Valerie's Voice – Page 80 – Musings on Life

It’s hard to say good-bye…

09/21/17 The sun did it’s beautiful thing again this morning with no clouds to obstruct our view. We leave for home today and I’m sad to say good-bye, although I’m so grateful for the time we had up here in this amazing place. I’m praising God for this incredible beauty.

Our adventures this year included hikes up Oberg Mountain (two times), Britton Peak, Shovel Point, Temperance River (several times, different areas), bike rides on the Gitchi-Gami trail, drives along Hwy 61 and inland roads, eating delicious meals right at the cabin overlooking the lake. We took time to read, reflect and just plain “sit around and watch the lake”. We pieced together a jigsaw puzzle, enjoyed campfires on the rocks… explored new places.

It was wonderful to be with our son, his wife and our five-month-old granddaughter.

Three seagulls on the rocks outside the cabin.

There were many seagulls in the air and on the rocks, an eagle that flew by several times, hummingbirds at the cabin feeder and a few ducks floating along.

It was fun to see this barge heading out to sea, sailing past a beach we were exploring for the first time.

We always enjoy having a jigsaw puzzle out on a table to slowly piece together during our time in the cabin. There are many puzzles available at the cabin. I chose this Tall Ships puzzle to remind me of my kayak trip watching the Tall Ships parade last summer.

We saw a lot of fall color on the inland trees this year, and we had several varied weather patterns: wind and rain and rough seas, and some gorgeous, clear, autumn blue skies…all makes for a wonderful week on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Our lunch spot…can’t find a restaurant with these views!

We’re going home relaxed, renewed, rejuvenated and rejoicing.

Sigh…it’s so hard to leave, but my heart is full.

Ahhh…

Ahhh. Here’s the morning sunrise I love to see. The sun pops over the horizon in an instant…it so surprising to see it’s not there and then it’s there. Such an amazing gift. It’s going to be another great day on the north shore.

The sun’s light trail glistening on the water.

Yesterday’s sky was a beautiful autumn blue. We went for a bike ride on the Gitchi-Gami trail, a hike at Temperance River State Park, sat on the rocks outside our cabin for reading time, walked to Tofte Park with baby Aria in the stroller, enjoyed our family time. It was a starry, starry night and we made s’mores over the campfire.

Have I mentioned how much I love it up here???

Gitchi-Gami

Notes from the north shore:

So hard to capture the overall uproar of the lake with my camera; an older iPhone.

Gitchi-gami, the Ojibwe word for big lake, was tumultuous when we arrived at the cabin a couple of days ago. I told my husband that if we don’t have sunshine this is second best: to see, and hear, the huge (5-6 foot) waves crash to shore…it truly is a sight to see. We were safe in the cabin…protected from the wind and rain, but I opened a window to let the sounds in. The waves were so big and wild that they erased our shoreline and covered the fire pit on the rocks where we build a campfire…but I still saw a seagull flying by and a hummingbird feeding at the feeder outside the window. The waves continued to crash to shore…all day and all night…

After dark our son and his wife and five month old baby arrived.

…In the morning it was still cloudy and rainy but the lake had calmed down. It is always majestic, a wonder, and beautiful. We stayed indoors most of the morning. When the rain let up we took a walk to Temperance River on the Gitchi-Gami bike trail which has access near the cabin. But most of the day we were paying attention to our beautiful five-month old granddaughter, another wonder and joy to watch!

The sun higher on the horizon, over the clouds. The lake is calm.

…The next morning a thick cloud covered the horizon where the sun rises over Lake Superior…I’ve seen the sun rise multiple times over the years so I know the spot where it comes up. I set my alarm to get up in time, pour a cup of coffee and then wait with my camera (iPhone) ready. I have managed to take several beautiful pictures of the sun rising over the big lake through the years. This morning my camera is close at hand, ready to take photos knowing clouds can sometimes add a beautiful dimension to pictures if the sun peaks through (and sometimes not so great – sigh). Overhead I see blue skies…it’s going to be another great day on the north shore. I wonder what the day will bring…

Correct Link

I’m sorry…the link I added to my Lake Superior post this morning was incorrect so if you tried it you know it did not connect. The link in the post has been corrected, and just in case you are interested in reading Anticipation here is the correct link.

https://valeriesvoice.net/?s=anticipation

Lake Superior – Here We Come

As we head up to my one of my all time favorite places I will re-post the psalm I wrote a few years ago. We typically rent a cabin in September and I consider it my “new year” since it is a relaxing, renewing and “reviewing” time for me…looking back on the past year and looking forward to the coming year. Click here to read my post on Anticipation from September 2016.

Lake Superior Psalm

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall thank him.

He allows me to be on the shores of Lake Superior

And hear the calming waves.

He restores my soul.

He guides me on trails of the Superior National Forest

And leads me along the rocky shores.

Even when the waves are rough – even when the lake is calm,

I am content to being near the water.

And the Lord is with me;

His creation and His majesty, they comfort me.

He anoints me with many blessings

My cup overflows and I am grateful.

Surely I will praise him and follow him

All the days of my life,

I‘m grateful to dwell in His presence

On the shores of Lake Superior.

Neighborhood Butterfly Garden

I stopped in at my neighbor’s garage sale. They have a six-year old granddaughter so I thought maybe there would be some things of interest to me. But first I came upon their small garden along their driveway. Standing tall was another beautiful hibiscus blooming bright pink alongside sedum in full bloom, with a metal sculpture in the middle of it all.

