Author: Valerie

More Random Thoughts on Animals

We’ve had unseasonably warmer weather for this time of year (except for that one cold night in Duluth at Bentleville). It hit 54* yesterday. Gary went for a bike ride (my bike was put away for winter already) and I went for a long walk around the three ponds in our neighborhood.

This is one portion of the pond where hundreds of geese are facing the same direction.

This is a regular route and we often see wildlife. We’ve seen otters, and a beaver a couple years ago, a fox and frogs and such. However, the past few days the ponds have been clear of any wild life. I thought the Canadian geese and ducks had flown south. I guess not, they were back, in mass.

The geese in the pond from a different angle.

It was a beautiful sight, and a fun sight since they were mostly all facing the same direction…like they were waiting for a preacher to start preaching. 

The beautiful Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Minnesota.

Which led me to thinking about a recent concert we went to at Our Merciful Savior’s Cathedral in Faribault Minnesota. We entered the church from the front and I liked what I saw.

The menagerie of stuffed animals taking up the front pew of this church.

The entire front pew was lined with all different sorts of stuffed animals…all looking towards the pulpit. I thought it was a clever way to fill the front row since so many of us head to the back of church to sit, but I found out after the concert, when we visited with the priest, that he keeps the stuffed animals up front for his children’s sermons. 

Glass frog…photo off internet public domain

Then, as I continued walking along, I thought about an age-appropriate book I’ve been reading for our grandson. This adventure book talks about different animals in the Amazon rainforest. It introduced me to a glass frog. It is amazing (as all creatures are). This frog has a lime green, camouflage back with a translucent underside where you can see the organs inside its body! I had to look it up! I had never heard of this.

Glass frog underside…photo from istock.

And sure enough, there is such a creature! And there are a couple of fun videos on the internet about the glass frog! I’ve added a couple of links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twAK29xwb6Q

The male glass frog also is the soul protector of the eggs and will ward off its predator, the wasp, with one swift kick of his very long leg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7zARByAu1c

Once again, I’m reminded “All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all” – unique, wonderful and amazing!

Lake Superior

Our trip to Duluth to see the Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” also provided an opportunity to witness some beautiful and interesting scenes of the magnificent Lake Superior.

We walked the sandy trail to the shores of Lake Superior on Park Point.
Sand and snow on the shore of Lake Superior.
A sandy beach on Park Point, Lake Superior.

We arrived on a bright and sunny day. Except for an small accumulation of snow -remnants of a recent snowfall- the shores of Lake Superior look like an ocean beach. There were no tropical temperatures though!

Lake Superior scene from our balcony.
Moonrise over Lake Superior.

As the sun set, the skies remained clear so we could see the full moon rise and shine (however, the clear skies kept the temperatures below freezing!)

Morning light: 6:39 am the next morning.

The next morning a cloud bank appeared over the lake.

Morning light: 7:10 am
The silhouette of a ship in the mystical misty fog rising from Lake Superior.
A freighter heading towards the canal in the early morning light.

I went out on the balcony, which faced north, to take a few photos. As I leaned over the balcony and turned to the east, I saw the stunning sunrise and images over the lake.

Sunrise: 7:24 am
Sunrise over Lake Superior.
I’m not even sure how I captured this zoomed photo, but I like it.

I do so enjoy this lake! It’s very entertaining.

Where sky and sea meet on Lake Superior. This photo was taken at 9:10 am, a few hours after the beautiful orange, sunrise.

Bentleyville

There are millions of lights in Bentleyville. Here strings of lights were made to look like brick!

Tucked into the middle of a string of mild November days, was one unseasonably, frigid night when the temperature dipped to 9 degrees with windchills of -11*. And that is the night we had arranged to tour Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” in Duluth, Minnesota.  When planning this adventure weeks before, we had no idea we’d be walking through this spectacular Christmas light display in freezing temperatures. 

The full moon and the tall, center tree of Bentleyville, which changes colors constantly. photo by ta.

