On a walk around the ponds in our neighborhood yesterday, I was treated to seeing several different types of waterfowl: ducks, Canadian geese, an egret and a great blue heron.
A great blue heron.
I stopped to watch the heron stealthily approach the egret. Canadian geese and ducks were swimming in the pond. It was a delight to stand and watch the birds, and take pictures of them.
The heron approaches the egret, with an image of a bird flying over the pond.
It reminded me of a time, years ago, while traveling with our sons, we had to wait a while for a train. There was a pond nearby. I told them nature can be very entertaining, and we went to sit near the pond to watch the birds and ducks.
The heron chases the egret away.
It was entertaining then, and it is today.
The heron, the egret and Canadian geese all together for the photo shoot. ha!
These birds did indeed entertain me, and bless me, this day.
Recently we spent a day exploring the bike trails in Owatonna, a town 30 miles south of Northfield.
Our first stop was to get some homemade pie, to-go, for a snack on the trail later. My husband’s bike club often stops for a break at The Kernel to get a piece of pie which the guys claim is delicious. A quick Google search of The Kernel comes up with this review: “American chow, including an all-day breakfast & homemade pie, offered in this unfussy local diner.’” I like the description “unfussy local diner”.
There were many benches along the trail. I like the tree silhouettes on this bench back.
We rode on three short trails along the Straight River, over and under bridges and around a couple hairpin curves on a wide, paved trail, lined with benches, street lamps, and mature trees.
Looking out at the Straight River.
I noticed more than a few bat houses. I’m not sure when they were put up but it seems it was some sort of project at one time.
One of several bat boxes in trees along the path.
…and another bat box…
It was a gorgeous day and a delightful ride.
We stopped to eat our delicious pie selections at a picnic table along the river and spent a long while watching a great blue heron stealthily walk the shoreline looking for fish, or pie perhaps!
The Great Blue Heron.
There were a lot of ducks on or near the river and multiple Canadian Geese on shore. The geese are nice to look at but messy to be around.
Ducks lined along the river bank.
After our initial ride and pie break we drove to explore a different park in Owatonna; Mineral Springs Park. In this park there is a statue of Owatonna next to a plaque explaining the Legend of Owatonna: a frail, Native American princess who was restored to health by drinking water from the mineral springs in the area.
A statue of Owatonna, a native American princess healed by the mineral springs.
Contrary to the legend, the town of Owatonna was named after the Straight River, not the princess. In the Dakota language Wakpá Owóthaŋna means Straight River and it was first settled in 1853 near the river.
The Legend of Princess Owatonna.
There were actual mineral springs gurgling out of a large, water fountain and cistern in the park. We tasted the water…it was cold but had an “irony” taste to it.
The mineral springs water bubbling up through the fountain.
There were more bicycle and walking trails throughout the park.
As we walked the trail along the river we stopped to read a red granite plaque with a Native American letter etched into it, credited to Chief Seattle in 1854. We normally do not stop to read lengthy plaques but after reading the first two sentences we were drawn in and began taking turns reading it out loud.
This red granite stone with a long text we would normally pass by.
The the piece is called Teach Your Children. After doing some research on the internet I found out there is controversy as to how much of this letter was actually written by Chief Seattle and how much of it changed in translation and how much was really a part of one letter… but we enjoyed it none-the-less. We found it very profound and poetic. Here are a few excerpts from this letter:
Teach Your Children
“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect.”
“Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a stand in it. What he does to the web, he does to himself.”
“We love this earth as a newborn loves his mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you received it. Preserve the land for all children and love it, as God loves us all.”
The credits…
Owatonna has a lot of areas to explore but this day we were focused on bike trails, parks, and pie! We were not disappointed.
Last fall a new trail in town opened and is getting a lot of use. I guess the idea “you build it and they will come” works. This is good.
Our friends were walking on this trail a few days ago when they saw folks stopped along the trail looking up…which usually means there’s something “up there” to see (much like cars pulled over in a national park…you know there is some kind of wild animal in sight!)
8-10 nests in the tree tops, a Great Blue Heron rookery.
They discovered high up in one tree there were several nests, called a rookery, and Great Blue Heron’s were occupying those nests.
When they told us about this we grabbed our binoculars and went to check it out, and there they were. I didn’t know the big, beautiful Great Blue Heron I often see standing so tall and majestic in water near shore, built their nests in the tops of trees…it was interesting to learn and fun to see.
Notice the Great Blue Heron in tree top…zoomed with my camera iPhone. This is when a good camera lens would be nice.
We counted eight nests in one tree and over all we saw five herons. We stayed there to watch a while as a couple herons flew away and then a couple flew back.
GBH on Pond #3 last fall, 2017
It was entertaining – and as we stood there along side the trail looking up – others stopped to find out why.
Matthew 6: 26-27 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
The Great Blue Heron is a majestic bird and I always get a thrill when I see one. On my “regular route” through my neighborhood I walk by three ponds and love to see the geese and ducks and now am disappointed if I don’t see the Great Blue Heron since it has been around a lot this summer. It’s always a joy to see any kind of birds or water fowl – I greet them, thank God for them, and try to get photos!
The Great Blue Heron is a majestic bird and I always get a thrill when I see one. On my “regular route” through my neighborhood I walk by three ponds and love to see the geese and ducks and now am disappointed if I don’t see the Great Blue Heron since it has been around a lot this summer. It’s always a joy to see any kind of birds or water fowl – I greet them, thank God for them, and try to get photos!