Open Vistas

The local farmers recently finished harvesting the crops along our road and around our acreage, opening up the vistas. Once again we can see the surrounding water towers, farms and co-op elevators miles away as well as the distant traffic moving along the highway. Some truckers outline their rigs with bright colored lights. During the evening as they drive along emerging from behind one slope and disappearing behind another they look like huge lit up fish swimming across the landscape. We were surrounded by corn this year and for a few days after the fields were harvested the chaff was a little thick blowing into our yard. We raked and burned the stuff a couple of times, but most of it eventually blew across our acreage and into the next field. The field mice are trying to move into the garage and outbuildings for the winter, but thankfully there is no sign of them in the house. We hide poison in the outbuildings so the dogs can’t get to it and traps loaded with peanut butter in the garage, but so far there has not been much activity. Within the last week I heard two packs of coyotes yipping and howling at each other fairly close to us, but I couldn’t see them in the darkness. They went quiet soon and I haven’t heard them since then. They will be back. The seasons are still battling with each other, the snow blowing one day and the warm sun shining down the next. We all know what the outcome of the fight will be, but I still can’t help rooting for the underdog.