Yellowstone River Valley - Near Columbus Montana
Looking at that picture makes me miss Montana a bit. It looks so peaceful.
Every so often I think of the song Red River Valley. My Gram used to sing it nicely with a tinge of sadness for the people - husband, brothers and sisters she loved that had left the valley -
From this valley they say you are going.
I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile.
For they say you are taking the sunshine.
That has brightened our pathway awhile.
I'm not sure what river valley the cowboy that wrote that song was thinking about. I like to think it was in Montana.
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The Red River that divides Minnesota and North Dakota tends to be more of a farming area than a place you would think of as having cattle and cowboys. Very fertile land in that valley. Some of my wife's relatives from Norway settled there and grew potatoes. Her grandmother used to tell her they had never had a crop failure. Not sure about that. They grow some good potatoes up there though.
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My wife used to be on a curling team when she taught school in Hoople/Nash N.D. She knows some of these folks on the MN, ND team representing USA in World Senior Curling Championships.
I'm not sure what happened to her curling broom. It's in the basement somewhere I think. Curling is a hard sport for me to understand. I understand the sliding of the rock but I can't quite get the frantic sweeping part figured out. The training you get in frantic sweeping makes it a good sport for prospective housewives eh? My wife would kill me if she heard me say that..but she never looks at my blog.
I think part of the allure of the sport, besides the skill and concentration, was the social/drinking part. She loved it. I imagine given the chance I would like it too. I like ice and sliding stuff.
Besides the curling, Betsy was a synchronized swimmer. She gets a lot of jokes from her friends about curling and synchronized swimming since they are both sort of fun and funny in some ways. Not to say they aren't hard and take skill don't ya know.
I think our daughter's athletic prowess tends to come from her rather than me. I have a hard time walking, forget about chewing gum at the same time.
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I think I'll take a nap before I head into work.
I hope whatever valley you are in is a good one and you have some people beside you, or to remember, with bright eyes and sweet smiles.
