Dakota Valley Electric

Our farm is undergoing a facelift. And it’s all due to the hard work of our electric cooperative, Dakota Valley Electric.

After this summer’s storm and issues that we had last spring with deer and such, Boss Man and I decided to make some changes around the farm. One of the biggest cosmetic changes is the switching over from overhead power lines to underground.

Now you see it...

I didn’t think it would be that big of a change, really. I mean, as far as cosmetics go. (I completely understand the amount of work and time it takes to actually achieve the goal!) But I was wrong.

It’s amazing!

Now you don't!

So, aside from no longer worrying about the wind snapping off a line in our yard (it happened), or ice building up, or having to farm and mow around polls, it’s all gone.

It’ll take me a little while to get used to the look. I step outside and feel like something’s missing. But it’s a great change, and one that I’m glad we went through with.

So, thank you Dakota Valley Electric and those involved in the switch over. It was fast, problem-free (at least from my point of view) and a great new step for our farm. Thank you!

Well, we have a good start on clean-up from Sunday’s storm. But it’ll take awhile.

We spent most of yesterday cleaning up the major stuff…downed trees, clearing out George’s soaked room, picking up fence chunks, etc. Today we’ll start coming through the yard, piling up debris, deciding what’s salvageable and what’s beyond repair. Measuring windows, figuring out which doors will need to be replaced, making plans.

It’s actually a great way to take stock of what you need, what you don’t and where you want to go from here. It’s a tough way to do it, but it gets the job done in a hurry, that’s for sure!

Two of my nieces are here to help watch the boys at my Mom and Dad’s while I’m out here getting things settled down. The girls have been such a help! I would rather the boys not see things the way they are, and have things look a little cleaned up by the time they come out here. (Plus, it’s so much easier to do things without the “help” of a 2- and 4-year-old.) I have pictures to show them when they want to see what it looked like, but sometimes this is a little much for me, I can’t imagine involving them right now.

Thank you to everyone who has given us encouraging words, stopped and talked, helped out and pitched in. We live in a wonderful community, and with so many having so much destroyed, it’s just amazing to see it all come together.