Spring struggling to arrive...

Memories of another spring, and a first (inside) bloom.

Iconic Photograph

It has been five years since Levi baus, one of Number Five's wedding photographers, posted this image--which became an iconic image of life in the acreage.

From the WRM Blog

Found this on facebook today... It ties in with us visiting the acreage recently. Writing it, I remember, was cathartic then, as it was visiting it.

Text:

Reading Giants in the Earth in Laura Ingalls Wilder Country: Some Parallels and Personal Reflections

Mary TeckAugust 31, 2017Year of the Pilgrim


By Ana Braga-Henebry

This piece was originally published in the ‘Year of the Worker’ Newsletter.

MICHAEL ANCHER, A SUMMER LANDSCAPE WITH TWO GIRLS, 1887
One of the most delightful things about reading is that no matter how many different genres we may read, we never know what awaits us when we open a new book. This past winter we read Giants in the Earth for Well-Read Mom. The book tells the story of a Norwegian immigrant family that settle in the Northern Plains. Before we moved to the university town where we now live, we owned acreage about an hour away, somewhere in the southeast direction. The 1880’s
farmhouse sat on the prettiest 18 acres this side of the Minnesota border with a creek running through it and a robust, imposing shelterbelt. The property
was so old that it predated even the county country roads, forcing a rare curve on the road. During the eight years I lived there, for the first time a resident of a country property, and astounded by the brutality of the winter each year, I wondered how the first settlers ever made it. How did they get there? Why did they come? And most intriguing: What on earth made them stay after surviving their first winter?

What was immediately interesting to me about the book was that I knew where the first scenes took place. That was, in fact, our corner of the world when we lived out in the country. Some of the older, dirt roads that follow the creeks in that area are not traveled regularly, but during the time we lived there, we did a little exploring of our own. Split Rock Creek winds around the area and several establishments in the area display the name “Split Rock.” To read a novel that takes place in my corner of the world was a new experience for me. I read the Little House books while growing up in South America. Yet as much as I would try to imagine the dugout, the prairie wind, or the Long Winter, I simply could not. The Laura Ingalls’ books were my favorites, and little did I know that later in life I would be living here, under the same sky, experiencing the same prairie wind. Indeed, we live in a house that was built while Laura was still in these parts!

I found many parallels in the two literary works. The opening scene where the protagonists wonder if they are lost in the sea of grass brought to mind the episode in Laura’s pages when she cannot find baby Carrie. The long and cold winters, the unexpected storms, the locusts, they are all there. The
thirst for the land, the uncertainty of what the seasons will bring, the dependence on the weather. I still live near all of the locales where Rölvaag places his characters, but we have since moved to town. Even if now my husband’s office on campus is but an eight-minute walk from our house, the experience of the acreage left its mark on me. While I disagree with some readers’ opinions that Laura Ingalls sugarcoated her story – I find in her pages some pretty realistic descriptions of a harsh world – this time the realistic tone of the pilgrims’ plight was very interesting to read. The optimistic and hard-working character of Per Hansa reminded me of Pa Ingalls many times, but while Laura did bring up a severe case of depression in one of her books, here depression takes center stage as a destroying force. Had I not lived in our acreage – where we could not see a single neighbor – I may have not found this book so fascinating. I saw parts of my own experience depicted in what Beret experiences. The prairie is beautiful but it is also unpredictably harsh. This fact is easily attested by the fact that very
few events are held outdoors around here. Unless events can be easily canceled, such as the municipal band playing at the park on Sunday evenings, they are scheduled indoors. We simply cannot trust the weather. This makes one enjoy the beautiful days all the more, but it also takes a toll on a person’s mental health.

At the acreage, during my husband’s long international trips and with young children still underfoot, I too felt depressed and afraid. I remember it. The feeling of isolation was overpowering, especially during the times we ran out of electricity, or found ourselves snowed in as a brilliant white morning dawned. Beret’s downward spiral from what would be called an expected, normal amount of depression into a severe mental illness somehow did not surprise me. Beret did not have the resources we have today. The author did an excellent job recording her progressive illness down to the fateful end. When we close a book, there is a moment of contemplation, of satisfaction, sometimes sadness. As I put Giants down on my bedside table, I reflected on how surprisingly personal the read had been, and how much it had enriched me.

