This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
A couple hours later we trekked up Oberg Mountain and saw more beautiful colors of a different kind. Once again, I was grateful to be able to hike this trail, and was thankful to have the opportunity to do so.
And back at the cabin…the lovely, wispy clouds.
The sky was constantly changing, but the waves continue to roll in, year after year, reminding me of God’s faithfulness.
Amen.
In the past we have not usually acknowledged Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins, but we did celebrate the occasion this year. When we arrived in Dunedin, where our friends now live in Florida, a Mardi Gras parade was scheduled for that evening.
The parade route was blocks from their house so we walked over to join the fun. Our friends had a few Mardi Gras parades “under their belt” because their daughter lives in New Orleans, so Sue dug out her box of goodies labeled “Mardi Gras” and we donned some extra embellishments before we headed out.
I did not know, but at Mardi Gras parades the MO (mode of operation) is to throw out sparkly beaded necklaces…and when you catch one (or miss it and pick it up off the street) you collect them around your neck. They are plentiful, and we had accumulated a lot by the end of the parade.
The parade was at night, which meant the floats and displays were all lit up with multi-colored lights. I’m a fan of color and I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful lighted processions. It was fun to catch the jewels too.
There was a very large turnout for this parade. The parade route ended at a city park where there were plenty of concessions stands and other forms of entertainment to participate in after the parade.
It was a colorful and festive adventure.
Last weekend a friend and I went to delight in the peony gardens in Aspelund. I was reminded to visit this lovely acreage now, this time of year, when the peonies are in bloom.
This year there was a lot of color, yet there were many buds to still open, which was the stage of the peonies in my garden, and that’s why I had to be reminded that the Aspelund gardens may be ready to explore.
The location is a scenic, peaceful, country setting, about twenty minutes from Northfield. There are a couple of out buildings, the wine tasting room with an attached deck and table and chairs, there are rows of grapevines, and a lot of rhubarb growing all over…and of course lots and lots of peonies.
The peonies are for sale…but you are most welcome to visit these gardens without purchasing anything.
There is a tire swing hanging from a large, old tree and two little girls, in cute little dresses, were enjoying themselves on the swing that afternoon. It was a very nostalgic and sweet picture…that I didn’t capture on my camera.
We met up with a blogger friend of mine, and her husband, who were at the gardens the same time we were. We meandered the peonies, found chairs on the lawn since all the outdoor tables were taken, and ordered a flight of wine to taste a couple of the many variety of wines they offer.
It was a lovely and relaxing way to spend a late spring, almost summer, afternoon.
These are a few photos of the vibrant peonies I took, but I want to share a link to an expanded blog about this Aspelund Winery, written by the friend with whom we were enjoying the wonderful afternoon in Aspelund. Check out Minnesota Prairie Roots and enjoy a great tour.
Apparently for two years before the 2020 pandemic, Bachman’s sponsored a spring flower show at the Galleria. I didn’t know about it at the time. Now, two years later, after the pandemic, Bachman’s is once again, sponsoring another flower show: A Floral Experience at Galleria ~Sugar Coated.
We happened upon it by accident. We were going out to dinner at the Good Earth in the Galleria, after an interesting play at the Children’s Theatre. We noticed there were a lot of flowers in the mall as we walked toward the restaurant.
The hostess at Good Earth then informed us the Bachman’s spring flower show was opening the next day!
After dinner we decided to walk around the indoor mall, and we saw a preview of the bright and beautiful show. It was all set up, and ready for the debut.
It was fun to see so much color. It was wonderful to see blooming flowers.
The theme was “Sugar Coated” and it was colorful, delightful…and not crowded (as it probably would be the very next day when the show opened).
The show runs from March 27 through April 10, 2022.
It was a “sweet” surprise, and a great ending to our fun day in the cities.
Christmas lights light up the dark nights during winter solstice…the longest nights of the year… here in Minnesota anyways. Lights help us get beyond the long nights and bring joy to our world.
