Kief to Carrington North Dakota September 2008

Near Kief, ND September 2008

Left Dan & Marian’s Kief, North Dakota farm early Sunday morning, heading home to Virginia, driving southeast toward interstate expediency.  But first, gravel, the good roads.

Spooked a clutch of juvenile pheasants zig-zagging out of the ditch until their momma glided in, giving direction.  Then this church.  It’s elegantly simple, with finely balanced Lancet windows.  A stately icon of past settlement--of faith, enterprise and now quiet.  A rare quiet, broken by pheasant cackle, grouse wings, fox yips and moonlit coyote howls.  Soon, the flurry of dusty pickups will thump on gravel, punctuated by deer-season thunder.

Stopped for Daryle Beckley’s long-horned cattle drive on Highway 200 near the outskirts of Carrington.  Cowboys sipping coffee, teenagers colas, both eating kuchen and venison sausages.  It’s windy but not too cold.  If only I could slip out of our Toyota van and alight on one of their horses, riding to a place far different from our near-Beltway life. 

 

 

Autumn Goodwill Glory!

Oh happy days!  The weather's finally cooled off, in the high 60s, sunny, although the leaves are still on the trees, still green, or dull yellows, but autumn nonetheless, my favorite season.

 'Just got home from Goodwill with the above treasure, a mid-century modern Frederick Weinberg wrought iron and wicker chair.  I paid a whopping $16, with tax.  Needless to say, it's worth more.  

If ever you tire of predictability in your life, try scouring junk shops for treasures.  Nine times out of 10 you will leave empty handed, or with cheap junk, something I've developed an eccentric enjoyment of, guess it's the company I keep.  But the overall goal of the hunt is good stuff, before it's chucked into the landfill.  

The problem with the above chair, is it would look 100 times better if I had two of them.  Who knows, maybe some day...