Nature – Page 4 – Valerie's Voice

Second Summer

The term Second Summer is now being used instead of Indian Summer, which was the terminology I grew up with. Although the name Second Summer is preferred by the Native Americans, it doesn’t change the fact that is a great event to experience during autumn in Minnesota. According to Wikipedia, “A(n) ~~Indian Summer~~ Second Summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.”

Sakatah Singing Hills Trail, November 12, 2023.

We had a beautiful, Second Summer Day over the weekend and decided to take our bikes out (which we thought were tucked away for the season) for another ride.

We went to Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. It was delightful. We added an extra layer and felt warm enough as we cruised down the paved trail. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, soaking up some illusive sunshine. We’ve had many cloudy days lately.

Sakatah Lake. The 39 mile trail goes along several lakes.

The leaves are all off the trees and the scenery on the trail looks a bit different than during the summertime. You can see more of the lakes as you ride by, and you can see into the woods and the forest floor. There were several other folks on the trail this day.

After our ride we took a quick detour to an out-of-the-way boutique filled with Christmas crafts and decorations. It’s called, A Touch of Class. We walked around the stable-turned-boutique and got some fresh ideas for the upcoming Christmas season. I always wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas, but it was a fun place to peruse, and get in the mood to decorate for the holidays.

4:56pm, November 12, 2023 (sunset was 4:48 pm)

As we drove home, the sky had a pretty glow as it was near sunset, which of course is very early these days, in Minnesota.

There is supposed to be a couple more Second Summer days in the coming week…maybe we’ll get out on the bike one more time?

Sunset

We went out last night for the first time in a week. We’ve been sick at home. We were greeted with a spectacular sky and sunset.

Praise God for this amazing evening greeting.

Medley of Flora and Fauna

During our time in Scotland we were on the lookout for the Highland Cattle, affectionately called Hairy Coos. After a few days we were excited to spot several of them in a field.

They are unique creatures, with shaggy coats and long horns, and they originated in the Scottish Highlands. They are friendly and cute. One of them ate grass from my hand.

Harry Coos are very popular on goods in the Scottish Highlands…from tins and magnets to coasters and towels and shopping bags…they are fun!

Of course we saw sheep…they seemed to be everywhere! Thousands of them…but I didn’t grow tired of seeing them…

They usually were in settings that were pastoral and calming.

Sheep sharing the path along Hadrian’s wall.

And I always like to see horses in a field…

And cattle…

Silhouettes of cattle in a field along Hadrian’s Wall.

We missed the peak season for the bright purple heather on the hillsides. I saw photos of heather in their prime season and it looked stunning…just like when we see the fall color peak in Minnesota.

Heather grows all over the hills and rocks.

But we did see a lot of heather past peak, and it was still pretty. The picturesque Scottish Highlands are a perfect backdrop for the muted colors of the heather.

More than the average colorful hydrangea’s in many places…blues and pinks and deep purples.

Flower pots and window boxes are a bright spot when the weather is overcast and dreary, which they say is a lot of the time.

Rosebay willowherb was another wildflower that was in bloom.

Rosebay Willowherb in the forefront, along Loch Ness.

We also saw many rainbows during our time in Scotland. This full rainbow was taken on our last day, before we boarded our flight home.

Scotland bids us farewell with a beautiful rainbow.

Hadrian’s Wall Path

I didn’t know much about Hadrian’s Wall when we chose to hike it. I loved the idea of hiking from inn to inn, and I’ve enjoyed seeing pictures of England’s countryside, so why not there? We hiked a thirty-four mile section of the Hadrian‘s Wall Path, which is an eighty-four mile coast-to-coast trail in northern England.

It was interesting to learn about this path that follows the course of an ancient Roman fortification wall. The construction of the Roman wall began in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian. It was considered both a defensive barrier and a marker of the northern reaches of the Roman empire.

The original wall was 20 feet high and 10 feet wide. At each one-mile interval they had stone structures called milecastles which housed 32 soldiers.

Evenly spaced between the milecastles were two stone observation posts called turrets. Additionally, the Romans had built numerous forts in proximity to the wall.

