First snow is always pretty…whether we are ready for it or not!
And I can enjoy the blossoms on my hibiscus plant indoors.
First Snow
Tag: Minnesota
Passover and FiftyNorth
Last spring, we took a three week road trip to the east coast. One stop was in Washington DC to visit neighbors that used to live next door to us in Northfield. We happen to be in DC during Passover, and they happen to be Jewish, so they invited us to stay in their home and to partake in the Passover meal with them, along with five other people from their synagogue. We were delighted, and excited, to sit down and experience this Seder meal with our Jewish friends.
We were offered Kippahs (caps) to wear, and spent the next five hours at the dinner table with our friends and five wonderful folks we had never met. We ate large amounts of food – most with symbolism attached. We read through prayers and texts, and sang songs that go along with the story of Passover in the Torah (and Old Testament). We enjoyed sweet fellowship while participating in a completely different religious experience than our own. It was wonderful.
So, when the newsletter for FiftyNorth (previously Northfield Retirement Center) came out with its November offerings, one class in particular caught my attention: Jewish Holidays: Backgrounds and Traditions. Stacy Beckwith, a Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and the Director of the Judaic Studies Program at Carleton College presented it. The class filled, with 25 people attending. The course was a general overview, and well done.
I have attended classes at FiftyNorth but was surprised when I drove into the parking lot for my class on a weekday afternoon, that the main parking lot was full. When I entered the FiftyNorth lobby it, too, was full of people, and there was a rather long line to check-in for all the different activities going on in the center.
FiftyNorth is a very vibrant place for Northfield seniors (seniors defined as age 50 and older, and North as in north – or in, higher than, age 50). It has a lot to offer including informational and fitness classes, a pool, workout equipment, rooms for bridge players or ping pong tournaments etc. In the lobby coffee is always available and tables are set up for puzzles, reading the newspaper, or just visiting. It is stimulating and invigorating place and a real gem for our small town, Northfield.
I was pleased to be in the bustling center this week, learning about Jewish traditions. I was among many others…there for so many different reasons. And that is a good thing.
Schaar’s Bluff
On one of our last, beautiful autumn days, Gary and I drove to Hastings to check out a bike trail, and we discovered a park.
Spring Lake Park Reserve is part of the Dakota County Park system and includes one long bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River.
Schaaar’s Bluff derived its name from the Schaar family who owned and operated a family farm on the site from the late 1890’s until 1973, when they sold it to Dakota County to be included in the Spring Lake Park Reserve.
The park offers fantastic views of the Mississippi River. There is a picnic area, campfire rings, a playground, a Gathering Center, and lots of paved and unpaved trails for hiking and biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. There are oak trees to form wooded areas, lots of open spaces, and some prairie portions.
While looking at an overview map of the area, a woman directed us to some unpaved trails along Schaar’s bluff. The trail was covered with leaves so it was not obvious to find the path. The trail went along the river and was very scenic. There was a significant drop-off to the river.
We hiked on a few trails that day. One trail took us across a steel bridge that had a short, sharp jog in it…really? That’s not something you see very often.
The Gathering Center was in use, for some company’s retreat. The funky building design was fun and inside, in the women’s bathroom, was a plaque explaining how the Center is “harvesting rain.” It states “Schaars Bluff Gathering Center is gathering rain from our rooftops for the toilets in our restrooms.” It makes me happy to know they are recycling rain water.
Another unique highlight of the park was a Tobacco-Free Zone sign posted, informing smokers there are designated smoking areas in the park…one can smoke only in the parking lots and along the roadways. That was a first for me. I have not noticed that sign in other parks.
I’m grateful for the Schaar’s who offered their land to the county, to make this wonderful park along the mighty Mississippi River, with it’s scenic beauty for others to enjoy. We will visit it again.
Cows
I have always loved the beauty and tranquility of seeing cows grazing in a field. Although I was born and raised in the city, I have always loved the country. But the only cows I knew about growing up were the black and white Holsteins. My husband however, grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. They milked Holstein cows, but he also knew about the other types dairy cows such as Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey and Ayrshire. He was not aware of the kind I saw the other day.
I was traveling on a country road familiar to me, and although I do not travel it on a regular basis, I travel it often enough to be surprised at seeing these cows for the first time. I caught a glimpse of black and white cows. I assumed they were Holsteins, but as I got closer I noticed they all had the same markings. Unlike Holsteins that are black and have splotches of white in various places all over their bodies, these cows were black with a wide, white band around their midsection. Everyone one of the them. All 20-30 of them in the field looked identical. I took a double take, then stopped to take a picture of these unusual cows.
