Our trip to the north shore proved to be a lot more colorful than we were expecting.
We had already started seeing pockets of beautiful fall colors on our drive up, so I started to get a little excited…and then the colors began to pop out everywhere…with wonderful contrasts to the evergreen trees.
Caribou Lake (1)Caribou Lake (2)Caribou Lake (3)
The weather also turned out better than I had hoped for, with warmer temperatures and some nice sunshine and blue skies (and one cloudy day). We had packed clothes for colder weather.
Carlton Peak (1)Carlton Peak (2)
Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (1)
Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (2)
We followed our annual routine of balancing cabin time and lake time with hiking and local drives.
Sun rise over Lake Superior.
We watched the sun rise over the big lake and had a camp fire on the rocks. We stopped in Hinckley and Duluth on the way up, and stopped in Grand Marais one day. It’s all so familiar, yet all so refreshing, relaxing, and restorative… and so much fun!
The cabin lit up at night.Our campfire set up, on the rocks.Lake Superior was mostly calm.
A leaf-covered hiking trail through the forest.
Lake Agnes
The colors were breathtaking…everywhere we went. It was spectacular to see and hard to photograph with my iPhone.
Birch trees.
But it was enough to witness the colors and breath in the fresh air, smell the different whiffs of pine scents, lake water, decomposing leaves, feel the crisp air and to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).
An artistic root system…
I stand in awe of the Creator of these incredible autumn colors.
Sawbill Trail.
Gooseberry Falls State Park
Gooseberry Falls Upper Falls
And the colors were not only up north…we saw them driving home, and right here in Northfield, and outside our front and back doors!
Our neighbor’s burning bush, where our mailbox is tucked in.
As we plan our annual trek to the north shore, I always reread my own version of Psalm 23.
The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall thank him.
He allows me to be on the shores of Lake Superior
And hear the calming waves.
He restores my soul.
He guides me on trails of the Superior National Forest,
And leads me along the rocky shores of the big lake.
Even when the waves are rough – even when the lake is calm,
I am content to be near the water.
And the Lord is with me.
His creation and His majesty, they comfort me.
He anoints me with many blessings
My cup overflows and I am grateful
Surely, I will praise him and follow him
All the days of my life,
I am grateful to dwell in His presence
On the shores of Lake Superior.
Below are just a few favorite photos (from hundreds!) I’ve taken over the years, of Lake Superior.
It was a nice afternoon for the Valley Grove Country Social. It was cloudy, but no rain. A blue-sky backdrop would have been nice, but looking out from on top of the hill to the surrounding prairie and farmland is a beautiful sight no matter what the weather.
I never tire of this scene approaching these two historic churches.
The fall Country Social, which I incorrectly called Valley Grove’s fall festival, began its annual affair with a two-day event in 1995. Back then it was a local artist’s exhibit in the two churches. Various fall events took place during the ensuing years, all with different names.
This photo was taken in fall of 2020, when the sky was blue. We visit Valley Grove many times throughout the year. It’s one of my favorite places.
It wasn’t until 2002 that it officially became titled the annual “Valley Grove Country Social”, held the third weekend in September. It Is a fundraiser, and chance for folks to enjoy the area, and to learn about this very special place…two churches, a cemetery, and 52 acres of restored prairie.
A beautiful view, no matter what the weather.
This year there were a few artist’s works displayed, but it mostly was a time for joining in on two walks; a cemetery story tour led by Jeff Sauve a local historian and author, and/or a prairie walk.
Plus, both churches were open to explore. They are both on the National Register of Historic Places. Refreshments were for sale in the 1862 stone church with photo books on display, and a few artist gifts available to buy. There was four exquisite tapestries (see below) hanging on the walls.
The bell tower on the 1894 wooden church. The bell weighing 1,433 pounds was moved from the stone church to the wood church when it was built in 1894. Using a pulley system with rope and horse power, the bell never touched the ground as it was transferred from one church to the other.
There was outdoor background music by two different Nordic groups, recitals in the 1894 church, displays and hands-on activities for everyone, and the members of the Valley Grove Preservation Society were in attendance to answer any questions you had about these two historic and beautiful churches. The group works hard to maintain these remarkable churches built by Norwegian immigrants in the 1800’s.
There were several highlights for me this Sunday afternoon…
One was leisurely meandering the grounds, and running into people we recognized, stopping to chat…soaking in the energy of folks excited to be here in this wonderful space.
One visitor brought his pet goats.
Another highlight was the cemetery story tour with Jeff Sauve. It was interesting. He’s a great storyteller!
