Minnesota – Page 15 – Valerie's Voice

Flowers

My interest in flowers did not start when I was a child. Although my mom had indoor plants and some flowers growing outside, it didn’t seem to influence me much. I do remember beautiful window boxes filled with flowers outside the large picture window in front of our house– pretty to look at from the inside as well as the outside. I must have been influenced by that. I have had flower boxes on my decks for 40+ years.

I plant petunias in my flower boxes…this deck gets full afternoon sun and petunias can take the heat! And they are colorful.

I remember my mother’s purple clematis (probably a wonderful, old-fashion Jackmanli) on the side of our house on McKinley Street, along with some other flowers.

This Jackmanli clematis grows along the side of our house in Northfield.

There may have been a small garden plot in the back corner of my parent’s yard, but I don’t remember the kinds of flowers growing there. I did not have to weed flowers, but I did have to weed around the Poplar trees that lined our back yard.

A different clematis climbing the arbor…the lilac bush is behind the hanging blue, glass ball…

My mother did plant a lilac bush and I took a small section from her bush and planted it at our house in Burnsville. When we moved from Burnsville, I took a section from that bush and planted it in our yard here in Northfield. It’s still growing and blooming after 27+ years.

Looking off our deck into our back yard. The lilac bush is near the wagon wheel by the shed.

Such lush green…so amazing to look at right now while outside snow is falling and the ground is white!

I do remember, as a child, picking some tulips from a neighbor’s garden to bring home to my mom…then I had to turn right around and go apologize to Dorothy for not asking permission to cut some of her flowers. Whoops.

Recently a prompt from a writing session led me to thinking about when my interest in flowers began. I remembered giving a friend an eight-pack of starter begonias as a housewarming gift. I have no idea why I picked begonias or how they would grow …but when I went back to her house later that summer there was pot on her front porch, blooming with beautiful begonias…the ones I had given her earlier that spring. I had no idea they would grow and fill out so much! This was back in high school. I’ve learned a lot since then.

Cone flowers in front of Quick Fire hydrangea.

My Quick Fire Hydrangea, later in the season. When this hydrangea begins blooming it has white flowers (see photo with purple cone flowers above) and changes to mauve by the end of the season.

My interest and knowledge grew when we moved into a new house with a vacant yard, almost twenty-eight years ago. As I mentioned, I have always had flower boxes to fill with colorful annuals, so we included that into our deck plans, but I created a few flower gardens, too, and have been playing in the dirt ever since.

And now I love flowers…tending to them, admiring them in gardens all over the world, and taking pictures of them…

(These photos were taken in my yard at different times and years.)

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

The Archer House

Over a year ago, in November 2020, the Archer House River Inn in Northfield was destroyed by fire.

This month, it has finally been taken down. It took over a year to set things in motion to dissemble this historic inn that was on the National Register of Historic Places. It took a few weeks for the demolition to be complete.

It was a sad sight to see on a daily basis in Northfield’s downtown. The area is now cleared out, but a “hole” remains on Division Street (the main street), and in resident’s hearts. What will replace the beloved hotel remains to be determined.

My Christmas Cactus

My Christmas Cactus is blooming. It doesn’t bloom often, and it doesn’t bloom at Christmas, so I wonder about the name!

This beautiful plant was a slip given to me from a friend’s cactus, and there is a story.

My friend’s grandmother brought the “mother plant” along with her, when she immigrated from Alesund, Sweden in the late 1800’s.

She traveled to the United States, by herself, from Sweden to meet up with her future husband who had settled in Friberg Township, in northern Minnesota. Several other Swedish immigrants settled in the area and they built a Baptist Church, which is still standing. My friend’s grandparents had 10 children and gathered together for a family photo on their 50^th wedding anniversary, in 1936.

My friend, Kay, holding a photo taken in 1936, of her extended family. Her grandparents, their ten children and their children’s children. Kay’s mother is holding Kay in her lap…Kay was the baby at the time of the photo.

