Valerie – Page 55 – Valerie's Voice

Passover and FiftyNorth

Last spring, we took a three week road trip to the east coast. One stop was in Washington DC to visit neighbors that used to live next door to us in Northfield. We happen to be in DC during Passover, and they happen to be Jewish, so they invited us to stay in their home and to partake in the Passover meal with them, along with five other people from their synagogue. We were delighted, and excited, to sit down and experience this Seder meal with our Jewish friends.

The cherry blossoms were in bloom in Washington DC.

We were offered Kippahs (caps) to wear, and spent the next five hours at the dinner table with our friends and five wonderful folks we had never met. We ate large amounts of food – most with symbolism attached. We read through prayers and texts, and sang songs that go along with the story of Passover in the Torah (and Old Testament). We enjoyed sweet fellowship while participating in a completely different religious experience than our own. It was wonderful.

Two friends participating in the Passover meal.

So, when the newsletter for FiftyNorth (previously Northfield Retirement Center) came out with its November offerings, one class in particular caught my attention: Jewish Holidays: Backgrounds and Traditions. Stacy Beckwith, a Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the Director of the Judaic Studies Program at Carleton College presented it. The class filled, with 25 people attending. The course was a general overview, and well done.

One of the slides from presentation… a picture of a Haggadah from the 14th century. Haggadah is the text book for the Seder meal.

This is the Haggadah we used at our friend’s house.

Another slide from her presentation showing a Seder plate for six symbolic foods.

Our hostess compiled a Seder plate – 6 symbolic foods which include shank bone of lamb, egg, vegetables, two types of bitter herbs and a sweet paste called haroset.

I have attended classes at FiftyNorth but was surprised when I drove into the parking lot for my class on a weekday afternoon, that the main parking lot was full. When I entered the FiftyNorth lobby it, too, was full of people, and there was a rather long line to check-in for all the different activities going on in the center.

FiftyNorth is a very vibrant place for Northfield seniors (seniors defined as age 50 and older, and North as in north – or in, higher than, age 50). It has a lot to offer including informational and fitness classes, a pool, workout equipment, rooms for bridge players or ping pong tournaments etc. In the lobby coffee is always available and tables are set up for puzzles, reading the newspaper, or just visiting. It is stimulating and invigorating place and a real gem for our small town, Northfield.

I was pleased to be in the bustling center this week, learning about Jewish traditions. I was among many others…there for so many different reasons. And that is a good thing.

Schaar’s Bluff

On one of our last, beautiful autumn days, Gary and I drove to Hastings to check out a bike trail, and we discovered a park.

A view overlooking the Mississippi River from on top of the bluff.

Spring Lake Park Reserve is part of the Dakota County Park system and includes one long bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River.

Schaaar’s Bluff derived its name from the Schaar family who owned and operated a family farm on the site from the late 1890’s until 1973, when they sold it to Dakota County to be included in the Spring Lake Park Reserve.

The park offers fantastic views of the Mississippi River. There is a picnic area, campfire rings, a playground, a Gathering Center, and lots of paved and unpaved trails for hiking and biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. There are oak trees to form wooded areas, lots of open spaces, and some prairie portions.

The beautiful, wooden fence along the bluff.

While looking at an overview map of the area, a woman directed us to some unpaved trails along Schaar’s bluff. The trail was covered with leaves so it was not obvious to find the path. The trail went along the river and was very scenic. There was a significant drop-off to the river.

The obscure trail-head for path along the bluff.

We hiked on a few trails that day. One trail took us across a steel bridge that had a short, sharp jog in it…really? That’s not something you see very often.

A bridge with a sharp corner halfway across.

The Gathering Center was in use, for some company’s retreat. The funky building design was fun and inside, in the women’s bathroom, was a plaque explaining how the Center is “harvesting rain.” It states “Schaars Bluff Gathering Center is gathering rain from our rooftops for the toilets in our restrooms.” It makes me happy to know they are recycling rain water.

A fire pit outside the Gathering Center.

Another unique highlight of the park was a Tobacco-Free Zone sign posted, informing smokers there are designated smoking areas in the park…one can smoke only in the parking lots and along the roadways. That was a first for me. I have not noticed that sign in other parks.

This is the first time I’ve noticed a no smoking sign in a park, but I assume they are posted in all Dakota County parks.

