Rochester Rambling

The Farm

My father Philip was born on a farm, where this Rochester rambling story begins. It’s 300 acres just off Country Club Road on the outskirts of Rochester, MN. Although he claims he did everything he could to get away from farm work, he certainly has many fun stories from growing up.

There’s the one about when his brother fell off the tractor, and another about when he and his brother flipped a car. There’s yet another about a brother losing a finger in some machinery, and one more about another brother nearly losing a nose sledding into a barbed wire fence. If you can’t tell he has lots of brothers, and upon second thought these stories are more gory than fun.

Farms are clearly adventurous places to grow up. They are also a rambler’s paradise; open land, and lots of it. There are grasslands, hills, forests, creeks, fields, and a few trails here and there. The farm in Rochester was no exception, and I was fortunate that I had permission to be there.

Gotta share the family history

In the last quarter century of the 1800s, my great-great-grandfather Nicholas laid claim to the land and built the farmhouse which still stands today. After that it passed down to my great-grandfather, grandfather, and now my uncle. It’s unlikely to continue beyond that, especially with the value that land holds these days.

My great-grandfather was apparently a feared character, and a stickler at his work. There is one story about him chasing a neighbor off his property with an axe, over a territorial dispute. I doubt he partook in the fine pleasure of Rochester rambling. My grandfather lived in the farmhouse his entire life and was well known in the community. He never chased anyone with an axe.

Today there are plenty of corn fields as well as pasture for raising beef cattle. Cows need lots of room to roam, which means there is lots of room for rambling. One mode of rambling on a farm is by tractor. My uncle used to give farm tours on his tractor in the Fall, around harvest time. Yes, there were pumpkins.

Stampede!

There are plenty of places to ramble to on the farm. Each day can be a new voyage, and the destinations can be picked spontaneously. It’s truly a place where one is free to wander (as long as they’ve been invited on the property). I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, farms are a rambler’s paradise.

One pastime is to wander out to where the cows are and watch them graze. Of course, it’s usually a good idea to bring a hammer in case any of them get too aggressive. My younger brother Saul caused some havoc once when he tossed a rock into a herd of cattle and caused a stampede. The cows broke through the fences and wandered all over Timbuktu. They went through the fields, on to the roads, and into the woods. My uncle had to drive all over in his tractor, herding them back together. Some even died when they tumbled down a cliff. Needless to say, Saul got a good talking to.

There are also many rolling hills on the farm. They are steep and a lot of fun to roll down. In the Winter they get covered with snow and the sledding commences. We used toboggans as kids and raced each other to the bottom. They also provide great views of the surrounding countryside. There’s nothing like a nice vista to complete a ramble.

I am a big fan of creeks, and like all great farms, one can ramble out to the babbling brook. This one is called Cascade Creek. With all the cows it’s probably not the best idea to drink out of it, but it’s certainly a good place to cool off after a nice ramble. In case you haven’t picked up the message in this tale of Rochester rambling, here it is again. Farms are a rambler’s paradise.