Ann McMaster - Life as It Is

Oak Tree Farms - Snowmobiling, Meeting Our Future

It was just too tempting - lots and lots of snow and a couple of Polaris snowmobiles - one of which, at the last minute, decided to be mutinous and not start - so 3 of us piled on one. And yes - we just had to do it!  4-year-old Isaiah in front, Bill Makens in the middle, I was hanging on for dear life at the back, chortling.

White everywhere - very cold - snow mukluks up to my knees, wrapped in layers and layers of clothes to about twice my normal size, topped off with a snowmobile helmet - 60 miles per hour down the straightaway - very exhilarating.

Then we swapped out the middle driver, and Isaiah's dad, Michael Makens took us for another ride - we jumped a slight knoll, got a little airborne on the back there, then we slowed down to navigate around a snow drift, and oops - I slid off into a snow bank that was right beside the Polaris.

With great concern in his eyes, Isaiah asked me if I was bleeding; I said, "No, not even a bruise." Actually  it was like falling into a feather bed, except softer ... and wetter. After my third assurance that I was not bleeding, not hurt, he asked me if I was scared. I said I didn't have time to get scared, it was all over so quick. Then he looked up at me through all those lush, black eyelashes and said, "I was only scared a little bit." So touching. Four years old, solicitous of others, and a truth-teller. I have a lot of hope for our future.

PS  That's a stock picture of a snowmobile, I didn't have my camera. And that is a real life picture of Isaiah Makens.

Oak Tree Farms - South Dakota

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend some time with the leadership of Oak Tree Farms. It is a privately owned, working farm covering 8,000 acres near Clark, South Dakota, which also includes a very posh hunting lodge - for those who are pheasant hunters (and other critters, but their specialty is pheasant). While I was there, there was much more snow than in the picture to the left - beautiful, majestic sweep of land, complete with its own lake - a big one. They even have their own hunting dogs - 22 of them. My favorite was a black Labrador named Grizz - he fits his name.

My purpose for going there was to do some team building and strategizing - getting the lessons learned from the last busy season (both farming and hunting) and also planning ahead for the next busy season. I loved working with Bill Makens, Michael and Alissa Makens (3 of the family owners), Barry and Nicole Threadgold (the managers of the farm/hunting and the lodge respectively) and cousins to the owners, Brad Vail (the dog wizard and kennel keeper), and Sandy (the kitchen magician). It is, literally and figuratively, a family-run outfit. And that is what they are committed to maintain - the 'feel' of family. The lodge itself makes that easy, as it is warm (several fire places) and spacious at the same time - posh and comfortable. 

So two days of working with people who have passion for what they do - my idea of a vacation!  It's so much easier to work with people who have fire in their belly, than it is to work with people who numb out in order to go to work. As Ann Barnett (my friend and mentor) used to say, "It's easier to tame a barracuda, than it is to pump life into a dead fish." (Not that I was dealing with barracudas at Oak Tree Farms!)

It's a beautiful place to BE.