The other morning we biked on the Sakatah Singing Hills Bike Trail in Faribault. To our delight, we were gifted with several bird and animal sightings.
A beautiful egret.
As we drove to the bike trail, we passed an egret near a pond, standing tall and beautiful.
A regal egret.
A little later I saw a majestic eagle flying overhead. I never tire of seeing eagles.
On the trail, we noticed a pretty bluebird going into its house, several red-wing blackbirds flying by, and heard cardinals singing.
Sandhill Cranes are large birds and are usually with their mate.
We stopped to watch a lone sandhill crane look at us and then walk across a field…I wonder where his mate and friends were? (Two days later we saw a pair of Sandhill cranes in a different field.)
A pair of sandhill cranes.
We saw several bunnies darting in and out of the grasses along the bike trail. We spotted a “spotted” doe, and saw a snake slithering across the trail (not too thrilled about that!)
As we passed a farm field, I noticed Holstein cows running down an incline in the fenced in farmyard. That was an unusual sight…running cows.
All this time we’re pedaling our bikes down the paved trail, getting some exercise as nature put on a show for us, complete with music from the birds serenading.
I begin last Sunday afternoon, sitting outside on a hillside overlooking a lake, listening to music in the background, visiting with friends.
Monday morning I’m having coffee and catching up with a friend.
Tuesday evening we make a shuttle run to the airport to pick up friends and bring them back to their home in Northfield.
Wednesday was a beautiful evening for a pot-luck dinner and grilled hotdogs and a leisurely tritoon ride on Cannon Lake (toons and biminis…is this Dr. Suess influence?) and we celebrated a birthday.
Another birthday to celebrate on Thursday… flowers and a meal at Cosetta’s… with a lovely trio of multigenerational women.
Friday, being the Fourth of July, is yet one more birthday to celebrate – our country’s. We ate a piece of homemade pie and listened to a concert at a countryside gathering which claims to be the oldest 4th of July celebration in Minnesota. Later in the evening, we enjoyed a great fireworks show back in Northfield.
But also, death came this week, to a dear friend and we gathered together to remember.
The first night on Terceira Island in the Azores, we were walking along the street towards the sea, and an image on a sign hanging over a storefront caught my attention. I was attracted to it. And, I’ve thought about the image many times since. I wrote a poem to capture my thoughts about it.
A Mulher do Capote (A Woman in the Cape)
Who is this cloaked figure? I am drawn to her. She’s mysterious, Inviting, A keeper of secrets, A listener. She holds beauty lightly yet it follows her, She shares it wherever she goes. She doesn’t need recognition, But is recognizable. Beautifully mysterious~ A silhouette to ponder.
The house we sold and moved out of is only one mile away from our current twin – home. We often walk the same walking paths. Recently, I walked by our old house and was admiring all the flowers in the gardens I had planted over the years, that were now coming up (and that I no longer take care of). They were fun to see.
The new fairy garden along the sidewalk at our old house.
I noticed a fairy garden in the back garden near the sidewalk. It made me smile. My fairy garden used to be tucked under a rose bush in the same garden. Their fairy garden (more like miniature do-dads) is more out in the open. The flower garden borders the public sidewalk, that leads to the walking trails around ponds nearby. The fairy gardens can be seen by many people walking by.
When our house was on the market, the photographer took a picture of my fairy garden and added it to the house photos on the listing. I’m hoping that is why the new owners created a fairy garden for others to continue to enjoy. I have not found a place to set up a fairy garden at our new house.
On a different note:
Fallen tree…photo by ST
While we were traveling last month, our previous neighbors sent a photo of a beloved 30-year-old locust tree in the front yard of our old house. It had blown over in a storm. Fortunately, it fell away from the house and into the street. It was one of my favorite trees we left behind.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I really am impressed with our Northfield Public Library!
I arrived at the library this morning and it was buzzing with lots of folks, including a lot of children in the children’s section. It was wonderful to see.
First, I went to pick up the book I had requested. A great system…you request the book, the librarians find the book and set it aside, you walk in and pick up the book off the hold shelf, and self-check out. Slick.