We packed all our warm winter gear and headed up to northern Minnesota. We had reserved a hotel room within walking distance of Bentleyville. It was a clear night with a beautiful full moon.

The full moon rising over Lake Superior (11/27/23, 5:33 pm)

As we left our hotel, the temperatures were dropping, and the winds were picking up, and we could feel the strong, freezing wind gusts (17 miles an hour). 

We entered Bentleyville through this tunnel of lights.
A tree farm light display…

But we did it! We walked to the event. We walked all around the event in the cold. And we had fun, and felt a sense of accomplishment too. Bentleyville is an impressive place. Explore Minnesota informs that Bentleyville is America’s largest free walk-through (Christmas) lighting display.

So many lights and so much to see.

Bentleyville was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Nathan Bentley started the “Tour of Lights” in 2003 at his farm outside of Duluth. Each year he added more and more lights. It grew bigger and better every year, and of course, became more popular. Duluth’s Mayor invited him to move his display to the Bayfront Festival Park in 2008, and so he did.

One of my favorite light displays…there were many!
Another favorite: This ornament was stunning.

As we walked through tunnels of lights looking at all the different theme displays, cheerful Christmas music was playing making it even more festive…we could hardly mind the frigid temperatures. 

This tunnel had pretty blue icicle lights.

Free cocoa, cookies and popcorn were handed out. There were fire pits burning in different places, but because the wind was so strong it was hard to get warm, even next to the fire.

One of the many fire pits around Bentleyville.

We did snap a few pictures, but quickly put our mittens back on…the fingers got cold very fast!

Because it was so cold outside, there was no line to see Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

Back at the hotel we took off our many layers of jackets and scarves, hats and mittens, and made ourselves some hot chocolate and sat by fireplace in the lobby. We felt invigorated, while warming up by the cozy fire. 

A Viking Ship. So many displays including: a manger scene, the Duluth lift bridge, dinosaurs, Disney characters, sea creatures, and much more. I can’t even begin to describe how many lights displays there were.
A reindeer waving from a classic car.

We can say we had merry time in spite of the freezing temps – which just made it more memorable.  We’re hardy Minnesotans after all!

Busy Beavers

We were enjoying a hike in our neighboring town of Faribault, on one of the last warm days of fall. The section of trail we were walking along had trees on one side and the Straight River on the other. I was looking toward the river when I noticed what looked like beaver shavings on the base of a very large tree.

Evidence of beavers gnawing on this huge tree.

We stepped off the trail to check it out, and sure enough there was evidence of a beaver, or beavers, gnawing its way around this massive tree. But we wondered, can a beaver really gnaw its way through this huge tree?

This is a photo of Gary hugging the tree. He cannot reach his arms around this large tree the beavers are working on.

Gary couldn’t even put his arms around the tree it was so wide. Was this the work of one busy beaver, or several beavers? 

I do believe if one were so inspired, you could dress for the weather, park yourself at the near-by picnic table, sit quietly, and wait for the beaver to come back to work on this massive endeavor, because it will take some time for any beaver, or a colony of beavers, to fell this tree. 

This size tree seems to be where we usually see beaver markings…
Lots of beaver activity along the Straight River.

Farther along the trail we saw more sightings of beaver activity…only the trees were more reasonably sized. Even so, some nice trees were being leveled. We couldn’t see the dam the beavers must be working on.

This tree is felled but has not been taken away yet…

The animal kingdom is amazing…beavers born with big teeth and flat tails to construct their homes…skunks spraying nasty, unpleasant scent to protect themselves…hummingbirds, the smallest bird, having energy to migrate twice a year spanning up to thousands of miles to stay warm…

An artistic design left behind by beavers…a shapely stump.

“All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all.”*

All unique. All wonderful. All Amazing.

*From Cecil Frances Alexander’s poem: All Things Bright and Beautiful (1818)

Grape Nuts

I’m reading a historical fiction novel, The Magnificent lives of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973). She was an American businesswomen, socialite, and philanthropist. She was the only child of C. W. Post who invented Grape Nuts cereal (in 1897) and Postum, a supposedly healthy, decaffeinated hot-powdered drink, intended to replace coffee (in 1895). Postum Cereal Company (now Post Consumer Brands, shortened to Post) was the original name of her father’s company, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, where Marjorie grew up. After his death, Marjorie inherited the company at age 27. For much of her life, Marjorie was known as the wealthiest woman in the United States.

