I think the neighbors were taking bets on whether my porch roof or the shed would collapse under the weight of all the snow. Maybe there was a special bonus if they both went. I got the word though, and Reuben and I went out there and cleared it all off, wading through the yard way up past my boots remembering doing that when I was young and I kept losing a boot and thinking “why have these boots? They’re all snowy and wet inside now, and I’m just as cold as I would be in sneakers”. We busted up an ice dam and a good chunk of the eaves with it, knocked a fresh hole in the screen door and tore up a portion of the back door jamb, broke the railing around the porch and wrecked a bird feeder, spraying bird seed everywhere. Reuben was having a ball, she likes the snow and rolls around and makes snow-angel-dogs then shakes off the powder coat. I joined in for a little bit to get a break from destroying my own house, and she was happy to see that I can be a normal dog when I drop the big human act. This house is just barely surviving the winter this year, and Im not helping much, most of the doors won’t close without a lot of coaxing (“finessing”, my Dad would say), the paint’s mostly gone, the trees are a mess, and when spring finally comes I’m sure the basement will be soaked. I’m moving my records into the kitchen, the cabinets are the right size after I get rid of these pesky dishes and the food. And that’s not the half of it, the pickup’s full of new dents and rust spots, and the doors scream whenever you touch them. But we’re ok, all of us Minnesotans all over this country now, smiling at the sun finally and sighing to each other about how we’re nearly there, we made it again, and this time it was something to see. That lake will be frozen for awhile, so when you’re too hot this summer you’ll know what to do. Anyway, better luck next time, gamblers, I beat ya to it this year, in spite of myself. Heading down to Mankato to the Midtown tomorrow night to help Kind Country celebrate a new cd, then onto the Waterfront in Menomonie WI to see everyone and play a show with blues guitarist Nick Foytik and finally Ed’s on Sunday for the Winona Evening Service with Mike Munson. Thanks to everyone on the east coast for being so kind to me out there, I hope I can come back again sometime. Maybe when it’s warm and dry.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 21:31:07 +0000