Views

The corn harvest is 99.9% complete.  Fields are black and bare.  Some farmers have spent the last few days of nice weather tilling fields, applying fertilizer or drilling drain tile.  Tomorrow we're forecast for 3-5 inches of wet snow.  I won't get into my complete and utter hatred of drain tile in this post - that subject would take up a blog all on its own. 

The view from the edge of our property.

We live on 3.5 acres about two miles south of town.  Close enough to town for convenience, but far enough away for a little seclusion.  We have the best of both worlds.  The only snag is that we have two close neighbors.  About 25 years ago the farmer who owned the neighboring farmstead split out two small plots for his sons to build houses on.  One of those sons moved away, and sold the house to another family.  We bought it from them. The farmer father has passed away, but another son is living in the original farmhouse.

Our close neighbors are fairly decent, all things considered.  They are friendly, keep a clean yard (certainly cleaner than ours), and have helped us with a few small projects when asked.  I share garden surplus and eggs with them occasionally.  The neighbors do tend to yell a lot - not swearing angry yelling, but rather 'yelling to impart information from one person to another a short distance away' yelling.  Hollering might be a better word.  Maybe this is normal for farm families - I'm not sure. 

The backyard.

I do hate the neighbor's dog, though.  This is unusual for me, since in general I love animals.  This dog is the exception.  As I mentioned before, it kills chickens.  It comes over and craps in our yard regularly.  It jumps up on you when it gets excited.  Worst of all, the bloody thing barks.  For hours at a time.  Nonstop.  Whenever the neighbors leave home and let their dog stay outside, it barks until they return.  Whenever I go outside, it barks at me.  Whenever someone drives up the driveway, it barks at their car.  Yeah, I really hate that dog.

I do enjoy living in the country.  I enjoy having fruit trees, a large garden, dark skies at night, and a bunch of chickens.  I wish we had some nature nearby, however.  We are completely surrounded by farm fields.  Not an acre of prairie or natural woodland as far as the eye can see.  That's pretty typical for most of southern MN.  Less than 1% of MN original tall grass prairies remains today - the rest has been paved over or plowed under.

The view down the driveway.

Screw Disneyland.  If I won the lottery, I'd buy up acres and acres of farmland and convert it all back to prairie.  And wetlands.  Lots of wetlands.  I'd rip out the drain tile wherever I could.  I'd build ponds and marshes and swamps and sloughs.  I'd plant grasses and sedges and rushes and wildflowers.  And after that, I'd figure out a way to get insects and animals to live there.  Don't ask me how, but throw enough money at a problem and it figures itself out, right?  Maybe?

Detritus from the combines.

Not that I'm going to win the lottery anytime soon.  I'm just not that lucky.  And it's hard to win when you don't buy any tickets.