Just like this Swedish immigrant family, my Christmas cactus has many family members because many slips have been cut and replanted from the mother cactus…

I’m happy to have this succulent. Even when it’s not in bloom it has interesting foliage and is a pleasant green all year long.

Driving Back Home

We left North Carolina early Thursday morning to start our journey back to Minnesota. We planned a new route home, because we wanted to see a part of Mississippi.

We wanted to stop there because there are only two states I do not recall having been in…Idaho and Mississippi. Since Mississippi seemed a reasonable distance to include on our trip home (Idaho, of course, was not!) we decided it would be fun to stay overnight in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Therefore, on Thursday we drove from North Carolina, through South Carolina, through Georgia and through Alabama to Mississippi. We stopped at the birthplace of Elvis, a must-see attraction in Tupelo, before checking into our hotel…then we went out for dinner. It was a pleasant day.

The house where Elvis Presley was born, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The clouds put on a pretty display for a pleasant evening in Mississippi.

The next morning we drove on the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444 mile national scenic byway, that goes through three states.

The road roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, European settlers, slave traders, soldiers and a few presidents. It has a lot of history to tell, dating back to the late 1700’s.

A scenic two-way parkway, with little traffic.

We drove on the parkway for thirty miles before getting off to head towards Kentucky. There was another attraction we wanted to see on our way back to Minnesota…the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

A wonderful museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

The quilt museum was interesting. I have more thoughts and photos to share in an upcoming post.

Our third morning was a bit different than the others. We spent the night near St. Louis, Missouri, and woke up to a snowstorm (unusual amounts expected for this part of the country). We got an early start, but it was slow going the first few hours, until we drove out of the storm and the roads cleared up.

Snow-packed road conditions as we traveled north through Missouri. Fortunately there was not a lot of traffic.

As we checked out that morning in St. Louis, the clerk at our hotel gave us a blessing for our safety while traveling through the snow…she was a kind-hearted woman and a delight. It felt right, and special, to start our journey that day with her blessing.

Heavy snow-cover along the side of the road.

We were thankful we made it back to Minnesota safely.

Leaving

It was hard leaving North Carolina Thursday morning. We arrived in North Carolina before Christmas, to visit our son, his wife and their two children.

Together, we celebrated Christmas. We were there for the new year, and the grandkid’s winter break from school, and also for a time after they returned to school. We had a lot of fun together.

Hedgehog craft project from pinecones we found at the nature preserve.

It was so good to be there, to catch up with our son and daughter-in-love, and to see our grandchildren so happy in their new home, and thriving.

It was difficult to say good-bye as they headed out for school and we headed out for our three-day journey back to Minnesota. We already miss them…their excitement and smiling faces.

Time Away

We’ve had some fun adventures on this lengthy (for us) time away from our home in Minnesota. We took a road trip to North Carolina and are staying with our son and his family. The time is going by fast; maybe because it started over the Christmas holidays, and is extending into the New Year. Or maybe because we’re visiting family and grandchildren – that is always special. I always anticipate having all kinds of time to write, but that never proves true for me. I get distracted with the days activities. We are still here, but I’m taking time to write now.

On the front porch at our son’s home in North Carolina.

Initially we had some warm days in North Carolina. We were able to sit on the front porch and drink our morning coffee, and go to a park on a sunny, 75* day and play with the new Stomp Rocket.

We also had a couple warm and sunny days in Georgia, and I wore my sandals while walking along Savannah’s Riverwalk, but now a cold front has come through and it’s a bit chilly…but not as cold as it is back home in Minnesota.

We did take a mini road trip to Savannah, Georgia (a road trip within a road trip!) and enjoyed exploring that lovely, southern city. We had four wonderful days there. One, of many, interesting tidbits from our time in Savannah is from our first afternoon when we drove through the beautiful, historic Bonaventure Cemetery, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and located on a scenic bluff on the Wilmington River.

