Well, the fun is over and the farm is waiting. The Bonfire Music Festival was an incredible experience and the best time I have had this summer, but all bonfires must burn out. Everyone looks a little more haggard this morning as they emerge from their tents and vehicles. Heavy thoughts of Monday hang over people’s greasy heads. We haphazardly throw our entire camp into the back of the car and head back to the farm around 6:30 am. I drive my brother back to La Crosse, where he has to face an 8 hour shift of bartending. I realize I haven’t been to La Crosse in a really long time and I feel a bit out of place in the city I formerly called home. The traffic, billboards, and pedestrians distract me and I feel my muscles relax once I return to the Driftless countryside. Back at the farm, I have little energy or motivation to work. I lay on the couch, a little sunburnt, bug bitten, dehydrated, hungry, sore, and exhausted. I just need an afternoon to recuperate from the hot days, long nights, and inordinate amount of dancing. Tomorrow, it’s down to business.

~Joy