Yesterday I called in sick to work. I had this cold bug that had gone so far as to keep me awake the night before, so when the dogs woke me up at the usual hour (between 5:30 and 6) I was really cranky and tired, not to mention dripping sinuses. I spent the day mostly in bed; in the morning I read a story to Mr. Attitude, which was really a great time for both of us, then I alternately napped and read Michael Pollan's latest book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. If you care at all about where that meal on your plate came from, you must read that book. It answered my long time question, held since I spent time in southern Minnesota and noticed all the corn fields: "What do they do with all that corn?" The answers might surprise you.
Today I had a meeting about 90 miles away from here. It will go on tomorrow, and I will drive over for it, but with kids...I'm lucky if I can justify one meeting a year. It was about a new project that will monitor a sample of Minnesota's 10,000+ lakes to see the long term effects of watershed land use, climate change, etc. Interesting, but too much statistical boring stuff. I left town at 4:30, and had to pull over for one cloudburst that had pea sized hail pounding down on my car.
It was nice that a lot of the road between the meeting and home was deserted by traffic, pretty much devoid of habitation. It is such a strange, deserted area of the state, not good for agriculture but not having much desirable vacation property either.
I like to try to do career-oriented things, but sometimes I think what I do at home matters the most of all.
4 comments:
It does.
Cindy
Sorry you've been sick- summer colds are the worst. You've hit on a big truth- What we do at home DOES matter most of all.
I sure do know what you mean by “a strange, deserted area of the state.” I happened across your blog some time ago, and kept reading it because your situation is so much like ours 30 years ago when our family was young---living in an unfinished house, doing as much subsistence stuff as we could. The pictures of your environment looked like our northern Minnesota home. I was interested to figure out that you are near Sandstone. We were about 20 miles west of Willow River, 20 miles east of the top of Mille Lacs. My tomatoes got nipped by frost once on August 15th!
Now we’re corn/soybeans/beef cattle farmers in the relative southland that is Indiana, still doing that subsistence thing, too!
I enjoy your blog--Thanks!
Kate- That's the exact area I was driving through last Thursday morning- I headed west from Willow River to the north shore of the lake.
How amazing to get a comment from someone who actually lived there! Thanks!
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