Eagles – Valerie's Voice

Summer Solstice 2023

This year’s summer solstice officially began on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 – it’s the shortest night of the year. The night before, Tuesday, June 20th, the sun set at 9:14 pm in Crosslake Minnesota, with lingering twilight until 10 pm.

Near Crosslake Minnesota – 10 pm on 6/20/23.

I decided I would drive up my friend’s cabin near Crosslake Minnesota after a fun visit with our son and his family Tuesday night. I left the south metro about 8 pm.

Driving by myself, up north, at night, I reasoned; 1- I was excited to get up there so I could sleep on the porch and wake up by the lake on Wednesday, 2- I have a reliable vehicle, 3- my friend was expecting me so if anything happened, she’d be concerned (she was sound asleep when I got there!!!), and 4- the sun set late so there was more light than usual that evening.

Looking out on Lake Mille Lacs – 9:30 pm on 6/20/23.

Since the shortest night of the year was the next evening, I expected it to stay light late but, little did I know I’d have twilight for almost 45 minutes after sunset. Only the last half hour did I drive in the dark. Of course, that was when I was making many turns on back roads to get to her cabin, but I made it, and I felt good!

Nature abounds up north. Of course, there is always deer, and I saw several including a mama and young doe. We heard many loons the first night – we thought there was a convention right off her dock. We laid in our beds listening to their distinctive calls. We saw 20+ goslings swimming in a row between Mr. & Mrs. Canadian Geese – that is one large family. We saw the resident eagle fly by several times, and we heard (!) 4 racoons under the porch where we slept. They woke us up each night. The first two nights we didn’t know what kind of animal was under there…it’s not a good place for animals to be. Finally, my friend saw the culprits outside the cabin at 4:30 in the morning of the third night…a mama raccoon and her three babies. That’s a problem that needs to be solved…

Me on a jet ski, on Daggett Lake in 2014.

We enjoyed sunny, warm and comfortable weather, by the lake. We did take out the jet skis one afternoon. We sometimes forget we are in our 70’s! But, we did well (after calling her 10-year-old-granddaughter to remind us how to start them!) We trolled along the shore to look at the cabins, then took a couple speed rides across Daggett Lake.

It’s amazing to see all the cabins, all the docks, all the boat lifts with boats in them, on this one not-so-large lake, and then multiple it by 15,000 lakes in Minnesota. Whew! That’s a lot of recreation.

My drive home was not as exciting as my drive up, but I am grateful for the time we had up north, and for a different way of experiencing the summer solstice.

March

The question always is will March come in like a lamb or a lion? Of course, the questions refers to the weather…

A mama robin, has perched on the tree outside our living room window the last few mornings.

For me, either way, March comes in with mixed emotions. There are several significant anniversaries for me in the month of March:

March 7, my father died in 1974
March 9, my mother died in 2009
March 16, our first grandson was born 2016
March 19, our second grandson was born in 2020
March 20, I was born in 1953
March 25, Gary and I were married in 1978

My mother died on this date in 2009. I created an album with items from her funeral and her last days.

Then, during the next 10+ years, I kept stuffing bits and pieces into the album as a safe place to put something significant related to her. It needed to be re-organized, so I took the album off the shelf to work on it during a recent snowstorm. I enjoyed going through the journal entries, the funeral program, and looking at the pictures. The hymns sung at her funeral were printed out, and included On Eagle’s Wings, an uplifting song (no pun intended!).

Chorus:
And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand

We recently took a day trip to the National Eagle Center, in Wabasha.

Angel, a permanent resident eagle at the National Eagle Center.

Columbia and Angel are resident eagles there, because of injuries. Both are female, and both in their “20’s”. Such majesty, beauty, power.

Columbia, also a current resident at the eagle center.

We tallied 14 eagle sightings en route to Wabahsa, on that pleasant March day. They are a magnificent sight. But I digress…

Back to momentous March dates…

My father, Herb. Photos from the 1940’s.

My father passed away on March 7, 1974. He was only 55 years old. I have accumulated pictures and written history information from our recent trip to Norway with intentions to compile them in an album. I plan to do so during the upcoming predicted snowstorm this week. Another 2-3 inches…downgraded from 7-8 inches.

Then, on to warmer spring days, and happier celebrations of births and marriage.

Ah, the circle of life…

Still A Favorite

Cannon Valley Trail is a favorite bike trail that we ride several times a season.

