Out in Pine County, Minnesota, and Pepin County, Wisconsin, our families' measure of readiness for winter is still how much wood they've put up. This is a part of the world that used to be forest, where trees still come back if a field goes untilled. Naturally fallen trees make enough wood to fill the fireplaces all winter, supplemented by propane and electric heat.
The gold bed sheets were wet in the early-morning sun. Underneath, everything was safe. A grocery bag of ripe tomatoes from Wisconsin, picked last night, arrived on the porch this afternoon. Time for more salsa.