Fast forward 125 years and Post bought out Northfield’s beloved Malt-O-Meal cereal company. Although Grape Nuts is still made, it is not made in the Northfield plant. (But the hot Malt-O-Meal cereal still is.)

In later years, Marjorie bought smaller food companies and combined them into one business called General Foods.  It’s an interesting read.

We have these two antiques: an Instant Postum tin (5″tall), and a Malt-O-Meal sample box (3″tall)

As I was reading, I remembered my mother use to make a quick bread using Grape Nuts. They are hard, nutty kernels, but tasty. I decided I wanted to make that bread again. I remembered I liked it, especially toasted. I could not find my mom’s hand-written recipe in my collection, so I looked online and found a different recipe for a quick bread made with Grape Nuts. I made one loaf. It turned out OK, but it was not as good as I remembered my mom’s to be.

A loaf of Grape Nuts bread using a recipe off the internet.

I reached out to my brother and he found my mom’s Grape Nuts bread recipe in their recipe box. So, I made her recipe and it was yummy. I’ve included the recipe below. 

Two mini-loaves of Grape Nuts bread, using my mother’s recipe.

Now, I have to decide if I want to try Postum. 😉

**********

Ruby’s Grape Nuts Bread Recipe

1 Cup Grape Nuts
2 Cups Buttermilk
1 ½ Cup Sugar (originally 2 cups sugar...I reduced it)
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda in 2 tsp. warm water
4 Cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Soak grape nuts in buttermilk for 15 minutes.
Add sugar, eggs, soda and salt.
Stir in flour and baking powder.
Put in greased loaf pans and let stand 10 minutes.
2 large pans or 4 mini loaf pans.
Bake 350* for 1 hour for larger loaves.
Bake 350* for 30-35 minutes for mini loaves
.

Cell Phones

I read a blurb in a magazine letting me know the first iPhone released in the US was in 2007. And I started thinking of all the ways cell phones have changed our lives.

It was 2014 when I got my first “flip” phone (Samsung), which was long after my husband was issued his first mobile phone for work sometime in the late 90’s. According to the internet, Motorola was the first company to develop a handheld mobile phone which was released in 1973 (50 years ago) weighing 4.4 pounds! The first commercially available phones were introduced 10 years later (1983). Today, most people can’t leave home without their phone.

My flip phone was identical, except for the color…

I was excited to get my first phone. It was red. And at the time I had a red leather coat, and red leather gloves, and a red leather purse – I was all decked out. I no longer color coordinate my phone. HA! We got our first iPhones in 2018, and that is the kind of phone we use now, and like.

An early smartphone Gary was issued at work.

Cells phones have improved a lot (and gotten bigger!). In addition to the actual function of calling and talking to people, a lot of us use our phones as our camera, and what would we do without our GPS to guide our way to so many places?

And it’s nice to consult Siri. Siri has a lot of answers, and it’s convenient that we can ask her anything, anytime. 

Texts are also fun…and maybe a preferred way to communicate these days. Who knew? I often dictate my texts, and if I forget to proof-read them, they can be an interesting read with the way the technology translates my words. 

I’m thankful for the mute button, so as not to be interrupted when it’s an inconvenient time. 

I think the down side is…everyone is looking at their phones all the time…airports, restaurants, stores, every…single… place…and some feel the need to immediately respond to a text or call. 

Gary’s iPhone, identical to mine.

I met my friend for breakfast the other day and she had forgotten her cell phone at home. She didn’t need it of course, but she was uncomfortable without it. I get it. I’ve been there. When we stopped to pick up a few things at a large box store, we were separated from each other and it was interesting to walk the aisles to find her, both of us missing her cell phone.

