Hug your favorite tree…you never know when someone will cut it down

Here in my little town, which isn’t so little any more, we’ve had a really crappy development. The business I work at is located on the Northwest edge of town, not too far from the corner of 21st ave and the 83 bypass. In the field on that corner there was a wheat field, and it had this lovely, great big burr oak growing in it.

I was fortunate enough to have taken one picture of it. This particular picture was taken in September 2010, just before the leaves began to turn. There is more to see beyond this tree…quite a nice view of the valley from the Western edge of the Cube Farm property, but not for long.

It is a common phenomenon in North Dakota to see a lone tree growing in a field. Some speculate that farmers left a tree here or there so they would have a shady spot to take a break under. It seems plausible, and I have to wonder how many different times this tree sheltered someone in the middle of a hot work day. I estimate that it was somewhere between 75-100 years old when it was cut down. It would be interesting to have a playback of all that has happened in the presence of this tree. I’m guessing there have been some interesting things going on when nobody was looking.

Because of the dire situation in Minot with the lack of housing, due to last year’s flood and all of the oil workers swarming into the area, all the available land is being snapped up and built up with homes. I truly do understand the need, and we all knew it was coming, but I wonder why it is a good idea to tear down this lovely tree rather than use it as the focal point for a park in the new neighborhood that is in the process of being built? I predict that the homes that are to be built here will be cookie cutter in nature, smallish,  and set very close together.  I can’t say that it will be an improvement.

There are a lot of people at the Cube Farm who will be really angry that this tree was torn down. So many of us enjoyed watching it change with the seasons. Sometimes, when times were stressful it was nice to take a break and walk out to the Western edge of the property and just watch the branches of the tree sway with the breeze. That simple activity did so much to help decrease my stress level. I am very sad to see this lovely tree go.

Now that Spring is here, I’ll be out and about taking pictures again, and will show the “progress” that has happened since I last took pictures around the edge of town. It’s now become my new hobby to catalog the changes in the landscape around town with all the building going on.

Don’t forget to hug your favorite tree…someone may cut it down when you aren’t looking.

May I see your identification, please…this ride doesn’t stop.

Recently, I’ve run into a lot of situations where I’ve had to card people while working at the Big Box Store. You wouldn’t believe what kinds of things you can’t buy in North Dakota until you are 18…some movies, cold medicines, spray paint. The list seems to be endless these days, and I find myself having to ask people for proof that they are old enough to purchase these items.

Very often, the ID’s that are shown to me are by people who were either born on the year I graduated from high school (20+ years ago), or were born the same year Oldest Son was born. It’s pretty bizarre that I am running into so many people who are just young enough that I could be their mother. Add to that the fact that I have several friends my age and younger who have grand children.

Needless to say it’s been weirding me out something fierce.

Today Older Son had his senior pictures taken (thank you, Brea!), and it was kind of surreal in a way I can’t even begin to describe. He’s really graduating from high school. Really. No take backs or do overs. The boy, er, young man, is getting ready to launch.

!

Please excuse me while I put on my crash helmet and strap in… I feel a little bit like I’m on a roller coaster, and the ride attendant has decided to give me an extended ride. I know this is just part of life, and I certainly remember being on Older Son’s end of things, but it is almost a little bit more jarring than I expected.  I’m betting this is normal and that a lot of parents have this issue. I think the strangest thing is that there is now no more road map. After graduation in May, the road map butts up against blank paper and then he has to start writing his own story from there.

Here’s the thing I know to be truth. There is no stopping. There is no Ground Hog Day scenario where I get to be Bill Murray and keep doing a day over until I get it right. There is no going around the block to make sure you take the turn you meant to take. The train has definitely pulled out of the station and I’m not going to be the conductor for very much longer.

I would be a bald-faced liar if I didn’t admit that there is some freedom for me in that. I shouldn’t feel guilty about that, but I do. I’m guessing that will pass and life will just keep going, just like it always does.

Pretty soon, Older Son will be purchasing things that will cause him to have his ID checked.  I haven’t been carded in a very long time, as I don’t color my hair to hide the silver. I figure I worked hard for those natural highlights…who am I to paint over what Nature gave me? It has the effect of letting everyone know that I am definitely old enough, for whatever. I guess if I’m old enough to have goodly sized silver streaks in my hair, I’m old enough to have a child who’s become a man and let him move on with his life. See how I talk myself into things? I’m very circular that way sometimes.

