Valerie – Page 4 – Valerie's Voice

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.

Litter

The Faribault Flyers Bike and Ski Club picked up trash last week. The club adopted a portion of highway 60, out of Faribault. This means the club has committed to pick up litter along both sides of the highway section, at least twice a year.

Gary and I are members of this bike club and were available to help. It was a windy day, and that was challenging…keeping the plastic garbage bag from blowing away, or its twisting and dumping all the contents out. But, the sun was out and it was a mild temperature.

We were all given fluorescent vests to wear. The traffic on this particular highway is heavy, and a little dauting at first, being so close to the road with the cars whizzing by. We were given garbage bags to fill, then instructed to leave them on the side of the road to be picked up.

We divided into four groups of four or five.

We were told mark with a bag… and do not touch… drug paraphernalia or firearms, if we came upon any. I found what looked like a small firearm. I did pick it up because I was fairly certain it was too small to be real. It ended up being a large cigarette lighter in the shape of a gun. Sigh.

This small, heavy, metal gun that was a lighter.

It felt good to be outdoors on this spring day, while picking up the discarded pop and beer cans, liquor bottles, miscellaneous paper, fast food bags and cups and utensils, cigarette lighters and cigarette butts (the worse). I think there is a mentality that cigarette butts are not litter, so smokers just throw them out the window. There are a lot of them!

Full trash bags set along side the road for pick-up. We filled 35-40 bags, in two hours.

It felt good to participate in this community service. There were several of us from the bike club that showed up to help. Many hands make light work, although it was still hard work. We had a handy, dandy picker-upper which worked well. It reduced the amount of bending over a little bit, during our two-hour shift.

Six months from now, the club will set apart another afternoon to collect trash from the same section of the highway. It’s one of those jobs that is never ending, but I think we make a difference.

Square Dancers

My childhood friend, Diane, called me a couple weeks ago, to wish me a happy birthday. We have exchanged the same birthday card since 1979. It has become a treasure. Diane called to say I would be getting the birthday card late this year, because she was “snow birding” in Florida and forgot to bring the card along to send to me from there.

It was fun to chat with her awhile, and catch up on our kids. She told me this story.

In 1953, my father built this house that I grew up in.

When Diane’s mother passed away, several years after her father died, Diane’s son bought his grandparent’s house. So, he now lives in the house where Diane grew up, and across the street from the house where I grew up, in Northeast Minneapolis. It’s wonderful to know the house is still in her family. Her parents built their house in the early 1950’s, as did mine.

A special wall painting discovered under the paneling.

Diane told me her son has done a lot of updating and remodeling of the McKinley Street house, and currently he’s working in the basement. He began tearing the old paneling off the walls. Underneath he found the typical cement blocks, but also a surprise.

Taking care to preserve this special painting.

Back in the late 50’s, Diane’s father painted two life-size square dancers on the cement block wall. I had forgotten about them, but remembered them as soon as Diane mentioned it. A few years later, when her dad finished off their basement, he covered up the square dancers with paneling. Diane recalls that when her dad covered up the painting with paneling…he said, “it will be interesting for someone to discover these dancers someday.”

A moisture control was brushed over the wall painting, to help persevere the painting.

As Diane’s son was tearing down the paneling, lo and behold, he exposed the painting of the square dancers.

Little did Diane’s father know at the time, it would be his own grandson who would discover his special treasure on the wall, under the paneling!

Trees

I noticed the other day, we have tree images in every room in our house. We never planned it that way.

This canvas print of the Sycamore Gap tree, that was felled by vandals last year in Scotland, hangs in our foyer.

I do love trees. And I do love nature.

A water color by local artist Kathy Miller…of trails on St. Olaf campus. This painting hangs in our dining room.

I love birds and critters, sky and clouds, flowers and trees, sunrises and sunsets.

My own artwork, while creating art with my granddaughter. I hung it on the refrigerator! 😉

I try to be out in nature whenever possible, and I try to bring some of it indoors.