The cemetery has acres of old, interesting tombstones and monuments with mature southern live oak trees with Spanish moss dripping from them, and rough gravel roads that create a very mystical place.

This was not your typical manicured cemetery, but it was eerily peaceful in the late afternoon as we drove around.

Rod iron gates around clusters of marble and granite tombstones, large and tall monuments, cement angel and crosses, and all manner of cemetery props are within its gates with mature trees and other greenery.

On our way out we stopped at the info center just outside the cemetery where someone commented on our Minnesota license plates. He stated we’re a long way from home and asked what part of Minnesota we were from? “Northfield,” I said. And he said, “we are too!” Two couples from our hometown had just toured the cemetery. It was a fun moment.

Winter Lights

Christmas lights light up the dark nights during winter solstice…the longest nights of the year… here in Minnesota anyways. Lights help us get beyond the long nights and bring joy to our world.

We went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to walk through their festive exhibition of Winter Lights recently.

It was after the big snowstorm, so the freshly fallen snow made it all the more picturesque.

Once again, the temperatures were mild for December in Minnesota, and it was a pleasant walk through the different light displays.

There was an interesting ice sculpture exhibit too, by Jennifer Hedberg.

The café was open for a snack, and the gift shop had a lot of great Christmas and other fun merchandise to look at. There were many folks out and about at this seasonal event.

I love color…and we saw color…

On our way to the arb… a beautiful sunset.

At the arb… the Winter Lights exhibit.

On our way home… individual homes with Christmas decorations lit up.

Color…it adds so much to our lives.

Another Christmas Poem

This is my writing partner’s Christmas poem for your enjoyment.

Blessings
by Sheri Ginter Eichhorn

As we gentle into winter and the holidays draw near,
my heart turns toward my loved ones, the good people I hold dear.

It is a time I cherish. During Christmas time I find
that people make more effort to remember to be kind.

We all seem to be nicer, and to be more thoughtful, too.
It brings out all the best in us and shows in what we do.

It’s a time when we remember the blessings that we share,
and it’s a time to show others just how much we care.

It seems to me that, in the end, the blessings we receive
that matter most of all to us are our loved ones, I believe.

And, though life’s not always easy, when a tough challenge appears,
It’s the hands of all those loved ones that I hold to quench my fears.

I am blessed far beyond measure with the riches of the heart.
and it matters so for me to say that you, dear, are a part

Of my lovely cache of treasures—of the people I hold dear—
and that is why I wish you love today and through the year.

My wish for you is every good that life can offer you.
A life of love and happiness and lots of laughter, too.

May all the blessings Christmas brings be yours at the holidays.
But also, may the year bless you in endless, lovely ways.

Northfield’s Winter Walk

The Minnesota Explorer is a magazine that highlights different events throughout our state. Recently, it featured an article on Christmas shopping in historic small towns. I love exploring different small towns and this sparked my interest, so I did a little research. I didn’t really need to shop for anything…much of my Christmas shopping was done…but the idea of walking in and out of stores, gazing at window displays, seeing Christmas lights light up the streets, was appealing to me.

A sign outside the Northfield Library. Inside the library were some model train displays. Not as many as in the past, but still fun to see.

After checking out a couple different towns I realized all I wanted was right here in my hometown of Northfield….and…the organized Winter Walk made it even more festive.

Bridge Square at dusk, the beginning of the Winter Walk.

I love to see the white-lit Christmas tree on top of the Malt-O-Meal hot cereal building at Christmastime. When we drive into town it always welcomes me home.

The Winter Walk happened last week on a beautiful evening. The weather was mild, stores were open late, luminaires lined the closed-off main street, Christmas lights lit up Bridge square and there are some fun window displays.

The streets were filled with many folks out enjoying the activities. It was a wonderful sight.

Colorful tree on Bridge Square…Santa’s small chalet in the background.

Fun necklaces were given away, until they ran out.

Walking along the street, tasting sweet treats, drinking cider and hot chocolate, smelling the wood burning fires in fire pits – offering warmth along the way,