|
Books About Life on a Farm Written Especially for People Who Like to Read! "Highly recommended reading." The Midwest Book Review Reviews & Readers' Comments |
LeAnn R. Ralph Rural Route 2 Author E6689 970th Ave. Colfax, WI 54730 (715) 308-6336 |
| |||
| |
|
by LeAnn R. Ralph (Note: The Hay River feeds into the upper end of Tainter Lake, which places the lake a little ways south of the Norton Slough.) When I was a kid, I always used to wonder how in the world my father could work outside in the winter without a coat. It could be 20 degrees and there'd be Dad, shoveling snow, cleaning the barn, or perhaps chopping some wood - his coat tossed off to the side - wearing work pants, a flannel shirt, a cap, and a pair of gloves. "Aren't you cold, Dad?" I'd ask. "How can you stand to be outside in the winter without a coat?" "Nah," Dad would reply. "I'm not cold - working too hard to be cold." Many times I debated whether my father was an extremely tough man, or whether he was slightly daffy. Eventually I concluded Dad was tough because there was nothing daffy about him. Early on, I decided my dad was pretty smart, too, because he seemed to know so much about staying warm during frigid weather. One time when I was quite young, perhaps five or so, I went ice fishing with Dad on Tainter Lake. No shack. A bright, clear day - and bitterly cold. After we'd been out on the ice for a little while, my feet started getting cold. Painfully cold. Numb with cold. "Daddy, my feet are cold," I announced. Dad glanced up from the pole he was tending. "Yeah, it's cold out here today," he replied. "But Daddy, my feet are so cold they hurt. Can we go home?" Dad looked at me for a moment. "Tell you what," he said. "Walk around. Make some circles in the snow. See how many different patterns you can make. That will get your feet warm." Now, I was just a little girl at the time but I distinctly remember thinking 'how in the world will walking around in the snow make my feet warm? Dad must be out of his mind.' But he was my father, after all, and if he said walk around, I was going to walk around. I made circles in the snow. I walked figure eights. I made squares. Pretty soon I was having so much fun making patterns in the snow, I forgot about my feet being cold. And then after a while, I realized my feet WEREN'T cold anymore - they felt toasty warm. And - to my great surprise - I realized Dad had been right. Walking around in the snow DID get my feet warm again. 'Boy,' I thought. 'My dad must be really smart.' When I think about it now, I realize just exactly how smart Dad was. By telling me to walk around to warm my feet, he accomplished two extremely important goals: 1. He found a way to get his daughter's feet warm. (He'd have to talk pretty fast to explain to my mother how he'd allowed me to get frozen feet if I came home from ice fishing with frostbite); 2. He found a way to distract me so I wouldn't pester him all afternoon about going home. If I was occupied by walking around making snow patterns, he could fish in peace. (When I was a little older, I received a pair of ice skates. Sometimes when I went ice fishing with Dad, I'd take the skates along and go skating, which accomplished the same two purposes as walking around in the snow to make patterns.) Now, all these years later, I know, too, from personal experience how my father was able to take his coat off and work outside in the winter wearing just a flannel shirt, a cap and gloves. Because I do it, too. Sometimes when I'm shoveling snow, I get so warm from the exercise I have to remove my coat. And there I am, working outside on a 20 degree day, wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, stocking cap and gloves. "Aren't you cold?" my husband asked one winter day. "Nah," I replied. "I'm not cold - working too hard to be cold." I hope my husband has decided I'm both tough and smart. But I suspect quite a bit of the time he thinks I'm slightly daffy. Oh, well. Wherever Dad is in that great big farm in the sky - I'm sure he can't help but smile whenever I take my coat off while I'm working outside in the winter. LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the farm books: "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm) (trade paperback; 2003), "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback; 2004), "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories" (e-book; 2004). |
|
 Home Books Preserve Your Family History Sample Chapters Articles Free Recipes Biography More True Stories Newsletter LeAnn's Blog Links Photo Album Reviews & Comments |
|
Privacy Policy: Any information you provide to Rural Route 2 will be kept strictly confidential and will not be not given to any third parties. Telephone number is requested in case LeAnn needs to contact you about your order. E-mail address is requested so LeAnn can confirm your order. This Web Site and All Its Contents are Copyright © 2010 LeAnn R. Ralph. All Rights Reserved |
