Miseries and joys of mud season in rural parts of the U.S. - Entrepreneur Generations

The brown slog and bog of a mud season driveway in
rural Wisconsin. (Photo by Donna Kallner, the Yonder)

As winter slowly gives way to spring, more northern rural parts of the U.S. enter into their own uniquely labeled time: Mud season. It requires tenacity, more than one pair of boots, and is -- just like you'd expect -- a dirty, slushy, sloppy, wet affair. Donna Kallner of The Daily Yonder writes, "Spring is still a ways off. Getting there is a slog."

Soldiering through days of muck and sludge "give us practice at being resilient," Kallner adds. "Mud season reminds us that we don’t persist just to collect a participation medal. We show up because that’s what rural people do." 

Kallner includes some tips about "showing up for our communities even when things get ugly" that are shared below.

January and February have passed, and mud season offers an opportunity to get together with friends and neighbors exiting hibernation. "So maybe we’ll plan to get the maple sapping crew together for a weenie roast in the woods," Kallner writes. "Bill makes a dandy homebrewed ale with Mike and Alice’s maple syrup. We should make some maple root beer soda, too. We all have sapping stories to tell. We’ll make it a party."

It's still cold outside, so taking time to enjoy indoor activities before gardening and fishing hobbies beakon can be good medicine. Kallner suggests, "It might be just more time spent watching basketball. March Madness gives us something to talk about besides politics and bear sightings."

Mud adventures and mishaps offer great distractions from the daily grind. "Stories about vehicles stuck in the mud are perfect (especially if someone else was driving). I like to open with the ruts the UPS driver left when he got stuck here," Kallner writes. "Then pass the baton. . . .If everyone is laughing, we all win."

It's time to think about the garden. "Northern gardeners in mud season are like baseball teams at spring training: Everything feels possible," Kallner adds. "We may not feel free to exchange some opinions with neighbors who vote for the other side. We will, however, share seedlings and fill cardboard boxes with clumps of lilacs and roses dug from our yards."

Mud season can be a time when shared experiences and even misery can help communities think about what brings them together. Kallner writes, "Just showing up for our rural communities won’t make our differences disappear. . . . But it’s a start."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2F7ySs9 Miseries and joys of mud season in rural parts of the U.S. - Entrepreneur Generations

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