Minnesota – Valerie's Voice

The Field

We moved into our new home on December. All winter I looked forward to seeing a tractor in the field behind us this spring, preparing the field for planting.

I first saw the tractor in back of our house at 7:40 pm on Monday evening.

We’ve been doing some traveling and I thought maybe I might miss it this year, but last night the tractor came through, tilling the soil. He started late in the day, and kept going into the night with his lights on, but he didn’t finish the job.

The darker soil is two swaths from the tractor.

It was fun to see the lights on the tractor, while he worked in the field at night, 8:55 pm.

He was back the next morning to finish the tilling.

It was interesting to see the wide swath of land that was tilled in one run. And I was amazed at how fast the tractor traveled. I had fun watching it while trying to take some pictures. The ground is dry and the tilling produced a lot of dust. It was hard to see the tractor through the dust at times.

We’ll wait to see what is planted…there has been corn in the field the past two years. Maybe they’ll alternate this year, and plant soy beans.

The tractor pulling a seed planter. 3:30 pm Tuesday.

To my delight, he came back in the afternoon to plant. I wonder what is in those yellow seed box containers?

Like the tiller, the planter is a huge piece of equipment.

And then… there were two! It keeps getting more and more interesting. I did not grow up on a farm and so I have really enjoyed seeing this basic, yet key principle, of farming up close.

It just keeps getting better…3:55 pm Tuesday…there were two tractors in the same field.

I did some tilling of my own and planted zinnia seeds along the field in our back yard…hopefully the zinnias will come up too.

Now we definitely need to wash the windows!

Galleria’s Flower Show

We went to Galleria’s floral experience with Bachman’s annual show last week.

This year’s theme is Escape to Paradise. Bachman’s fills the mall with beautiful plants and colorful flowers in wonderful designs, and it’s always a delight to see.

Especially this time of year when we are waiting for spring to arrive here in Minnesota. The landscapes are pretty drab outside right now. We can all use a bit of color.

The day we ventured to Galleria was our anniversary. We arrived early to look at the flowers (and search for a frog hidden in each display) and then we ate lunch at The Good Earth. It was lovely.

A sweet story: On our honeymoon, we bought a framed-in-box of preserved iridescent blue butterflies in Puerto Rico. We have always had it hanging in our house somewhere, and it is hanging in our new home now.

When at the Galleria’s flower show it was fun to see pretty, blue magnetic butterflies that took us back in time to a market we visited on our honeymoon – 47 years ago – when we bought our special memento.

Uplifting….

Colorful…

Pleasing…

Perky…

Whimsical…

It was a special day.

A Poem: One Wave at a Time

One wave at a time…
Faithfully rolling unto the shore
Hitting the rocky bedrock
Bringing healing as I sit and watch.
For hours.
Each time a little piece of hope
Delivered in the rhythm of the waves
Reminds me God is faithful.
Such needed blessing
During these times of uncertainty.
I am grateful to be on the shore of Lake Superior,
Doing nothing,
Watching the waves roll in.
One blessing at a time.

by Valerie Bollinger 03/25

The North Shore

We went up to the north shore to celebrate my birthday last week.

There was a beautiful sunrise the morning of my birthday, and the sun continued to shine all day long.

We wanted to do a little hiking. We had tried hiking at Gooseberry Falls the day before, but we had to turn back due to a very icy trail. Although there was no snow on the ground anywhere, the shaded trails in the woods still had ice cover making it difficult to hike on them.

When we stopped for a specialty coffee at Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors, another customer joined our conversation with the waitress about places to hike in the area that might not be icy. The stranger asked us about the Gitchi-Gami bike trail. And it was one of those ah-ha moments; “I can’t believe we didn’t think about the wonderful paved bike trail with sections all along the north shore.”

An portion of the Gitchi-Gami Bike trail along Lake Superior.

So we found our safe place to hike along Lake Superior, and it was lovely.

Besides the sparkling lake, we saw different images on two different hikes. Do you see what I see?

