Every Dog is OK

Calhoun hunts. Just in case you didn't know. I am learning about hunting, but mostly I am a suburban kid, without skills or instinct, who has found herself simply trying to keep up with the vocabulary and what is in season this week.

While I can't spot a deer trail or identify bird tracks, I know - when Calhoun comes back during the daylight, only two hours after leaving for hunting, and is white as a ghost when he gets out of the car - I have the instinct to know that something is wrong.

The word I added to my vocabulary today: "snare"

"Vasa was caught in a snare."

I knew Vasa was OK because Calhoun was at the house, not the veterinarian's office. I knew Vasa was OK because there wasn't blood on Calhoun's jacket. I knew that Vasa was OK because Calhoun was walking, not crying.

Vasa is fine. 

When Calhoun was finally ready to tell me what happened Vasa was banging around the kitchen, whacking his pointer tail against the cabinets and getting pets.  Calhoun threw the snare on the table and told me he couldn't figure out how to get it off right away, but that Vasa knew Calhoun was trying to help him.

Vasa held still. 

Vasa did not struggle. 

Vasa did not pull the metal snare tighter around his neck. 

Vasa held still.

Vasa was wearing two collars - that probably stopped the snares from pulling tighter around his neck.

Vasa was only a little over 200 yards away.

Vasa held still.

Vasa was scared.

Vasa laid for minutes in the snow after Calhoun freed him.

Vasa does not have a broken neck.

Vasa held still.

Thank God it wasn't Sogn. Thank God it was not the skijoring dog, who pulls on leashes and restraints like it is his job. In the time it took Calhoun to get to Vasa, Sogn would have killed himself.

Thank God it was Vasa.

Vasa is fine.

There was no more hunting today.

Vasa is fine.

Every dog is OK.

...until he is not.

Not the Move I Imagined

We moved our things out of the house in Windom. Despite our best efforts, after hours of driving we moved them in to the in-laws storage shed and Grandma's garage.

To put it mildly, the rental market here in the Crookston area is dismal. D-I-S-M-A-L. I have put off writing this post in the hopes that we would find something, that one of my many leads would come through and I would be writing this post from the kitchen in my own house. Alas, I am not. I am writing from the dining room table of the in-laws.

But, I am so thankful.

I am thankful to have in-laws that have let me stay with them for more than six weeks.
I am thankful that they have let Sogn come to the house.
I am thankful that we have a safe place to store our things.
I am thankful that we have people looking for us, helping us as we make this incredibly difficult transition.
I am thankful to have a job that I love going to every day.
I am thankful that my job is an amazing attorney job in an unforgiving market.
I am thankful to have found incredible co-workers who have already found ways to encourage, challenged and support me.
I am thankful that Calhoun has moved back to the Red River Valley with me, and that he's cooking a great pheasant stew while I type.

The past few weeks have been incredible in so many ways.

I Caught a Fish!

Calhoun and I had a great weekend at Itasca State Park celebrating Bemidji's 60th birthday! The weather worked out beautifully and we had a fun time relaxing in the cabin, hanging out with Blueberry and then getting out in the canoe a little this afternoon.

And, in very exciting news, I caught my first fish of the year! Well really, this guy is my first fish in a long time. When I was a kid we used to go fishing with my grandparent's a lot and I think I had a fair bit of luck. Well, maybe just exactly how much luck an 8 year old suburban kid can have with a plastic rod. But, my childhood memories of fishing are of an activity that involves sitting still and being quiet - not really my strengths. Then, as an adult, fishing has been something you have to do very early in the morning. Again, not a strength.

But, I'm constantly striving to be a better outoor-woman so I try and try again. And caught my first fish of the year, this guy! A little Perch! It may be the first time in my life I've caught something other than a sunfish. 

look real hard, I swear there's a fish in this picture 

Then Calhoun put me to shame and caught this guy. It's a Northern Pike.

Looks like I'll have to keep working towards catching a fish we could actually eat. But hey, I'm not too tore up about it. I caught a fish!

Oh hello, fandom

I've been absent from the blog for a while. My absence is partially because I find that when I get behind on posts it becomes really hard for me to catch up, and it's also because I've just been busy!

For example, I have this great picture of my niece Blueberry, and have been trying to find ways to talk about how great it is to see her when I go to the Cities and how hard it is sometimes to be so far away and how happy and blessed I am to have such great family and friends who are supportive even though they are hundreds of miles away. It was going to be a good post, except I couldn't get the words together so I just stalled - which means you ultimately get the short version.

Blueberry, so wonderful!

I've also been meaning to write about my knitting. I finished my first pair of selbu mittens, from the book Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition. Besides the fact that they don't fit so well (they're really big and resemble pancakes, but they fit Calhoun well if he wears gloves inside of them) I am very proud of my project and really have wanted to share it with you! But I stalled - and you get the short version again.

