‘Tis the season to make strawberry jam so off to the store I went to buy Sure-Jell only to find two stores were sold out.
This year’s batch of strawberry freezer jam.
But what I found interesting is I had to ask three store clerks where in the store the Sure-Jell was shelved. They were young and not one of them knew what Sure-Jell was. I had tell them it’s for making jam, and then had to confirm the spelling of it so they could look it up on their electronic devices. If they only knew how easy it is to make freezer jam.
Yum! Blueberries!
Also, ‘tis the season for blueberries. We were able to pick some berries to freeze at Little Hill Berry Farm here in Northfield, before they were picked out by 9 a.m. on their first day of picking. It has become a popular place.
We celebrated our Fourth of July holiday at the oldest ongoing celebration in Minnesota. For 126 years North Morristown has put on a fun, old-fashioned 4th of July get-together and hundreds, if not thousands, find their way to this small town (if you can call it a town- it has a Lutheran church with attached school and two or three houses) out in the country, close to nowhere.
Interesting, but a little threatening, cloud formations.
However, on our way there, we were threatened by storm clouds that were pretty ominous looking, and yet so artistic. Soon the skies burst open and down came the rain, hard! We passed many cars heading away from North Morristown as we continued to drive into the area, now full of mud. We quickly decided to go elsewhere for our late lunch.
Storm clouds.
After eating, the skies settled down and we had heard at the restaurant they had put wood chips down to help with the muddy paths on the grounds at North Morristown. So we decided to head back there.
In the “band shell”, Monroe Crossing: a banjo, a mandolin, a fiddle, a guitar and a bass.
We are so glad we did. Monroe Crossing, a talented bluegrass band, was playing under a shelter, and we sat on bleacher-style wooden boards under the trees and listened to an hour-long concert. It was wonderful.
Homemade pies.
After the concert we walked around the grounds, being careful where we stepped, to look at the old-fashioned children’s rides and games, the bingo hall, the hamburger stand, the beer garden, the pork stand, the pie and ice cream stands and picnic tables strewn about. We tasted some pie and ice cream.
This brought back memories for me. I always liked this fishing game. You attach your ticket to the clothespin at the end of the fishing line and then throw it over the wall. The person on the other side would replace the ticket with your prize. (I asked permission to take this little boy’s picture…he was so excited for his prize.)
Cars were getting stuck in the fields where they parked because all the rain turned the fields to mud. Tractors were recruited to help pull some cars out. Fortunately we found parking on the church’s paved lot….no mud.
One of the muddy parking areas with tractor standing by to help get out.
The air was festive and it was fun to be at the oldest ongoing Fourth of July gathering to celebrate our nation’s “birthday.”
Last week we were, once again, biking on the new trail in town when we noticed a turtle on the path. We stopped to take a look and discovered this turtle was a different species than the turtle we saw a few weeks ago.
A Snapping Turtle.
I took a picture, hoping to identify it later. When I first saw the turtle I thought it was a snapping turtle, but I didn’t test it by dangling a stick in front of his face to see if he’d snap. After a quick research, I’m pretty certain it is a snapping turtle. Click here for more information.
I wonder how many species of turtles are in the area along the river, and near the path? Hopefully we’ll see a new and different one the next time.
Yesterday was the summer solstice – so summer has officially arrived here in Minnesota. It was nice to wake up and see the sun peeking through the clouds this morning after many days of rain. There is no guarantee that the sun will be out for the summer solstice, and it wasn’t yesterday, but I’m happy to see it today.
A view from our window at dusk: the honeysuckle vine – that grew back after being trimmed back this spring – and a clematis climbing the pergola.
Some of my flowers are blooming – they, too, like the bright sunshine after days of rain.
Cardinal Wyszynski ClematisI don’t remember the name of this clematis growing up our back deck.Jackmanii Clematis.
I’ve started noticing ways to celebrate the summer solstice. This year I learned of a special yoga session offered at the local, organic blueberry farm in town. That sounded like a great way to enjoy the longest day of the year. So my friend and I, not knowing what to expect, went to check it out. We are familiar with yoga from classes, but we wondered what it would be like outdoors, with strangers.
Beautiful sky over the blueberry hill.
It was great. The weather cooperated, and we were outdoors listening to the birds, surrounded by nature, on a small hill overlooking beautiful blueberry bushes with fruit, with a beautiful sky overhead, and no mosquitoes, all the while doing our yoga stretches on the farm.
Photo of deck flowers taken about 9:15 p.m.
It was a fun way to celebrate the summer solstice.
Last week while riding our on the new trail from Northfield to Dundas we stopped for a large turtle on the path.
We got off our bikes to get a closer look and found it was an unusual turtle…one none of us had seen before. We enjoyed looking at it, and wanted to touch it but decided not to. All the while it just stood there (do turtles stand?) waiting for us to leave.
We took in the wonder of it all, then got back on our bikes and continued on our ride. On our way back the turtle was gone.
The next day my friend did some research and found this turtle is called a Trionyx muticus. Click here for a link for more information. It is a soft-shelled turtle with and interesting snout and apparently considered a “special concern species in Minnesota”, which I think makes for a rare sighting.
It was fun to see this creature on the trail and hopefully it will find a safe place along the riverbank to make it’s home.
Even though it was cool, cloudy and windy we decided to drive to Aspelund Peony Garden on the last day of their June open houses. As soon as we got out of the car I was glad we were there. The colorful array of peonies were so inviting they made me smile.
A portion of the peony fields.
It was difficult to take photos with the peonies swaying in the wind. There are great photos on Minnesota Prairie Roots blog where I learned about this farm. Click here.