A bat…a sheet of ice still clinging to a large rock in Lake Superior, facing south (no sun to melt it).

The head of a wolf (right), and a deer lying down looking out (left) in the hollow of a tree.

Several little bear cubs climbing up the tree.

It was a fun birthday; with hiking, cabin time, and watching the waves roll in. A great beginning to another trip around the sun.

Feed My Starving Children

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian ministry that started up in 1987. It organizes volunteers to hand-pack manna packets to send to hungry children all over the world. There are many packing centers around the United States. FMSC receives highest awards for integrity and trustworthiness, “earning a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 19 years.”

Kudos to Jeanie who has been organizing a monthly session “Jeanie’s Friends” for the past ten years. I join her and her friends when I can.

The food packet ingredients consist of: powdered vitamins, dried vegetables, soy and rice. Hand-filling the packerts is an efficient process with everyone contributing in different ways…like a human chain. Someone holds the bag open under a funnel, two people add the ingredients, then someone weights the food packet, and passes it to another who seals the packet, and then to the next person who puts the manna packets into a larger box for shipping. One box holds 36 manna packets. One manna packet supplies six meals. There are five 2-hour packing sessions each day.

On Tuesday, when I was up there to help this week, there were 100 volunteers from all over the south metro, and we packed 132 boxes…which means 28,512 meals…which will feed 79 kids a daily meal for one year.

On this day we were packing meals for Burkina Faso, a country in Africa.

It helps me to be doing something positive in these uncertain times, when it seems food uncertainty keeps growing. Today, our short work session impacts 79 more children than yesterday.

Here is a link to Feed My Starving Children if you want to find out more, or to volunteer.

I have posted about Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) a couple of times. Here are links to previous posts: https://valeriesvoice.net/fmsc/ and https://valeriesvoice.net/feed-my-starving-children/

A Canadian Goose

Just blowing, swirling snow
covering the vast field in stark whiteness
And there, alone, appears one Canadian Goose
Looking at us through our sunroom windows,
Stopping to sit on the white blanket,
Offering us something...what?
An angel in disguise?
Sent with a message?
What could it be? 
Hope, for some reason comes to mind,
but I’m not sure
I’ll have to dwell on that awhile.
We all need a little hope right now.

I didn't see him walk or fly away,
but eventually he was gone.

Be still and know that I am God…

even in a blizzard.

Psalm 46:10

A Bonfire with a Twist

Two weeks ago we roasted hot dogs over a winter bonfire in River Bend Nature Center. We’ve roasted “many a hot dogs” over the years. It’s fun, and they’re tasty (it’s the only way I’ll eat a hot dog). We’ve also made mini pizzas and apple pies over camp fires in our iron sandwich-maker sticks many times.

Roasting donut holes over a wood fire in a fire pit.

But this past weekend we roasted something over the fire that we have never roasted…we roasted donut holes!

The steeple was renovated on the 1894 white clapboard church.

It was a fundraiser for the Valley Grove Church steeple fund, near Nerstrand. I was intrigued when I learned about this event, so we decided to give it a try.

When we arrived, there were a couple of fire pits set up for the roasters, metal sticks in a bucket for roasting, and a variety of donut holes to choose from with extra toppings of chocolate dipping sauce and cinnamon and sugar for coating the donut hole after it was roasted.

We picked out our donut holes, stuck them on our stick and began roasting. The holes did taste good roasted…nice and warm and toasty. It was a fun and unique idea.

I don’t know the name for these waterfalls…we call it Hidden Falls Two.

Afterward, we hiked one of the prairie trails at Valley Grove, down to Hidden Falls Two. I have not seen much water run over these falls in the past, but on this day there was a full, frozen ice fall.

The tall golden prairie grass and bright blue sky.

We enjoyed the blue skies and prairie grass, and I always love seeing the two historic churches and cemetery on the hill.

Valley Grove Churches: The stone church was built in 1862 and the white clapboard church was built in 1894.

