This amazing scene greeted me this morning on my walk.
I love how the clouds are outlined by the sunshine.
The heavens declare the glory of the Lord…
What a way to start the day.
Morning Greeting
Literary Steps
It caught my attention while driving down Division Street in Northfield. Someone painted the steps leading up to the library. I stopped on the way back from my errand to take a closer look.
I stopped and immediately started photographing the steps while oohing and aahing over the fantastic idea and amazing artwork to a woman with a broom, tidying up the steps. I said I love this new paint exhibit and asked her if she knew who the artist was…she said, “Me!” She was a long-time children’s librarian in Northfield, and has since retired. She loves children’s books, as do I.
Kathy Ness, the artist, applied for a Main Street Artist’s Grant and was awarded monies for “Literary Steps”.
The art teacher from Spring Creek Elementary School (formerly Sibley Elementary) offered to help her and so the two of them painted this beautiful piece of art.
She painted replicas of children’s book spines on the 16 steps going up (I counted more) to the Division Street side of the Northfield Public Library. She asked the community for suggestions for the book titles and chose 16 titles from the list.
Many of the books I have read, but I got a few new ideas to check out. One of my children’s favorites, “The Little Engine That Could” did not make the list.
I love this beautiful artwork on public display in downtown Northfield. It definitely adds to the unique and wonderful place we call home.
My Stargazer Lilies
A favorite flower of mine…the stargazer lily. They are in bloom now, and I am enjoying them in my garden.
Front Porches
I know it would have been smart to get in my daily walk during the early morning hours on our recent trip to NC, where we went to visit our son and his family. At this time of year, in July, the temperatures climb high, as does the dew point, so getting things done in the early morning is a good idea.
But the allure of their front porch won out. Our son and his wife and two children moved into a lovely two-story house with a veranda in the back – off the kitchen, and a porch in the front. They are at the end of a cul-de-sac, with a wooded lot next door and a landscaped, water collection pond across the street with more trees in the background. New houses were being built the next block over.
There are two very tall trees, with skinny trunks, across the street from where we sat on the porch. I loved looking at them – sometimes they would sway with the wind and intertwine at the tip top, and sometimes they would stand tall and alone – but they were striking, and greeted me every morning.
I quickly got in the routine of sitting on the front porch every morning. I would usually be the first one up, make myself a cup of coffee, and head outside to the front porch. There were two comfy chairs waiting for me. I would enjoy my quiet time there as eventually the others would wake up. The best part was when the grandkids woke up, came out, and sat on our laps while we welcomed the new day.
There are a lot of front porches in the “south” as tradition dictates. It was fun to look at them as we drove through the area. In this new neighborhood, when we saw folks on their porch, we always said hi, and in turn, when I was sitting out in the early morning and neighbors walked by, there was always a greeting. What a wonderful thing.
The porch made me think of my neighbor across the street from us in Northfield. She’s has made her front porch into a sitting area, an extension of her house, and she’s out there as much as her time allows (which is a lot). People always stop to visit with her. I think of her as our neighborhood watchdog, and find comfort in her being out on her porch so much.
Our front porch, at our own house in Northfield, has a swing which I also love, and use often. However, a swing is not conducive to drinking coffee. Our front porch is covered and faces north, therefore shaded all day. Yet, it’s set back so it’s not as open and visible to passerby’s. We do use our back deck a lot. There are many trees providing shade in the morning hours and late afternoon/evening times.
I ask myself would I do this – drink my morning coffee on the front porch daily – if our front porch had chairs instead of a swing? Would I fit it into my daily routine? I’m not sure. It just seemed right in North Carolina. Maybe because we were on vacation…
All I know is a front porch is inviting, and a great place to spend time!
My Hibiscus
On our deck, my beautiful hibiscus is blooming. I love the color.
A Visit to North Carolina
Visiting someplace new is always fun. And staying in a private home instead of a hotel is delightful. And having grandchildren at that home is the best!
We spent eight days in a suburb south of Charlotte, North Carolina visiting our youngest son and his wife and two children. They recently moved into a new home there, leaving a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado. It was great to see their new house and their neighborhood, to actually see their faces to know how they are doing, and to hug the grandchildren.
I enjoyed choosing a photo – or two – every day to send a “Photo of the Day” to our other son and his family back in Minnesota. It gave a glimpse of some of the things we were doing during our time away…like going to a fireworks display on the fourth of July, or going to the neighborhood swimming pool, building a workbench,
working on art projects, playing dominos, going to parks and playgrounds, going on a picnic, going out for ice cream.
And simply sitting on the front porch every morning, drinking our coffee, waiting for the kiddos to wake up and come down to greet us each day. Hopefully creating memories for the grandchildren.
Their house is next to a wooded lot so we saw deer several times, and lots of birds. We heard interesting creatures (insects and/or frogs) at night when we ate dinner on the veranda, in the back of the house.
As we sat on the veranda on our last night before returning to Minnesota, we saw two fawns and a mama deer in the woods. We talked about how curious we were as to what was over the hill and down the road in the wooded area.
A “Private Drive, NO TRESPASSING” sign was posted at the entrance to the driveway leading into the property, at the end of the cul-de-sac, next to our son’s property. We had seen little activity there over the past week. Our son and daughter-in-love had not ventured past the private property sign since they moved in, about a month ago. We had been there only a week and were curious!