I’m grateful for the Schaar’s who offered their land to the county, to make this wonderful park along the mighty Mississippi River, with it’s scenic beauty for others to enjoy. We will visit it again.

The silo still stands near the park entrance.

Cows

I have always loved the beauty and tranquility of seeing cows grazing in a field. Although I was born and raised in the city, I have always loved the country. But the only cows I knew about growing up were the black and white Holsteins. My husband however, grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. They milked Holstein cows, but he also knew about the other types dairy cows such as Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey and Ayrshire. He was not aware of the kind I saw the other day.

I was traveling on a country road familiar to me, and although I do not travel it on a regular basis, I travel it often enough to be surprised at seeing these cows for the first time. I caught a glimpse of black and white cows. I assumed they were Holsteins, but as I got closer I noticed they all had the same markings. Unlike Holsteins that are black and have splotches of white in various places all over their bodies, these cows were black with a wide, white band around their midsection. Everyone one of the them. All 20-30 of them in the field looked identical. I took a double take, then stopped to take a picture of these unusual cows.

I checked Google…they are either Belted Galloway or Dutch Belted cows. Both breeds have similar patterns. The Belted Galloway comes from Scotland, also nick-named “Oreo cows”. They are primarily raised for their quality marbled-beef. The Belted Galloway survive well in much colder weather but their coat is longer and thicker. The cows we saw in the pasture had short hair, but maybe because we’re coming off summer – it may grow longer and thicker as winter settles in.

A second breed with the same markings is the Dutch Belted cow, from the Netherlands. They are raised primarily for dairy. In the Netherlands, the cows are know as Lakevelder, a term that means a sheet or blanket around the body.

Here are links to the two different breeds:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenvelder_cattle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Galloway

When comparing pictures off the internet I believe the cows I saw were Dutch Belted, but I am not positive.

It was a fun discovery. They were a beautiful sight. I had never seen this kind of cow before. I will start asking around to see if others have.

Turtle and Lego

Two words…turtle and Lego… captured my attention last week when scanning through the newspaper. Two words for two different, but interesting, entities…together in one title. It may have caught my attention because we encountered two large turtles on Northfield’s bike trail this past summer, and because of my fondness for Legos.

The article reported of a turtle fitted for wheelchair made of Legos. Now that’s creative!

Article in newspaper that caught my attention.

The article states: “A wild turtle with a broken shell is rolling around on a wheelchair made of Legos while he’s on the mend at the Maryland Zoo.”

The eastern box turtle had fractures to the underside of his shell, and according to the article, keeping the shell bottom off the ground is important for healing after surgery. The zoo’s veterinarian asked a friend, who is a Lego enthusiast, if he would create a custom, turtle-sized, Lego wheelchair to help the turtle mend.

A photo of one Lego town (not on the bed downstairs) made by my boys. Of course I thought I had many pictures of the creations they made, but it turns out, I don’t.

My two boys played with Legos for hours when they were young…it was a favorite play time of theirs and I do believe they have good memories of building cities together, and all the vehicles and buildings that go along with that. We set a piece of plywood on top of a bed we had in our finished basement as a platform for Lego towns and Lego creations. I used to joke that at one time our Lego collection was the most valuable item in our house. We still have Legos, sorted by color, in plastic boxes, ready for the grandchildren to play with someday.

Recently we were at the Mall of America and walked past the Lego store. It’s always fun to stop and look at their displays of oversized figures and vehicles and space ships.

Huge action figure at the LEGO store in MOA.

Legos have always made me smile…to see the many different creations, and also, to remember the special memories of my two little boys playing together with their Legos.

I hope the turtle heals quickly…it has no idea of the wonders of Legos.

Approved!

Today our daughter-in-love was approved for an immigrant visa. This means she can be a permanent resident of the United States. And, this also means our son and his wife and our two grandchildren, ages 4 and 2, will be moving back to the US soon. The process has taken over a year so we are over-the-top excited for this good news.

Praise the Lord!

A Broken Ornament

A friend and I went into a Christmas Store a few days ago, curious to see if they sold any fishing ornaments. She wanted one for her grandson. While looking around I saw a jet ski ornament. This friend has a cozy cabin up north, complete with two jet skis, and we vacation there together once a year. When I saw the ornament, memories of her and I on jet skis flashed through my mind…

My friend’s cozy cabin, with a beautiful porch.

