My Home Town

I was raised in Casselton, North Dakota, which was, and is, a great town to grow up in. It still has no stop lights, and the Dairy Queen we hung out at is now Julie's Place. The Coast to Coast hardware store is gone, but now there's a Pizza Ranch.

So what is Casselton famous for? Some say because it is home to four of the past North Dakota Governors (Burke, Langer, Guy, Sinner). I've met two of them (Guy and Sinner), and grew up next door to Bud Sinner until he moved to the capitol.

Others say that Casselton is famous because it is home to North Dakota's only winery - Maple River Winery. I hear that the dandelions are being harvested as we speak for next year's vintage.

But I say that Casselton is famous for its can pile. You either think it's a piece of roadside attraction history, or a big pile of garbage that needs to be pulled down. It's being moved to a new location so that even more people can see it.

40 Degree Differences

When I left the lake this morning it was in the 50's and starting to look like a beautiful day. I stopped in at the convenience store and had a nice chat while picking up a package. Then I drove into Fargo to finalize the details for the purchase of my new Summer Palace.

Then I jetted off to Texas. I did the right thing and made a reservation for Super Shuttle in advance. I called them as soon as I got my bag, and they said they'd be there in 5-8 minutes. I wandered out to the orange signs to wait in the 91 degree heat. Yes, even at 8 pm it was 91 degrees.


35 minutes later I called Super Shuttle to ask what the hold up was, to be told that they were running out of vans and it would be awhile.

"I have half a mind to take a taxi home and send you the bill", I said to the rather rude person on the phone. "That's fine, I'll refund your credit card, and once you send in the receipt we'll pay the difference." Gee whiz, I was looking for a fight and she gave in after the first punch.

So I took a taxi home, thinking I'd jump in my PT Cruiser and go to the grocery store to stock up on things. I've been told that cars left in garages for 6 months rarely start, but did I believe them? No! So AAA finally made it out and started my car. I drove it for 15 minutes, then got my groceries. Lo and behold, the car won't start again. Luckily, the nice police officer patrolling the store and the night manager helped me out. I guess the battery is dead, so AAA gets to make another run out here in the morning. But at least now I have plenty of butter, eggs, beer, and mascara to to tide me over until my car works again.

It's now after midnight. While I'm blogging, my cat Sam is holding on to my leg for dear life, and Sydney has placed himself on top of my yet unpacked suitcase. All is well in the Winter Palace for now. Tomorrow I'll see what my Texas garden has produced in my absence, other than weeds.

The New Summer Palace

My new, fabulous camper arrived yesterday. I took a long hot shower this morning (that's new), and washed several loads of clothes last night (no lugging the laundry to the Community Center and saving up the quarters for the machines). I even have an icemaker for Pete's sake.

There is still much work to do, but I have to make a run to Texas to check in on my Winter Palace. Maybe when I get back all my stuff will magically be unpacked and put away.

In bird news, I've been seeing a lot of Yellow-headed Blackbirds lately. I never saw one before this year, and now I see them all the time. A big flock of Pelicans has arrived in one of the many little ponds near here. I thought they were swans before I got closer.

There are blossoms on my strawberries, and the lilacs are starting to pop. I can't wait until I get back to pick a big 'ole bunch of them.

Fire Bugs and Eskimo Kisses

I guess that the real reason I spend my summers in Minnesota is to be closer to family. I'm single, no kids (never wanted any), and the only one to live in Texas. The rest of my kin live in North Dakota and Minnesota.

My little brother has a camper here too, and his kids and grandkids visit some weekends. He's got 6 grandkids and 1 more on the way, so it can be pretty chaotic sometimes, in a good way.

Last night around the campfire my 5-year-old nephew talked about Fire Bugs. Fire Bugs were something I made up 2 summers ago to explain what the sparks were shooting from the fire pit. I was so pleased he remembered! Then I taught him and his cousin to give eskimo kisses while they were both sitting in my lap.

That's what life at the lake is all about. If I'm lucky, they'll tell their kids some day about their Great Aunt Sandy who taught them all about fire bugs and eskimo kisses.

My 30-second Commute

Regardless of what you may believe, working from home requires much more effort than commuting in to the office. And it affects my health too.

For example, I drink way too much coffee now, since I have time for it. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning because the sun is so bright up here. After I make that pot of coffee, there's nothing else to do but sit down and start to work. Since the sun doesn't go down until 9 pm, that makes for a long work day. And it's not like there's a whole lot of entertainment choices to pass time in the evenings. Those 240 channels I get on my satellite TV just don't seem to be enough.

There's no need to shower or wear pretty clothes. What's the problem with that? Vultures start to circle the camper after a few days, thinking that a new garbage dump just opened.

Yes, it's a sacrifice, but someone has to do it.

