August 1 has come and gone and still no report on crop conditions in western North Dakota. In the photo, above, David Rolfsrud is joined by his wife, Gena, and sons, Ty and Cole. Their house was built by Stan's Uncle (David's grandfather) Halvor Rolfsrud and finished with stone slabs quarried from a nearby ravine which had previously been used to build settlers' homes. 
David and Gena (who is a good shot with a rifle and has the antlers to prove it) added on to their farmyard home recently and used this same original stone to finish the addition. (In the photo, at right, Gerald Veeder inspects the stone work at the Manning homestead, which is now a part of the Rolfsrud spread.)
Weather conditions have been dry in our part of Minnesota but it appears that good conditions have prevailed in the west. We have heard nothing to confirm any of this from our farm relations dept., perhaps owing to the Norwegian farming tradition that you never acknowledge good conditions until the crop is in the barn... and then only after some coaxing.
Weather conditions have been dry in our part of Minnesota but it appears that good conditions have prevailed in the west. We have heard nothing to confirm any of this from our farm relations dept., perhaps owing to the Norwegian farming tradition that you never acknowledge good conditions until the crop is in the barn... and then only after some coaxing.
So we will accept that no news is good news as we continue to hope for the best at the Rolfsrud Ranch and for the farmers who toil there.