We went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to walk through their festive exhibition of Winter Lights recently.
It was after the big snowstorm, so the freshly fallen snow made it all the more picturesque.
Once again, the temperatures were mild for December in Minnesota, and it was a pleasant walk through the different light displays.
The café was open for a snack, and the gift shop had a lot of great Christmas and other fun merchandise to look at. There were many folks out and about at this seasonal event.
I love color…and we saw color…
On our way to the arb… a beautiful sunset.
At the arb… the Winter Lights exhibit.
On our way home… individual homes with Christmas decorations lit up.
Color…it adds so much to our lives.
We attended a wedding reception at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum this week.
What a lovely place for the special event. It was held outside in one of the picnic shelters with beautiful scenery all around. We were also invited to come early and enjoy the September gardens in bloom at the arboretum.
There was much color, everywhere. There were vibrant, annual gardens, as well as rich, colorful dahlias.
I was surprised to see many showy, rose bushes still in full bloom. I stopped to smell them!
It’s always fun to see a few, unusual plants in bloom.
It was a wonderful afternoon, celebrating two lives joined together in marriage, and celebrating Minnesota’s finest blossoms and the upcoming fall season.
A writing companion and I meet monthly. We assign exercises and come prepared the next month to share our work. One recent exercise was to write about a color, specifically it was: Blank is the color I remember.
I am posting my essay below…with photos. I went back to look for evidence of what I remembered….so I’ve included some pictures that I found.
There were a couple of slides in the mix and I wondered how I could post them…then I thought to put them in our slide viewfinder and try taking a photo of the image inside the viewer. Much to my surprise it worked fairly well. So here goes…
Blank is the color I remember…
I have always loved color. And I enjoy collecting colored glass. There is evidence I liked it when I was younger too…In our living room I display an orange glass art piece I remember buying for my parent’s anniversary when I was a teenager…at the JCPenney store in Apache Plaza. It was on a glass shelf in the back corner of the store, by an outside door. It’s interesting to think I remember those few details so vividly.
However, what came to mind when I read the assignment “ Blank is the color I remember” I thought of the house I grew up in on McKinley Street in Northeast Minneapolis. My dad built the house and we moved into it in 1953 when I was six-months old. Of course, I don’t remember moving into it, but from when I can remember our house was painted a rose-pink color. How that color was decided I’ll never know, and unfortunately I can’t ask my parents anymore. I do know my mom always loved reds and pinks so I’m sure she had a lot of influence as to the color choice. I remember telling friends, when giving them directions to my house, “it’s the rose color one.”
The color of our house never bothered me, and I really didn’t take notice if the color was out of place in the neighborhood but I think it must have been, especially when I remember the houses surrounding us in the new neighborhood. I would not choose to paint my house that color today.
Thinking of my rose colored house prompts a memory of the house directly across the street from that house; next door to our good friends the Soderman’s. It belonged to an old man and, as children, we thought is was kind of a scary place. There were tall bushes that lined both sides of his property and he lived alone in this shack; an old, scary, unpainted, one-room house (as I remember it).
The one-room house was off to one side of the property and a ways back from the street. I think we always subconsciously picked up speed when we walked by it. At one point in time the bushes were removed and the shack was torn down and a new house was built in its place. I wonder what happened to that man? Did he die? Did he move away? I don’t even know his name.
Which prompts me to remember the old play shack my dad and brother built for a playhouse in our own back yard. It was much smaller than our neighbor’s house across the street. It had a big open window (no glass) in front (and one on the side?) and a front door. The roof was slanted and it had a built-in ladder on the back where we could climb to the roof and sit and watch the neighborhood. I don’t remember the color of the shack but it wasn’t refined. I wonder if it was even painted? I wonder if there is a picture of it somewhere?
The house of my childhood eventually got re-painted but I don’t know what year. My parents changed the color to gold. That was a little more conventional. With that gold color they also painted the wooden crank-up camper, my dad made…which matched the new 1965 Ford Galaxy my parents owned. It was a big deal getting a brand new car.
