First, I shall try to answer your questions. Yes, Bets is over the grippe, and although she still coughs a lot, she is much improved. As to the weather, there is still a great deal of snow on the ground, but some days are quite tolerable— one can now visit the outhouse without frostbite! You ask about the view, and I have to smile. There’s a great deal of nothing at all, empty, rolling plains and vast sky and precious few trees. As I’m sure I mentioned in my first letter, the ranch is situated only a short distance from the South Saskatchewan River, and Noah says there are willows along it which turn quite green in summer, but for now, everything is white, although sunrise and sunset are quite wonderful on days when the sky is clear. As for me, my health is good, as always, but oh, my dear Elinora, sometimes (at least a dozen times each day) I fear I’m not suited to this ranching life at all. My first week here, Noah took me outside to show me what "chores’’ would be mine, and for the first time in my entire life, I encountered cows and chickens and pigs and horses.