Then, I went upstairs to ask questions of the librarian and she took her time showing me the new system. I also had a question about WORD docs and she was able to help me with that too. I thanked her and told her how much I appreciated her help and how much I like our library!
On my way out I ran into a friend I haven’t seen for a while, and we were able to chat a bit.
A beautiful old catholic church (1834) in the city: The Cathedral of Angra do Heroísmo.
I really liked this wooden sculpture of Jesus the carpenter we saw in a church. I’ve never seen Jesus portrayed as a carpenter in a sculpture form before.
A landscape view of San Miguel, the green isle.
An inviting path to the sea.
Yummy gelato…
Yummy fruits and vegetables!
A humongous pot of pretty petunias.
There were several types of roosters “strutting their stuff”, on all the islands.
These two parrots, in an enclosed area in a park, were fun to watch.
I like this photo of the exposed tree roots, growing down, down, down into the earth.
This tree was called the elephant foot…must be a nickname! 😉
And then there were so many flowers…these photos capture a few unusual ones…
I loved the way the twilight reflected in these windows.
As we were driving home the other night after a storm we turned the corner and there was this dramatic scene in the sky. Cloud art…as my friend has titled my photos of interesting cloud formations.
For our last dinner together in Funchal on Madeira Island, we walked to the Mozart Restaurant, located on Rua de Santa Maria. This is one of the oldest streets in Funchal.
On our way down Rua de Santa Maria to the Mozart Restaurant.
It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
The Painted Doors Project began in 2010 with the idea of revitalizing the Zona Velha (Old Town) area, specifically Rua de Santa Maria.
It invited artists to transform old doors into unique works of art. The project was successful and continues today. It features a diverse range of artistic styles on painted doors, creating a vibrant outdoor art gallery.
This public art form continues today, so the street art is ever-changing.
It seems to me that public art does promote community, and I personally, always like to see art in the public.
These photos are a sampling of the many painted doors along Rua de Santa Maria.
It was an entertaining walk to one of the quaint restaurants along this historical street.
The last island we visited on our two-week trip to “islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean” was Madeira, a separate archipelago consisting of four islands. Madeira island is southeast of the Azores and about 600 miles west of mainland Portugal.
The view over the infinity pool looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, on the roof top of our hotel in Funchal.
Funchal, the capital of Madeira, where we stayed in a lovely boutique hotel with a rooftop pool and fabulous view of the city and ocean, was winding down from a Flower Festival on the island…beautiful carpets made of flowers along the sidewalks, and stunning flower arrangements everywhere.
A carpet of flowers found on sidewalks and in hotel lobbies.
It was the last days of the festival.
One of many stunning flower arrangements.
We went on a grand driving tour to: Camara de Lobos, a fishing Village, Cabo Girão, a striking overlook of the sea (the cliff is 589 meters above sea level or 1,932 feet), and Serrado da Eira, a picturesque mountainous region of Madeira.
Interior views on Madeira Island.
Serrado da Eira Viewpoint.
Looking straight down from cliff overlook, 589 meters (1,932 feet) above sea level. photo gb
Another view looking down from the high cliff to the shoreline. photo gb
We went to a rum factory and a farmer’s market, walked down a historic street with unique painted doors, and went on a cetaceans-watching tour. We didn’t see any whales but we did see dolphins and a beautiful coastline. (I have no photos from our boat tour because I do not bring my camera/phone near any bodies of water after having lost electronics in lakes a couple of times!)
Camara de Lobos fishing village.
We ate at several fantastic restaurants on Madeira Island. A huge European breakfast buffet was offered at all our hotels, on all the islands, each morning. Lunch and dinners were a mixture of eating as a group in small, local restaurants, or visiting a quaint sidewalk café when dinner was “on our own.”
We ate lunch at Quinta do Furão, part of this lovely hotel complex.
In Madeira we ate together at several special restaurants but three stand out…lunch at Quinta do Furão on the outdoor patio with lovely views of the ocean,
The lunch view. photo gb
il Vildali, a Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant that was eloquently set for us at a huge table with luxury tablecloth and candelabras,
il Vivaldi Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant.
and on our last night together we ate at Mozart Restaurant; with a fun wait staff and interesting bathrooms.
