View From a Prairie Home

by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist

Summer is here. It is dry and the heat and hot winds from the south steal what little moisture is left until the grass turns yellow and crunches when I walk on it. I try to water the new trees we planted this spring. We always plant trees to provide shade for us and dwellings for the birds. I also have planted a big vegetable garden which is fenced in to protect it from the critters of the night. Due to the heat and frequent watering, most of the vegetables seem to be growing and thriving, but so do the weeds. I try to put on weed barriers, mainly cardboard with rocks to hold them in place. I have found this works the best. I try to get out before the heat gets too intense, but then I must forgo my cups of coffee on the deck, which is my time to ponder the many profundities of life.

The thought occurs to me that when this is published, it is almost the Fourth of July. Independence Day. I usually write a column on this very beloved topic. I do a little research about the origin of the Fourth, but decided it would be arrogant of me to try to write about the history of Independence Day; me, an ignorant foreigner. What I usually write about is how we, as a family, usually celebrate the Fourth and why it has always been my favorite holiday.

It is indeed a day that celebrates our independence since many of us have our independent ways of celebrating. Many people watch or participate in parades. And there are many different types of parades. Many of us watch fireworks. And the fireworks aren’t necessarily on the Fourth. Driving on a weekend evening in July is interesting in that we often suddenly see fireworks lightening up the sky at, for us, random places. And many people go to the lake for the Fourth which is what we always would do, even before we got a cabin.

After we bought our cabin on Lake Koronis in 1995, our family would always gather there to just hang out. As our family grew and grew and grew, the cabin got kind of small, so we remodeled and enlarged it. With the last grandchild born in 2009, we were 16. At some point, with eight children 5 and under, our main activity was to watch all of them to make sure they were safe, but also had fun. In those days, the most anticipated event was the water balloon fight. I would mainly stay in the background for those, my camera ready as adorable toddlers ran about tossing balloons which would explode to much laughter. As they grew, the fights got wilder and we had to make rules.

As they grew, they all learnt to swim and somehow became more responsible and restrained so we could sit and watch as they enjoyed all kinds of games in the water.  We inherited a water trampoline from our neighbor and hours were spent on it until one year, it collapsed on itself. Then, we got a so-called lily pad where they would bounce around with squirt guns, a teen version of the water balloon fights.

One year, they all decided to take the paddle boards, kayaks and our canoe to an island about half a mile away. This was without prior approval. I was the adult in charge of watching them as the others were making food. Looking up from my book, I suddenly saw them all in the middle of the lake. Without thinking, I jumped into a leftover kayak in hot pursuit, without a life jacket and wearing my prescription sunglasses. Luckily, despite their dash to freedom and fun, they were all wearing life jackets. When I caught them, the weather had changed and the smooth surface of the lake was now wind-whipped waves with the wind, of course, coming from the south where we had to traverse to get back. It became a very difficult voyage. When the rest of the adults finally realized what was happening and had gotten out the motor boat, I had managed to lose my balance and fall backwards into the lake losing my sunglasses and scaring my grandchildren.

This year, we really have no plans. Grant and I will go to the cabin, maybe, and see who comes. Holidays are hard for us now that we are only 14. And Independence Day can be celebrated the way it fits us. Independently from what others do.