So Andrea and I decided to venture down the drive that last night. We bravely walked down the road, arm in arm. The deer saw us and ran away. We approached a modest house on a lake, and took a look at the surroundings. Our curiosity satisfied, we turned around and walked back up the drive. Just then we saw a car’s headlights! The occupants were coming down the drive.
We were busted!!!
After all the times of no activity… and then…here they come when we are trespassing.
The car stops, of course, and two young men in their 20’s rolled down their windows. We greeted them and told them we are from the house right past their driveway and we were just curious to see what was down the gravel road. Thankfully they were very nice about it. After a little small talk we continued on, walking very quickly back to the veranda where our guys were waiting, curious to hear what happened. They had seen the car go into the drive and wondered what kind of reception we’d get.
We settled back on the veranda, let out a sigh of relief, and then had a good laugh.
Additional Photos from GSMNP
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The weather predicted for our time in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was rain. But our plans were set and we were going to stop there for three nights on our way to visit our son and his family in North Carolina.
So when we had beautiful, mostly sunny days while in the park we were grateful. We stayed on the “peaceful side of the park”, as Townsend, TN boasts. And the cabin we rented was less than a mile from the park entrance. We liked the location.
The GSMNP is busy, one of the most visited parks in the US. There is no entrance fee, which is unusual for a national park. There were a limited the number of people allowed in the visitor’s center so we never did get into one because of the long lines.
The park is lush green this time of year…so many shades of green. The road through the park follows the Little River and that added to the beauty.
We did some hiking in the park…to Clingman’s Dome (the parking lot fills by 9 am) and to Laurel Falls (same deal for parking) and other smaller hikes.
One day we ate lunch in a wonderful picnic area, and drove through Cade’s Cove (an 11-mile loop through an 1800’s farming community in the park) at twilight on two different nights.
The first night in Cade’s Cove we saw some deer, but on the second night we saw one owl and five black bear. One bear was in a tree, a mama bear with two cubs crossed the road in front of us (we were third car back) and the fifth bear was walking into the woods. The Barred Owl was sitting on a tree branch. They were all exciting to see.
On our last evening, as we drove out of the park back to our cabin, it started to rain.
Libraries
I like libraries. I like the looks of them. I like the smell of them. I like their offerings…books (and more). Our library in Northfield is wonderful. I walked out of the library the other day with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our city library.
I go to the library often…to borrow books, and CD’s, and even DVD’s for myself. My husband does too. I am in the habit of making my request online, then having the librarians find the item -at our library or another connected to the library system – and put it on hold for me until I go pick it up.
When the grandkids lived with us, we went to the library weekly for story time. Now I get to be the storyteller over Zoom. So now, I go to the library weekly to pick out children’s books for my story time. The children’s librarians are always willing to help me and I usually leave with about 10-12 books. I come home, read them to make sure I like them, and then let the kids choose which ones we’ll read. It’s great fun.
The other day I checked out an audio book and knew I wouldn’t be able to return the CD’s on the due date, so the librarian extended the due date for me.
The library in Northfield is a Carnegie library. A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1882 and 1929.* So Carnegie libraries are older, and usually beautiful, brick buildings.
The Northfield Carnegie library was built in 1910. A large addition was added in 1985. Another renovation was completed in 2016. The 2016 renovation included many large windows that let in lots of natural light and it is lovely. There are some nice sitting areas where I sometimes go to write or read.
I remember during renovation the library moved to the city hall, yet they still were able to provide a limited, but wonderful, service to the community.
I like books. I like to read. I like the variety from the library without having to purchase. And, the library is available to anyone. I am grateful for our library system…a gateway to the world of reading.
Old School Cafe and the SPAM Museum
Antique, pull-down maps, chalk boards, pictures of George Washington and Abe Lincoln, and an aged, class photo decorate an old, country school building converted to a restaurant in Mantorville, Minnesota.
The old school house is now the Old School Café, with good cooking, and a popular spot for town folks to eat. The portions were generous and the food was tasty and the ambiance was nostalgic and cheery.
Outside was also inviting. There were old wooden benches and a school desk on the wide, front porch. There was a bell tower with the bell intact and rope hanging from it. Sculptures of children were placed around the grounds…a lovely idea for a school house yard.
There were many, pretty flower pots scattered throughout the yard. On one side of the café was a charming, old wooden house dated 1855, that looked occupied, and the other side of the cafe was a garden area. It was fun to look around, and a delightful way to start the day.
Our next stop was the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.
An interesting, fun (and free!) museum dedicated to the story of Hormel’s specific product SPAM. Hormel began in the late 1800’s but SPAM was created in 1936 and became popular in WWII when the military ordered lots of SPAM to provide for the armed forces overseas… because it was convenient, and the shelf life was lengthy.
Some in the military might say the government overused SPAM. But it continues to sell today and there are multiple flavors of SPAM, and it is sold in multiple countries all over the world.
Free samples of SPAM were offered. We tasted the hickory smoked version and it was very good.
Of course, there is a gift shop featuring all things “Spam”, including flip flops that spell out SPAM when you walk in the sand!
