Valerie – Page 3 – Valerie's Voice

Voilá

Several years ago I found a painting of red geraniums on a framed, window screen in a thrift store. I thought it was a clever idea and it would look good on our front porch, so I bought it. It has hung on our front porch many times over several summers, and it started to lose its pizazz.

Instead of throwing it out I decided to try touching it up myself, with my acrylic paints.

I put on an old t-shirt, squeezed paint onto a paint palette, and did my best. I filled in the reds, and mixed red and yellow paint for orange, and blue and yellow for green, and repainted the pot and added a bit of color here, and a bit there. It was a fun, creative endeavor!

And I think it turned out very well. The painting has found new life and is hanging on my front porch once again.

A Gift of Water

A writing assignment was to answer this question… Has a stranger ever helped you at a difficult time? The answer is yes, and here’s the story.

Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. photo vb

In 2015 we visited our son and his wife and our first grand-baby, Zoey, in Mozambique, Africa. We planned a side trip to Cape Town, South Africa as a chance to see another part of the continent. One of our most exciting, but challenging adventures there was to climb Table Mountain.

Photo by Robert Huczek on Unsplash (free internet photos)

Table Mountain is a beautiful sight overlooking Cape Town, and from a distance it looks like a table, thus the name.

A view of Cape Town off one side of Table Mountain. photo vb

Gary and I are used to hiking and have done a lot over the years. We’ve hiked some difficult terrains. Table Mountain ended up being one of the harder hikes I’ve done, but I didn’t know that when we started out. We donned our hiking boots and hats, and filled our water bottles and started up the steep path. There were several other hikers on this trail. It was hot, it was rocky, and it was pretty much straight up.

On our way up the rocky trail to the top of Table Mountain. photo gb

We were struggling. About two-thirds the way up there was an outcropping that provided a shady area, so we stopped to rest. A fit, young man came from behind us and noticed I was overheated. He asked if we had water. Yes, we did, thank you. Then he said to me, hold out your hat. I did as he said, and he poured HIS water into my hat and told me to tip it over my head. I did, and it felt so incredibly good to drench my hot self with the cool water.

After that, the young man continued on his merry way, and I was so grateful for his random act of kindness, and soon we continued our trek upward.

Note the cable car coming down from the station at the top of Table Mountain. photo vb

We rejoiced when we arrived at the top. We joined many folks enjoying the stunning vistas on this beautiful, sunny day (reaching the top by cable car or on foot). Then, as was our plan, we took the cable car down the mountain.

From the window of the rotating cable car, going down Table Mountain. photo vb

I was grateful for this young man’s random act of kindness that day on Table Mountain. What a delight to be treated so kindly… on a mountain trail… in a foreign country.

Thankfulness

A sentence from a reading shimmered for me the other day, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

“… no pleasure is really complete without expressing gratitude, to God, for it” (italics mine).*

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Septemeber 2021

I want to take that to heart. The wonderful events in our lives are made so much more pleasurable if we give thanks for them. They are not “complete” if we don’t. I do want to nurture this discipline in my life.

*Jesus Always by Sarah Young

And then there were none…

Sad news…two days ago I was out in the yard and found the second baby robin (two of three – last week I found the first one) dead in the grass. I’m not sure what is taking them from their nest…someone suggested a Blue Jay.

On May 12 I noticed these three, beautiful blue eggs in a nest outside our window. Mama Robin has been caring for her young since then, and now all three have died.

Last night I took a photo of the last baby robin sitting contently in its nest.

And then I found it dead, this morning, under the tree where the nest is. I’m sad.

Now, I wonder if I’ll see Mama Robin anymore? I’ll miss her.

Tweets

This is an update on our resident robin and her chicks.

I noticed her nest in the tree outside our bedroom window a few weeks ago. Three beautiful eggs and a dedicated mama, sitting on the nest day and night. I kept checking in on her, and talking to Mama Robin throughout the day, and she got used to me.

Then we left town for a week. I thought of her when we were gone…wondering how she survived all the rain we heard we had, and wondering if her chicks had hatched. When I arrived home, I immediately went up to see her. I believe Mama Robin remembered me.

She was still sitting in her nest and all seemed well, but I couldn’t see any chicks.

However, the next day, when mama flew away for some food, I saw the eggs were hatched. I think I saw all three chicks, but then the next day there were only two. I found the dead chick under the tree, when I was out doing yard work.