The good news is that it’ll be a small practice run for the whole Empty Nest Enchilada. I have a few years reprieve from that, as Younger Son won’t graduate until 2014.  And then what happens when Sparrow’s Nest holds just one sparrow in it again?

My life begins again.

The holding pattern evaporates and I get to reinvent my life. My road map will then butt up against a blank page, and I’ll get to start writing my own story again. It will be my turn.

I might even bump into a man who will be worth my time.  I’m pretty convinced that’s unlikely, but one never knows for sure.

Hmm….

Most days, two years feels like a small drop in a cosmic bucket, but there have been a few moments here and there where it seems like it’s going to be an eternity. Every now and again I get a small glimpse of what life  might be like when I can concentrate on myself and the things I’d like to do.  I hear people really do that. No joking. At least, that’s what I hear.

We’ll see if the rumors are true.

Until then I’ll keep on going, because this ride just doesn’t stop.

Explosive Expansion

Generally, I have a hard time coming up with something to blog about, but recently I’ve had a topic I’ve been burning to get on the blog: Expansion.

So, you might ask, what about expansion? Well, it seems that we have more than a wee bit of a housing shortage here in Minot. In fact, given the oil industry boom and the disastrous loss of housing from the flood, we have quite a problem.

What’s being done about it? Plenty. It’s astonishing to me how many houses are going up right now, and it’s a little disturbing. Minot is not a large town, or at least it wasn’t. Three years ago we were sitting at somewhere around 36,000 people, plus or minus. As of the 2010 census 40,888 were definitely living here, but a recent housing study gives a higher estimate of approximately 45,000 people living within the city limits. That’s a lot of growth in a short amount of time.

Minot is surrounded by lovely countryside. Given the building boom happening right now, much of that will disappear. This last weekend, I snapped some pictures of areas on the North end of the city where most of the home building is taking place. The picture below is taken from the corner of 16th St and 30th Ave NW, looking in a SW direction. In the distance on the left, you can see some new homes that went up last year, and in the center you can just see my Cube Farm peeking from behind the landscape. With in the next couple of years I predict that this whole place will be filled with homes. This area used to be farmland.

This next picture is still at the same corner of 30th Ave NW, but looking straight West toward the Hwy 83 Bypass. This is still farmland to the North of 30th Ave, but I predict that it won’t stay that way too long. While I understand the need for people to have a place to live, I’m a little sad that my little city is now growing so quickly that the beauty of the surrounding area isbeing obliterated.

There are more places not too far from my Cube Farm where buildings are going up quick. I’ll be taking pictures and posting them here for posterity’s sake, if nothing else.

North Dakota Governor, Art Link, made a famous speech entitled  When the Landscape is Quite Again, which had to do with water/energy resources. In this time of things changing due oil energy resources, I hope that our leaders are paying attention to not only how quickly things are built and put into place, but also how well things are built and put into place.  My fondest wish for my little city is that the dignity and beauty of it and the surrounding landscape can be preserved. I hope the small town feeling doesn’t go away.

Football with a view

This Thursday night was the first game of the season for Younger Son’s football team. Now, I don’t understand much of football, but I keep trying. Younger keeps trying teach me the rules, and they are slowly but surely sticking, but by the time he graduates from high school, I don’t imagine there will be much call for me to watch a football game anymore. Football just isn’t something I am interested in, unless Younger is playing, or it’s a University of North Dakota game (GO SIOUX!).

Last year Duane Carlson Stadium at Magic City Campus was under renovation and the teams had to use other venues. This year, the construction is all done, and they have one heck of a field. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Duane Carlson Stadium is probably one of the best, if not THE best, in the whole state. Why is it the best? Because of the view. I don’t know jack about football, but I know a pretty view when I see one.

Not only have the stadium and field  just been redone, but it has got to have the most fantastic view of the Mouse River Valley. The Stadium is built into the side of a hill, and looks out over the valley in a breath-taking way. People think that North Dakota is as flat as a board, but that isn’t entirely true. Eastern North Dakota is just as flat as a board, but once you travel West of the Red River Valley the landscape becomes beautiful rolling prairie full of coolies, valleys, hills and fields.  Below is a series of pictures I took throughout the game.

