OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COUNTRY

 

I drove out into the country last week up by my grandfather's farm to look for a settlement called Fenmore. In my memory, there was simply a two story general store at a crossroads. The final leg of the route traveled down one of the oddest paved roads I'd ever seen: barely 2 lanes of a patchwork of layers of asphalt put down over the years, with a pronounced bow from the center. Well, my memory was incorrect. Fenmore consisted of some sort of building on each corner, some looking abandoned, some evidently a homestead. Where did I conjure up the general store from? Around the corner to the West was my cousin's farm, but being Sunday morning, I was pretty sure they were in church. Continuing on to the next road I turned South and drove past my grandfather's farm. This area is quite flat thanks to the glaciers.

Kristin farm looking South, taken in the '80's, a panoramic view made out of 3 photos

The bridge goes over a drain creek that Dad said he used to skate on to school during the winter. When I was young, the corner school house (about 1.5 miles away) was still standing and on the same road was an abandoned log cabin! Both the school and cabin are long gone. On the Northern edge of the farm was a tree-covered ridge that runs East-West for a couple of miles. Adults claimed that there was an old Indigenous burial ground somewhere on the ridge, evidently arrowheads had been found. One Summer, we went up there and collected sand for my sandbox.

 

I continued West, crossing over US 127 and headed to the tiny village of Pompeii. It used to be a thriving small town being first a stagecoach and later a train stop. Now, little remains. Maybe four blocks of homes with the crossroads in the center of Pompeii feature a couple of derelict buildings, a Post Office and a swap 'n trade store.
 

 

 In the area I encountered a couple of startling things:

 

A curious hybrid flag.

 

A sign that read:

If you voted DEMONCRATIC, Jesus still loves you.

 

Continuing West, I began to encounter wind farms. Unless you get up close, you have no concept of just how big these things are. And they provide a curious juxtaposition between modern technology and farmland that has been cultivated since the mid-1800s.

I wondered if more farmers were growing wheat this year-certainly with the war in Ukraine disrupting world supply, there might be better prices. East of US 127, I saw very little wheat but saw significantly more being grown West of the highway. Who knows why?