Beautiful and bright.
According to the proprietor of the peony garden, the wind and storms the day before, on Saturday, wreaked havoc with the peonies, but that didn’t stop several folks finding their way to the farm to decide which peony bush they wanted to order…order now, pick up in the fall (a good time for transplanting peonies we’re told.) The farm has 150 varieties of peonies. We do not have any more space for sun-loving flowers so we just enjoyed looking.
Lovely pinks.
The proprietor was friendly and out in the field talking with everyone. You could tell he loved his peonies. He told us peonies are hardy. He said if you go to any abandoned farm in Minnesota, you are likely to find lilacs, rhubarb, peonies, day lilies and iris’. Interesting!
So many colors and combinations.
He told us the oldest peony in Minnesota is 150 years old and is at the governor’s mansion. He said the oldest peony in the world is in the Emperor’s Garden in China and is 600 years old. I could not find any confirmation of these facts on the Internet (a very reliable source! ha).
Lovey, whimsical peonies.Long rows of peonies. (photo by gb)
The farm also includes the Aspelund Winery…grapes and apple trees and pear trees are grown on this farm. It’s in a beautiful setting in Aspelund, Minnesota. The winery only had outdoor seating and it was too cool to sit outdoors, but we peeked our heads inside to check out the tasting room…we’ll save that for another time.
A view of southern Minnesota countryside.
The drive home was lovely…we love driving in the country…and I love this time of year when the green plants are popping through the soil a couple of inches, forming neatly, defined rows in the field.
As we approached our house we could see our three peony bushes from the road. They looked so insignificant in comparison to what we just witnessed – we laughed.
But they are beautiful and cheerful flowers…and they are blooming…and they are hardy! And I love cutting one stem at at time and having them show off their beauty for me in our house.
Nerstrand, as we affectionately call the Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, is one of my favorite local state parks and I think it’s because I go there often. It’s only 20 minutes from our house where we currently live, and we used to drive down to the park from Burnsville where we lived years ago.
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park, Spring 2018
There is no date for this memorable hike because I do not remember the year. We have gone on numerous hikes in Nerstrand-Big Woods over the years – too many to count or keep track of: wild flower hikes in the spring, long hikes in the summer, fall leaf hikes in the fall, cross-country skiing in the winter.
But the hike I’m writing about for my Memorable Hike series is when our two boys were young. We drove down to the park from Burnsville for the day. Gary had picked up a couple candy bars (which was, and still is, an infrequent treat) to put in his pocket for our hike. While hiking on one of the longer trails at Nerstrand Gary got the idea to go on ahead and place the candy bars near a tree. He wasn’t that far ahead of us to notice he was missing, and he did it quickly. Then when we were all together again, he mentioned to the boys that he thought there was a candy stand somewhere up ahead. The boys were young enough to get excited about that. We continued hiking and, lo and behold, there were candy bars on the ground under a tree. The boys were thrilled. It was silly but was quite fun, and to this day we talk about finding that candy at Nerstrand.
This piece, Memories of Dancing, was an exercise assigned by a group I participate in. I had fun writing it. The criteria for the piece are written into the last line.
Memories of dancing…a black and white photograph helps me to remember. Running my finger over the photo, over the X that my mom marked above a little girl in her tutu. Unfortunately I do not remember the dance lessons but I do remember the tutu and dancing with my childhood friend, Diane. Etched in my mind is the recital depicted in the photograph. How I remember the song we danced to at that recital so many years ago is amazing. Glow Little Glowworm, Glow. Wondering if Diane remembers?
The photo where “X” marks my position in this dance line. The date on the photo says 1960.
So the picture sparks memories of the beginning of my dancing gig. Glow Little Glowworm, Glow. Wow, it’s so fun to think about, especially since my little granddaughter has a Glow Worm toy. You press a button and the glowworm lights up. Perhaps I should order one because I really like it, and when I saw it for the first time it brought back such fun memories.
Several thoughts of dancing come to mind. Dancing was a part of my childhood, dancing is fun, dancing is good exercise, and dancing is a social event. To think about all the good times makes me smile. Every time I hear a polka I think back to my dad especially, and then both my mom and dad’s friends dancing the night away up north, or at weddings. Several times I think of Mr. Ken asking me as a young woman where I learned to dance so well, as he was dancing with me. Even though that happened such a long time ago I remember. Reminds me to be to be careful of the words I use.
Early in life I took dance lessons as a little girl, a few anyhow, since I remember the song we danced to and I have my recital picture to prove it.
Then it was off to junior high and senior high school where I danced modern dance, whatever that was at the time. Enjoying the dances in junior and senior high school was a part of my schooling. Girls stood on one side of the gym and guys on the other. Rooms were dark and bands were playing – we actually had live bands back then. Now a days I think it’s all DJ’s playing records, or I mean cd’s.
Sub Club was another a hot spot for dancing during high school for me. Every Saturday night when we were up at Farm Island Lake, in northern Minnesota, all the folks in my parents friend group went to the Sub Club to dance. Eventually us high school kids would all end up there too, and join our parents in the festivities and dance with our elders. Sub Club music was mainly polkas and waltzes, my favorites.
Sub Club was not the only dance hall I danced at. The Bel Rae Ballroom was another hot spot in the peak of my dancing days. Several nights in high school, and beyond, were spent at the Bel Rae Ballroom, dancing the night away.
Years have gone by and I don’t dance much anymore but I have good memories of dancing, and a recent good memory of dancing is with my son at his wedding.
Gosh, to think back on dancing is fun and maybe I could write more about it another time when I don’t have to start each new sentence with the letter the previous sentence ended in.