 

Here’s one looking North West. The big “M” used to reside on top of the Metropolitan Federal Building. When Metropolitan Federal went belly up, the school bought it, and it looks great overlooking the Valley.

There’s something beautiful about a field lit up in the dark!

Unfortunately Younger Son didn’t get to play until the end, and the game was lost 0-21. Oh well, it was a beautiful night to watch the sunset and enjoy the view!

Flogging depression with gardening

Apparently, I’ve been depressed.

It sounds as though I make it out to be like it sneaked up on me, and caught me unawares. Well, that’s sometimes how it happens…at least for me. I realized recently, that I’d been falling into old patterns and having no feelings other than unhappy. Today I heard stories about two people I work with at The Big Box Store, who have decided to move away because they lost their homes, and most everything in the flood. There’s nothing holding them here, so they are moving to where they have family, and starting over. It really made me think about all the things that I have taken for granted, and how  fortunate I have been.

Do I have more bills than I can keep up with? Oh, yeah. Do I run like a chicken with my head cut off most days? Yep. Do I feel overwhelmed all the time? Most definitely. Has my ex-husband served me with a legal motion because he thinks he’s paying me too much, and wants a refund? Yes he did, that rotten so-and-so.  Has the heart of my city been destroyed, and so many people I know been displaced and won’t be able to get back into their homes before the snow flies? Yes, and it makes my heart ache.  Have I got more things around the house that need doing than I have time and energy for? Oh, man, do I. Did my engine light come on? Unfortunately, it did. Ugh.

I’ve been feeling really down because of all of this stuff on my plate, and didn’t realize how down I was until I realized I have been having a continual internal pity party for quite a while. Hearing about these two families who have had to make such a hard decision really jerked me out of my rut, and I was able to actually get up and do something. Feeling depressed is very much like wearing weights around your neck…it’s just so hard to get up and do anything. I wish I had realized I had sunk down so far before things got so out of whack.

The thing is, I have got so much to be grateful for, and that really should outweigh the bad stuff. Do I have a home to come home to at the end of a long day, that is dry and safe? Are my kids healthy? Am I gainfully employed? Do I have parents that have stuck by me and helped me every step of the way my whole life? Do I have good friends?  Did my garden produce food for me, even though I neglected it all summer? A resounding yes to all of these things and much more. I am so blessed, and it’s a huge bummer that I lost sight of that.

Before - ugh!

So, after I got home from working at The Big Box Store this morning, I took Older Son shopping. We came home, and then Younger Son and I spent three hours outside. He changed light bulbs over both doors and washed the van, and I spent my time cleaning up and organizing the rock beds that surround two sides of our house. The front one was especially bad, but it turns out that it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Since I had extra time, and was on a roll, I weeded out my strawberry/herb garden and found some interesting things.

Rosemary on the right, Thyme on the left

I planted rosemary, thyme and oregano this spring, which grew fabulously. Now I have a nice bunch of fresh herbs to cook with. Actually, I like to just rub them in my hands and sniff them. There’s nothing that drops my blood pressure quick than smelling fresh thyme. Who needs drugs when you have a good kitchen herb garden!

After that was done, I took a look at my VERY over grown vegetable garden. We planted snow peas, corn, carrots and pumpkins. The only thing that did really well was the pumpkins. The vines and flowers are so pretty! Younger Son has been telling me for a couple of weeks about some really strange-looking pumpkins, and he thought the vines might be infected with something and the pumpkins were deformed. I finally made the effort to take a look tonight, and it turns out that not only do we have genuine baby pumpkins, but also spaghetti squash! I had a spaghetti squash that I ended up throwing in the compost heap this Spring, as it went bad before I could eat it. Apparently, they are very easy to grow!

We also have ground cherries and dill that re-seeded themselves from last year. The strawberries looked a little worse for the wear, but were holding their own and had sent out runners. We even had some carrots that survived all the rain we received. Even though Younger isn’t a veggie eater, I talked him into trying a carrot straight out of the garden, since he was the one that planted them. I was surprised that he actually ate it, but he did. I ate some too, and it was a little woody as it should have been picked earlier, but it was good anyway.

