Tag: Nature

Art and Nature

On our way to Big Woods State Park (Nerstrand) Saturday night we stopped at Frederick Somers Studio and Gallery along the way. It was part of the 2016 South Central Minnesota  Studio Art Tour.

The artist, Fred Somers, along with his wife, warmly welcomed us. We were mesmerized while looking at his beautiful painted landscapes with brilliant color and lighting. He also paints portraits. There was a portrait of his grandson in the studio and the way he painted the light in the blond hair was stunning. How does he do that? He definitely has a special gift from God.

We arrived at the studio a half hour before closing and we were the only ones in the studio when he started sharing his faith journey with us. It is an amazing story and was a privilege to hear it from him. It was a precious time together and when we were leaving he shook our hands, not so much as to say thanks for stopping, but, as he said, he wanted touch each fellow believer before we left. We left there in awe of this artist, his story and his paintings.

The rest of the evening…a short hike, and great bonfire under the full Harvest Moon at Nerstrand (without jackets because of the mild temperatures for mid-October)… made for a lovely evening. One we soon won’t forget.

Click here for a link to his website.

Canadian Geese

The three ponds in our neighborhood attract Canadian Geese, especially this time of year, and geese have been flying over our house many times today.  I was out in the garden this morning for a couple of “fly overs”.  The windows are open so even in the house I have heard  them honking while flying over. It’s a wonderful sound! Loud too!

 

Anticipation

In front of cabin

About this time of year I get so excited thinking about our annual trek up to the “north shore.” For the past 31 years we have been going up north in September (except a few years when the boys were in sports and we had to go in August.) The shores of Lake Superior is one of my favorite places to be and I always look forward to our time at a cabin we rent right on the waters edge.

We started out looking for a cabin in 1985 (if only we had bought our own place back then!) wanting to find a cabin we‘d want to return to each year. We found a quaint 1940’s era cabin at Surfside Resort, a family- run business. We loved the cute little cabin #6 (with a seagull we named Mingo – he had one leg and hung out at the cabin for a couple of years.) The small Cabin #6 was just right for our family and we have so many wonderful memories of our times there.

Then a big business came along and bought out the small business and built lovely, but expensive, condominiums that we couldn’t afford. So we found a different cabin to call home for the brief amount of time we get to stay there each year.

Looking through the cabin windows

Going up to the north shore of Lake Superior has become my “new year.” Instead of making resolutions on New Year’s Eve I take time up north to think about the previous year, look ahead to the  next year and contemplate what life is all about for me right now in this fall season. I sit on the rocks with the large lake in front of me surrounded by stunning beauty and just sit…and think…and write…and read. The whole natural surroundings are a great place for reflecting, refreshing, refocusing and rejuvenating.

Waves, rock and sky

So I will print out our packing list, make the chili and wild rice soup, gather the throws, coffee and books, collect the hiking and biking gear and anticipate another wonderful year up at the cabin on Lake Superior!

Big Bugs

Daddy longlegsgrasshopperThe Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a beautiful outdoor space:  1,200 acres of gardens and tree collections, prairie and woods in Chaska, MN. I was there earlier this spring with my friend from IN, when the peonies and the iris’ were in bloom. Oh my, so many varieties and spectacular colors!

Last week my husband and I went again and there were different plants blooming and thriving for this time of year, including roses…and there were     Big Bugs! We didn’t know the exhibit was scheduled but we did enjoy looking for the big wooden bugs which brought visitors to all different areas of the arb. The sculpture artist is David Rogers.

Click here to learn more about him and his exhibit.

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The Great Blue Heron

heron 3The Great Blue Heron is a majestic bird and I always get a thrill when I see one. On my “regular route” through my neighborhood I walk by three ponds and love to see the geese and ducks and now am disappointed if I don’t see the Great Blue Heron since it has been around a lot this summer. It’s always a joy to see any kind of birds or water fowl – I greet them, thank God for them, and try to get photos!