I checked Google…they are either Belted Galloway or Dutch Belted cows. Both breeds have similar patterns. The Belted Galloway comes from Scotland, also nick-named “Oreo cows”. They are primarily raised for their quality marbled-beef. The Belted Galloway survive well in much colder weather but their coat is longer and thicker. The cows we saw in the pasture had short hair, but maybe because we’re coming off summer – it may grow longer and thicker as winter settles in.
A second breed with the same markings is the Dutch Belted cow, from the Netherlands. They are raised primarily for dairy. In the Netherlands, the cows are know as Lakevelder, a term that means a sheet or blanket around the body.
Here are links to the two different breeds:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenvelder_cattle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Galloway
When comparing pictures off the internet I believe the cows I saw were Dutch Belted, but I am not positive.
It was a fun discovery. They were a beautiful sight. I had never seen this kind of cow before. I will start asking around to see if others have.
A Broken Ornament
A friend and I went into a Christmas Store a few days ago, curious to see if they sold any fishing ornaments. She wanted one for her grandson. While looking around I saw a jet ski ornament. This friend has a cozy cabin up north, complete with two jet skis, and we vacation there together once a year. When I saw the ornament, memories of her and I on jet skis flashed through my mind…
The first memory is of the two of us, 60+ year old women, standing on the dock in our bathing suits and life jackets while she used her cell phone to call her son to ask a question about starting the jet skis. It was comical. We managed to get them started, back them out of the boat lift, tooled around the smaller lake before heading to a bigger lake and really taking off. We had a great time speeding across the water – up to 40 miles per hour. I always thought jet skis were loud, and they are, but now I understood their attraction.
My next memory was the year we were cruising around the lake and I ended up with thick weeds tangled in the motor, so my jet ski stopped in the middle of the lake. I drifted awhile until my friend noticed I was in trouble. She rode over and she decided we’d burn out the engine if we tried driving it back to the cabin, so the only alternative was for her to go get a towrope and tow me back. It took awhile but it worked. I was nervous that maybe the motor was ruined. When we got back to the dock I got into the water and pulled lots and lots of weeds from the propellers. When it was clear we started up the jet ski and it worked. I breathed a sigh of relief.
And then this year…we rode the jet skis fast then slowed into idle mode to follow the shoreline and look at cabins. We decided to go through the channel to the next lake to do the same, so we revved up and sped to Little Pine Lake. I was trailing behind when all of a sudden an alarm went off…”O no, not again”. The indicator sign was flashing “Fuel, Fuel”, the gas tank indicator went from three bars to a half bar, and the alarm kept going off. So I turned off the engine and waited once again for my friend to notice I had stopped – all the while the alarm kept sounding. She soon turned around and we decided to head back to the boat lift. We did so without incident, and with out running out of gas, but the alarm persisted until we pulled the key out. We got the skis safely tucked away and found out later the jet ski was OK, just low on fuel. I sighed another sigh of relief.
So when I saw that jet ski ornament in the Christmas store I just had to show my friend. As I picked it up it fell to the floor and broke. The store policy is if you break it you pay half price for it. So I did, and left with the broken ornament. (It was a clean break so I was able to glue it together and will add it to my Christmas ornaments.)
On the way home from our outing I started to laugh and called my friend to tell her how fitting it was that the ornament broke… given my history with jet skis!
I’m glad she just bought a pontoon at the end of the summer.
Squirrels
We are experiencing some wonderful sunshine and warmth after many days of grey and cloudy skies…and one day of snow.
I have a flower blooming on our back deck. I noticed it a couple days ago, and it’s one I have not noticed blooming this time of year before. It’s a clematis, climbing up our pergola. It’s beautiful amidst the falling leaves that are carpeting our backyard.
The squirrels are busy. I decorated our front porch with some gourds a friend gave me, and had fun making a display I liked. I found out the squirrels discovered it, and liked it too. After they quickly ate half a squash and started on another, I decided I needed to stop them somehow.
At some point I must have heard of using pepper as a deterrent because that came to mind right away. So I tried it. I outlined the display with dashes of pepper and lightly sprinkled the gourdes and pumpkins and it worked! The squirrels have stopped coming and are no longer nibbling on the natural buffet they thought I was providing for them our front porch.
Squirrels are fun little creatures to watch, but there are certain places I do not want them. One is eating my porch display and the other is at our bird feeders. We fill the bird feeder we have hanging near our trees with safflower seeds because squirrels do not like them, but a lot of birds do: cardinals, chickadees, finches…
I put black sunflower seeds in another feeder suctioned to our window because the squirrels cannot get at the seeds. I love seeing our resident cardinals up close, eating at the window feeder.