Then, last Tuesday, something happened that changed my life. So, thanks to this new hobby of mine called 'reading' and the impending release of The Hunger Games, the first book of the series arrived in my mailbox last Tuesday, courtesy of Swan. I have this natural aversion to all things popular and cannot believe that kept me away from this series for so long. Snelling was 100% right, this is a great read! I'm sure that my obsession was fueled by the fact that the real life love of my life, blue eyes and all, was away for the week that it took me to finish the series (that's right, finished in 7 days and even still went to work during that time), but it was AWESOME. I cannot wait to see the movie and I am afraid I have entered fandom on this one...I'm already reading it again!

Swan mailed me her copy of the book, complete with fruit snacks to keep me going! Thank you!

So, I guess that's all good news right? I'm doing things? Seeing friends and family in the cities, finishing knitting projects and becoming obsessed with fictional characters thus keeping me away from the blog. Apparently I need to develop more hobbies that allow me to write while I hobby? Or not...

I hope this spring and great weather finds you well!

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam

I've been a little out of it this past week. It's taken a toll on my personal life, academics, job and the blog.

I've tried to write truthfully, while keeping this blog as an ode to Minnesota. But, as I find that my life as a student severely inhibits my ability to enjoy Minnesota I feel I must explain.

I am in my last year of law school. And although the common motto is that in law school, "The first year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death and the third year they bore you to death" - I have not been bored yet this year.

Yesterday I took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). Yes yes, insert clever lawyer joke here, but there are ethics rules and we do have to know them to become a member of the Bar Association. As such, I spent the majority of the week bent over my rule book and study aids in preparation for the exam. In five weeks we'll know my fate - ethical or unethical lawyer? Only the MPRE can answer that one.

After surviving the exam Saturday, Calhoun and I had a great Sunday, settling back into the Minnesota groove.

We slept in and after a few great cups of coffee headed off for the day. Our first stop was The Baker's Wife. But, as we were parking we recognized a familiar familial vehicle and detoured to stop by The Angry Catfish to find Nokomis (Calhoun's brother) and Eveleth (the sister-in-law) having breakfast, chatting with friends and correcting papers. After inviting them over for dinner we finally made it to The Baker's Wife and were thrilled to find that they still had hame an cheese croissants!

The Cow from The Baker's Wife, dressed for winter.

We grabbed a croissants, along with their legendary donuts and drove down to Terrace Oaks Park to take Sogn for a little walk. Calhoun usually takes Sogn to the dog park just south of Minnehaha Falls but on the weekends the place is crowded with small dog owners who don't appreciate Sogn's enthusiastic, seventy-pounds of love for people. Calhoun had taken Sogn to Terrace Oaks Park for some skijoring earlier this week and wanted to explore more of the trails. We were relieved to find it nearly empty! We were able to let Sogn run off leash on the paths and he seemed to like exploring new territory. It was great to get some Vitamin D and have some time outside!

After making a stop at Tangletown Gardens to pick up some tulip buds we came home and cleaned. It's that time of the year when I'm actually looking forward to some spring cleaning, opening the windows and hoping the gentle breeze clears out some of the dirt and scum that this winter is leaving behind.

Finally, Nokomis and Eveleth arrived for dinner, bringing our day full circle. I sometimes marvel that we live in a part of town where we run into Calhoun's brother by accident...and then cook bacon wrapped meatloaf for dinner.

The week will be crazy again, but it was great to have a March day in the sun, with family and lots of good food.

"Risk"

Minnesotans are generally pretty nice, they say "hi" to you when you walk past them on the street, they help push you out of the snowbank and take their shoes off when they walk into your house.

Another cultural Minnesota phenomenon is the Minnesota Scandinavian. Minnesota Scandinavians are generally pretty quiet and polite. I am not Scandinavian, but I married one and I'm having a rough time adjusting to the family. I try to be on my best behavior when I'm with them, I try not to yell (too much), or interrupt or eat and talk at the exact same time. All of these things are very difficult for me. And, as time goes on, I feel more and more comfortable with them and forget to watch my actions as carefully as I should. Adding a board game, especially one like Risk, into the mix does not help me keep my behaviors properly in check.

Christmas this year was packed, Calhoun's parents hosted us at their place, his brother Nokomis and his wife, Eveleth, were also there. And it turns out, there are just enough pieces for six people to play Risk!

Now, I don't remember exactly what happened. I know that I did some yelling and at some point I think Calhoun asked me, "do you ever wonder if you invite conflict?" to which I responded, "YES!" But I do remember that I got a few looks suggesting that I should tone it down as Nokomis was sleeping in the corner, I also remember that I was the first one out. I lost to the sleeping man! But we had fun, and apparently I wasn't so bad because we played Risk again a few nights later with just Calhoun's parents.

Despite the ten daunting pages of directions it was a great game, not too complicated and I had a lot of fun!