Here are some photos from our time up on the north shore of Lake Superior. Some stories (and more photos) will follow later, but for now I want to share some pictures of the various sunrises and some of the spectacular colors we enjoyed while up north. The beauty is indescribable.
I’m delighted to be up on the north shore of Lake Superior. We are in our happy place. I’ve been anxiously waiting for our time to check in, relax and be renewed in this very special place.
The drive up was gorgeous…many golds and yellows leaves along the highway, interspersed with evergreens. The beautiful sunny sky and warm October day added to our pleasure.
We made our usual stops along the way: Canal Park in Duluth…
…Gooseberry Falls State Park for a picnic lunch, Black Beach and then Tettegouche State Park for a quick hike before arriving at our beloved rental cabin on the shores of Lake Superior.
Once we unpacked and settled in we were looking through the books at the cabin and one stood out in particular… we laughed that this book was in our cabin. The title? Outwitting Squirrels. This adds to our reading pleasure during this 2020 squirrel capturing season.
We have always enjoyed buckling ourselves into our car seats and taking scenic drives, heading out of town on country roads. It’s fun to see the varied landscapes in our great state.
When the pandemic took hold we started to take more frequent rides to get us out of the house.
Last week we drove a short 20 miles loop around Northfield and were mesmerized by the sky. These dramatic photos were snapped when we quickly pulled over to the side of the road a couple of times.
This particular evening we were on a road where you could see a whole lot of sky. The sky is always fun to watch. It has so many displays: blue with soft, white, fluffy clouds or clear blue with no clouds, and sometimes stormy skies with dark, angry clouds.
On our way back to town we saw this gorgeous sunset.
I’m compelled to include the photo below, taken in July 2018 (pre-pandemic) on a drive west of Northfield. It was eerie. Soon after I took the photo it began to rain. Fortunately it was not a tornado.
We entered Forestville State Park into the GPS system in our car and ended up on a dirt road in the middle of two tall cornfields with the system declaring we had “reached our destination!”
We pulled over and as we got out our map, a red pick up truck pulled up along side us and stopped. We rolled down our window and he asked, “Are you looking for the state park? “ We said, “Yes.” He said, “Follow me.” So we did. He stopped a couple miles up the road at his farm and gave us directions from there to the park. He laughed and told us he meets the nicest folks at the end of his driveway… every weekend. They find themselves where we did, in the cornfields looking for the state park.
Along our route that morning we saw colors of autumn. Yellow, red and orange leaves on the trees and stunning golden corn stalks in the fields so we didn’t mind this beautiful detour… and we did find the state park.
Once there we met up with friends. They greeted us with a campfire. We planned to do some hiking.
The park has set up a wonderful Story Walk along one park trail. I had seen this Story Walk idea in Faribault. I had checked out a few storyboards downtown. The title of the featured book in Faribault was Eric Carle’s, From Head to Toe.
(That morning in Faribault has a side story… I left our house and drove 25 minutes south to Faribault to run some errands. When I got out at my first stop I realized I had my slippers on! It was too far to go back home and change shoes so I ran my errands in my slippers!)
Back to Forestville State Park. The book featured on the Story Walk was One North Star by Phyllis Root.
Each page of the book was placed behind plastic on a sign staked to the ground, spaced several hundred feet apart on the trail.
As you walk along the trail you stop to read another page of the story. This book is a beautifully illustrated, counting book featuring Minnesota animals and flowers. We stopped at each page to read and count. It was fun!
I enjoyed the book so much I bought a copy at the park office.
I can only imagine how much fun this Story Walk would be for children. It is engaging. We were wishing our grandchildren were along, hiking this Story Walk trail with us.
The 2020 autumnal equinox was Tuesday, marking the beginning of our fall season in Minnesota. We’ve had some enjoyable weather this week.
I’m looking forward to many more pleasant weather days and hope they linger well into this fall season, to energize us for winter.
Fall is my favorite time of year!
There is a new mural in town. LOVE.
It is on 4th street – painted on the outside wall of Domino’s Pizza, to the north.
The artist’s signature is Brett Whitacre. He’s from Illinois but I don’t know much about him, or the mural other, than “I like it.”
It’s a beautiful and colorful addition to our charming downtown Northfield.
I’m grateful the Northfield city administrators and area residents appreciate these kinds of artistic endeavors.
Here is a link to my friend’s blog, Minnesota Prairie Roots. It has more information on the artist and the mural.
This mural is a creative reminder for us to love one another.
After the Japanese beetles ate many leaves off our birch we could now see a huge squirrel’s nest in the treetop. It looked like a two story unit so we called it the “squirrel condo” – however we didn’t see any evidence of squirrels hanging around.