We do have a large squirrel’s nest in one of our trees in the backyard. I guess they can live here, as long as they behave.
Sunrise Over Lake Superior
Now that we are back home from our wonderful week on the north shore, I miss seeing the sunrise over the lake…but I can envision it. I have a morning routine when I am up at the cabin. The cabin’s large front windows face east, overlooking Lake Superior. I have checked the timetable to set my alarm accordingly so I don’t miss the sunrise over this big, beautiful lake.
My routine starts with “first light” about a half hour before the actual sunrise. I get up in time to make coffee, switch on the gas fireplace and open a window to heighten the sounds of the water lapping over the rocks. I rearrange a chair so I’m looking right where the sun will come up. I’ve watched it come up so many times over the years I know the spot where it will rise over the lake.
When coffee is done, I turn the lights back off. It’s dark but my eyes adjust and I can see the lake and the shore and the silhouettes of the few trees out front.
I settle in and watch the show. On this morning the sky is dark with a sliver of orange light on the horizon… it turns bright orange-red and slowly fades into sunrise colors by spreading out, and up, to the cloud bank.
I watch with a heart full of gratitude as I wait for that moment when I first see the tip of the sun’s arc and then pop…just like that it’s up. And it’s amazing and it’s quick and it’s wonderful and I am thankful for eyes to see this spectacular daily occurrence that happens whether I am watching it or not.
I sigh with contentment, to be up at the cabin on Lake Superior, ready for a new day.
“This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NKJV)
I have hundreds of photos of of Lake Superior sunrises. Here are a couple from the last couple of years, including my all time favorite at the end.
“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.” (Psalm 96: 11 NIV)
Gray Skies and Huge Waves
Obviously it’s not always sunny on the north shore. We love it when the sun shines and the sky is autumn blue and the lake shimmers, but there are cloudy days too. We enjoy all kinds of weather on the north shore. We try not to let the weather stop us from doing what we like to do.
On this particular day the skies were gray, the lake full of whitecaps, and the waves were huge. The waves were so loud as they crashed over the rocky shore right outside our cabin windows. It’s exciting to witness the rough seas of Gitchi-Gami (Ojibwe for “the big lake”).
It’s fun to sit back and watch the tumultuous weather from inside the cozy, pine-sided cabin with the gas fireplace lit, looking out through large windows so close to the water’s edge, watching the drama of the waves unfold. The gulls are nowhere to be seen and the trees sway in the wind and the waves tumble to shore.
We’ve experienced a storm on Lake Superior only a couple of times and we’re happy to see it, but we’re glad to have the safety and comforts of the cabin.
Isaiah 25: 4 God, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”
Oberg Mountain Trail
Our annual trek to our beloved (rented) cabin on the waters of Lake Superior again proved to be refreshing, relaxing and good family time as our oldest son and his wife and daughter joined us at the cabin. We miss you TAZE!
From the fall color we had already seen we anticipated amazing vistas from nine overlooks on a favorite hike, the Oberg Mountain trail. It’s great trail that takes you to the top and then loops around offering a 360* view of the surrounding area.
So we waited until our son and his family arrived to hike this trail. It was a sunny day and the colors were spectacular: vibrant in the sunshine with a blue sky dotted with some white clouds.
Walking through the yellow and lime-green trees and stepping out into open vistas over looking Lake Superior, inland forest and lakes and surrounded by incredible colors: red, yellow, orange and evergreen… it takes your breath away.
No words can describe and pictures really don’t capture the spectacular beauty we see…we are just grateful to be able to be here in the moment.
An Old Oak Tree
On the National Weather Service website it states there were 10 tornado tracks in SE Minnesota last week…apparently they use the term track before a tornado touchdown is confirmed. The havoc from these storms is all around us and we continue to hear stories of damage, and miracles of how the fallen trees and debris have not taken any lives. For that we are thankful.
But I did lose something dear…an old, oak tree at Valley Grove. I think this oak tree was beloved by many people.
Although the tree was not in my path daily I became very fond of the huge tree from many visits to the Valley Grove churches and cemetery. The towering, magnificent oak was a stable presence and protection over the cemetery where we plan to be buried someday.
We knew the 100 year old (plus) tree would not last forever but the thought of it being there was comforting. Now it’s gone. Taken down by the storm…in minutes…toppling over tombstones and laid to rest.
We recently took a hike through the prairie lands behind the cemetery and took a few photos of the massive oak tree, held together in some parts by chains. We’ve had picnics at Valley Grove and attend the Christmas Eve service in the historic church every year.
This is a special place, and will continue to be, although it will never be the same. The majestic oak tree will be missed by many.