These three metal trees hang in our sunroom.

I took photos of my tree images to share. They are as varied as live trees themselves.

Another metal sculpture that hangs in our living room area.

Also in our living room – an old piece of folk art – a jewel tree made by my late Auntie Doll.

And I am reminded of the “tree poem” by Ilan Shamir that “gives advice from a tree.” The poem is often abbreviated, and seen on bookmarks or plaques.

And this photo of the Lake Superior shoreline hangs in our bathroom.

Advice from a Tree

Stand tall and proud.
Go out on a limb.
Remember your roots.
Drink plenty of water.
Be content with your natural beauty.
Enjoy the view.

The entire, beautiful Advice from a Tree poem gives even more advice. You can read it here.

This back-lit tree plaque hangs above the fireplace during winter months.

A print of an illustration from a children’s book, hanging in our bedroom.

Truthfully, there are even more tree images (and flowers and birds and…) around our house. We were surprised when we realize how many we had hanging around, or should I say, standing tall.

Into The Deep

The Galleria’s spring flower show, Into The Deep, opened last week.

An annual flower exhibition is created every spring by Bachman’s, and it’s a delight to walk around indoors, and see all the beautiful and colorful representations of the theme, made with flowers.

This year’s theme, Into The Deep, included a great variety of sea floor images…

It’s easy to use your imagination while viewing these wonderful, artistic displays.

Hidden in the flowers are terrariums with tiny “mermaid gardens” inside a clear, acrylic globe. I liked this idea.

The challenge is to find all eight of them among the different scenes. I think mermaids are becoming as popular as fairies.

There were also sea creatures: jelly fish, a school of yellow fish, lobster claws, sea horses, octopus limbs, o my…

On a weekday morning, we arrived about 10 am and it was comfortable viewing the displays. An hour later the crowds had begun to grow (no pun intended-ha!).

Then, it was fun to people watch, and see so many enjoying this amazing exposition. But, we could only image it would get busier and busier as the day went on. We left to make room for others.

For me, the flower show builds excitement as I anticipate seeing spring flowers out-of-doors soon.

The show goes through April 7.

Happy Easter

More Music

I’m grateful all the ways my life has been, and is currently, touched by music. I do appreciate music, although there is so much I do not know about it. The multitude of different musical instruments is amazing. I certainly appreciate musicians; their dedication to their craft and the practice they’ve endured, creating outstanding music for others to enjoy.

It’s nice to be able to attend concerts at the two colleges in Northfield. Even though I may not know much about the compositions, or composers, I can’t help but think I am changed in some way by hearing the beautiful music. Music is good for our souls.

Recently, we have been to several musical events…the St. Olaf Orchestra concert, a Boston Trio recital at Urness Hall (on St. Olaf campus), and the Rock and Roll Revival, a musical extravaganza put on by Northfield High school students.

Each were unique, each were performed by amazing musicians, and each were enjoyable.

The RRR (Rock & Roll Revival) has been put on every other year, for a total of sixteen times so far, by the high school students. It features rock and roll music, from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The high school kids put on a stellar and energetic performance. It’s always fun to see them in action.

I saw this box of 45’s in an antique store. These records were popular in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Most are without their sleeves, except for one or two.

And, this year’s RRR brochure was especially clever.

The brochure itself was square, with a 45 phonograph record printed on the front cover.

The picture of this “45” looks so realistic. The brochure was such a fun enhancement to the RRR.

The inside pages listed the songs to be performed. This brochure was then placed into a white, paper sleeve just like how the original 45’s were packaged for retail sale back in “my day.” What fun!

The brochures were tucked into these white sleeves, to represent a 45 phonograph record.

Music is very much a part of my life… from praise and worship songs and hymns on Sundays, to multiple and different opportunities presented to me from many other venues throughout the days, including my new Zumba class! We dance to lively, hispanic music.

Whether it is formal concerts, singing to ourselves or in church, or even hearing the birds sing their songs in the great outdoors, music is all around us…and I am grateful.