So, by 7:30 this evening, the rock beds had been cleared of all weeds, one garden had been weeded and watered, and the van had been scrubbed for the first time all summer (There wasn’t

Whoa! Now you can see the rocks in my rock bed!

much car washing going on with the city requesting water conservation during and after the flood, until just recently),  and I was able to sit down and eat supper with a genuine feeling of having accomplished something for the first time in a long, long time.

Tomorrow, I work on the inside of the house!

 

 

 

 

A new citizen approacheth!

Let me start off by letting you know up front that this is a repeat of a posting I did over at my friend Mark’s blog, The Idiot Speaketh. He was kind enough to let me hijack his blog for a little while tonight, and let me post this sight unseen.  I commented in my last post I thought so much of what Mark was doing that I wanted to give him an honorary North Dakota citizenship. Not just because he’s an all around great guy, but because he flat-out earned it. What I posted at Mark’s blog is as follows:

A few weeks ago, Mark did a most amazing thing. He rode his stationary bike 201 miles in only one day, and invited all of his many blog friends to make pledges in support of the flood recovery effort for my beautiful city of Minot, North Dakota. Not only did he pull off a personal best, but funds were indeed donated to the Red Cross on Minot’s behalf. It makes me tear up just thinking about the effort that Mark, and many others, went to…I thank you all on behalf of my community. (HUGS)

In my estimation, Mark is the embodiment of the word neighborliness. Here in North Dakota, being neighborly is important, because your survival just may depend upon your neighbors helping you out at some point. The climate can be harsh and deadly here on The High Plains, and folks up here just help each other out as a matter of course. Not because they have to, but because they can. He lives in Texas, which is on the other side of the country from North Dakota, and yet he is a good neighbor. A fabulous neighbor. Neighborlicious. That’s right, Mark…I made that word up just for you.

Mark’s reward for being outstanding in the neighborliness department doesn’t stop there. As promised, I have decided to make Mark an honorary North Dakota Citizen. As befitting any occasion where one gains citizenship to a new place, a little pomp and circumstance is in order.

After long thought about how a Statehood Citizenship Ceremony might go, I’ve determined that the symbols of the Great State of North Dakota should be incorporated. However, we’ll have to forgo the buffalo as it just wouldn’t cooperate and let Mark ride it into the Blogiverse Auditorium this evening. (Mark, my humble apologies about him having bucked you off and trod upon your toes!) Ahem…let’s get started, shall we?

ALL RISE!
(Mark enters, stage right, adorned in lei’s made of the Wild Prairie Rose, and escorted by a jubilant Western Meadowlark)

Here now, in the presence of the entire Blogiverse, all bear witness to Mark’s brave and unselfish deeds:

For initiating acts of Neighborliness from far across the country…

For behavior befitting a Native North Dakotan by coming to the aid of others, just because he could…

For having a “can do” attitude…

For exhibition of stamina, as demonstrated by riding the same distance in one day on a stationary bike (200+ miles), that would take almost four hours by car (like driving from Minot to Grand Forks)…

For having a heart the size of the sky over The High Plains, and as golden as the wheat fields that cover the rolling prairies of North Dakota…

And, for having a sense of humor so great as to make the most stoic farmer crack a smile…

(Whacking Mark about the head and shoulders with a shock of ripe wheat) I dub thee, Mark Pakulak, a true North Dakotan, with all of the rights an privileges wherein. You and your family will always be welcome here with open arms. I wish you joy, peace, and all the good things life has to offer you. May you never hunger, may you never thirst, and may the roads you travel always be clear of potholes.

As is befitting any event done properly in North Dakota, a pot luck will follow!

(uh…Mark…make sure to exit stage left. The buffalo is still behind the curtain on stage right, and he’s looking longingly at your toes…)

Neighborliness across borders

In the midst of adversity come the most amazing human actions.

The whole valley had to evacuate, and people had to move not only themselves, but all of their belongings. I’m proud to say that the whole community and the surrounding area stepped up and of the almost 12,000 people who were displaced, only about 300 had to go to a public shelter. That’s an amazing thing that shows what kind of place North Dakota is to live in. We are a pretty neighborly bunch of people…that being an understatement.