The first memory is of the two of us, 60+ year old women, standing on the dock in our bathing suits and life jackets while she used her cell phone to call her son to ask a question about starting the jet skis. It was comical. We managed to get them started, back them out of the boat lift, tooled around the smaller lake before heading to a bigger lake and really taking off. We had a great time speeding across the water – up to 40 miles per hour. I always thought jet skis were loud, and they are, but now I understood their attraction.

My next memory was the year we were cruising around the lake and I ended up with thick weeds tangled in the motor, so my jet ski stopped in the middle of the lake. I drifted awhile until my friend noticed I was in trouble. She rode over and she decided we’d burn out the engine if we tried driving it back to the cabin, so the only alternative was for her to go get a towrope and tow me back. It took awhile but it worked. I was nervous that maybe the motor was ruined. When we got back to the dock I got into the water and pulled lots and lots of weeds from the propellers. When it was clear we started up the jet ski and it worked. I breathed a sigh of relief.

And then this year…we rode the jet skis fast then slowed into idle mode to follow the shoreline and look at cabins. We decided to go through the channel to the next lake to do the same, so we revved up and sped to Little Pine Lake. I was trailing behind when all of a sudden an alarm went off…”O no, not again”. The indicator sign was flashing “Fuel, Fuel”, the gas tank indicator went from three bars to a half bar, and the alarm kept going off. So I turned off the engine and waited once again for my friend to notice I had stopped – all the while the alarm kept sounding. She soon turned around and we decided to head back to the boat lift. We did so without incident, and with out running out of gas, but the alarm persisted until we pulled the key out. We got the skis safely tucked away and found out later the jet ski was OK, just low on fuel. I sighed another sigh of relief.

So when I saw that jet ski ornament in the Christmas store I just had to show my friend. As I picked it up it fell to the floor and broke. The store policy is if you break it you pay half price for it. So I did, and left with the broken ornament. (It was a clean break so I was able to glue it together and will add it to my Christmas ornaments.)

My new, but repaired, jet ski Christmas ornament.

On the way home from our outing I started to laugh and called my friend to tell her how fitting it was that the ornament broke… given my history with jet skis!

I’m glad she just bought a pontoon at the end of the summer.

Sunset over Daggett Lake in northern Minnesota (July 2017).

Squirrels

We are experiencing some wonderful sunshine and warmth after many days of grey and cloudy skies…and one day of snow.

The first snow… on October 14… which melted quickly, thankfully.

I have a flower blooming on our back deck. I noticed it a couple days ago, and it’s one I have not noticed blooming this time of year before. It’s a clematis, climbing up our pergola. It’s beautiful amidst the falling leaves that are carpeting our backyard.

The squirrels are busy. I decorated our front porch with some gourds a friend gave me, and had fun making a display I liked. I found out the squirrels discovered it, and liked it too. After they quickly ate half a squash and started on another, I decided I needed to stop them somehow.

At some point I must have heard of using pepper as a deterrent because that came to mind right away. So I tried it. I outlined the display with dashes of pepper and lightly sprinkled the gourdes and pumpkins and it worked! The squirrels have stopped coming and are no longer nibbling on the natural buffet they thought I was providing for them our front porch.

Squirrels are fun little creatures to watch, but there are certain places I do not want them. One is eating my porch display and the other is at our bird feeders. We fill the bird feeder we have hanging near our trees with safflower seeds because squirrels do not like them, but a lot of birds do: cardinals, chickadees, finches…

I put black sunflower seeds in another feeder suctioned to our window because the squirrels cannot get at the seeds. I love seeing our resident cardinals up close, eating at the window feeder.

We do have a large squirrel’s nest in one of our trees in the backyard. I guess they can live here, as long as they behave.

Swept Up

Hand-crafted broom and broom corn on my front porch.

While helping a friend clean up from the tornadoes that went through our area a few weeks ago I decided I’d like to sweep off the long driveway. Although it was cleared of trees, there was a lot of debris that made the driveway look messy and unwelcoming. I wanted the driveway to look tidy and welcoming once again (as it always had been in the past).

As I was sweeping (using broom first, then a blower) I thought back to our first trip to Africa in 2009, to visit our son who was living in a small village in northern Mozambique.

Tim met us at the airport in Malawi and we traveled a few days in that country before heading to Mozambique. We were excited to see his house, his work place and the village where he lived.

