Valerie – Page 27 – Valerie's Voice

Autumn

Warm, autumn days in southern Minnesota have lingered longer than normal it seems, and we continue to enjoy the sunny days outside. We are grateful for them!

Part of the Spring Lake Park to Hastings trail.

Over the weekend Gary and I biked on another “new-to-us” trail…we went over the Mississippi River and through the woods, along the river to Prescott, Wisconsin.

The bridge over the river, includes a pedestrian/bike lane.

It is a paved trail. We started in Spring Lake Park in Hastings, Minnesota, a lovely park on a bluff, with a great overlooks of the mighty Mississippi River.

We rode from Schaar’s Bluff, down, down, down into Hastings. We have riden our bikes on this part of the trail before. It’s a fun ride. Next we rode across the beautiful bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings.

From the middle of the bridge, looking south to the railroad bridge.

We crossed the bridge using the pedestrian/bike lane on the east side of the busy traffic lanes. It was exciting to be on our bikes looking over the railing to the wide river. Once across the bridge we continued riding into Prescott, Wisconsin, on an established bike/walking trail that follows the river, and goes through the woods.

It was a awesome, autumn day…blue sky and cool crisp air. When we arrived near Prescott, we rested along the river and watched the river traffic.

A while later we turned around, rode back to Hastings and then went up, up, up to Schaar’s Bluff. We saw a great blue heron, an eagle, three white swans, many ducks and geese…and lots of people. Many folks were out enjoying the last few days of this unusually, warm weather in Minnesota.

There were some beautiful fall colors in different places. I was reminded of a saying I read on a sign I saw in Pennsylvania this month…

“Autumn shows us how beautiful change can be.”

Boot’s & Lu’s

A new coffee shop opened up in the very small town of Nerstrand, Minnesota.

We watched it take shape over several months, anxiously awaiting its opening. It finally opened on October 6th. We were out of town, but we went there soon after we got back into town.

A planter of tea cups…a clever, front entrance decoration.

The coffee/sandwich/ice cream shop is nicely decorated and full of natural light. A hall connects the coffee shop to the well-established Nerstrand Meats and Catering.

We opted for ice cream when we stopped to check it out.

A counter and tables and chairs for dining pleasure.

Amy was friendly and said business was good so far. I forgot to ask her where the name “Boots & Lu’s” came from.

We will go back. We are rooting for its success!

Lancaster County

Lancaster County Pennsylvania is a unique spot in the US. My husband grew up on a small dairy farm in the rolling hills of this southeastern county of Pennsylvania, surrounded by more small dairy farms. It is very picturesque. There are a lot of Amish, Mennonites and Brethren that have farms and businesses and add to the uniqueness of this county in Pennsylvania.

Beautiful small (and large) farm markets are everywhere and we saw teams of mules in the fields, and horse and buggy’s on the streets. There are covered bridges, immaculate gardens, and narrow roads. And many, many beautiful old buildings and barns and houses.

Erb’s historic covered bridge (1887), on the backroads of Lancaster Co., PA.

One of the many farmer’s markets we saw on our drives.

A hard way of doing farm work, but looks charming.

On Sunday the family gathered at Gary’s sister’s farm. It was fun to be together and visit with one another (and I love all food at a potluck). Gary’s sister and her husband are dairy farmers, and they live in the house her husband grew up in. It is a lovely, old limestone house, well maintained, and the engraved wall plaque dates it to 1788.

Wall plate imbedded into the limestone wall…1788.

Each time we visit Pennsylvania we go see the farm where my husband grew up. A Mennonite family bought it thirty years ago. They have electricity, but are not allowed to drive cars…so they get around with the horse and buggy.

They are kind folks, and always welcome us into their home and invite us to look at all the changes they’ve made around the farm. They have a modern milking parlor, but do not make use of the data collection feature because they do not have a computer.

A previous photo of Gary’s childhood farm. photo by gb

Another farm we visited this year was a farm that had four generations of Bollinger’s living on it, from 1855 to 1998. The farm house and buildings were bought by a local man who restored the home and barn to its original appearance, and it is stunning.

