Steele, ND

Within our midst lurks a mysterious flower bandit.  This amazing thief attacks only once a year, at county fair time, and whisks away only the most beautiful flowers from the garden and only the loveliest of hanging baskets. 

And what happens to the stolen merchandise?  They end up at the Kidder County Historical Flower show!  It’s a fact.  This year one of the baskets won the prize for Grand Champion Hanging arrangement.  The bandit strikes only in daylight hours and only the homes of vacationers.  So beware!

I had a chance to visit with the bandit in my office today and she freely admits to moving flowers to the show.  And then moving them back home again.  In fact, she was very apologetic that she missed my yellow tiger lilies.  I assured her they were not the same prize winning flowers as last year which is why I didn’t enter them myself.

One of the things that make small town living so much fun are people who go the extra mile. 

So here’s to you flower bandit!  Thanks for bringing so much joy to so many people.

Yes I will reveal the identity of the bandit but not unless you respond to this blog!

On Wednesday we gathered together in Bismarck for our “graduation” from the Horizons program.  Words simply can not tell how proud I am of our community.  Like a great stone thrown in a quiet pond the ripples of Horizons will continue to be felt for a long time.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made graduation possible.  Looking back on the last eighteen months I am able to see that once we began the journey it took on a life of its own.

People came and went. Some chose to participate here but not there.  Some came once. Some came every-time. Together we made it to the end…stronger than we began.

One of the loveliest places on the prairie lies just southeast of Steele on the Kidder and Stutsman County line.  In 1977  the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center (CGREC) was built 6 1/2 miles northwest of Streeter. It serves 18 counties in what is known as the Missouri Coteau region, an area bound by the Missouri River on the west and the James River on the east. This is a land of rolling hills and shallow wetlands.  Hence the name so familiar to birders “the Prairie Pothole region”.

 Although I was swamped with things to do last Thursday I decided to attended the Grasslands annual field tour and I came away with a much deeper appreciation for the land and it people.

I love the prairie with its changing seasons.  Spring always brings the birding migration of literally hundreds of birds.  When I tell you I need a check list to just to keep track of how many different species I see while birding I am not kidding.  Summer brings the smell of clover and alfalfa being made into hay under the blazing prairie sun and clear blue sky.  Sometimes the heat is so intense that just for a split second it takes your breath away. Then fall comes and trees shimmer with gold, red, and green leaves as the migrating birds say good by and make the long trek to warmer lands in the south.  And who can not love winter? The howling winds, the dark nights snuggled under a quilt drinking hot chocolate and watching all the movies you didn’t have time to catch in the summer. 

Perhaps living here I may miss out on some “cultural” opportunities that large cities offer but my life is rich and full. 

Bill Well from Medina summed up my feelings with this quote, “I came to Medina to teach Vocational Agriculture in 1956 and I’m still here.  The Coteau is where my wife Janet and I built our homestead and raised our family.  The Coteau offers such a variety of opportunities to raise crops and livestock that is almost unequaled.  The wildlife and migratory bird populations on the Coteau has been a definite influence on our family as they grew and started careers in agriculture and education here in North Dakota on the Coteau.  I wouldn’t have traded my life and my experiences on the Coteau for anything.”