Ana Braga-Henebry is a wife and mother of seven children in Brookings, SD. She received her masters degree in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas where she met her husband. Ana enjoys being an educator, writer and book reviewer.

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Visiting the acreage

We had to take Number Four to Garretson to catch a ride to Lincoln as he was going to get his truck and enjoy the eclipse, so we asked permission and got to roam through the acreage... owners were not there and we walked around the paths and gardens, It was very good and they are thriving there, with two children already! 

Apple tree has grown so much! 

Their gardens are full of fruit!

Husband planted these in 2011

We had to take some home

Looking for a garden statue

As Spring approaches and we get ready to plant flowers, I look for a new garden statue of the Blessed Virgin. Number Five commented how our flower garden was missing her presence last summer... Mother's Day perhaps?

This was my old one at the acreage, given to me long ago by Number wo and Husband... she was taken when we lived at the townhouse. At first we were sad, but then we all decided we would offer prayers for whoever took her! Below are two choices I am looking at. 

Music video filmed in our acreage

My readers may remember that last summer we had an exciting day of music-video filming... we finally received the link for it and the photography is beautiful! The artist is Alexis Kosiak, who was a classmate of Number Five's in High School.

Closing

Yesterday it was the closing on the acreage atthe title company office. The new owners, Brian and Rebecca, were radiant. We are truly happy for them!

Husband took a few last pictures... and we celebrated with a delicious dinner downtown Sioux Falls with Mary and Mike, the same friends who dined wth us when we bought the acreage 8 years ago.

May God bless Brian and Rebecca's  years in the acreage abundantly, as He blessed ours!

Last morning at the garden

I just came in from what is likely to be the last garden session here. Ever. I was covered in dirt, and happy I didn't have my fingernails done yesterday at our salon session with the "bridal party" (aka my four daughters). Number Four was my faithful helper, and as usual we worked while listening to an Audible title on my iPhone hooked up to a $10 plastic amplifier. We found eggplant, and green beans, besides what is in the photo taken by Number Five. And we ate the last and delicious raspberries. I also found flowers that I will cut on the morning of the wedding for the church.

Last things can be bittersweet. But they can also be too busy and practical for any moping to happen. It is important to me that the new owners get garden beds that have being "put to bed" so they will not need to worry about them until next spring. it doesn't look like I will be gardening next spring so I will look for other things to be busy with!

Where Our Acreage Becomes a Film Set!

It was an exciting day as Mr. and Mrs. K. brought their daughter A., who has composed and recorded music, to film her music video.

A. had spent a lot of time here during Shakespeare Camp back in 2010 and thought our acreage the perfect setting for her summer song! We had fun watching the amount of work it takes to film a short music video. They were here from noon to almost-dark!

Food, Fun & Friends

Need I say more?

Note the Roasted Fennel with Parmesan in the glass dish. It is the second time we receive fennel in our Bountiful Baskets, and this recipe has become a favorite!

Enjoying the garden

The green beans' timing was perfect and we have been greatly enjoying them with Number Two, who adores them. Raspberries are coming in, as many other greens I'm using daily for dinner prep!

Miss Cat Girl

My dear Mother, May God give her eternal rest, was a born animal lover. My sister Margot followed suit. We all loved animals, but their eyes sparkled talking about animals they loved, and the presence of animals made them quite ignore humans around. (The only negative albeit fascinating story I remember Mother telling was a surprising indoors encounter with a snake in South Africa...)

Husband's middle sister is the same way, indeed she and her husband have run a successful animal business in the Dallas area all of their married life--and she is also the Frank Buck Zoo director.

Number Seven, I believe, was born with hyper-animal-loving-genes coming from sides. She is our Miss Doolittle! Last Sunday after mass as she had her kitchen-porch session with her adored friends, I took the opportunity to take the photo.

Garden Update

For the last time on our acreage, we have a first onion, and a first tomato... and the first bloomings of summer flowers.

Garden Update, continued

On the Fourth of July Number Four dug our first potatoes, and they were incredibly tender. The Day lilies and Tiger lilies are looking healthy and ready to bloom just around when Number Two arrives! And the peonies photos were taken by Number Seven: these are the last peonies we are to ever enjoy in this home. Perhaps my favorite flower, and the most celestial perfume that fills the house.