In a friend’s backyard, no less! I was out poking around with my camera before dinner and enjoying the extremely rural Dakota atmosphere when I noticed something in the grass. Closer inspection revealed that it was a windmill head from the early 1900s. What is it with me and old windmills, anyway?

As a mountain and city kid, I don’t know why I find these artifacts so intriguing, but I do. I’ve joked from time to time that in North Dakota’s vast expanse of prairie, anything sticking up more than a few feet can be considered a landmark. More honestly, I think they have more of a connotation of the pioneer spirit, the hardiness that it takes to farm a section of North Dakota land. For every windmill there’s a story of someone who put it there. I suppose that’s the real fascination.