The ’65 Ford Galaxy is the car we took (pulling the heavy wooden camper) on a road trip in to Yellowstone National Park. I remember feeding the bears (legit to do back then I guess) and one stood up on the car door with its paws inside the window nearest me (!) and left a scratch mark on the black, interior fabric…hmmm…
So the phrase “blank is the color I remember” took me on a fun, crazy path down memory lane and I found a few pictures to go along with the story.
Christmas…a wonderful time of the year. I like decorating for Christmas and one thing I like to create is Christmas planters. A friend has property out of town and she invites me to go with her to cut evergreen branches off the trees so we can work with nice, fresh greenery.
Then we go back to the garage and we both start decorating. She has a wooden box planter and an old milk can on her front porch, which we fill with greens, and other miscellaneous branches, then add a finishing touch, a Christmas bow.
We also have an old antique milk can, off my husband’s family farm, that I fill with different types of evergreen branches.
Then I make a Christmas planter for our front porch. It’s amazing to me how much a splash of red color stands out. We always add something red. I was told Carl Larsson, the famous Swedish painter, added a touch of red to all his paintings, although a quick Internet search didn’t lead me to any evidence but in all the paintings I’ve seen of his the color red is in them.
I also put greens in my flowerboxes on our deck. I add lights to make for a cheery scene all winter long, right outside our patio door.
It’s nice to be decorating for the holidays…whoever thought the pandemic would last this long…
‘Tis the season for peonies. After the lilacs finish blooming next comes the peonies to enjoy.
I have a couple of peony bushes in my yard. I love the shape and color and smell of them, and I always cut a few stems to have in the house. But the flowers, like lilacs, do not stay blooming for long.
So I was glad to be reminded on a friend’s blog site, Minnesota Prairie Roots, that the peonies were in bloom at Aspelund Peony Gardens, near Aspelund, MN, about a half hour from Northfield. It was a beautiful afternoon so we took a drive to have a look.
The gardens were full. As with many flowers, there are a lot of varieties and colors of peonies. It is amazing. We took our time to stop and smell the flowers and “ouu and ahh” over each color and variation.
There is also a winery on site but we did not stay for a sample…it was a very busy place and all the outdoor seating was taken, so we passed.
I took a lot of photos…too many photos to share. The proprietors have a list of each variety of peony they grow on their property. The intention is for you to identify which kind you would like to purchase. Then the chosen bush stays in the garden until fall when you go pick it up and transplant it into your own yard.
But they welcome all visitors. We chose just to simply walk through the peony gardens, and meander in the wide-open yard taking in the vast country views. It was a sunny and pleasant day… a wonderful time to delight in the beauty of the outdoors.
I have a collection of colorful glass… mostly antique art-glass vases…
I find myself attracted to any colored glass pieces though, and to dishes in general. I have my grandma’s antique china set, which I love, and many other vintage glass pieces I’ve collected over the years from antique shops and thrift stores. I think it’s great fun to hunt for them, and I get a lot of enjoyment from using them too.
The lure of colored glass prompted me to take a class on creating fussed-glass pieces. The first class I took, a few years ago, was detailed and instructional – it taught us how to cut glass and introduced the different glass and glass making tools and explained the firing/fusing process. In that class I made four coasters, two mini bowls and a star hanging. It was an interesting class.
When a friend recently told me of a class being offered making Christmas Ornaments from fused-glass, in the small town of Kenyon MN, I was all in.
The class was very relaxed. The instructor brought her glass supplies and gave simple instructions and let us use whatever we wanted from her supply. We didn’t have to do anything but create. No set up, no clean up…just show up and be creative. We entertained ourselves over and beyond the time class was to end, but it did, and we liked our results.
My friend wanted to start a tradition of making Christmas ornaments for her daughters so she made two wreath ornaments. I made three snowman ornaments, one for each of my grandchildren.