Sunday, October 14, 2012

Travels

It has been a whirlwind weekend of travel and fighting infection in pursuit of a good time. 

If you did not read my last entry, I have a cold.  At least I am now on what is hopefully the tail-end of said illness, so I can survive without drugs.  This does not mean that my life is mucus and phlegm-free.  Au contraire, mes cheris!  

I shall spare you the play-by-play of my various bodily fluid issues of the weekend, for which I expect your gratitude.  But after several weeks of staying home with the dogs while my parents work at the farm or play in Grand Marais, I decided to venture out.  I thought of it as a practice run for next weekend, but more on that later.

This weekend was the fundraiser/fall dance at the Brooten Pavilion.  Many people showed up and a good time was had by all.  I did partake in a small amount of alcohol, but it was all in moderation and I had no ill after effects.  Actually, it was a very brief trip.  Due to this cold along with another complicating female issue, I opted to drive out solo with Lena on Saturday afternoon.  This kept my total trip time to approximately 24 hours. 

While the dance was certainly the highlight of the visit, I was also able to enjoy one of the great benefits that come with autumn in Minnesota.  You see, in summer, the woods become quite overgrown with plant life, and venturing out can be hazardous at best.  Once fall arrives and undergrowth begins to die off, woodland walking becomes far more feasible.

As a child growing up in the more rural areas of the state, I was given a lot of free range to wander in fields and forests as a child.  Normally I did this with friends or siblings, but I did enjoy a peaceful exploration on my own every once in a while.  So today I revisited that experience.

While my parents were in town having breakfast with friends, I left the dogs in the house, donned my work books and hoodie before setting forth into the woods.  In a moment of caution, I left a note for my parents indicating my intention in case they returned before I did.

I started off going straight into the woods, but eventually found myself on the edge of one of the corn fields.  My uncle has not yet combined all of his corn, so there is still quite a bit of tall, golden and dry stalks surrounding the woods.  I followed the edge of the corn until I reached the edge of the pasture as marked by the electric fence. 

No cattle were waiting for me, but I did not feel like risking their hasty arrival seeking food if they were nearby and took notice of me.  I am not an idiot; I know the aggression level of cattle when they expect to be fed.  So I waited a moment and headed back to find my parents arriving home. 

Next weekend I am returning to the farm with the three dogs, but without my parents.  There is a church auction to attend and a friend and her new baby daughter to meet.  Hopefully I will be able to see my grandfather and properly water the lawn for my father.   Maybe I will take another solo trip into the woods.  Who knows, maybe I will find something more interesting than dead trees and giant Labrador retriever droppings. 

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