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Sunflowers

IMG_4008 Sometimes a photo needs to be taken just to remember the scene even if it isn’t a good shot. In this photo, taken from a moving vehicle,  I tried to capture a portion of a field of  bright sunflowers along Interstate 94, near Alexandria, Minnesota. It caught me by surprise and took me a minute to figure out what was growing in this vast field. I was delighted to see bright, yellow flower heads with brown centers of the sunflower, standing tall with thousands of stalks, all facing east. It was a beautiful sight and worthy to record and remember.

Four Raccoons and a Cooler

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We rented a camping cabin in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park. This is not our first experience with camping cabins but it is our first time staying in a MN State Park camping cabin. Can I say they are adorable?

The “main room” has two built-in bunk beds with room to sleep 6 (single on top and double on bottom – both sides). It also has a small, built-in table with two benches and an overhead, electric light fixture that looks like a camping lantern. The furniture is made of pine logs and the entire cabin lined with knotty pine. There are many hooks and electrical outlets. A small screened- in porch is attached to the main cabin with a door between the two rooms. The door between is solid and lockable but the screen door to the outside only has a hook which locks from the inside.

As we unloaded our gear from the provided, pull-in cart we put our small cooler with our drinks on the porch. Then I noticed the freshly-made banana bread I brought along and last minute put the bread in the “drink cooler” to get it out of the heat.

Off we went, hiking with friends and had a campfire after that so we didn’t walk back to our cabin until later that evening, after dark. We had forgotten our flashlight so my husband used his iPhone’s flashlight feature. (My phone was charging inside the cabin…that’s modern camping!)

As we opened the screen door my husband said “look!” He shined the light in the corner and there were four raccoons backed against the wall…caught! They had successfully opened the screen door (did one hold it open for the others???) and all four raccoons entered the porch, somehow turned the handle on the cooler from the closed position to the open position, took off the cooler cover and proceeded to eat all two bags of banana bread! Immediately one of the bigger guys bravely walked right past us and out the door we held open, but the other three were still cowered in the corner. My husband had to shoo them out the door. I wish I had a photo but the picture is clear in our minds of the four guilty raccoons and two empty bags of banana bread. I hope they liked it!

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Dwarf Trout Lily

IMG_1798This is a re-post from my previous blog site. Looking for the Dwarf Trout Lily has now become an annual spring event for me…I love Nerstrand and wildflowers and springtime and walking in the woods! Naturalists are now in the park on weekends during the Dwarf Trout Lily’s bloom season  to point it out to those in search of the precious flower.

My favorite park is Big Woods State Park, or affectionately known as Nerstrand. The maple-basswood forest has lovey trails and a Hidden Falls…and camping. We have camped there several times over the years but since it is really close to where we live I can hop in the car and be there in no time, so I go there often.  It’s a favorite place to go…for all seasons.

I go on an annual Dwarf Trout Lily hunt. The Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Erythronium propullans) is a federally endangered forest wildflower found in Rice, Goodhue, and Steele Counties, Minnesota. Because it is known only from this small area the dwarf trout lily is considered a Minnesota “endemic” – i.e. a species that grows in Minnesota and nowhere else on earth.* Now that’s exciting.

I know one spot on the trail where they bloom among thousands of Common Trout Lilies.  So I walk the trail and look for my treasure and when I find it I am delighted to have seen it once again. I use my finger as a reference point for pictures so one can see how tiny the flowers are.

Then I continue to walk along the trail and spy the Marsh Marigolds, Spring Beauties, Anemones, Violets and Dutchman’s Breeches. The trees are starting to but out and the hint of “spring” green is so beautiful. The branches are airy and you can see right through them to the hilly woods that are normally leafed-covered in the summer.

I’m grateful for this gift and the opportunity to experience nature. My heart is joyful and I praise the Lord for the beauty that surrounds me.

* Sather, N. 1990. “Minnesota dwarf trout lily: an endangered Minnesota          wildflower.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul. 9 pages.