Over the weekend we got 8-10″ of fresh snow. It was a nice clean blanket covering the ground, although a lot of plowing had to be done.
Then, the morning after, came rime ice (a new term for me…it’s thicker than a hoar frost) covering every single branch with ice crystals. It was breathtaking!
I knew pictures would not do it justice but I couldn’t stop myself from taking a few anyways…
Stunning beauty, everywhere.
Into the woods, a favorite spot of mine in Riverbend Nature Center.
Looking up…every branch covered.
The trees were like flocked Christmas trees, along the roadway.
Straight River flowing through Riverbend Nature Center.
Rime Ice – a new term for me – it’s thicker than hoar frost.
Psalm 148: 7-9
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars…
Once upon a time there was a young man and a young woman who met and fell in love. A few months after they met the young man was transferred out of state with his job. He offered his dieffenbachia plant to the young maiden, which she kept, and it continued to grow.
The tall plant on the left – the dieffenbachia plant – is over 40 years old (1976).
Their long distance relationship continued to grow and they got married. But his job took both of them to another state so she left the dieffenbachia behind with her mother to care for it. Her mother was very good with houseplants. And it continued to grow. It eventually reached the ceiling, so her mother cut a branch and rooted it and it started to grow again.
Two years later the couple moved back to Minnesota and once again took the dieffenbachia back into their care. It continued to grow and when it reached a certain height they cut it back and it continued to grow. The young family grew too…the couple raised two sons and lived in Burnsville for fourteen years. The dieffenbachia grew right along with the family.
Then the family moved to Northfield and they took the plant with them…and it continued to grow. After many years the middle-aged woman decided she didn’t have room for the plant any longer, so she brought it to her church and placed it in the fellowship hall between two large windows. Some mystery person watered it and tended to it and it continued to grow.
And someone has watered the dieffenbachia and cared for it for many, many years now and it continues to grow (the couple has attended this church in Northfield for 25 years, the plant has been in the church about 10 years, or more). The plant has been moved to various spots around the church building but it continues to grow.
Nobody at church knows the story behind this beautiful, faithful, dieffenbachia plant that continues to grow and bloom where it is planted… a lesson for us all.
I have written previously about my dear hibiscus plant. I have nurtured it for many, many years. My hibiscus loved warm temperatures and in the summertime it would happily sit on our deck and bloom and grow and bloom some more, all summer long.
A bloom from my hibiscus plant when it was healthy.
And, as much as I don’t like indoor plants I brought in my hibiscus each winter. Often times I’d threaten to put it in the compost and then it would start blooming or showing- off so I would tend to it another winter.
My hibiscus also had an advocate… my friend Jayne always talked me into giving the hibiscus one more chance when I was going to toss it out. My hibiscus’ life was lengthened many years because of her!
Good-bye hibiscus. It’s sad to see you go.
My hibiscus had tiny specks (mites) on the leaves, last winter and again this winter. I didn’t want the mites to get on my other indoor plants. Also, the branches of the hibiscus were old and gnarly and woody, so I decided it was time to say good-bye and set my hibiscus in the garage.
My Christmas cactus.
As much as I love flowers and gardens and nature, I don’t like to tend to indoor plants so much. But I have four (now). One is the Christmas cactus; from a parent plant that is generations old I’m told.
My healthy palm plant.
Another is a palm plant that will occupy the hibiscus spot in our home during winter and will be put outside in summer. The palm plant was from an arrangement we received when Gary’s mother passed away several years ago.
The palm plant moved into new winter home, former location of my hibiscus.
The other two plants are hardy pothos plants I bought for pops of greenery in our house.
One of my pathos plants.
Although I think it was the right time, it was a very hard decision to say good-bye to my hibiscus.
As I looked through my kitchen window over the weekend I noticed a flutter of bird activity on our crabapple tree out front. On closer look I noticed the birds were robins. I was able to capture a photo of two as several flitted in and out of the tree, enjoying the berries still hanging on the branches. Robins and winter…I’d fly south if I were them.