Now to the most important reason for my posting today. My friend, Mark, who writes the blog The Idiot Speaketh & Pedaleth, is riding his stationary bike 160+ miles today. His all time record is 160 in one day, and he’s looking to out-do that. I checked out his Facebook page just now, and already he has clocked in 90 miles, as of 11:44am Central time. The thing that makes this particular ride super extra special is that Mark has challenged all of his friends to pledge an amount of money per each mile he rides and donate it to the American Red Cross Mid-Dakota Chapter on behalf of the people in Minot who’ve been displaced by the flood.  So why is the title of this post Neighborliness Across Borders?  Because my buddy Mark lives in Texas, that’s why. Even though he lives all the way across the country from North Dakota, he’s stepping up and helping out as though he lived in the next town over. For this, I am giving Mark the high honor of dubbing him an Honorary North Dakotan. I’m working on a graphic for that Mark…

I had the privilege to meet Mark and his son earlier in June when they drove through on a Father/Son trip. It’s not very often you get to meet your blog friends in person, so this was a rare treat.  Also in attendance was my Sister-by-Choice, Brea, who writes the blog Brea’s Aire. The four of us met at Pizza Hut and had such a good time, we closed the place down. That’s right…we’re just that radical. Of course it helps that Brea brought the  BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE in the entire world, and bribed the Pizza Hut staff with it. By the time we left, they all had the glazed-over eyes of those who are rocking a major sugar high.  During the time we were at Pizza Hut, we discussed many things including how squirrels lay eggs in your attic when you aren’t looking, the crazy antics of Texas’s governor, and the international political ramifications of camels with deflated humps…amongst many other topics.  It was a most enlightening evening! After all was said and done, it was a fabulous time, and it was such a privilege to get to meet Mark and Tyler in person.

I’m not one to put my face on my blog, because I started this blog out wanting to be totally anonymous. However, as time goes on, I realize that anything I write here could be seen by anyone savvy enough to do their research, and quite frankly, my life just isn’t that interesting. So, to all the CIA operatives who have been trying so hard to find me, here I am with my friends Mark and Brea:

Just looking at this picture makes me feel more blessed than I can express. It’s my fondest wish for all who read this blog today that you find yourselves equally as blessed.

Oh…and for those at the CIA who have been frantically trying to find my whereabouts all these years, I’m the one in the blue shirt.

Blessed are mundane things

Today started out being not such a bad day. My house wasn’t considered to be in the flood zone, and we had made some progress on going through stuff in the basement that needed to be gotten rid of or brought upstairs. There was a sense of it needing to be done, but not that we had to kill ourselves to finish up.

My Sister calls this "Frog in a Blender"

Then we went out to run some errands. Older Son came with me and on the way home, I thought it would be nice to stop at Starbucks and get us some coffee. Or, in my case, a nice Green Tea Frappuccino.  We sat outside the drive through speaker for a long time, and then a girl came out and apologized, letting us know that they were closing due to the evacuation zones being expanded.

What?!

Yep…we came right home and turned on the tv. The big news is that someone just discovered that double the water was coming our way, and those close to the original evacuation zones were to evacuate as well. Well, that threw things into a tizzy. Later on we would find out that we weren’t in an expanded evacuation zone, but that someone had jumped the gun on that announcement. We are still getting double the water, though. It’s going to be what I come to call a Prairie Tsunami.

So, Older Son and I began to get things up from the basement, double time. Younger Son was at Driver’s Ed all afternoon, but got home early. We hauled stuff up and stashed it in bedrooms, we hauled crap out to the curb for garbage pickup, and we took some stuff to a friend who had use for them. It got to be about 9:30, and I walked across the road to see what’s going on closer to the river. I could see straight down one road to a main drag that runs over a bridge across the river. It was still dry, even though the West end of town is flooding. I’m hoping to get up tomorrow and still see a dry road. We’ll see what the new day brings. Until then, time to hit the rack.

Older Son’s bed is smack in the middle of the living room, so he’ll be comfortable enough until this whole thing is over and we can get him back into his bedroom in the basement. He suggested that we watch a movie, Battle: L.A. It’s an alien attack movie, just the kind of sci-fi thing we all like to watch. I sat here earlier flossing my teeth and catching up on the news on Facebook, and realized how nice it was to just do something as mundane as take care of my teeth. Watching a movie together is a nice mundane way to try to normalize after a long day of tearing up your house, and watching your community go under water via the television.  For now, we are just a family hanging out together, discussing the best way for the protagonists to kill the attacking aliens. Run of the mill stuff around these parts.