A view looking towards the prairie from the churches…in the corner is where the beloved, old oak tree used to stand.
Riding in a horse-drawn wagon through the surrounding prairie, which the preservation society also maintains, was fun.
Two beautiful horses…Percherons.
The horse-drawn wagon ride was popular with folks.
And, I really enjoyed seeing four beautiful tapestries on display in the old stone church.
This tapestry depicts the 1894 white wooden church, birds in the area, the Minnesota state flower and also the dwarf trout lily (found in Rice County, one of three places in the world).
Funded by a grant, a Minneapolis textile artist, Robbie LeFleur, was hired to depict the Valley Grove churches and life in Valley Grove, back in the day.
The tapestry for the 1862 Stone Church. It was common at that time for women in the area to raise chickens and sell their eggs.
LeFleur designed and created the tapestries (20”X26”) using a traditional Norwegian type of handiwork.
Nils. A. Quamman was the longest serving pastor for the congregation. According to church lore, he sometimes skied from Farmington to Valley Grove, staying overnight with parishioners.
The tapestries were made to hang beneath four light sconces in the stone church. Each tapestry had a write-up explaining the various scenes on each one.
This tapestry depicts the beautiful old oak tree that grew tall and wide in the corner of the cemetery, and was felled by a storm in 2018. It is surrounded by animals of the area.
What a lovely display to peruse on a delightful afternoon at Valley Grove, one of my favorite places!
So sweet and so small…the red feather next to sunflower seeds for perspective. I’m assuming it’s from a cardinal. I spotted the feather in one of our window bird feeders.
Tiny red feather
Stood out among the birdseed...
A love gift for me?
A happy sight.
I’m going with the idea it was left behind as a love token for me. 😉
These past few days have been glorious. Bright sunshine and low humidity and comfortable temperatures. Great days for bike rides.
The new mile markers on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
We were bicycling on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail on one of these fine weather days. The trail is in good condition. We rode out several miles, stopped for lunch and then turned around and rode back. It’s a delightful, easy ride.
Once again, this time of year, we were surrounded by yellow daisy-type flowers and goldenrod and yellow cone flowers. It is pretty, especially with blue skies.
This field of yellow flowers were full of bees. I couldn’t capture them on camera, but there were hundreds of them.
We stopped for a water break and noticed one field of flowers bursting with busy bees. It seemed as though there was a little bee on every flower, collecting nectar and pollen. It was a good sight to see.
I appreciate these colorful, autumn bike rides, especially during the week when there are few riders on the trail. We saw more bees than people!
We were camping recently in a Minnesota State Park camping cabin. The cabins are so cute, as only camping cabins can be. HA They have two large bunk beds, a table with benches, electricity, a ceiling fan, and a screened-in front porch. Compared to a tent, it’s luxurious.
A camping cabin in a Minnesota State Park.
Gary and I have always enjoyed camping, and have camped many times over the years, using a tent. Now we like the camping cabins.
When Gary and I first got married one of our first major purchases were sleeping bags. We paid a lot of money for good ones forty-four years ago, and they are still in great condition, and have served us well.
Our very old Coleman camp stove.
Another camp supply that held up well was the green, Coleman camp stove. Gary owned it even before we were married. We used it a lot over the years, even converting it to the new canister-style propane mini-tanks a few years back. But, finally, it started to rust out and we decided it was time to buy a new one.
Our new Coleman camp stove.
So, on our recent camping trip we had the inaugural test run of our new Triton Coleman camp stove. It is so sleek and clean, and it passed with high marks!
Our new Triton Coleman stove with our very old, nesting camp pots and pans. Hmmm…
We will not be using this stove for forty-four more years, but we think it will serve us well when we need it in the coming years…
The Minnesota State Fair is in full swing now, but we will not be going to it. However, we were encouraged to go to the Steele County Fair a couple years ago, and went to that fair again this year. We like the size, and the entrance fee. There is no charge to get in. When our boys were young, we did take them to the Dakota County Fair for several years, and the Minnesota State Fair once or twice, but that’s about it for fair attendance.
This year, we were especially thankful for the free entrance fee, as it started to storm after only an hour and a half after we arrived at the fair. Fortunately, we had found a close parking spot…someone must have just pulled out, since the cars were lined up and down the curb for several blocks. When the rain started falling, we started running. Even though the car was close we got very wet. But, actually…it was kind of fun…running in the rain that is.
A dromedary camel.