Gary has been trapping squirrels all summer. We’ve brought fourteen squirrels to what we call the “squirrel resort” – an area twelve miles from our house. The “resort” has a lot of mature trees, a meadow and a pond…everything squirrels need to rebuild their lives away from our birdfeeders!
Even though we didn’t see any signs of activity in the nest we decided to take it down. We recruited friends to help. Gary climbed up his highest extension ladder and used a twenty-foot tree trimmer extension pole to reach the nest.
He knocked the nest and much to our surprise, two little ears and a head popped up, then three squirrels scurried away from the nest. I didn’t see where the mama went (maybe she jumped to the evergreen nearby) but I was startled as one juvenile squirrel jumped to the ground and ran close to my feet! The third squirrel, a sibling, clung to a tree branch. He looked scared and confused.
Gary began swatting to loosen the nest… the lower portion first. It disengaged but got caught in the tree branches. We managed to whack it out. Next Gary went after the larger section of the nest and knocked it out of the tree right away. It fell to the ground. No traces of the condo remained. The timid squirrel kept clinging to a branch watching our every move.
The other two squirrels must have been nearby because soon we saw the younger squirrel go back up the tree to help his brother (or sister) while the mama squirrel waited at the bottom of the tree trunk.
Eventually the two siblings came down but only the brave one ventured away from the tree. The other squirrel climbed back up.
We continued watching as the mother squirrel led her brave, young one across the street. In the middle of the road he stopped so she picked him up by the neck and carried him the rest of the way, like a mama cat and her kitten. Once safely on the other side they both scampered through the neighbor’s front yard into the back.
We kept an eye out for mama to return for her other young’un but we never did see her. Later that day we sought out the third squirrel but couldn’t see it in the tree. She must have come back while we were not watching and showed her offspring the way to their new surroundings.
It was entertaining to watch this all unfold…and no squirrels were injured during this process.
Trapping squirrels, knocking out squirrel nests…I wonder what other squirrel adventures we’ll have?
My aloe vera plant started to show signs of distress last winter. In June I set it outside as it’s last hope.
I guess it loved the hot summer sun. It thrived, and I’m glad. Now I hope it will survive another winter indoors…
Is it a leaf or is it a butterfly?
It’s a butterfly!
It was hard to tell at first glance but then we saw what seemed to be thousands of butterflies clinging to the trees.
Last week friends told me about a place where they saw these Monarch butterflies roosting on trees. After getting details as to where to find this wonder, Gary and I planned to look for them in the early morning light the next day (before it reached 60 degrees we were told).
We woke early, brewed coffee, poured it into our thermos’ and followed GPS directions to a country church, on a country gravel road that led to the butterflies. We didn’t know if the butterflies would still be – literally – “hanging around” but they were, and we were grateful.
It was a sight to behold. Myriads of butterflies clinging to the trees, wings folded in, sleeping or resting. It was a joy to see some flutter their wings, and some take off in clusters soaring in the air over the field of wildflowers, just as the sun was rising…shining on them.
These beautiful monarch butterflies will begin migrating south to Mexico soon. They make this journey every year…not having been there before yet knowing where to go.
Indeed, a miracle.
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 9:10
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty - and I will meditate on your wonderful works. Psalm 145;6
Going on bike rides has been a great way for Gary and I to get away during this pandemic. Gary bikes frequently with his bike club, but we have gone on rides together too. It’s an activity we both enjoy. And Minnesota has an abundance of bike trails to explore.
One day we went up to Stillwater to ride the “Loop Trail.” This trail goes along the river walk through town, then up the hill to the new, expansive bridge crossing the St. Croix River over into Wisconsin and back to Stillwater, creating a five-mile loop.
The paved bike trail on the Wisconsin side guides one to a steep, downhill road leading to the historic Stillwater lift bridge, now repurposed as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge. Until recently the old lift bridge was the only bridge, in Stillwater, for vehicles to cross the St. Croix River.
The old bridge became too congested and a new bridge was built. In comparison, looking at the old lift bridge and the new superhighway bridge, is comical because of the major size difference. It does make for a fun five-mile bicycle ride.
After the loop trail we rode past the old, Zephyr train depot, now the Zephyr Theater, on a trail along Brown’s Creek. Another lovely ride, in the shade, slightly uphill for six miles and connects to the Gateway Trail. After we turned around at the intersection of Brown’s Creek and Gateway it felt like we glided down into Stillwater. It was fun.
We were in Stillwater on a weekday and it was bustling. The weather was sunny and hot, a great day to be by water…we ate our lunch on the deck of a restaurant near the river, and after lunch we laid out blankets on the shore and watched the people and boats go by.