The Mozart restaurant was on the Rua de Santa Maria, one of the oldest streets in Madeira. It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.
Funny to say, but bathrooms can be very interesting. I have always liked to check out bathrooms in different places, but in the Mozart Restaurant we all checked out the bathrooms. The room was all mirrors, including floors and ceilings. It was unique!
The room of mirrors…the separate room with the toilet was the same; all mirrors.
It is here where we had to say good-bye to our new friends whom we shared so many wonderful adventures together over two weeks. We were so happy to have had our paths cross with these fine folks. It was sad to bid farewell.
These peace lilies were growing wild all over the islands.
São Miguel Island is the poster child for the Azores. When you see brochures for the Azores, you see a picture of a caldera on San Miguel Island. A caldera is a large, bowl-shaped depression formed by the inner collapse of a volcano’s summit. It’s distinct from a crater, which is a much smaller, depression typically formed by outward explosion of material during an eruption.
This is photo of a photo in an ad promoting the Azores, taken on Såo Miguel.
This is our photo of the famous caldera the day we saw it…still beautiful even with the cloud cover. photo gb
One of the jeeps in our caravan.
For this discovery adventure with OAT, we were divided into small groups, and rode over rough terrain in jeeps to the western part of the island to see this caldera. Although it was overcast, we enjoyed seeing the stunning landscapes along the way.
Mata Jardim José do Canto – one of the botanical gardens on São Miguel.
Also, on this island we went to a botanical garden (Mata Jardim José do Canto) with a thermal pool. The hot springs look muddy, but its minerals in the water that make it look that way.
The thermal pool, in the botanical garden. photo gb
We were told to bring an old swimsuit since they would get stained from the water. It felt good to be in the hot pools.
Inside one of the greenhouses on the pineapple plantation. photo gb
We visited a tea plantation (Henrique -our tour guide- worked there when he was younger), and we visited a pineapple plantation.
Cascada (Portuguese) = Cascade (English).
Full and lush and green. photo gb
We stopped at Ribeira dos Caldeirões Park, with beautiful waterfalls and more lush, green plants…São Miguel…aptly nicknamed the green island…Ihla Verde.
The green island.
On this island we experienced a local dairy farm, milking about 25 cows. It is run by a Gena and João, a couple dedicated to a small, self-sufficent, organic farming operation.
Gena and João, in the barn on their dairy farm. photo gb
As we stood out in the field with the dairy cows, one cow in particular kept nudging everyone. Later, back in the barn (which was connected to electricity just last year) we gathered around the milking stalls and took turns milking a cow by hand.
Gary milking a cow by hand.
Henrique at the head of the farm table. photo by Gena
Back in the soon-to-be remodeled stone outbuilding, a wonderful dinner was set for us and we ate their home-grown food. This type of farming reminded Gary of his grandparent’s farm…with their old-fashioned ways of doing things.
At the grocery store, with our assignments.
Earlier that morning Henrique divided us into groups and gave us some Euros and a short shopping list, in Portuguese, to buy a few items to bring to dinner at the farm later that day.
The local grocery store. (Decked out for the upcoming festival. Most store fronts are decorated for the special festival.)
He showed us which store to shop for local fare, and asked us to try and not speak English. That was a fun outing. We succeeded in finding the food…not sure about the not speaking English.
The lighting ceremony on the plaza in Ponta Delgado, on São Miguel Island. The ceremony marks the beginning of the festival “Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres” (Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles).
On our last night on this island there was an opening ceremony for a huge annual religious festival. We were leaving the island the next day, but were able to walk to the main plaza after dinner to watch the lighting ceremony. It was a festive atmosphere and a pretty sight to see.
As I was walking in the cobblestone plaza, I tripped and fell into two women in the crowd. They kept me from falling…I said “Obrigada (thank you)”, and they replied, “that’s what we’re here for – to hold each other up!” Another fun interaction with strangers!
A very small village along the coast of São Miguel. photo gb
We enjoyed the natural wonders and beauty of São Miguel.