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park held their annual Candlelight Ski/Snowshoe/Walk over the weekend. We enjoy this event. This year all conditions were just right for cross-country skiing…the trail was well-groomed, the temperatures were above average, and there was no wind.
The beautiful twilight when we started skiing.
It was a delight to be out there in the woods, lit by luminaries. It was calm and peaceful which made for an enchanting evening.
On of the larger luminaries, made of ice. A lot of the lights on the trails were white plastic buckets illuminated with candles, interspersed with balloon ice luminaries and big bucket luminaries. This event requires a lot of volunteers. I’m grateful for the people who set this up for others to enjoy.
There were a lot of visitors to the park…walking, snowshoeing and skiing. Thankfully out on the ski trail it was not crowded.
As it grew darker, sometimes it was hard to see the track in front of us between luminaries, which made it dicey at times. We chose to not use headlamps. The moon was shining through the trees, casting shadows.
Keeping skis in the track. My flash went off when I took this photo.
This was our second time out skiing that day…we skied at Riverbend Nature Center in the morning and that, too, was beautiful. It also gave us reason to believe skiing conditions would be favorable to venture out again in the evening for the much anticipated Candlelight Ski.
Skiing along the Straight River at Riverbend Nature Center.
This little guy greeted us the other day when we drove into our garage. We watched him make his way to the opened garage door and fly away. I’m sure he was anxiously waiting for us to come home.
We took a Sunday afternoon drive recently, and headed down a gravel road we had never been on, about three miles from our house. The corner of this intersection is familiar to us because we usually turn right on asphalt to a friend’s house. On the corner sits an antique truck, which is always full of flowers in the summer or greenery in winter.
An antique truck on display.
Continuing straight through this intersection the pavement turns to gravel and on this gravel road we had a fun afternoon of discovering new territory to us.
An interesting old dilapidated building.
Right away we noticed a dilapidated building that must have been really spectacular in it’s day. At first we thought it was a huge barn…but unlike any barn we’ve ever seen. It sits far off the road so it was hard to get a good look. I would have loved to get up close; to walk around and to take photos. It had a gabled roof on the main structure with two wings sections on each side making it look massive and impressive, even in the bad shape it is in. We wondered about the stories it could tell. It was on farm property.
Next door, a ways down the road, was a unique dome house. In contrast to the old building, this modern house stood out. Dome houses are unusual dwellings and you don’t see them very often. Our friends lived in one for years, in a different part of town.
We had never heard of Fagen.
Then we came upon a sign “Former site of Fagen”. I was very surprised to see this marker reminding us of a former town, with a history, and it being within five miles of where we lived. Yet, I had never heard of it. I wondered if the farm with the old building considered the former town of Fagen it’s home address?
The Oxford Mill Ruin.
Driving further we found what my husband was searching for…an old mill. He had ridden by this old mill on his bicycle one summer but couldn’t quite remember how to get there, so we meandered the roads until we found it.
The eagle taking off when we opened the truck door.
We noticed an eagle perched in the treetop as we pulled over to the side of the road to park, but then it flew away as we got out of the truck to take photos of this beautiful, but decaying and crumbling three-story mill made of limestone, with its walls tumbling down.
With a little research I found out it is called the Oxford Mill Ruin and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The mill was built in 1878 and burned in 1905 and never reopened after that. Click here for more history about this old flour mill.
It was a large mill on the Little Cannon River. Apparently it was one of 27 flour mills in Goodhue County at that time.
A lone brick silo.
Continuing on our way we saw a brick silo standing solo, on the side of a road. Brick silos always look strong and sturdy and are usually in good condition. We did not see any farm houses or barns nearby this lone silo, and again we wondered… if only these structures could talk.
A neat looking farm.
We did drive by many farms, some very well kept, others not so much. Out here in the country the vast fields were covered with freshly fallen snow, dotted with some drifts caused by the strong winds.
