On the Farm

Today was a much more relaxing day, largely because I didn't drive 650 miles. I spent the morning and early afternoon in Neillsville, mostly at my grandparents' old farm. I spent parts of every summer for the first fifteen years of my life there, and those days are among my fondest memories.


Dan and Ruth Clark, who own the farm now, have kept it up beautifully. The forests have remained intact, unlike those of many other farms in the area. Dan tells me that the Amish and Mennonites have moved into the area en masse in recent years. They farm intensively, often clearcutting any stands of trees.

I drove down to Viroqua in the afternoon, and spent the evening with my old friends Trish and David. I met them when they were peace corps volunteers in the Dominica Republic quite a few years ago. Abby, their baby, is now, to my surprise, in high school. We ate oragnic fajitas, drank cheap white zinfandel, and watched the Martin Scorsese Bob Dylan special on PBS. Who can imagine a more perfect evening? No, really, it was fun.

Gotta run. The Prairie du Chien public library only allows 30 minutes of internet access, and I am running out..........