Minnesota – Page 31 – Valerie's Voice

Springtime

Spring is finally here and so begins the yard work. For the most part, working in the yard and digging in the dirt is fun for me…but spring clean up is a lot of work. We decided to do some trimming over the weekend.

We started with a tree in our front yard. Gary climbed the ladder to cut off a branch and noticed, there in the crook of the tree, my “missing” fairy. We surmised a squirrel grabbed the fairy from it’s secret place in my garden two years ago. The squirrel must have decided it wasn’t food after all, so he left it sitting up properly in the crook of a tree, watching over us all that time. It was a fun surprise to find this fairy-angel in the tree after two winters.

Although this is not the exact spot Gary found the fairy, it was sitting upright and up high in a crook of this tree.

Next, in our back yard there is a honeysuckle vine climbing a trellis on the deck and it was getting out of control, as honeysuckle vines tend to do. So this year we decided to trim it way back. We revved up the electric trimmers and started cutting back the vine when Gary spotted a bird’s nest with eggs in it. Hmmm…we had already started trimming so we decided to quickly finish and then get out of there with hopes that the mama bird would come back to the nest and tend to her eggs.

The mama mourning dove returned to her nest to protect her eggs.

Fortunately the mourning dove is back and sitting on her eggs in the nest. It will be fun to watch them hatch right outside our window.

I noticed the lone daffodil blooming on the side of our house. There are several daffodil bulbs planted there but they didn’t seem to make it through that last winter blizzard. Even so, the one bright, yellow flower is perky and brings joy.

April showers bring May flowers, but not April snow blizzards.

It is always a delight to discover fun surprises in nature. Some are so obvious and some so hidden. I am reminded to keep my eyes open for there is so much to see.

An Adoption

I received an invitation to a very special event. It was and adoption celebration but not of the “ordinary kind” that comes to mind. This was an adult adoption.

My friend, who is single and has never had children, befriended a young woman and was a loving mentor to her for several years.

Then the decision was made that my friend would adopt this young woman and they would become a family.

I loved the wording of the invitation and I congratulate Angie – now mother, grandmother and mother-in-law, and Karyssa – a newly adopted daughter, mother and wife.

Historic Blizzard

They are calling this a Historic Blizzard – Saturday, April 14, 2018.

We have been out of town for three weeks and when we drove into our driveway at the end of last week it was disappointing to still have snow in our yard.

Our back deck, photo taken Sunday morning.

And then we heard the forecast…a winter storm warning. And this time they were right. 12-15″ of snow and strong winds were predicted, and it came. Lots of snow and sleet, and very strong winds swirling the snow around into drifts and corners and clinging to windows. They are calling this the Historic Blizzard because this is the middle of April.

Blowing snow covered our living room windows, photo take 4/14.

We had several birds at our feeder during the storm.

We tucked ourselves in, sat near the fireplace, and waited out the storm. (Although we did go for a walk in the snow last evening…we couldn’t resist being out in it.)

We walked by Pond One…there was open water and a duck swimming.

This morning Gary plowed out our driveway and there is whiteness everywhere.

Thankful for a snowblower (and an operator!)

We are so ready for spring.

Signs of Spring

I saw my first robin on Sunday afternoon, along Jefferson Road. This is my first sighting this spring, and then I saw two more.

This photo was taken early spring, 2017, on Carleton Campus.

After an evening walk, not in the dark because of daylight savings time (another sign of spring), I saw two robins in our neighbor’s tree. I looked through our binoculars to confirm. They were a pair.

Other signs of spring on my walk: the snow is melting (and a lot more snow will melt this week when the sun comes out and the temperatures rise into 50*’s) and there was no ice on the paths. However, there were lots of puddles.

I heard many birds chirping, and I heard water gurgling… both wonderful sounds… and I saw a few ducks already enjoying the thawed portions of the pond.

Spring brings hope once again.

*I’m not sure foxes are a sign of spring but Saturday evening while it was dark, before daylight savings time began, we watched a fox walk down a city sidewalk and cross the street in front of us…I think he was lost.*

This was not the fox we saw in Northfield. This picture was taken summer 2017 in northern Minnesota. We didn’t think this fox looked too healthy, but it’s the only picture I have of a fox.

A Week in Winter Wonderland

Last week it snowed one day, and then another, and then another and for some reason the snow mostly stayed on the tree branches making the world around us a winter wonderland. For me it was breath-taking. Everywhere you looked the trees were frosted. I tried to capture a few photos.

The first snow – ice crystals clinging to tree branches and glistening in the sun.

The second snow – Evergreens along County Road 9.

Second snowfall – we went snow-shoeing on French Lake.

Overlooking fresh fallen snow on an open field.

The third snow – walking in vehicle tracks on Crystal Lake.

Chunks of ice carved out of Crystal Lake, preparing a hole for a polar plunge (which we did not stay to watch.)

Continuing to walk all the way across Crystal Lake.

Into the woods on the other side of Crystal Lake.

A lone pine cone hanging on to a snowy branch.

Stunning beauty all along the Highway 3. I can only imagine what it would look like with blue skies.