Mankato, MN

On another unusually mild February day in Minnesota, we took off for a day trip to Mankato. Upon arrival we went to two sizable thrift stores, and “scored” at both, buying some fun and unusual items. After perusing the goods, it was lunch time so we found a great local pub for lunch.

One very long beautiful mural painted on a retention wall along the Minnesota River in Mankato.

Afterward we continued on to a small piece of land next to the Mankato Train Depot (the depot is no longer in service), along the Minnesota River. First, we walked past a beautiful mural, on our way to a Minnesota River lookout. The mural was beautiful, the river was very low.

Very realistic paintings on this mural panel.

Next, we walked to Reconciliation Park, a small area created for a memorial for the 38 Native American’s who were hung in Mankato in 1862, by white folks. It’s a sad part of our history. It was moving to see these two memorials. The theme of the park is “Forgive Everyone Everything.”

This monument listed the names of the 38 Native Americans hung in Mankato at the same time, in 1862.

A limestone Bison, part of the memorial to Native Americans in Reconciliation Park, Mankato.

Next, we drove to near-by Minneopa State Park.

First, we drove through the bison paddock. and were fortunate to see many bison out grazing.

There was a large, lone bison crossing the road, walking very slowly. We decided he must be the grandfather of the herd.

This guy leisurely walking in the road, stopping traffic.

It was really special to see all the bison up close with only the car as our barrier.

Our next stop was the waterfalls in the state park. We got out of the car and walked to the falls in sunny, 54 degrees temperature. Although there was no snow on the ground, the falls were still frozen over, with some water trickling down as the ice melted in the sun.

The frozen, lower falls in Minneopa State Park.

On our drive back to Northfield, we stopped in St. Peter for a coffee break and visited one more thrift store along St. Peter’s main street, which is the busy Hwy 169.

I like it when barista’s add a little flair to the coffee.

By this time of day, we were tired and the thrift shop was no longer appealing, but the coffee tasted yummy!

I think this guy was wondering if we had a nice day in Mankato…we did.

A Week Later…

Last week we had below zero temperatures.

This week…balmy temperatures…comparatively.

The Faribo Flyers Bike & Ski club have an annual winter picnic. This past Sunday was the day for this winter, and it was 50* outside. Instead of being bundled in all our winter gear and eating with our mittens on as per usual, we were wearing our spring jackets enjoying the unusually warm weather. What a difference a day makes.

This photo was taken in 2021. There was not that much snow on the ground at River Bend Nature Center this year.

After hiking almost 4 miles, we came back to a large bonfire in the oval fire ring…all ready for us to roast hot dogs and enjoy all the goodies everyone brought for the potluck portion. It was tasty – we think food always tastes better in the outdoors. Nobody was standing around the fire to keep warm. We were engaged in conversations and relaxing in the Sunday afternoon sunshine.

It’s easy to play outside in this kind of weather…

The goats were fun to watch at River Bend. 2/2/25

On another note…we have hiked at River Bend a few times this winter. Before the cold snap, there were goats penned in a large area to eat the invasive Buckthorn. They were fun to watch. Apparently there were 120 of them! They removed the goats due to the extreme cold temperatures last week, but plan to bring them back again this spring to let them munch in another location.

Wintertime

It’s cold here in Minnesota. Below zero temperatures were the norm this past week…with the wind making it feel even colder.

The sun makes a difference. When it’s shining out on the field behind us it doesn’t look to be so cold…until you open the door.

When we were driving in the cities yesterday, I saw this scene and thought, only in Minnesota. The outdoor service person working for Century Link set up a portable tent to protect themselves from the cold and winds.

The clouds opened just a bit this morning, for about a minute, to reveal another stunning sunrise. Then just as quickly, it clouded up again. We are in for two more days of very cold weather.

I grew up in Minnesota, and I’ve always liked winter, but as I get older it’s harder to get motivated to go out and play in it. So, I’ll walk on my walking pad, and enjoy the outdoor scene from the warmth of our new home. And, anticipate the warm up that is coming this weekend.