Milk Maid

As the popular saying goes, “After every storm, a rainbow appears.” While I really enjoy the positivity that quote embraces, I don’t think it fits in my vocabulary this week.

After the storm that the virus caused with our computers and systems here at the Mascot, I still haven’t seen a rainbow. In fact, all the commotion has caused my computer great distress. Since last week, it’s had numerous scans, upgrades and file recovery.

I over 100 fonts, with most notably the font called “Minion Pro” that we use for most of the paper.

Thanks to my super awesome and talented Uncle Nathan, my computer has weathered the storm and is starting to get back to normal. With all the unnecessary rain storms we’ve experienced this week, I’m still waiting to see any rainbows.

I guess there are a few bright spots. Our lake front property keeps growing. Ingenuity and creativity have been abundant this season as with every rain fall, it seems we need to come up with different ways to do things, like how to bring home our cows from our lake, I mean our pasture.

How about that Vikings’ game on Sunday? Byron has it covered in his column, but the only “rainbow” I can see is that they didn’t exactly lose to the Packers.

With all these stormy conditions, it can make a person want to get away and find some positive distractions. I started thinking about things that are on my “bucket list.”

If you aren’t exactly sure what I mean by bucket list, it’s not my ranking of buckets I use for chores, even though I do have a “bucket list power ranking” of which ones I prefer.

In case you’re wondering, the perfect pail depends on the task at hand, but the pink ones are at the top of my list. I mean a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime, that type of bucket list.

Some common examples are traveling, winning the lottery, sky diving, starting your own business, getting a tattoo, seeing the Northern Lights, trying a new food and so much more.

One of the top things on my list is seeing some of my favorite artists in concert. One of my favorite musicians is Justin Timberlake and I’ve been eyeing tickets to his upcoming concert in St. Paul.

I finally talked my best friend into going with me and I snagged some tickets for what I thought was a “steal of a deal.”

Another goal I have on my bucket list is to have owned each breed of dairy cattle at least once.

So far, we’ve had Jerseys, Brown Swiss, Holsteins, Red Holsteins (all of which we currently raise), Guernseys and Milking Shorthorns.

I’m just missing raising an Ayrshire to complete that list. I’d also like to raise a breed of rabbit from each of the five body type groups. I’m only two for five in the goal yet.

While life can be stormy at times, there is almost always something positive in any situation, even if it’s a minor thing.

Another great quote to remember is, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Or in our case, how to row a boat in the rain.