Jessie Veeder

North Dakota

Columnist at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead

Singer/songwriter, writer, photographer, blogger, wife and new mom living on a ranch in Western North Dakota. Dirt roads, wind, wheat fields, hope and home.

Articles

Veeder: Summer starts with mud puddles and dancing

1 week ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Have you ever had to pressure wash the gumbo mud off the clothes and boots your children were wearing when they decided to go splash and roll in the giant mud puddle that had formed from a week of rain behind the dumpster in your yard? As long as I’m living and they’re not dressed for town, I will never deny my daughters full access to a mud puddle.
Veeder: Some welcome rain and a little mess because of it

2 weeks ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — “What are you doing?” I asked my husband in the dark of our bedroom. He had his face nearly pressed up against the screen of the open window at the head of our bed. That day in May had reached record-breaking temperatures of over 90 degrees, and we soon found out that our air conditioning was on the fritz. We had just switched off the heat a few days earlier, but there we were, lying on top of the covers under the ceiling fan before spring had even officially arrived.
Veeder: Mountains were alluring, but the prairie called us home

3 weeks ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — My husband and I spent a brief time living in western Montana when we were first married almost 20 years ago now. It doesn’t seem that long ago when I reach back for a memory there of us and our big brown Lab who was just turning from puppy to real dog, sort of like our marriage. We chose the mountains as a challenge to pick a spot to live, and that sounded adventurous before we completely settled down at the ranch.
Veeder: Of all the people my mom could have belonged to, she chose us

4 weeks ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — I like to imagine my mother before I knew her — before she became a mom for the first time to my big sister and wife to my father. I like to imagine her long straight hair, jeans that hugged her ballerina legs, her high heels clicking along the pavement on her way to a job she was good at, her tan skin on elegant arms that opened out wide to the world. Because it was those open arms that brought me into my world.
Unexpected joys of having your sister live down the road

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — My little sister picked up my video call the other day to reveal that she wasn’t home after school, but in our local Tractor Supply with a cart and a little brown box filled with chirping chicks. Chicks were not on her shopping list, she informed me as she pushed her cart and I watched the ceiling and half of her kid’s forehead on the screen. Especially not Turken chicks. Ever heard of them?
Veeder: Spring has arrived at the ranch

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — We’re in the thick of calving these days on the ranch. Little black specks on the hillsides and in the draws are arriving like little beacons of hope with the crocuses. For several years, we have calved mostly pure black animals, but with the addition of Hereford bulls in the program this year, we have more black-and-white-face babies than we’ve had since I was a kid.
Veeder: What makes local diners so special

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — When my husband and I take road trips together, we have an unspoken rule that has developed over the years that we continue to abide by: when it’s time to eat and if we have the time, we search for a local diner. Or the local diner, depending on what size of town we’re passing through. It’s my informed opinion as a road warrior that nearly every small town — if they’re lucky — has one they’ve held on to through the ebbs and flows of economic booms and busts.
Veeder: Calving season comes with all sorts of lessons

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Our first calf of the season arrived last week. It’s a bit early to have too many follow suit, but it’s my favorite reminder that spring is on its way. My dad will keep a closer eye on our herd now, fussing over them, checking the draws and hills and taking notes. We gathered the cows last weekend to sort off a couple bulls that got out.
Having tea and a moment to remember what makes life beautiful

2 months ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Recently, I spoke and sang at a local women’s event in my hometown. It was a tea party, and the room was full of ladies dressed in their best, seated around sweetly decorated table settings. I stood on the stage in front of them and imagined how much needed to be arranged and rearranged in their schedules to get them in these seats on a Saturday morning. The sitters or the kids’ sports runners. The newborn baby holders so she could get a shower in.
America in one room was a beautiful sight to behold

2 months ago | inforum.com | Jessie Veeder

WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Recently, our high school student council members held their third Community Cultural Fair alongside parent-teacher conferences. The large fieldhouse typically used for open gym and youth volleyball and basketball practices was lined with tables and décor from over 20 different countries that are represented in our community. Behind those tables stood students and community members serving samples of food from their respective cultures.