We were supposed to have a storm with a good chance of large hail. The horses were kept in the barn, hail hitting the body is no ones or horses idea of a good thing. It got dark. Thunder rumbled ominously, the wind blew hard...drizzle. It drizzled. We still have a small chance of rain later this afternoon but I'm not holding my breath. We are officially in drought. The yard is brown, the pastures aren't growing, the hay fields will be sparse.
A damp deck, that's it. Mark's tri-pod kitty scooted past me when I opened the door to look outside, the bad girl never makes a break for it. I didn't bother trying to get her, she thinks very little of me and lets me know it at every turn. Mark followed her to the end of the sidewalk where she decided he could pick her up. Now she is meowing at the door to go out. A three-legged cat doesn't stand much of a chance outside. We will need to have cat radar for awhile. Good thing I think more of her than she does me.
On a different subject, I joined a book club through the county library system. They meet once a month via Zoom. Strange as this may seem, considering two years of Covid, I have never used Zoom or any other video call. I have a video doctor followup visit next month, I'll find out how many ways I can screw that up before I need to do the same with Zoom.
I am a natural loner living in an area which doesn't help that tendency. When I ran the horse business people were always around. I also travelled to horse shows, clinics and training barns when I had a horse in training. There isn't much community activity here and incase you don't know this, Minnesotans aren't all that friendly. This is a closed community. I tried a few years ago to get involved; a garden club, a theatre and arts group, volunteering at the food shelf. Politeness but you aren't let in. I wasn't needed at the food shelf, there were so many volunteering, I was put in the basement sorting candy. By myself. There is a saying here. A Minnesotan will give you directions to anywhere but their house. It is true. I am not immune to being Minnesotan myself. I do hope to have some camaraderie with book lovers on Zoom. Too much time with myself has gotten very, very old. I find I'm not all that interesting. Not in constant doses anyway.
My deaf dog still barks, she is having a fit about something, probably nothing. It's as good a time as any to leave the page and see what she thinks is urgent. 👋
8 comments:
I had similar experience for the two plus years we lived in Wisconsin. Our friends were Korean, Iranian, Chinese, Indian! Postdocs at UW. Americans were polite, no more, some were resentful of foreigners, Mostly they were nervous around us. After postdoc years we came to NJ. instantly at home, friends, groups, nobody claiming they couldn't understand a word we said! Interesting cultural experience. I think the difference was that Wis is inland, little exposure to population mix, NJ on the coast, massive history of many national origins, language etc. Local school district has 27 languages.
But living in Wisconsin gave us an understanding of people with small social circles, very informative in these days of people refusing to accept what the gummint says.
The Twin Cities is better than the rural area of MN. I am from MN,St. Paul, not from this closed German descent community. I remain an outsider even after almost 30 years. I know I was different and that didn't help. I didn't realize you aren't American born.
I have lived in our community since 1966 so you could call me a “townie. Came here to teach art at the Campus Demonstration School (State University of New York, Brockport) and ended up teaching at every level in our local school district. My interest in community has kept me very involved all this time. Fortunately, Brockport is a friendly place. My interests have included family, all the animals we have had, farm life, playing the baritone ukulele in a band, bridge and after retirement, taught art here at the farm for 18 years. Also served on many committees and was on the Town Board for four years. As you already know, I am very interested in the political scene and have a big mouth. The zoom book club should work out very well for you. It is overcast here at the moment, and the mugginess you keep sending is doing me in. Still desperate for rain. How long is this going on? Hang in there.
Lori, you are an outgoing person, which I wish was me. Perhaps if I were I could have worn these people down! The book club is worth a shot. I may be over-cautious, but I live in an area which is very under-vaccinated according to a map I saw about a month ago. I don't feel comfortable in closed spaces here. The zoom thing appealed to me.
When I moved to the area I am in WI and married a local, I became a local by default but it took at least 10 years to achieve that. I worked at local places 'in' town which helped.
Our area has seen a huge change in the past 20 years.
The old town fathers were resistant to change and openness, but the new folks and hippies moving in were progressive.
I don't mean hippies in the bad sense at all. New blood has taken over from the staunch old guard of Norwegians who were set in their ways.
My husband's illnesses have made us much more isolated than I like.
As for Zoom? I think I tried that once and messed it up. However, we've done well with the doctor video conferences.
I hope the book club works out better!
If I lived in one of the several small towns in the area i may be different, but the rural community is a closed society. My own personality likely plays a role. Having the interaction on zoom may make the playing field more level.
I hope you like the book club. I find that mine gives me some different interaction.
Around here if you were born here and never left you are in the in crowd. We left for school and the Air Force/Air Guard so when we came back we had to start all over again....mostly we just made new friends with the transplants! I have enough relatives and close neighbors that I see lots of people if I want. Some times I just don't care to interact...I much prefer dogs to many people:)
That's interesting, Far Side that even if you were born there you aren't one of them if you leave for awhile. We are strange people in this state. I agree about the dogs!
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