The restored barn that once was owned by four generations of the Bollinger family. We know the barn was built prior to 1830.

It was wonderful to see all he had done. For example, the brick house had been painted with three layers of white paint and it was stripped to the original brick, and repointed (grout redone).

The beautifully, restored house next to a creek.

Another example is the inside of the barn. It was refurbished and they added a restroom and have family gatherings and church events in it. We are grateful he and his wife are enjoying this historic place, and at times with their 41 grandchildren!

Inside the old, restored barn…a wonderful event space for the family,.

Repainted barn door with original, iron hardware.

The barn is also re-landscaped on the outside.

There is so much history in the area. Gary likes researching his genealogy, and has traced his roots back to Rudolph Bollinger who arrived in Pennsylvania from Switzerland around 1720.

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, founded in 1861, is the first commercial pretzel bakery in America, in Lititz, PA.

The Lititz Inn and Spa, built in 1764, an historic inn in Lititz, PA.

An old church near Linden Hall, an all girl’s school, founded in 1746, in Lititz, PA.

We enjoyed seeing friends who drove down from New Hampshire and joined us for a couple of days. It was fun showing them around.

It’s always proper to eat some local fare when visiting this area, such as shoo-fly pie, tomato pie, and lots and lots of ice cream from the local dairies. Not too hard to do!

Another restored door on the old Bollinger barn.

50th Class Reunions

We’ve been busy traveling the last few weeks…to the north shore and then to Pennsylvania. My husband grew up in Pennsylvania and it’s always fun to go to visit. Our last visit was in 2018 to attend a nephew’s wedding.

This year the big draw was his 50^th high school class reunion…actually his 50+1 since it was scheduled for last year (class of 1970) but was canceled due to the pandemic. It was rescheduled for October 2, near Ephrata, PA. He graduated from Ephrata High School – EHS.

My 1971 high school class reunion was scheduled for October 9, 2021 so we made sure we were back to Minnesota in time to attend my reunion. I graduated from Edison High School – EHS.

We were both reluctant to sign up for our reunions. It was the first time attending a high school reunion for both of us. As we looked at our year books we both had trouble remembering the many folks we knew so well fifty years ago. We both wondered why we were going. But we both followed through, and were glad we went.

Ephrata High School 1970 classmates at the 50th reunion.

Gary’s class was about 220 and 46 had died. He had about 60 classmates come to the reunion.

Someone from Gary’s class put together a nice display of all those who had passed away from the class of 1970.

Ephrata’s event went well…a good social hour and dinner, and then a two-piece band that played oldies from those high school years. People were dancing …including us (for a couple of songs). Unfortunately, there were no nametags at his reunion…I did not understand that decision!

My nametag. Nametags helped a lot when greeting people.

My class was about 480 and 60 had died. There were about 120 classmates that came to my reunion. The nametags for our event featured our senior class picture.

This was a display with the names and photos of the classmates who have passed away from Edison’s High School class of 1971.

The Edison class reunion also had a nice social hour and a good dinner. The alumni marching band marched in and played a few tunes. There was a short program, and there was a roll call; we stood up when our name was called. I appreciated that – it was a good way to know who was in attendance.

The Edison High School Alumni Marching Band.

The funniest thing for me was we were reminded of “Weiner Winks” a food we had in the lunch line back in the day. It was a hotdog wrapped in bread and cheese and baked in the oven.

I reconnected with several people and was surprised how many I knew (after looking at their nametag!)

There was a DJ (a classmate) playing oldies and taking requests, and some people danced.

There was a raffle…I bought one ticket, and won a beautiful hand-made travel bag.

Both of us commented on how the folks at the reunions looked old…as do we. HA!

I had decided if ever I was going to attend a reunion the 50th would be the one…I’m glad I did. I learned this will be the last organized reunion of my class.

I am reminded of a quote by Walt Whitman that seems applicable to our reunion stories….“We were together. I forget the rest.”

A small group of some classmates together, all through Kindergarten to 12th grade.

