This morning I drove out to see the windmills again. They have white bases and long black blades. They're behind a hill, so when it's windy, the blades look like they're doing cartwheels along the slope. It's unbelievably pretty.

I am in awe of the sheer number of them. I have a terrible time estimating numbers, but I'd guess that there are a hundred on that wind farm alone. They're absolutely massive. When I see them, I can't help but think that they look like giants in the earth. It's not what Ole Rolvaag had in mind, but it describes them pretty well.

If you go about three miles further east on Highway 14, you come to the town of Lake Benton (pop. 703). Lake Benton is nestled under hills. There's another wind farm on the hillls just past it. As you approach, all you can see is this ridiculously picturesque little town dwarfed by cartwheeling windmills on the hilltops.

There's a red brick-and-wooden barn out in front of the first wind farm. It's totally abandoned, and under a sky that's bluer than blue, it's beautiful against the windmills. It's like a perfect melding of the old, the new, and the natural. Absolutely lovely.

If you've never seen a wind farm, you have no idea just what I'm talking about. If I can find my digital camera, I'll take pictures next time I go out there. Suffice it to say that it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The Lake Benton wind farms are utterly breathtaking.