The nest is right outside our bedroom window, and with the zoom on my camera I was able to get an unclose picture when the mama flew away for a few minutes.

When I am outside and approach Mama Robin’s nest, I warn her I’m coming. She doesn’t fly away.

It’s been a fun nature show to watch.

Bonus: Early this morning I looked out into our backyard and saw a deer.
I was surprised. By the time I got my camera she had wandered into the neighbor’s yard.

A Fun Twist

There was a twist in plans this year, for an annual get away (this would be #36) with my friend Frances. During the past year, she and her husband moved to Vermont. We wondered, what will we do for our trip this year? Then, there was a fundraising auction and she won a bid for a beachfront condo.

She asked if I wanted to join her on Fenwick Island, a coastal resort town in Delaware. Sure, I said, even though I had never heard of Fenwick Island. And then, we decided to include our husbands…that was the twist…that was new for us…and we had a delightful time.

The criteria for our get-aways include three things: some body of water to enjoy, thrift stores and/or antique shops to peruse, and gardens to meander. Would Fenwick Island meet these criteria?

The condo was facing the Atlantic Ocean and we had lovely weather so we could walk along the beach and sit on the balcony… a wonderful fulfillment for our water requirement.

We had a fun time trying on matching shirts (which we did buy).

One day all four of us drove to a nearby, historic town with tree-lined streets, and quaint boutiques – we found sidewalk sales and ice cream. Another day we left the husbands behind, and sought out the thrift stores and antique shops we always enjoy. There is usually no problem finding these kinds of stores anywhere.

A landscape by Piet Oudolf, a Dutch garden designer.

The third requirement is all about gardens, and we found out the Delaware Botanical Garden was only a half an hour away! How convenient.

The four of us walked the trails, and in addition to lovely flowers, there were other surprises along the way.

This “nest” was created as an outdoor classroom at the botanical garden.

Apparently two volunteers at the botanical garden are clever at creating sculptures with natural materials from the forest floor. They were very creative, and fun to discover as we meandered through the grounds.

A turtle – a clever use of tree trunk slices for the turtle’s shell, with green moss in-between the spaces.

Another blessing was seeing the nearly full moon (officially the following evening) over the Atlantic Ocean, the night before we left Fenwick Island.

We could see its refection on the wet sand…so amazing.

Our criteria was met…we had a great time…with added blessings.

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

On my drive out to Nerstrand state park, I was thinking about our Minnesota State Parks. They are definitely a valuable resource and I’m thankful they have been established so that I/everyone can get outside in nature, and explore.

I haven’t been to all 65 of the state parks, but we have visited many of them over the years. We did a lot of camping in earlier days.

There are seven state parks along the north shore of Lake Superior that are scenic and connect to the “big lake” somehow. The others, scattered throughout the state, are inviting too. Nerstrand Big Woods State Park is about a 20-minute drive from our house. Maybe because I frequent it so often all year long, it has become one of my favorite state parks. A place to hike, to picnic, to camp…a place of beauty and rejuvenation… and so close to home.

As I starting walking down a familiar trail and saw the lime, spring-green leaves overhead (unique to this season), breathed in the fresh air, and heard birds singing, I sighed; this is exactly what I needed. I was happy to be here.

I was a little late to see some of the more familiar spring ephermals in bloom…the dwarf trout lily (found only in a few places in the world) being one of them…but there were other spring flowers blooming and it was fun to walk along and identify them.

Many of the parks, especially along the north shore, have water falls, as does Nerstrand. Hidden Falls is smaller, but still lovely. The recent rains made for a full spilling over. I sat and watched the mesmerizing water flow.

This beautiful bloom hangs under the large leaf of the mayapple plant. You need to look for it.

There were many mayapples with hidden blooms underneath their umbrella leaves.

I always feel safe walking the trails by myself in this park.

It was a great way to start my day.

Beautiful

Many beautiful happenings are all around lately…to name just a few:

The program for the musical at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.

We went to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. It was phenomenal, especially for those of us who grew up with her music. She was a prolific song writer, with over 118 top hits, written or co-written. We had a wonderful time.

Another beautiful event was seeing the northern lights…

I had told friends if they ever hear of the northern lights in the area to let me know…and one night, last week, she texted and said there was a good chance. I was in my nightgown, but threw on a jacket and shoes, and off I went (Gary was in bed already). I noticed several others out, along the way to my viewing spot. We were all hoping to see the northern lights.