White on white or gray on gray…
The roads were icy and the sky was gray, but it was a delightful drive and a fun day of discovery… so close to home.
The weekend snowstorm brought fresh snow, and enough of it to make it decent for cross-county skiing.
We went out skiing the day before the snowfall and it was icy, cold and cloudy.
A fork in the trail.
We went out a day after the snowstorm and it was sunny, warm (relatively), and good skiing conditions.
A well-groomed trail.
We’ve been going to Riverbend Nature Center to cross-country ski. It is a nice park, close to home. The trails are well groomed and there are a lot of trails – both flat and hilly.
Looking out over the horizon.
We stop every once in awhile to look at the horizon and listen to the silence. These are peaceful stops.
Recently this quote caught my attention, from the book, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple.
“When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It’s the same as a runner’s high. These days, we all spend our lives staring at screens twelve inches in front of us….”
Another horizon at Riverbend.
Taking pictures while skiing requires a different kind of stop. It more complicated than a listening/peaceful stop. You have to stop, unstrap your ski poles, take off your gloves, get the camera ready, and shoot. Then put the camera away, put your gloves back on and poles back in place and continue skiing, all the while hoping you don’t drop the camera in the snow. It slows us down and that is another reason I don’t take many photos while skiing.
I am always attracted to tree lined paths or streets.
On cloudy days it’s easier to get better photos because I can see the screen. On sunny days I cannot see the screen on my camera so I just point and shoot and hope for the best.
Ornamental sumac pods hang on and stand tall in the winter landscape.
Cross-country skiing helps us enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors for fresh air and exercise in the winter. Our stops along the trail to look out over the horizon seems to be an added benefit.
I like to get outside and walk when I can. However, in Minnesota it can be challenging. The winter weather is not always conducive to walking outdoors.
Since I was a previous employee at St. Olaf College I have access to their indoor track. It’s a retirement benefit and I’m thankful for it…but walking outside is my preference. Even in the cold. It’s the ice that is the problem. And this year the ice seems to be especially bad…early on we had an ice storm and many public sidewalks were never cleared properly, leaving icy spots in several places and making it unsafe to walk, probably for the whole winter.
Behind my favorite tree on campus is the 1887 Goodwill Observatory (listed on the National Register of Historic Places).
Fortunately there are two colleges in town and both keep their sidewalks cleared of snow and ice for the many students walking across campus all day long. Carleton College is a little over a mile from our house so I tend to go there often to walk outdoors.
I thanked these two custodians for their hard work, as they walked by carrying shovels.
I can count on Carleton’s sidewalks to be cleared down to the cement with not many traces of ice anywhere…and pretty much within a few hours of a snowstorm…or at least it’s always cleared when I’m ready to get out for a walk.
Carleton College is a beautiful and interesting place to walk: the academic and administration buildings are impressive,
I believe this is the newest building on campus…still being worked on, Anderson Hall which houses Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Astronomy.
The curved elevated seating is an outdoor classroom space.
Another view of the outdoor classroom…in winter. I can only image how lovely it is in fall and spring.
the chapel is stunning,
Marvelous Skinner Chapel. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
and there are a variety of trees and ponds and bridges.
Beautiful winter-laden trees.
Interesting branches.
The sidewalks meander all over campus…some tucked away and fun to follow.
An inviting but obscure passageway.
And if one gets too cold you can always duck into a building to warm up for a few minutes.
It’s great to see the occasional bicycle…not a fat tire. It can ride on the sidewalks because they are clear.
Carleton College campus offers me, and the community, a safe place to walk outdoors and I am grateful.
The smile costs nothing, but gives much. It reaches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory can last a lifetime. None is so rich that he can get along without it and none is so poor that he can’t be made richer by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is a mark of true friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged and sunshine to the sad. It can’t be bought, begged, or stolen, for it is of no value until it’s given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.