I remember when my son left his cell phone, his only phone, in our house, years ago. He left for his apartment in the cities (or so I thought), so I called him to let him know he forgot his phone at our house. I burst out laughing when I heard his cell phone ringing on our kitchen counter! (He just had run an errand and came right back.) 

I know my phone can do so much more if I would only take time to figure it out.  It’s amazing to think about how much our phones have become a vital part of our lives…for the good and not so good.

Here are colorful hollyhocks to add some color to this post! 😉

Second Summer

The term Second Summer is now being used instead of Indian Summer, which was the terminology I grew up with. Although the name Second Summer is preferred by the Native Americans, it doesn’t change the fact that is a great event to experience during autumn in Minnesota. According to Wikipedia, “A(n) Indian Summer Second Summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.”

Sakatah Singing Hills Trail, November 12, 2023.

We had a beautiful, Second Summer Day over the weekend and decided to take our bikes out (which we thought were tucked away for the season) for another ride.

We went to Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. It was delightful. We added an extra layer and felt warm enough as we cruised down the paved trail. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, soaking up some illusive sunshine. We’ve had many cloudy days lately. 

Sakatah Lake. The 39 mile trail goes along several lakes.

The leaves are all off the trees and the scenery on the trail looks a bit different than during the summertime. You can see more of the lakes as you ride by, and you can see into the woods and the forest floor. There were several other folks on the trail this day.

After our ride we took a quick detour to an out-of-the-way boutique filled with Christmas crafts and decorations. It’s called, A Touch of Class. We walked around the stable-turned-boutique and got some fresh ideas for the upcoming Christmas season. I always wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas, but it was a fun place to peruse, and get in the mood to decorate for the holidays.

4:56pm, November 12, 2023 (sunset was 4:48 pm)

As we drove home, the sky had a pretty glow as it was near sunset, which of course is very early these days, in Minnesota. 

There is supposed to be a couple more Second Summer days in the coming week…maybe we’ll get out on the bike one more time?

Fun Run

I planned to attend the annual Fun Run at our grandchildren’s elementary school in North Carolina. I was the solo caretaker of our two grandchildren for a couple of days during our recent visit. Gary, and our two sons, were on a scheduled hiking trip, and our daughter-in-law was out of town.

One side of the football field where the fun run was to take place.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I was stopped at a traffic light waiting for it to turn green. Rush hour traffic was whizzing by. When the light turned green, instead of turning right or left like all the others, I drove straight ahead into the McDowell Nature Preserve, a lovely 1,100-acre sanctuary, along Lake Wylie.

I drove along the winding road through a canopy of trees that were starting to show their beautiful fall colors. I left behind all those people scurrying to and fro, and I was the only one on this park road.

Falls colors in the misty, morning light.

I stopped at the lake and enjoyed the morning mist hovering over the water, as I sipped coffee to pass the time until the fun run would begin. It was peaceful. After a half an hour I retraced my tracks and and crossed the busy street again. Traffic had slowed down by then. 

A house on the other side of the lake becoming visible in the misty morning.

The Fun Run was getting underway and the kids were excited. I was happy to be there to cheer them on. I thought to myself, if only we could harness this energy… multitudes of 2 and 3rd graders on a football field shouting and running and having a good time…that’s a lot of energy!

As I entered the field, I made a quick stop at a table set up to create posters to help cheer on your student.

While cheering from the sidelines, I was greeted by, and talked with, a family from our son’s neighborhood, who recognized me. A few minutes later I saw another “bus stop” mom (I like to walk with the kids to the bus stop in the mornings). As the kids were filing out of the field one of the students from their bus stop recognized me as Zoey’s grandma and said “Hi”. It was pleasant surprise to be warmly welcomed by more than one person, at this event, when I was not expecting to see anyone I knew. A fun run, indeed.

Later in the day…bold, fall blue skies.

We enjoyed our quick visit with our grandchildren. It was hard to say good-bye; especially this time, since we were heading to a forecasted 30 degree temperatures in Minnesota, and leaving a forecasted 80 degree temperatures in Charlotte!