...as the Buffalo Roam...ahem...I Mean as the Bison Roam

I've gotten so used to seeing the Bison in the field next to my campground that I almost drove by them today, even though they were close to the fence. As soon as I parked the car and moved closer they got skittish and started moving away. "Buster", the bison looking at me, stood his ground but watched me closely.

The C-Store at the campground (that's Convenience Store for you non-Yankees) sells bison meat. Ewwww.

Remind me to tell you about the time in the Badlands when a bunch of us stupid teenagers went walking on the buttes after midnight. No streetlights, nothing to prevent us from falling off a mountain or into a river. My friend and I cautiously walked a ways until we heard a snuffle sound. We got within 2 feet of a bison before we realized what a stupid idea this was. Wait; I just told you about the time in the Badlands...never mind.

Unidentified Bird Identified

I've been relying on my trusty Birds of Minnesota Field Guide to help me identify the birds that come to my feeder, and it really bothered me that I couldn't figure out the oriole-like bird that likes oranges, but was rusty colored instead of orange.

I went online last night and found my bird. It is an Orchard Oriole! I used a great site that asks questions to help you narrow the search down. Use the Step By Step Search to find your bird.

http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/All/birds_na_147/38/Location/6513/Minnesota

Post From Last Summer

When I was a kid, there was nothing I loved better than braunschweiger and mayo on white bread. On a recent shopping trip, I saw the delectable pink slab o' liver for sale and scooped it up.

Tonite, after going for a walk to pick lilacs, and chewing the fat with our landlord Dave who was mowing the path to the lilacs when I showed up to pick them, I sat down and cut a slice of braunschweiger off the roll. I didn't have any bread, but I slathered that soft fleshy liverwurst patty with mayonnaise just for old-time sake.

The first bite brought back a flood of memories of sitting at the kitchen table enjoying my lunch with Dad, who also loved it. I was still enthusiastic the second bite - it tasted just like I remembered! I stared at the remainder, thinking about the ingredients. Pork livers, Pork fat, Bacon (do you see a pork theme here?), salt, and sugar are the top 5 ingredients in this favorite morsel from my past. It is 78% fat, and nutritionists recommend it for someone who needs to gain weight. It has suddenly lost its appeal.

Sometimes you can't go home again. On the bright side, it has 100% of your Vitamin A requirements in one slab, so I got one nutrient in today!

Birdies and Sunshine and Squirrels Oh My

I'm fascinated with the local wildlife here. Granted, in Texas I see raccoons, possums, lizards, bullfrogs, squirrels and birds all the time, but here in Minnesota there are different kinds.

I always know that I'm halfway to Minnesota when I see my first Redwinged blackbird (usually around Omaha). We don't have those in Texas, at least I don't see them.

By putting out some orange halves I've been able to attract some Baltimore Orioles as well as a rusty colored bird that doesn't look like an oriole, male or female. Within 20 minutes of putting out the hummingbird feeder today I saw my first hummer of the season. Yesterday I got a brief glimpse of an Indigo Bunting, a bright blue bird. A Blue Jay also came by for a bit. And of course whole flocks of Goldfinches are visiting my feeders.

This afternoon I saw an inquisitive head raise up above the deck boards - I had to look it up, but I'm sure it was a Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel. It raises up on its haunches just like a prairie dog, and has an amazing striped tail. He's been hanging around all day.

May 11, 2008

I put off my trip north by a week because the lake got 18 inches of snow just before I was set to leave. I've been a southern girl for far too long to want to endure that.

It snowed all afternoon yesterday, but nothing stuck. Today was nice, with a high of 60 and sunny for Mother's Day.

The geese have arrived at the slough en masse and are happily honking their pleasure at being home for the summer. The slough is in front of my camper, as opposed to the swamp, which is behind my camper. The slough looks like a river now, until the reeds grow back up so high we won't even know there's water back there. The swamp always looks like a swamp.

I raked the leaves from my garden and happily discovered that the day lilies and strawberries are already greening up. When I left Texas, I had cherry tomatoes that were almost ready for harvest. What a difference in growing seasons!

I met the latest members of my family this weekend. William (Buck) is 18 months already, Oliver (Ollie), 3 months old, and Madison (Maddie), 7 weeks old. I don't do babies. Once you hold them it's a slippery slope to changing diapers, and cleaning bodily fluids off of your favorite pair of blue jeans.

I've decided that my great-nephew Andy is my newest favorite, because he knows where Malta is (learned it on the Veggie Tales), and was very excited that I've been to Egypt and seen the pyramids and rode a camel. He's only 4, but I think I'll have a new traveling companion in a few years. My next favorite is Alex, because he ran right for me when I got here and hugged me really hard - twice. He's 4 too. His cousin Elsye hugged me hard too, but only because Alex did. I have 10 great-nieces and nephews, and at least one more on the way. I'm way too young for this.