Rose and Ben Osterhaudt have a lot in common.  Both are working creatures, hardy, determined and undeterrable. Ben is a good friend, a mountain of a man who is strong, honest, competent. Two big trees blew down on the path and Ben came over with  his buzzsaw and  cleared them all up in a few hours. It is almost frightening to see Ben’s strength – he was tossing these huge logs around all day, puffing on a cigarette now and then, without gloves or a coat. But that’s Ben.

He has been an elemental figure in my life on the farm, before and after Maria. He worked on the house, the barns, the water, the roof, the grounds. He is awesome and appreciated. Rose loves Ben, not surprisingly, and we walked out into the woods to visit him today. They connect. People like me cannot live in the country on farms by myself. I need people like Ben to survive, but our friendship has made the relationship all the more powerful. I don’t make too many moves without Ben.