Before we left we went to the farm for the last remaining day of harvest and Tessa went on her first combine ride. It was after dark and she was mesmerized by the corn disappearing in front of her. The picture is blurry but it was the best I could get with my phone.
The field happened to be behind the house and when we were standing there waiting for the combine I was in awe of the beautiful scene with the full moon shining through the trees and the house all lit up. The old house looked quite plain and windowless from the back so it is quite a sight to see a house lit up facing this way. I wish my phone took a better picture.
On Friday afternoon we met our friend who was coming with us, dropped of the babies, and headed toward Minnesota, where we were staying overnight, and then Iowa. I even was able to shop at an outlet mall, which was a thrill.
We arrived in Cedar Rapids on Saturday morning with hours ahead of us to tailgate. It was disappointing to find that the weather was cold and windy just like it was when we left ND. We were hoping it would be sixty degrees but it wasn't even close to that and the wind was as bad as ever. We were there early so we claimed a spot in the parking lot in front of some folded up outdoor bleachers for the nearby practice fields and they made a good shelter and our spot ended up being a popular standing spot for those who didn't have a bus or trailer with them. It was here, loitering around our spot, where I decided to read the back of the butterscotch Ice Hole schnapps bottle:
Did you catch that? I was so delighted by this discovery. I with I had thought to read the back of the bottle sooner. I like to imagine this aunt named Maren, taking pulls of schnapps formulated just for her. By the way, mange takk means "many thanks" in Norwegian.
Here is one of the few pictures I took that day.
On the way home we stopped at a specialty fishing and custom rod shop in Blaine called Thorne Brothers. Justin and our friend Andy got their fix while I marveled at the diverse selection of fishing lures in the store.
Can you imagine fishing with one of these at the end of your pole?
On Sunday when we were travelling there was talk of snow on the way everywhere we went. It was mostly aimed for Southern Minnesota and we missed it on the drive in ND but Bismarck was on the very edge so we had a few inches on Monday morning. Ben was very excited and immediately wanted to play in the snow and build a snowman. Actually, as I write this, he is standing at the door to the deck wanting to go outside. We are in a polar vortex and it is 11 degrees outside. I don't think so. But yesterday I gave in and we were outside at 9:00 a.m. It was a lovely 18 degrees. Guess who didn't care that it was 18 degrees and could have stayed out there all morning.
After about twenty minutes I had to bring Tessa inside so I just watched him play from the sliding door. He could have been out there for hours. He is like this dog we used to have at the farm. She was a golden retriever and she loved cold weather. Whenever I hear animal loving people insist that animals need to be inside during the winter (and I agree that most do, or at least that they need a warm shelter like a barn or garage and animals like Allan, who have never been outside, certainly need to be kept out of the cold) I want to tell them about Penny the retriever. That dog loved cold so much that she would sleep outside on snow banks when it was frigidly cold. She had a doghouse with a heat lamp that was in a garage and still we would find her sleeping in her favorite spot on the snow piles from the tractor when it was -20 degrees outside. I think she spent the night there.
I finally lured Ben inside with a TV show when his face was bright red and appeared to be freezing. I enjoy outdoor snow play but I hope there are some warmer (20-30 degree) days ahead so it can be more enjoyable.
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