Every branch (and every tree) is covered with snow.

Memorable Hikes – Itasca State Park, Minnesota 2011

Continuing my Friday series on memorable hikes…

My husband and I went camping in Itasca State Park. This park is a beautiful treasure in Minnesota. In this park, the headwaters of the Mississippi begin. We camped here with our boys when they were younger, but this year it was just my husband and I.

It’s always fun to say “I’ve walked across the Mississippi River.”

One afternoon we took off hiking on a trail from the campground, and I was in the lead. As we were walking along I noticed black in the treetops above me, on my right. I stopped to look and noticed there were two black cubs high in the tree…so then I thought…hmmm, where’s mama?

I looked to the left of the path and there she was, staring right at us. At that moment I couldn’t remember what I was suppose to do. We’ve been to so many parks and read so many signs telling one how to react to bears…black bears or grizzly bears… play dead for one and act big for another, but in this moment – when I needed to know – I forgot! So we stood there, and then slowly stepped backwards. The cubs climbed down the tree, walked over the path in front of us and joined their mama, all the while the mama kept her eyes on us. And we kept our eyes on her too!

When the cubs were safely with their mama we watched them scamper off into the woods and we kept going on our hike, happy to have had a safe, and memorable, encounter with the black bears.

Impromptu Hike

The sun was shining, the snow was glistening and the woods were calling. Fortunately, we had no where we needed to be so we headed out to Big Woods State Park to hike in the winter wonderland.

Over a bridge and through the woods. Clean, white, fresh snow.

Ending our time with a walk through the campground.

Football

Image result for minnesota viking free clip art

I normally don’t watch football but I think many Minnesotans who normally don’t watch football are, like me, watching the games leading up to the Super Bowl, especially since our hometown team, the Vikings, are doing so well.

After a long walk through the Carleton Arb, as beautiful snow gently fell (like walking in a snow globe) we settled in and watched the Vikings play against the New Orleans Saints. I was surprised at how engaged I was. When I thought the game was over, because the Vikings were behind 2 points and only 10 seconds left on the clock, all of a sudden the Minnesota Vikings got a touchdown and won the game! I don’t know enough about football to use football language, all I know is that it was a WOW moment.

When interviewed, the quarter back Case Keenum said the best three moments in his life were giving is life to Jesus, marrying his wife and that touchdown throw!

The Vikings play another game next weekend which will determine if the they will play in the Super Bowl… on their own turf… in the U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis.

Go Vikings!

Moon Shine

The skies are clear and there is plenty of moon shine these nights. The moon was full on January 1, 2018. It is not only a full moon but also a supermoon. A supermoon happens when the full moon coincides with the moon’s closest distance to earth in its orbit. Supermoons make the moon appear a little brighter and closer than normal.

There will be a full moon on January 31, 2018 too. And because it will be the second full moon in the same month it is called a blue Moon. This will also be a supermoon. This time it will also involve a total lunar eclipse, which is when the earth passes directly between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow on the moon.

I can sometimes see the moon outside my bedroom window while lying in bed. It is a beautiful sight. I find the moon very interesting. When I was much younger I wrote a letter to Pan Am Airways (an airline now defunct) and I asked to be put added to their waiting list of passengers interested in flying to the moon. They actually wrote back and said their list was full! Bummer! I believe I still have that letter in a memory box somewhere.

Enjoy the full, blue and super moons, no matter where you live.

A Good Laugh

Part of our Christmas celebrations this year was the traditional gathering at my cousin’s house, with my only living uncle, who turned 90 this past year and his wife, some cousins and other family members. This is a tradition from my side of the family and we always enjoy our time together when we are around and able to participate. The gathering starts in the afternoon so people can leave in time to attend Christmas Eve services. The following day we spent with our son and his wife and their beautiful eight month-old daughter.

Christmas Eve service at Valley Grove Church, complete with snow coming down.

Gary and I like to attend a candlelight service at a country church in Nerstrand, Minnesota. Valley Grove Church is a historic church built in 1894. The church is inactive except for special events. Every year they open the doors for a late Christmas Eve service. Attenders hear good music, sing Christmas carols, hear the gospel message and at the end of the service sing Silent Night as each person holds a lit candle and the lights dim. It’s delightful and nostalgic time. This year there was an perfectly shaped, especially large Christmas tree up front.

A beautiful Christmas tree filling the front of the church.

Sometimes we see people we know. This year as we were leaving the service I told my husband to go ahead to warm up the car while I took a few photos on this cold Christmas Eve. Soon I headed for the car and when I got in and looked over to the driver’s side there was a strange guy sitting in the driver’s seat. It took a few minutes to register that I had gotten into the wrong car! Fortunately I knew the stranger (he was a friend’s husband) and we started to laugh…it was funny. I got out of his car and went two parking spaces down to my own car which is the same make, model and year of my friend’s car. I got in and there was my husband…wondering what was going on.

Soon I got a text from my friend, the wife of the “stranger”, telling me she was “laughing so hard right now!” after being told what had happened.

It was quite comical. Laughter is good medicine.