On that metal sculpture was a little, lime-green tree frog, and fluttering all around the sedum were Painted Lady butterflies. My neighbor said it was like having their own butterfly garden – there were dozens of butterflies swarming around – and they have been for several days. At times a few would land on his finger.

Franklin Park Conservatory Butterfly Garden, Columbus OH

I’ve been to several indoor butterfly gardens. It’s a fun experience to walk through hanging plastic strips into a room where several species of butterflies are happily flitting around you, some landing close by or, on your body. What a great idea for a botanical garden or arboretum to create the space for butterflies and then invite the public to see and experience the wonderful creatures.

And mentioning butterflies…last year a friend found a chrysalis on his house and I took a photo of it. I was so amazed to see it up close and then to see the Monarch wings through the chrysalis. Click here to see a two minute YouTube video of a Monarch emerging from its chrysalis. The whole process of their transformation is amazing.

There are so many interesting facts about monarch butterflies…as there is for all creatures. Nature is absolutely fascinating and sometimes unfathomable.

And the Lord God made them all.

A Prairie Walk

It felt like a fall day. Instead of going to our town’s annual celebration downtown we chose to hike on quiet prairie lands with the only sounds being our voices and the wind rustling through the trees and grass. Clear, blue skies full of sunshine added to the glory of the place. The setting has two picturesque, historic churches facing each other in a well-kept, hill-top cemetery with interesting headstones and scenic views. At the edge of the cemetery is a huge, old burr oak tree. It’s so majestic!

The trail is a wide swath mowed through tall prairie grasses that have a touch of gold to them. Scattered throughout are native, autumn wildflowers in bloom, and off in the distance are trees with hints of fall colors on their leaves. We took a long, leisurely walk and imagined ourselves back in time when many settlers came to live on the prairie in Southeastern Minnesota.

We talked with a volunteer out collecting seeds for planting on this otherwise unoccupied trail. He is on the Preservation Board that concentrates on preserving this prairie land and the two churches. He told us there is a Cemetery Board to care for the cemetery upkeep. Both boards rely on volunteers. We visited with him for a while and thanked him for his work.

The path progressed along to the back of the property, bordering Minnesota Scientific Natural Lands and a state park. A couple years ago we discovered puffball mushrooms along these property lines; white mushrooms the size of soccer balls. We looked for them again this year but only found one misshaped one…hopefully it just the beginning of their growing season and we’ll spot more on our next walk through the prairie…we will go back.

Autumn is in the air.

My Hibiscus

On my daily walk in the neighborhood I pass many manicured lawns and beautiful gardens. In one yard there is an amazing hibiscus in full bloom with flowers the size of dinner-plates. It’s stunning. Back home I check out my own hibiscus and it too, has many blosoms. And it’s beautiful in it’s own way…it’s blooms are not meant to be the size of big plates.

During the summer my hibiscus enjoys a wonderful home on our deck. It is a flowering plant that cannot survive the cold Minnesota winters so I need to bring it in the house during the winter. It is a plant I have cared for for many years and every year I threaten to throw it into the compost pile instead of bringing it indoors! Although I love my outdoor flower gardens in the summer I’m not too interested in indoor plants. I have two: a pothos that trails down my cupboard in the kitchen and a Christmas cactus that a friend gave me…which was started by her grandmother years ago in Norway. Those two plants are hardy and survive with little attention from me.

So every fall I have to decide if I’m going to bring the hibiscus indoors for the winter. I have a friend who is the hibiscus’ advocate. She encourages me to keep the plant alive. When I went out to water it the other day it had so many blooms…I think the hibiscus has a sense that it needs to perform to save its life. So I guess I’ll keep it over winter again but I won’t bring it in until the last possible moment.

Berry Picking

Two mornings last week I picked raspberries at a local farm. I love raspberries and am grateful to have places where I can go pick fresh fruit near-by when in-season: raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. The berries look so pretty on the bushes and being out in the crisp morning air makes the chore of picking berries more like a fun outing. When I bring the fruit home I fill a bowl for eating, freeze some for winter, and make strawberry and raspberry jam.

We have some friends who grow raspberries on their property. A few years ago, very early in the fall season, frost was predicted one night so I went over to help harvest the produce from their large garden. My friend put me in the raspberry bushes and I started picking the fruit. A while later she joined me. We were talking and she started to pick where I had just picked and I wondered…I’ve picked berries many times over the years and I know what I’m doing and I thought I was doing a pretty good job…but come to find out she was picking the yellow raspberries they had growing intermingled with their red raspberry bushes! I passed the yellow berries thinking they were not ripe.

We laugh about it still.

BWCA – Day Three

On our third day we paddled out of the BWCA and back to the Falls Lake boat landing where our cars were parked.

We woke up to cloudy skies, and a few mosquitoes. Before this morning we had no issues with mosquitoes or the nasty black flies, and we didn’t need to use our netting or bug spray. After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with red quinoa, we packed our gear and “left no trace” and paddled away. The wind was picking up.

We paddled through the first lake with a slight wind. We paddled through the second lake with more wind but no rain. We paddled through the third lake in the wind and rain…so it made my adventure complete…I experienced the BWCA in the beautiful sunshine and in a dismal rain. Both were beautiful but I was thankful the rain came on our last day – on our way out.

My time in the BWCA was a great adventure and it was so good to experience the great wilderness of Northern Minnesota in this way. I am grateful.