From my photo album…we drove from Malawi to Mozambique. It was a beautiful drive.
We first spent a few days in Malawi, at a National Park, and at a resort along Lake Malawi.

Tim was living in a rented, small four-room house. He chose to live among the people of the village instead of at the compound that his work provided. His yard was dirt, and in his front there was a well (no running water in the house) and a banana tree.

Tim sitting in front of his house. His neighbor told us how much he and his family enjoyed having Tim as a neighbor.

Towards evening, as we approached Tim’s house, the front light was on and the yard had been swept…not raked… swept.

A young man, a native and friend of Tim’s from the village, knew the day we were arriving so he swept Tim’s yard and turned on the front light – he wanted Tim’s house to look welcoming for us. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of it (and as I write this), this small act of kindness seared in my mind. Maybe it’s a mother’s heart that makes me get emotional about that seemingly small act of kindness towards one of her children, but it is one I will not forget. It indeed made us feel welcomed.

So as I swept my friend’s driveway maybe I was paying it forward…subconsciously I knew how it made me feel that day when Lucas made his friend’s house look welcoming for his family and I wanted to pass it on.

Thank you Lucas!

From my photo album…beautiful African sunsets.

Off the Beaten Path

Our first morning up on the north shore I followed my usual routine of rising early to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. Soon it turned cloudy so we decided it would be a good morning to enjoy a drive through the woods. We had the luxury of time.

The sky was gray and the weather cool and crisp. With hot coffee in hand, we grabbed our warm jackets, climbed in our truck, and took off on a suggested fall color tour route.

As we drove around the Tofte-Lutsen area we were witness to some amazing fall colors: red maples, yellow aspen and birch trees standing among the ever-green pine trees with an occasional still green or lime-green leaves on deciduous trees.

Fluorescent orange and lime-green leaves among *ever*green.

At times it felt like we were driving through a fluorescent-lit tunnel. Even though the sky was cloudy the road seemed bright. The canopy of trees with magnificent colors overhead on this gravel, back road was beautiful.

After many years of coming up to this area we know our way around fairly well but we always find something, or somewhere, new to explore. This year we talked to a local business owner and asked where he would drive to look at fall colors. He gave us directions to a back road leading to a lake surrounded by maple trees. We found the road and the lake, and voilà – it was another glorious drive and sight!

This was not a suggested route of the many fall color tour routes up on the north shore. It’s always fun to get off the beaten path and discover something new.

This was our first day up north. We looked forward to colorful days ahead.

Sunrise Over Lake Superior

Now that we are back home from our wonderful week on the north shore, I miss seeing the sunrise over the lake…but I can envision it. I have a morning routine when I am up at the cabin. The cabin’s large front windows face east, overlooking Lake Superior. I have checked the timetable to set my alarm accordingly so I don’t miss the sunrise over this big, beautiful lake.

My routine starts with “first light” about a half hour before the actual sunrise. I get up in time to make coffee, switch on the gas fireplace and open a window to heighten the sounds of the water lapping over the rocks. I rearrange a chair so I’m looking right where the sun will come up. I’ve watched it come up so many times over the years I know the spot where it will rise over the lake.

When coffee is done, I turn the lights back off. It’s dark but my eyes adjust and I can see the lake and the shore and the silhouettes of the few trees out front.

I settle in and watch the show. On this morning the sky is dark with a sliver of orange light on the horizon… it turns bright orange-red and slowly fades into sunrise colors by spreading out, and up, to the cloud bank.

Another morning, another sunrise! Clouds back lit by the rising sun…so pretty. (2018)

I watch with a heart full of gratitude as I wait for that moment when I first see the tip of the sun’s arc and then pop…just like that it’s up. And it’s amazing and it’s quick and it’s wonderful and I am thankful for eyes to see this spectacular daily occurrence that happens whether I am watching it or not.

The sun rising over a cloud on the horizon., 2018.

I sigh with contentment, to be up at the cabin on Lake Superior, ready for a new day.

“This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NKJV)

I have hundreds of photos of of Lake Superior sunrises. Here are a couple from the last couple of years, including my all time favorite at the end.

2017: this looks amazingly similar to one taken in 2016.

My favorite Lake Superior sunrise photo taken in 2010.

“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.” (Psalm 96: 11 NIV)