4th of July

4th of July in North Morristown

As the country celebrated its 250^th year on Independence Day, North Morristown celebrated its 133^rd celebration of July 4^th. It claims to be the longest running 4^th of July celebration in Minnesota.

I call it a sweet fair…quaint might be a better word. It’s definitely small-town Americana. It’s in the corner of a cornfield. It’s a fundraiser for the only building around, which is Trinity Lutheran Church and school.

There is no charge to get in…one just needs to pay for the food you want to eat, with a variety of hamburgers, BBQ sandwiches, Roast Beef sandwiches, fries and onion rings etc…to chose from. And then, it’s off to the pie tent to choose from the variety of homemade pies, or ice cream or mini-donuts. We have been going to this celebration for many years.

We arrived early enough to set out our lawn chairs in some shade, went to buy lunch, and then pie, to eat while we waited for the band Monroe Crossing to start. Monroe Crossing is a Minnesota-based bluegrass band that has been together 25 years. I’m not sure of their connection to North Morristown 4th of July celebration, but they have been performing there for as many years as we have attended. They are a major reason why we go to this event…that and the pie!

Fish Pond – throw a line over the half wall and catch a prize.

There are kids’ activities including a train ride, Fish Pond (I used to like this when I was little), pick a duck from the pond to win a prize, a miniature merry-go-round, and more. There’s bingo for the older crowd, a corn toss competition and a “beer tent and dance floor” not fenced off, but one can tell the obvious boundaries.

The mood is festive and celebratory with people decked out in all kinds of red white and blue attire. Large extended families gather for picnics, friends gather to enjoy each other, and a whole lot of volunteers are there to help keep it all running smoothly.

We have had a hot, humid and rainy streak in Minnesota, but this day the rain held off. The sky was blue, the temp was a bit lower and there was a nice breeze. We left the fair mid-afternoon. There were a lot more planned activities, culminating with fireworks in the evening…however the predicted rain did come, so I’m not sure they were able to shoot off any fireworks.

Happy 250^th birthday America.

The Circle of Life

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 4^th 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.

All in a week’s time.

The circle of life.

Grateful.

Corn and More Corn

My corn lilies, as I call them, are in full bloom. I made up their name…to me it is a fitting name as they are tall and the flowers are yellow. I could look up the official name, but I don’t want to. 😉

A perspective as to how tall these lilies grow!

I have grown to really like my corn lilies, but I don’t remember planting them. I do believe they were planted by a bird or something (perhaps a squirrel?). I look forward to them blooming each summer, about this time when corn in the fields is growing tall too.

And more corn…when I was a child in the 50’s & 60’s, we all knew the adage, “Knee high by the Fourth of July”. Even us city kids knew the saying. Back at that time, the saying had meaning to the farmers…it was an indication of how well their crops were doing. If not knee high by the the beginning of July they would start to be concerned.

Gary, outstanding (!) in a cornfield on July 5, 2023.

But now-a-days… corn is much higher by July 4. Is it because of the hybrid seeds, new farming methods, more fertilizer? All possibilities. What I know is, the other day as we rode our bicycles past a cornfield we stopped and I took a picture of Gary in the cornfield. The stalks were already taller than him, and he’s 6 feet, 3 inches tall…way beyond “knee high by the Fourth of July”. It was July 5th!

Tonight’s Lights reflects the illuminations I saw walking home from a 4^th of July fireworks display one year.

Tonight's Lights

Twilight

Moonlight

Starlight

Fireworks!

Fireflies

Lamplights

Headlights

Garage Lights

Porch Lights

Interior Lights

and in a fire pit...fire light!

Happy 4th of July.

A Norwegian Odyssey

It’s been two weeks since celebrating America’s Independence Day, the 4^th of July. Although we didn’t get to see any fireworks in the night sky, Gary and I were welcomed to Bergen, Norway on the 4^th of July with an American flag waving for us, in the reception area of the Bergen airport. A few of my second cousins met us at the airport to welcome us to Norway. What a great way to be greeted on the 4^th of July. It was better than fireworks.

Warm greetings from the Norwegians, for Gary and I.

When we first arrived in Norway, a week prior to meeting up with the relatives, we flew directly up to Tromsø, a city 200 miles above the Arctic Circle…the land of the midnight sun. And we were witnesses to that sun that did not set…I saw the sun at 2 am one morning when I woke up.

The midnight sun, from our hotel room window, 2:16 am.

After two days in Tromsø, we boarded the Hurtigruten, a Norwegian coastal ferry and postal service boat that travels along the Western Coast of Norway, making many stops along the way. We had reserved a cabin on it for three nights…and it was amazing. We were delighted and surprised to realize it was more than a working ship, but very much a comfortable, not extravagant, ship with wonderful buffets at mealtime, and relaxing chairs next to large windows overlooking the magnificent beauty of the Norwegian coast. We liked the size…not too big…and the only entertainment was the breathtaking sea and scenery, and that was enough.

We disembarked the ship in Trondheim, where we spent the next two nights at a hotel. We walked around the city for two days, plus had a needed, relaxing rain afternoon.

Trondheim is the city where St. Olaf College performs choir concerts in the majestic Nidaros Cathedral. I’ve heard about this cathedral for years while working at St. Olaf. It was fun to finally see it….and when we purchased tickets…we learned the young woman behind the counter had been to St. Olaf College singing with her Norwegian women’s choir.

I don’t understand the question mark on Bergen’s airport identification sign.

Then… we flew to Bergen, where we began the second half of our trip with my wonderful, amazing Norwegian relatives, who treated us like royalty. We spent the next nine days with them and it was over-the-top wonderful!

From the airplane, along the mountainous coast of Norway.

From the airplane…along the western coast of Norway.

Norway, a country of 5 million people, is a stunningly, beautiful country with mountains, fjords, pristine shorelines, and breathtaking natural beauty. It is clean with friendly, warm and welcoming people.

In the coming days I will be posting blogs about this amazing odyssey. I will struggle with what photos to share…I took many!

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July.