Nurtured by Nature
Sixty Years of Learning and Loving in the Red River Valley of the North
by
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Doll’s Woods
We could hardly wait! The last week of April and the first week of May were worth waiting for. Down we walked to Doll’s Woods to see if the May Flowers were blooming. We crawled through barbed-wire fences, leaped over the creek—drainage ditch—and carefully avoided the poison ivy along the path.
Nestled under arching elm trees, just leafed out, and smaller blooming trees, we found them! In clumps they rested, waiting for our little hands to gather the hepaticas in a bouquet. Some were violet, some were blue and pale white. We looked for the deepest lavender and moved from clump to clump, picking only the best for our nosegay. The bloodroots stood alone as lovely white blooms, but picking them left red dye on our hands.
The faint odor of wild onions blended with the new leaf growth and the rotting vegetation under foot.
We lifted our nosegays and breathed deeply into the fragrant blooms. The perfume—nothing can compare—oh, to enjoy them again in the days of early spring!
From A Wild Summer’s Ride
All of a sudden, I saw the boy on Birdie starting to have trouble with her. He was wildly swinging the reins in each hand, and kicking her in her flanks, telling her, “Whoa!” She became as frightened as he and proceeded to go into a full gallop, going faster and faster as she turned the corner into our bottom land. By this time, she was stretched out in a full gallop and the kid was screaming, “HELP, HELP, HELP.” It echoed across the bottom and scared his horse even more. I was praying in earnest now. Then Birdie headed into a grove of burr oaks-about as tough as anything to travel through. I feared he’d get knocked off by the tree branches, but she tore through the woods and came to a fence line with a 10-12 foot drop on the other side of the fence, and below it was our stock pond. She sailed over the barbed wire fence, and over they went-then I couldn’t see them anymore. The soil was piled up along the stock pond and sheltered them from my view. The other kids came galloping across the bottom, trying to reach him as soon as possible, but they were no match for Birdie’s speed and strength and fear.
I stood waiting and praying and watching for the boy and Birdie. I didn’t know if they both had been killed or what had happened. Finally…
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About the Book
Nurtured by Nature is Alice Bjorklund Gunness’s memoir of faith and family. Alice recalls stories of family farm life with Donald, her husband, and their five children, living along the Red River of North Dakota. The stories evolved over sixty years of farm living. Alice’s voice is positive. She recounts her children’s adventures, sometimes full of surprises, and tells life’s lessons learned through nature. Her stories—some humorous, some causing us to think about our lives in terms of eternal perspective—include her strong belief that God, in His grace and mercy, protects and helps us. Wildlife, birds, farm animals, pets, and the beauty of sky and landscape accompany Alice’s stories. Alice writes with the thought of encouraging others as they continue their journeys through life.
About the Author
Alice Bjorklund Gunness, was born at home, to Ottilia and John Bjorklund, on July 20, 1933, during the heart of the Great Depression. She was born in Richville, Minnesota. Alice was the youngest of seven children, one who died as an infant. Her parents immigrated from Sweden in 1910 and 1914, and moved to a dairy farm in Ottertail County, Minnesota.
Alice graduated from Perham, MN High School in 1951 and attended North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State University), in Fargo, North Dakota. She graduated in 1955 with a degree in home-economics education. After a year of teaching high school, Alice and Donald Gunness were married on March 25, 1956.
Alice and Donald raised their family on a diversified farm near Abercrombie, North Dakota, in the heart of the Red River Valley.
Anyone interested in contacting Alice may reach her at:
5300 12th Street South
Fargo, ND 58104