We were both glad we showed up at our reunions, and we were together again with folks who were once a big part of our lives. We’ll forget the rest.

Public Art in Duluth

Mosaic art is fascinating to me. I recently posted about four mosaic panels as public art in Lanesboro, MN. There is another huge, mosaic public art display in Duluth. It is a wall of images made with ¾” x ¾” ceramic tiles, using only seven different colors. The mosaic wall is 12 x 590 foot long.

The *Lake Place Image Wall* is along Duluth’s new Lakewalk…with a boardwalk, and bicycle and scooter lanes.

Another view of the *Lake Place Image Wall*.

According to the information plaque…the Lake Place Image Wall consists of 1.29 million tiles that were placed on 12”x12” grids. Eight people worked for eight weeks to complete this wall. It was finished in 1990.

Sandra and Mark Marino provided the artistic composition and production for this piece. The mosaic images, made from the tiles, are based on photographs from Duluth’s waterfront history.

A little easier to detect the small, ceramic tiles in this photo.

Duluth’s original lake walk was damaged during four major storms: one in 2017, two in 2018 and one in 2019. Finally the lake walk had to be reconstructed (and improved) and it has now reopened.

Looking towards the lighthouses in Duluth Harbor.

The 590’ mosaic wall is along Duluth’s Lakewalk, as are wonderful vistas of the great Lake Superior, and Duluth’s waterfront.

A view of the Ariel Bridge from a different point on the Duluth Lakewalk.

Fall on the North Shore

We often go up to the cabin we rent on Lake Superior in the fall. One never knows what kind of color autumn will have painted on the trees and foliage when we arrive.

The leaves usually change up there in late September/early October. The last couple of years we have seen some good color up on the north shore, even though our dates staying up at the cabin have varied – a lot.

This year, the day we went for our annual hike up Oberg Mountain, was one of those perfect fall days…bright sunshine, a vibrant, bold, blue, autumn sky, great temperature…it was stunning.

And the vistas from the seven lookouts on top were very colorful.

A lot of people were on the trail, and a lot of people were up north in general…more so than usual… evident with traffic and full parking lots. However, back at the cabin all was peaceful.

On another hike, in Tettegouche State Park, we spotted an unusual mushroom. It was golden…it looked like it was spray painted but it was far enough off the trail to know that was unlikely.

I tried to identify this mushroom with a quick internet search, but was unsuccessful. We saw other fun fungi on that same trail.

As wonderful as our hiking and biking and fall color drives were, the time spent with our son and daughter-in-love, and our two grandchildren, up north, at the cabin on Lake Superior, was the best!

Sunrise Over Lake Superior

One of my favorite things to do on our annual trek to the north shore is to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. I set my alarm – just in case – so I don’t miss it.

I love sitting silently, waiting for the sun to come up. It is such a tranquil and quiet time…a beautiful time of enjoying God’s magnificent creation, a wonderful gift. There is a unique sunrise for each unique day…and it can change within minutes.

Then Friday’s early morning light filling the sky. (6:53)

We don’t see sunsets from the location of our cabin, although sometimes we can see some color in the western skies at sunset, creating silhouettes of the trees and rocky shoreline near-by.

Towards the western sky Wednesday evening…sunset silhouettes.

In a previous post I showed photos of the moonrise we sometimes see over the lake. We are grateful for those spectacular views too.

The sun on Sunday rising through the clouds…

“The heavens declare the glory of the Lord!”

Words cannot describe the feelings evoked witnessing the wonders of the sky.

I’m grateful for the sun that rises faithfully every morning, and to see it rise over Lake Superior is a special treat!

Moonrise Twice

On Wednesday afternoon, we arrived at our beloved cabin we rent on Lake Superior, two days/nights after the full moon. I always love to see the full moon over Lake Superior but we do not plan our trips around it…however, a lot of times the dates do work out and we’ve seen the moon rise over the lake many times…I love it!

Since the full moon was only two nights ago we planned our campfire on the rocks to coincide with the moonrise. And…at precisely, 8:01 pm, as posted on the meteorological site predicting sunrises and sunsets, moonrise and moonsets, it, indeed, rose.

