View from a Prairie Home

By Hege Herfindahl, Columnist

Amidst all the problems, both personally and globally, we decide to take a walk. Exercise and being out in nature are the best medicine. But for me, being with someone I love is even better. And I do love him, so much, my grandson. Ove. He is 16 now, but has never learned rolling his eyes or pouting. He has always been a gentle soul, soft-spoken and sensitive. Content to endure whatever life throws him.

As the prairie winds blow gently, we walk. Letting comfortable silence form between us. I have known him his whole life. And we have always been good friends. And even now, he is never embarrassed about being seen with his old grandma in public. Yesterday, we went to the movies together and then out to eat. Just the two of us. 

We take the familiar route to Sand Lake, Per following along, running ahead, but stopping to make sure, he doesn’t lose us. I tell Ove, we have never had a dog like Per, so needy and Ove then tells about some of the funny antics of their dog, Muende, a huge Hungarian sheepdog that they mistakenly bought, thinking he was a golden doodle, but whom they all now love. Muende is back in Belgium at a kennel while they are here on vacation. 

We stop by the dock on Sand Lake to see Per swim. The water is green by the shore, but we both swam there the other day. You only have to get over walking briefly in algae to get to the clean, soft water. We are used to it, and it is nice to have a swimmable lake so close. 

When Ducks Unlimited had their big project a few years back, to drain Lake Hazel to get rid of the carp and make the lake better for wildlife, they built a road opposite the Sand Lake beach. There is even a bridge over the creek. As we take this road, we talk about how it is now possible to walk from here all the way to Lake Hazel. Across the bridge, the road is just a trail. But my husband, Grant, was here the other day, mowing. We talk about how this trail was once a road. Before cars, here on the prairie, there were little roads meandering between homesteads. Ove is interested as I tell him about the old days on the prairie. Suddenly we see a line of wild plum trees along this old road. Grant and I used to pick plums here when our kids were so small, they had to be in strollers. But it is too early for ripe plums, so we continue walking. 

After a while, we have to go on an even smaller trail, again mowed by Grant, a trail that, according to Grant, has always been there. Between two fields. Per still runs ahead, excited about this new adventure. 

Suddenly, we see the lake in the distance, and walk faster. I have never been here, never seen these trails. It is a new adventure for me too and I get to share it with one of my favorite people on this earth. By the shore of Lake Hazel, Ducks Unlimited have dug a big culvert to direct excess water though an underground pipe into the creek about half a mile away. So now, by the shore, there is a sandy beach. We see a painted turtle. It has dug a hole and its backside is in the hole. It takes me a while to realize what it is doing. It is laying eggs! We make sure we keep our distance and watch Per, who is now swimming in Lake Hazel. When the turtle is finished, she walks away from the hole, but Per is curious and Ove and I have a hard time holding him down. But we manage to get out of there without disturbing the turtle. 

On the way home, we marvel at the miracle of what we have seen. We also talk about how other animals might come to eat her eggs, but we hope that some of the baby turtles will survive. As we walk home, the sun is starting its descent, streaking the sky with colors of pink and purple. And I look up to the heavens and thank the Good Lord for this moment in time with my precious Ove.