North Dakota landscape

Fanning Mills

Fanning mills are used to clean the chaff and weed seeds from grain. Farmers cleaned the grain they would use for seed the following year...

Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden

At the Earth Lodge Village near New Town, North Dakota, we found two local women working in the garden. One said it was designed after...

Earth Lodge Village

I was excited this week to visit the earth lodge village west of New Town, North Dakota. These are replicas of earth lodges--"awahte"--...

Sod Busting

This photograph belonged to my grandfather Arthur LaBrant, who was a homesteader, but I'm not sure who it is. I love this picture though!...

A Battle Hammer

Our daughter Jana found this Indian tool on my Mom's farm in northwestern North Dakota. It is 7 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 3 1/2...

Beaver Dams and Damage

Although I've never seen a beaver on Mom's farm, I'm fascinated with them. The damage we saw in recent years was something we never saw...

Lignite coal in North Dakota

Lignite coal made homesteading possible in frigid winter weather in western North Dakota. The region had little timber to heat with, and...

Sloughs and Ducks

I love the sloughs in northwestern North Dakota. A slough--pronounced 'slew'--is a pond at low elevations. They are a mecca for ducks,...

KRISTIE