iPhones – Valerie's Voice

Winter Walks

A go-to place for us to walk outside in the winter is the Carleton College campus. Their sidewalks are always scraped clean – down to the cement – with no traces of ice. It feels very safe to walk there without worries of falling down. We are grateful for the team that keeps the walks so clear of snow and ice. And grateful for Carelton College to open their campus to the community.

The beautiful Skinner Chapel on Carleton College campus.

We were on campus on Saturday for a winter walk. It was cold, but not windy, which we all know makes a difference, plus the sun was shining and that always brightens the spirits! I took a few photos on this picturesque campus.

Two beautiful white birch trees stood out against the red brick science building.

My favorite gnarly tree on Carleton’s campus…a favorite in winter and summer.

Even the dorms on campus are lovely with the red brick and red roofs.

The following day however, was not so cold. It was 46* and it felt balmy! We decided to go to a park we know that maintains a clear trail in the winter… Whitetail Woods, in Rosemount, MN.

When we drove into the parking area it was full! It seems everyone wanted to take advantage of this unusually warm day in February. This park has a nice 2-mile paved trail, along with multiple trails throughout the woods for more hiking and cross-country skiing.

The loop trail is not all paved…there are wooden slats,…

and there is metal grating over a swampy area.

There were a lot of people and dogs, walking on this trail, free of ice (except two small spots), getting a dose of fresh air before the snow and cold make its way back to Minnesota in the coming week.

Looking through the trees, to the lake in Whitetail Woods.

And another winter-type walk… Once in a while, I’ll go to Menard’s (a big box home improvement store) to walk indoors, on especially cold and/or icy days. Last week I had a little shopping to do there, and I thought I’d add a couple circles around the perimeter of the store to get in an indoor walk, on a very cold day. After shopping and some walking, I checked the pedometer on my phone and was surprised it hadn’t calculated many steps. I thought maybe it needed to recalculate so I continued around the store a few more times and checked in again and the number of steps still hadn’t changed. I decided something was not working, so I put my phone back in my purse which was in the cart. I left Menard’s after an hour and went home. Later it dawned on me that the step counter on my phone didn’t count my steps because it was merrily rolling along in the cart!!!

Now I know. HA

Picture This

We had a great time on our walk the other evening. I had downloaded a new app on my iPhone called “Picture This” and we were having fun experimenting with it.

It’s an app that identifies flowers and trees and bushes by taking a picture. It quickly identifies the plant and tells the name and characteristics of the plant, and how to care for it. It’s amazing and it’s very helpful, especially for someone like me who likes to know the names of all the plants I see.

I wondered if this was vinca and the app confirmed it was. Picture This calls it common periwinkle.

Hummingbird sage, found in a backyard garden.

We tried it on tree leaves too, and it was able to identify the trees we picked out. I love trees but I never took the time to learn their names, except for the obvious…oak, maple, birch etc… so this app will be helpful for me in this area too.

We tested the app knowing this was an oak tree, and indeed it told us it was a Bur oak.

This majestic, yet gnarly, old tree in a nearby cemetery was identified as a Norway spruce by the app.

I tried the app last summer, for thirty free pictures, but never pursued it further – until this spring – when there were several times I wished I had the app. So I finally downloaded it and this time I got a 7-day free trial period, and then will be charged $30 for one year. That’s a good deal for some good education.

Brazilian jasmine from Mandevilla genus.

If only I had had it installed when I went on my wild flower walk a few weeks ago!

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.