Flathead Father N' Son

About Flathead Father N' Son

By January the cherry orchards south of town along the lake road are just bare grey rows waiting on May, and that is when Flathead Father N' Son works the lanes between them. Two people and a truck move driveway to driveway down the orchard roads, clearing the gravel lanes that farmers and lake-house owners still need open through the coldest stretch. There is a rhythm to it: plow the lane, sand the corner where the frost heaves worst, clear the walk to the door, repeated house after house as the light shifts from grey to gold and back to grey. Cherry country in deep winter is a different kind of beautiful than it is at harvest, all bare branches and cold light off the water, and there is something grounding about laying down the first tracks through it every morning. This stretch of shoreline empties out once summer ends, but the driveways still in use need to be open regardless.