Growing up on a Farm in Minnesota





Author: Pat Morin

As a girl growing up on a farm in Minnesota to a good Catholic family this meant I came from a family with lots of kids. There was always something to do on the farm.

In the winter there was running out and feeding the cows and pigs. Picking eggs from the chickens. Then there was always the problem of getting the snow out of the driveway so we can catch the bus for school and when you have 1/4 mile driveway it takes awhile.

Sometimes when it's snowing you start to walk down the driveway because you didn't hear school was called off and you get down there and dad comes down with the snowmobile tells you school was cancelled because it's snowing too hard. Then since you walked the long driveway you need to walk all the way back up it, since dad can only carry one or two on the snowmobile and there's about seven of us that walked down the driveway. So dad makes three trips to get us back home and of course by then you're frozen. So you sit in the house heated by wood. Then once you get warmed up good dad looks at us and says we need to get some wood put into the basement for the furnace. Just got warm, now we need to go back out in the cold to get wood.

Then of course after winter there's spring. Hey, it's not cold anymore and we're looking for school to get out soon. But after all that snow the ground is a little wet ok let's say it's a lot wet. There's mud everywhere and as you walk down to get on the bus you need to be careful not to get your shoes full of mud. There's also feeding cows, pigs and chickens and also picking eggs from the chickens. By now some of the hens don't want to let you have the eggs cause they want to hatch them. So some of the hens try to find a place to hide so they can hatch their eggs and sometimes it works and then in no time you have little chicks wandering around. Along with new calves and piglets. Then you start to see a new kitten or two come out of nowhere.

Now its time to start to plant the fields and garden so we are out in the fields everyday and not a lot of time to do other things. Summer is a time when school just gets out. Yes, there's a little more time to do things, but there's always work to do. But a lot of the work dad has to do and with a lot in the family, some of us learned to drive tractor so we are taking our turn on cultivating and bailing hay and other things like that on the farm. So we are still busy but we have time for picnics at the lake or things like that on hot summer days or we have water fights with the hose. Starting cool off.

I hate winter. Why you say? It's cold and every year I say I'm leaving cause of the cold. But as I grew up got married I decided to stay. My family is here, now I have children here and I can't blame anyone for me living in Minnesota because if I wanted to I could find a warmer State. But what better State could I be in with the best things in my life and be the happiest person? Why? Because my family alllive here with me.



About the author:Grew up in Minnesota. Raised in a big family. Married and hadthree children. Willing to tell my story of living in Minnesota.

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