going to the fair.  It may be riding the ferris wheel on a first date. It may be getting a blue ribbon with a 4-H project. It may be winning a stuffed animal at one of the carnival games for your girlfriend. It may be the time someone in particular was soaked at the dunk tank. It may be a not so favorite memory of getting sick after going on a ride one too many times – on a full stomach of caramel apples, cotton candy, foot long hot dogs, and lemonade.

Welcoming hugs and strong handshakes when old friends meet again are just the beginnings of conversations about yesteryear, today, and the future. Walking around the fairgrounds at fair time, one never knows who might walk up with one of those hugs or handshakes. 

‘Remember when…?’ is one of the most-voiced expressions during fair time. That’s what happens when groups of people get together. The bonds that have been forged over the lifetimes of people are reinforced. Intervening years evaporate once the ‘catching up’ has been tended to. The best of times past are revisited and re-enjoyed with laughter and perhaps an occasional tear. 

The fair rides aren’t nearly as exciting to adults as they are to children, but every adult can reconnect with the child inside at fair time. The smell of fair food, cotton candy and fried food, can return one to childhood in an instant. The sound of voices talking and laughing, midway music and engines, grandstand noises, and activity going on at the Free Stage can trigger feelings one may not have felt in many years. As evening approaches, the lights bring their own excitement. The taste of lemonade at the fair is like no other. It goes with the environment. A trip to the barns means one might be able to feel the silky texture of the coat of a well-tended 4-H animal.  At the fair the senses are saturated.  It fills them all. 

Remembering is maybe the biggest part of going to the fair.  People can and do thoroughly enjoy every year’s experiences and add them to the extensive collection already accumulated. The trip down memory lane, the sentimental journey, the nostalgia, are precursors of the best part of all – going back next year.

DAKOTA: SUSTAINING BODY AND SOUL

Dakota:  New Moon Rising

Peaceful Summer Respite

Evening at the Farm

Friends Get Together

Flowers at the Door 

An Unidentified Snow Angel Cleared This Lady's Sidewalk

 A Lone Pelican Sentinals a Honker Community

 Pretty Peony

Guests Meet A Miniature Horse Herd



Early Viola (aka Johnny Jump-Ups)

 Bee and Crabapple Blossoms

 Baby Lilac



Chokecherry in Bloom



 Don't Know What These are Called

Honeysuckle 

Peonies

 Red Clover

 Little Daisies

Orange Day Lily 

 Barn

Lilac and Yellow Day Lily 

Wind Power in the Making 

Hollyhock

Field of Sustenance 

Baling the Ditches 

 Wells County in Production

Wells County Grain Harvest 

Subtle Sunset 

By the Rising of the Moon, By the Rising of the Moon ...