Good night all…

 

Hear now, the Mouse roars again

In 1969, the Mouse River flooded the city of Minot, North Dakota. After that, the river was known as The Mouse That Roared. It flooded again several times in the 70′s. It now roars again, only this time it’s a roar of epic proportions. This time around, the Mighty Mouse River is estimated to reach 7 feet higher than the worst flood ever recorded for the Mouse River Basin.

Earlier in June a crest was predicted and it was thought that the river would indeed inundate the city once more. Mandatory evacuations were put in motion and the valley went quiet for several days. Then the water receded and the people were allowed to return to their homes, with the admonishment that they may have to be evacuated again.

Today, the Mighty Mouse River roars louder. As I type this, the water is seeping over the dikes in the North West quadrant of the city. Soon it will reach a sea level measurement of 1,556 and it will pour over the dikes. People have been evacuating again for the last two days…everything they own is being moved out. Many will lose their homes, and there are some who will never return. Several people I know have moved out lock stock and barrel because they have relatives or friends who can store their things. I also know people who can’t take everything with them because they just have nowhere to take it to. These poor people will lose most everything except what they can cram into their vehicles. It’s estimated that around 11,000 people will have had to evacuate. That’s one-fourth of the population of the city. That also doesn’t count the businesses located in the valley that will be lost.

What about Sparrow’s little nest? Well, I’m fortunate in that I have a home that is at an elevation that should keep us out of the way of the river. The thing I’m worried about is that the sewers will be infiltrated by rushing water and then be forced back the way the sewage came from – right into people’s basements. My Dad came over and plugged up my drains for me, complete with wood and sandbags on top, hopefully to keep the pressure from blowing the drain plugs out altogether. I have high hopes that it won’t be a problem but, just in case, I’m making Older Son pack up his room, and we’re bringing all of his stuff upstairs; bed, carpet and all.  I’m also going to spend the afternoon going through what’s left of the boxes left in the basement, and much of it will get donated or pitched today and tomorrow.

Once again, blessings come in ridiculous packaging. Either way things turn out, I’ll have ended up with a cleaned out basement that is ready for remodeling. And, if that’s only as bad as it gets here, I will consider myself truly blessed. So many people here will lose their homes.

Here is a link to the map of my fair city that shows the different original evacuation zones. It also shows, appropriately, in blue how far they expect the water to inundate the valley, which now exceeds the evacuation zone areas. This map in the link is a PDF file and you can zoom in to see specific areas of town a little clearer. Please bear in mind that the water will be one foot higher than this map shows: http://www.minotnd.org/pdf/temp/1562_evacmap.pdf

Here is a still image of this map. It’s a little on the small side, but it gives you a feeling of scale, and how big an area we expect to go underwater. Our mayor said, during a television interview that the valley is going to become a giant lake:

Please send the people in my beautiful city all the good vibes you can…the people here can use every bit of good luck they can get.

Simple things are good things

I found a nice patch of cat mint growing wild in my compost heap this last week, and I thought I would bring a snippet of it in for my lovely cat, Harley. This is cat mint:

I brought a goodly sized piece into the house, wondering if Harley would pay any attention to it or not. I got my answer quickly, as he fairly climbed up my leg trying to get to it.  This is Harley after having grabbed his prize:

I bet Harley spent a good 45 minutes in the back entryway, rolling around on the floor mangling that piece of cat mint to death. In the pictures you can see little bits of it laying all over the floor from where he shredded it. Afterwards, he had a VERY nice nap.

It got me to thinking about how simple things are good things. Harley doesn’t require anything special on top of normal care and affection. It sure does make his day when I bring him a big piece of cat mint, though.

Today I finally got out of the house and went for a walk this morning. It was so beautiful out, and I enjoyed it so much. It was the simplest thing in the world to get out and walk up the street and back, and it got my day off to a good start. I sure have missed walking in the morning, and now that I’m back at it, I feel much better. It’s the simplest thing, but it makes a big difference. Perhaps this ought to be the summer of simple pleasures. I bet if I look hard enough I will have no problems finding multitudes of things that will surprise and delight me in what joy they can bring, with not too much cost or effort.

What about you? What are some simple pleasures you enjoy?