We managed to get dinner at the fair before the rain started. Walleye fingers from The Depot’s fair stand, a sandwich from the 4-H stand, and we were drinking our Dairy Association chocolate malt when the wind started blowing and the rain started falling.
A red kangaroo.
My favorite state fair food, mini-donuts, which I was saving for dessert, had to be forfeited.
A coifured llama.
I like going to the exotic animal display at the Steele County Fair, and enjoy petting a few of the cute animals. It was the first place we stopped after getting our first “tastes” of the fair.
Mama goat with two young ones.
There are hand washing stations in several places which I really appreciated, especially after petting animals.
A few hand washing stations were scattered throughout the fair.
We also meandered through the horse and cattle barns. And, I learned something new…
Having grown up in the city, I never learned much about farm animals. While paying attention to one particular Holstein cow, I noticed the ears…they had fuzzy fur sticking out of them. It looked so soft, unlike their smooth coat of hair. And that surprised me. I asked Gary, who grew up on a dairy farm, about the ears and he said yes, cow’s ears have fur, and some farmers shave the ears, especially to “show them” in a fair. Hmmm…who knew…
Furry ears on this holstein.
After that initial discovery I looked at cow’s ears while walking through the cattle barn and sure enough…many cows had furry ears…
And I also saw a cow in a stanchion, being all trimmed up…including the ears…
So laugh if you will…I did…when I learned that fun fact about cows.
Yesterday I took a morning bicycle ride on the Dundas Trail. Even though it was cloudy, it seemed like the sun was shining…
because bright sun flowers were blooming profusely on both sides of the trail.
Golden rod was already blooming yellow in a few places too, adding to the vibrant yellow color all around.
Golden Rod, a sure sign that fall is coming.
To top it off, three yellow (gold) finches flew across the trail in front of me. I didn’t capture any photos, but they are always a delight to see, and added much cheer to the already lovely, yellow scenery.
I don’t know the name of this variety of sunflower.
Also, I’m grateful for the garden club who tends to the flowers in these bicycle sculpture baskets that are on the Dundas Trail.
Libraries are a gift to any community. I have come to love and appreciate Northfield’s public library.
The Northfield Carnegie Library was built in 1910, with a major addition built in 1985, and renovated in 2015-16.
I think of Andrew Carnegie, whose mission was to provide libraries to many communities throughout the world. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929.* Northfield’s library is a Carnegie library.
“His [Andrew Carnegie] philanthropic interests centered around the goals of education and world peace. One of his lifelong interests was the establishment of free public libraries to make available to everyone a means of self-education.” **
Northfield Public Library
Over the years I have used a variety of our library’s helpful services. I realize my list is a fraction of what libraries have to offer.
My list includes:
When our grandkids lived with us a for a few months, we went to weekly children’s story time. And after story time, I took them to the children’s area and they picked out books to check out and bring home.
I’ve attended author’s talks at the library.
I’ve had help with my computer from a librarian.
I’ve had help finding books and audio books for myself from a librarian.
I’ve had help finding children’s books from a librarian. I have gotten ideas for children’s game.
I’ve found nooks to sit in and write for a spell. It's a peaceful place.
I can order a book from home and the librarian will find it and put it on the hold shelf for me...I just stop in and pick it up! Quick and easy.
The library offers daily newspapers to read.
Tromsø City Library and Archive was opened in 2005. It was designed by the Norwegian architect Kjell Beite
When we were in Tromsø Norway, we visited the public library. Tourist information for Tromsø includes a visit to the library. It has a beautiful, architectural design. We did purposely walk to see it, and then one day, when we needed a place to rest while walking around town, we found shelter in this beautiful public library. It felt so right, so peaceful. It was comforting to know we had a place to sit for a spell, and to get a drink of water, use the restroom.
Buckham Memorial Library, est.1930. Faribault, Minnesota
There was a seed exchange program at the library in Tromsø. I’ve seen the same seed exchange program in Faribault’s Buckham Memorial Library. What a wonderful idea.
On a side note: In Svalbard Norway, far above the arctic circle, there is a Global Seed Vault, that stores seeds to provide “security of the world’s food supply against the loss of seeds in genebanks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, war, sabotage, disease and natural disasters.” ***
Libraries: the concept is appealing… and I believe, it’s called pooling and sharing our resources!
Here are a few photos I’ve taken over the past couple of weeks…No particular order, no particular theme…just nature showing off.
A still, quiet morning, with mist lingering over Daggett Lake.
An early morning sky.
A rainbow… a promise. The bright colors were not captured with my iPhone camera, but it has been awhile since I’ve seen a rainbow, so I kept the photo anyway.