The CVT is a sanctuary for me. A canopy of trees welcomes me and I feel I’m entering a special space. The trail is mostly shaded, and a lot of it follows the Cannon River, which adds to the ambiance of the trail.

When out of tree cover, the Cannon Valley Trail passes fields of wild flowers. I like that it was an old railroad line and therefore fairly flat, and it’s paved. And… it is close to home. After traveling to other trails to ride in new territory, it is always good to come home to this sanctuary trail.

Recently we discovered another trail that we really enjoyed. It’s the Trout Run Trail in Decorah, Iowa. Although it’s not very convenient location-wise, it is very scenic and now another favorite.

The route is only eleven miles but seems longer because there are many hills on half of the trail. It makes a loop around Decorah and travels through a farmer’s field, rolling hills, and city parks. The vistas at the top of the hills are breathtaking…beautiful landscapes, small farms and fields, winding roads, and green forests.

At the top of the first hill we climbed on the Trout Run Trail.

Through corn fields, on both sides of the trail.

This loop also passes Decorah’s Fish Hatchery where the well-known eagle cam is but we couldn’t spot the eagle’s nest. The rainbow trout in the tanks were fun to watch…several tanks filled with hundreds of trout in one tank, all swimming and splashing about. We didn’t see an eagle at the hatchery, although they are often seen hanging out there we’re told.

However, on our ride through a city park, along the Root River, we spotted an eagle in a field eating, what looked to be, a rabbit, and a vulture was close by waiting for leftovers I guess.

We watched this eagle eating his prey…In this photo the eagle took flight for a short distance.

At the end of our ride on a very hot and humid day, we drove into town and bought ourselves some ice cream from the Whippy Dip, a popular local ice cream place in Decorah.

Ice cream and bike rides go together. It’s a fun treat to look forward to at the end of a ride.

Nature’s Art

Nature’s art is everywhere…unique and beautiful!

This particular “tree stump art” took me by surprise. While riding my bike I rode past a friend’s house and she was out in her driveway so I stopped and we chatted for a few minutes (6’ apart). She told me to take a look at her tree stump in her backyard so I did. I asked her who created the design and she said “bugs”!

I thought a pattern was burned into the stump to create art…but bugs created the artwork all by themselves. It was striking.

Trails in the stump made by bugs. Photo by cb

That week we took a hike at Cannon Valley Wilderness Park near Faribault and saw the creative work of eagles. There in the treetops were two giant nests and an eagle was sitting in one of them.

Of course spring flowers are nature’s art…Wilderness Park was full of Spring Beauty, a tiny pink spring flower carpeting the ground in many places throughout the park. Unfortunately my photo didn’t turn out.

Nature’s art is in clouds…

and tulips…

and tree bark…

Our pair of resident cardinals eating at the bird feeder attached to our window. It looks like they are perching on the back of our chair!

and birds. It’s all around us. God’s handiwork.

Look and see that the Lord is good…the beauty of the Lord is all around us.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

A Sunday Afternoon Drive

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wabasha, Minnesota

Many scenes in the 1993 Hollywood movie Grumpy Old Men were filmed in the small river town of Wabasha, Minnesota. It put Wabasha “on the map” and was their claim to fame for a long time. However, there is another cultural highlight in Wabasha…it is home to the National Eagle Center. The organization began in 1989 and built a beautiful building along the scenic Mississippi River in 2006.

Our book club took a field trip to the center one day in July, and it was very interesting.

The bridge in Wabasha, between Minnesota and Wisconsin, over the Mississippi River.

After taking a coffee break at the Chickadee Cottage in Lake City, we happened to arrive at the Eagle Center right before an eleven o’clock presentation. The presenter was very interesting and informative, an educator, and part entertainer! She kept us engaged for an hour and we didn’t want the session to end. She said she could have continued speaking because there is so much to teach about the eagles.

Was’aka, one of the eagle ambassadors. (Our presenter is not in the photo.)

When we spoke to her after the program she told us she became interested in eagles (and sharks!) at a young age so when she retired (from being a lawyer) she felt it was a good time to step in and volunteer at the eagle center. We were fortunate to be a part of her class session.

A few tidbits…eagles weigh only 6-8 pounds, keep their nests very clean by “shooting their poop” out of the nest about eight feet! They get their white feathers about the age of 5, and they do a beautiful cartwheel dance as part of their mating ritual. But there is much more.