However, the unique thing about this evening’s moon rise was we saw it rise two times! It came over the horizon at 8:01 and was gorgeous, a huge orange ball…we saw it come up in its entirety.

However, there was a low cloud in the sky, on the horizon, and the moon went behind that cloud and we could not see it for a few minutes…then lo and behold, we saw it rise again over the cloud for a second moonrise, and this time the moon shone bright and white.

The moon over Lake Superior, September 22, 2021.

What a gift. What a blessing. What an amazing time to be sitting on the rocks on Lake Superior, in front of a campfire, watching the moonrise, twice!

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

We attended a wedding reception at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum this week.

What a lovely place for the special event. It was held outside in one of the picnic shelters with beautiful scenery all around. We were also invited to come early and enjoy the September gardens in bloom at the arboretum.

There was much color, everywhere. There were vibrant, annual gardens, as well as rich, colorful dahlias.

I was surprised to see many showy, rose bushes still in full bloom. I stopped to smell them!

It’s always fun to see a few, unusual plants in bloom.

Identification sign reads: Amaranthus caudatus ‘Pony Tails’
Love-Lies-Bleeding

It was a wonderful afternoon, celebrating two lives joined together in marriage, and celebrating Minnesota’s finest blossoms and the upcoming fall season.

Public Art in Lanesboro

There is a lot of public art in Lanesboro, Minnesota, starting as soon as you enter town, in the parking lot close to the downtown area.

One of several haikus posted in the general parking lot in Lanesboro.

On each lamp post in the parking lot is a plaque with haikus posted for people to enjoy. The haikus are responses to the Lanesboro Arts Poetry Series. What a fun way to welcome people to town.

The plaque reads: 1893 Chicago Bridge Co.

We walked away from the parking lot toward town on a path that led us over the Root River on an historic bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, built in 1893. The bridge leads you to a side street in town. And there, on the side of a brick building, is a wonderful public art display of four mosaic panels.

1 of 4 mosaic panels. The bike trail and rolling hills and farm fields near Lanesboro.

Mosaics have always intrigued me. I’m fascinated to see images and pictures created from small, colorful tiles, or stones and other such elements (in this case some pieces of mirrors).

2 of 4 mosaic panels. An eagle over land and river, a big-wheel trike in the foreground, and flowers.

These panels were the results of an Artist in Residence project in 2017. The artist, Bailey Aaland, involved the community in making these panels which, I think, adds a special touch.

The plaque explaining the mosaic public art pieces.

According to the artists plaque, she offered mosaic making sessions to community members, mirrors were donated by local residents to be used in the mural, and participants, working off Bailey’s outline, “helped shape the design throughout the creation process.”

3 of 4 mosaic panels. Tractors and bicycles on land, near river.

The results were four very creative, beautiful depictions of the surrounding areas of Lanesboro…the bike trail, the farm fields, the bluffs, the river.

4 of 4 mosaic panels. A bridge, fish, land and river.

It’s a wonderful display, showing off the area, and the collaborative work of the community, for the enjoyment of all people.

A mural in an empty space on Lanesboro’s main street.

Another public art piece in Lanesboro is on the main street, in an empty green space between buildings. It is a colorful, painted mural of the town’s name, providing a photo op for many people. There are picnic tables in this area too, offering space for people to gather together to gather to visit, eat or rest. During our overnight stay there was a community event held in this outdoor space.

Little Lending Art Cupboard: on wheels…rolled out onto main street for folks to borrow art supplies.

To encourage art, instead of a “Little Free Library” there was a “Little Lending Art Cupboard” in this same community space. The cupboard is full of art supplies, and was on wheels so it could be set out during the day and taken in at night, or kept out of the rain, and moved around town to different locations I suppose. It encouraged people to “Take what you need, leave what you can. Because everyone needs a little art in their life!” The Art Cupboard was created by Girl Scout Troop 47985. What a great idea. I haven’t seen that before.

It was delightful to take in the variety of public art displays created with the intention of sharing them with the Lanesboro community and its many visitors.