Those in my family on my mothers side all know Spencer. He is an interesting person in a family of interesting people. Yesterday I made the trip up to see Spencer. His horses were in need of hay and we had some set aside for him.
Spencer has always wanted horses. When he was a boy living in a small town he begged his dad for a horse. His father, who had grown up with horses, refused. Now Spence has three of them. Two are beautiful Norwegian Fjord horses, the other is most likely a quarter horse who has fallen on hard times and lost an eye. Spencer jokes that he has two Fjords and a Chevy.
Spencer is retired now. He moved to the home of his grandparents when his uncle moved to the nursing home. His wife joins him on weekends since she still works. It’s great to have someone in the old place.
The snow has caused a little bit of trouble on the farm. A big old barn that was built in the 1880’s has collapsed due to snow load. No one has used the barn for some time, and, as all buildings that are no longer used, it had fallen into disrepair. He had asked a neighbor if there was any salvage in the building. The building is so old that it was decided that there really was nothing left to save. So Spence asked what he should do. The answer, “Pray for lightning.”
Spencer has some good neighbors that make sure the yard gets cleaned out when the snow blows. It’s not much of a yard so it doesn’t take them long. Then Spence gets out the little Ford and cleans out the corners.
While we unloaded the hay we had a good chat about family. Spencer, being several years older than me, had several stories about the family that I had not heard. Interestingly, I had some he had not heard. Isn’t family great.
Michael
Minnesota Farmer 