We did, and they were beautiful. Basically there were streaks in the sky with a very faint tint of color, but when you took a picture the colors popped.

Looking out from our window down into the nest.

Blooming spring trees are blossoming all over town. I noticed, in our very own crabapple tree, there is a robin’s nest with three “robin-blue” eggs in it.

I say good morning to mama, every morning, and greet her several times during the day, as she sits in her nest in the tree right outside our bedroom window. It is a beautiful sight.

There is a family of foxes in our neighborhood…two adults and 8 pups. I’ve seen 8 of the 10 foxes. It’s a short and easy walk to go watch these playful and beautiful creatures, so I try and go see them often.

This farm is on County Road 9. I always look for the “Dutch-belted cows”.

A farm scene in spring, with red barn and cattle and blue skies and spring greens is always beautiful.

So grateful for beauty that abounds.

Cold Spring Tavern

Outside of Santa Barbara, up the San Marcos Pass, there is a former stagecoach stop. The Cold Spring Tavern, built in 1868, brings one back in time to the Old West.

A scenic drive led to this now popular restaurant where reservations are needed. We had lunch reservations set for 11:30 a.m., as soon as it opened.

The Cold Spring Tavern, a Wells Fargo stagecoach stop.

It sits all by itself on this old stagecoach route, on Stagecoach Road. We found parking in the rocky, rutty unpaved parking lot that held about ten cars. After the lot is full, cars line the streets for a long way…which was the case by the time we left.

I love eating outdoors, and this restaurant offered outdoor seating, but I thought it would be more of a unique experience to eat inside this original tavern. It had multiple, small rooms.

There are several rooms inside this tavern. We were seated in the room with the fireplace.

We were led to a room with a stone fireplace, and the fire was blazing. It was windy and cool outside so the fire felt good, and added much to the ambiance. We had the room to ourselves for a short while. We placed our order and sat back to relax in this unique and quiet setting. The food was tasty.

This outdoor space, in the back of the tavern, is used for receptions etc. The building in this picture is a road gang house, built for the Chinese road gang who built the toll road through the San Marcos Pass.

We know friends from Northfield who were married at the Cold Spring Tavern, back in 1973. We thought of them while we were there.

After lunch we drove another route home, through wine country and then back to Santa Barbara, along the Pacific Ocean.

We drove further north to view the surroundings.

We drove past a few beautiful vineyards.

We stopped to look at Butterfly Beach, CA

It was fun California day trippin’.

Santa Barbara

Many special memories were created on our recent trip to Santa Barbara. We went to meet our newest granddaughter, born in March. She is beautiful and so very precious. Being with her, and our other two grandchildren, ages 7 & 4, and with our son and daughter-in-love was the best. And we were able to attend grandparents’ day at the two older kid’s school which was a highlight.

We celebrated three generations of birthdays. All three birthdays fell within a week of each other, and within the time we were in California. Grandpa turned 72 on his birthday, and our son had a birthday, as did his daughter, our granddaughter. She turned 7.

We also enjoyed seeing our youngest son who joined us for a few days. We missed his two children and daughter-in-love who stayed back in North Carolina.

We stayed at a European-style villa, about a 9-minute walk to our son’s house. It was a lovely jaunt to begin each morning, and a nice stroll back at the end of the day.

Many flowers were in bloom! I didn’t identify them all with my app, but I did take a lot of pictures. So many interesting kinds and colors…

Succulents were a popular garden plant. I was delighted to see how beautiful they are, with such a variety of shapes and colors.

Of course, an ocean view never gets old. We ate lunch on the harbor a couple of times. It is enchanting…and so picturesque to see all the “boats” docked.

It was fun to see the pelicans fly by, and watch them dive bomb for their dinner. They circle high above the water, then dive straight down, head and beak first, when they spot a tasty morsel.

One afternoon Gary and I descended 200+ steps down Mesa Lane Steps to the beach and walked a mile or so to the next set of steps called One Thousand Steps. On our way up we counted about 150. Apparently the name dates back to a time when there were actually 1,000 small wooden steps.

One can only walk along this section of beach, bordered by sandstone cliffs that jut into the water, during low tide, otherwise water at high tide covers the beach.

Santa Barbara is on a 42-mile stretch of land that faces south on the Pacific Ocean. It is the longest stretch of south-facing coast between Alaska and South America. During a few months, you can see both the sunrise and the sunset in some places.

During our stay, April’s full moon waxed and waned to and from its fullness, shining in all its glory.