My photo of a photograph of two eagles doing a cartwheel dance.

The eagles at the center are there because they no longer can survive on their own in the wild. They get quality care at the center while the researchers study them. The center has a viewing platform and is a great place to spot eagles along the river, especially in the winter because there is open water at this site, and that’s where eagles gather.

During the program an eagle, Was’aka, was brought into the room to show off to the audience.

There are plaques describing each bird on display.

Was’aka is blind in one eye, therefore he cannot hunt for himself. He is beautiful! There were additional eagles available for viewing also, including a golden eagle.

We did succumb to a Grumpy Old Men’s icon and ate lunch at Slippery’s Bar and Grill, apparently made famous by the movie. However, we chose it simply because it was the only place we could eat outside, along the mighty Mississippi. The food was good.

A bench in town depicting the two grumpy old men from the movie: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Wabasha is little over an hour’s drive from Northfield so it’s an easy day trip and well worth it.

Two Fun Sightings

Last week, on a trip to a lake cabin in northern Minnesota, we were excited to see two fun and rare sightings.

The first sighting occurred as we were driving. There was a black bear on the road in front of us, mid-morning. We slowed down, and as I fumbled for my camera, he crossed the road in front of us and continued through the ditch into the woods. It was fun to see. I’ve seen a black bear in the wild a few times, but not often, so when I do see one it’s exciting.

The other sighting was the beautiful showy lady slipper, Minnesota’s state flower.

We were staying at a privately-owned cabin up north, on twenty-five acres, with a creek running through the property, and shoreline on Lake Kabekona. The cabin sits up high on a hill with a well-worn path down from the cabin to the lake. (The view from the screened in porch was lovely. We saw an eagle several times, fortunately seeing the majestic eagle is no longer a rare sighting – but always a wonderful one.)

As we walked along the path we saw this beautiful flower in bloom, and upon closer look, we discovered it was the showy lady slipper. Moments before we had seen the yellow lady slipper along the shores of Lake Kabekona, then as we turned to go back to the cabin we noticed the elegant showy lady slipper. And…there were several buds on stems nearby, ready to gently open.

Three of the seven showy lady slippers on the path.

I have only seen the showy lady slipper blooming in the wild one other time, years ago, up near Lake Superior. I don’t think it’s very common to see one in the wild, unless you know where it is located.

We made our way down every morning to check on this wonderful beauty. It was our morning devotion, appreciating and praising God for his unique and bountiful creations.

iPhone

Sometimes I purposely leave my phone at home because I don’t want to be dependent on it. However, I forget it’s also my camera and I like to take a lot of photos.

So when we went for a bike ride on the Cannon Valley Trail last Friday (an unseasonably warm day in MN) I left my phone in the car, but soon realized I missed having it to take photos. We had pedaled just far enough that I did not want to turn around to go back and get it.

As we rode along I wanted to take a picture of the green grass/moss that lined the edge of the bike trail. It looked so bright and inviting and was such a contrast to the dried, leaf-laden woodlands that surround the trail.

I wanted to take a picture of the cloudless, deep blue sky reflecting in the calm waters of the Cannon River, making the river look blue instead of grey.

I wanted to try to get a picture of an eagle soaring low over the river along side us for several seconds while we were pedaling down the trail on our bicycles. (I probably wouldn’t have been able to capture that scene anyhow…)

I wanted to take a picture of the ridge-line and terrain that we don’t normally see in the summer when the leaves are on the trees.

I wanted to take a picture of the many trees beavers have gnawed. We wondered: where are the beavers, and why have the decided to build their homes in this area now?

I didn’t capture the scenes with my camera phone but they are pictured in my mind.

We had a good ride and passed a few others on the trail, out to get in one more bike ride before winter.

A Park for All Seasons

Light, Space, Zest, that’s God! Psalm 27:1 (The Message)

We return often to visit one of our local favorite parks, Big Woods State Park. It is always a welcome sanctuary. To be outside, in open spaces and natural light, enjoying God’s creation fills me with joy and… zest! Here are a few photos I took today on our hike at a park we enjoy during all of Minnesota’s seasons.Colorful!
Funky.

Space.

Zest (and ice)

As we drove away from the park there above us, perched on a high tree branch, was an eagle, bidding us farewell and, I think, enticing us to come back again.Light.