The Sounds of a Morning Walk at Papa’s

Nothing beats an early morning walk in the summer. The air is crisp and fresh; the temperatures cool enough that there’s a heavy dew that sparkles in the sunshine all across the fields. And this morning was made extra special by the North Dakota summer sounds: pheasants, morning doves and Papa’s favorite, the meadowlark.

The Western Meadowlark is North Dakota’s state bird and we haven’t seen or heard from as many of them in recent years and we remember in years gone by. Growing up, it seemed Papa could hardly get out the door on the farm before the meadowlarks were talking to him.

The fields are the best place to see the meadowlark. Papa caught a glimpse of one (or more) yesterday while he was cutting hay. They seem most content to sit on a fence post or grab onto a wire, singing to all who will listen.

This morning, Papa checked on the pumpkins and the broom corn. There’s no question all of the rain we’ve had gave a wonderful start to the crops. A week of full sunshine will cause everything to shoot up; you can bet the corn will be “knee high by the Fourth of July” like you hear farmers and gardeners always say.