Back in its day, there was a garrison of around 20,000 soldiers from across the empire at Hadrian’s Wall. After three centuries the Romans left, and many stones were pilfered to be used to build stone fences, and stone houses, by the local people.

John Clayton, in the 19^th century, spent 50 years excavating Chesters Roman Fort and many other Hadrian’s Wall sites and is credited for saving Hadrian’s Wall. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a museum along the way, next to Chesters Roman Fort, with amazing artifacts that John Clayton excavated and collected. It was fascinating.

Today, the stone wall is intact in several places, up to 20 feet high, but then only a remnant stone, or nothing visible, in other places. Foundations and remnants of forts, milecastles and civil settlements were enroute with spectacular English country landscapes as the backdrop.

We hiked mostly in open countryside, although there were trees in the periphery… in the farm pastures and beyond.

One lone sycamore tree at the bottom of a gap along the Wall is very picturesque, and been seen in several movies apparently – one being Robin Hood. If you hike along the Wall path, it takes you down the gap to the tree, and then you walk back up the other side. The tree is stately and magnificent (and 300 years old!) The area is known as “Sycamore Gap”.

There was a small portion of the trail that goes through a wooded area…a fairy forest we called it.

And there was a copse of trees with protruding roots that provided a perfect place for us to sit and eat lunch one day.

Beauty surrounded us on our hike, and we were grateful for the opportunity to walk this Walk through this amazing setting.

Sheep, Boots and Inns

We saw thousands of sheep on our recent trip to Great Britain.

Sheep, sheep…I took lots of photos of sheep!

Thousands.

Pastoral setting…sheep, and trees, and green pasture, and blue sky, and Hadrian’s Wall…

I’m thankful they were sheep and not goats. I like sheep – goats, not so much.

Not only were the sheep in fields along the highways and byways, but we walked right next to them in their pastures as we hiked along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. The sheep didn’t seem to mind us hikers. They tolerated our presence and our antics towards them.

Docile sheep looking at my fellow travelers.

But the sheep also didn’t care about where they did their business as we had to carefully (and constantly) step around all the sheep droppings. They chewed their cuds as they watched us make our way through all their poo, maybe with smiles on their faces. I still think they’re cute.

The four of us at the beginning of our hiking adventure.

Our first steps on the first morning – walking on the road to get to the trail.

Sheep on one side, Wall on the other, expansive views of beautiful English landscapes surround us.

Only two times did we miscalculate our steps, and needed to stop and clean out poop from the cervices of our hiking boots.

There were also stone steps in a few places.

We were prepared for what is typical Scottish weather, cool and rainy, on our four-day trek along Hadrian’s Wall. Instead, we had unusually warm, humid and sunny weather. Although we were hot and sweaty as we hiked, it was preferred to the cold and rain.

The white acorn was the trail marker for Hadrian’s Wall.

The terrain was more rugged than we anticipated, but it also made for interesting scenery and amazing vistas. We walked a total of 34 miles in four days. We were hiking from inn to inn.

Hadrian’s Wall…following it up and down…

At the end of the day, we hiked off road to an inn where there were rooms reserved for us, and our luggage was waiting for us.

The Battlesteads B&B…located in an International DarkSky Place.

As we hiked, we only had to carry our backpacks with water, our lunch and a rain jacket (which we didn’t need).

All the inns provided for our needs of a place to sleep, dinner options, breakfast the next morning, and packed lunches for the trail.

Twice Brewed Inn, in the town of Once Brewed! Love the names!

Pastoral scenes, beautiful and expansive vistas, Hadrian’s wall, sheep, various cattle, personal and lively conversations, and occasional fellow pilgrims on the trail provided our entertainment.

Walking along the trail…sometimes we could see Hadrian’s Wall, sometimes not. It’s old. It was built in 122 AD, by the Romans in Britain, as a former defensive fortification, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

And we had a marvelous time!

We sometimes had to watch out for cow pies too!

This cow watched as we walked off trail, by a farm, on our way to an inn for the night.

I Jumped In

My love language is quality time. So as I looked around at our two sons, their wives, and our four adorable grandchildren, gathered together “up north” at a house on Leech Lake, my heart was full. It was a blessing for me and Gary to have all ten of us together in the same place for a few days!

A beautiful metal design of Leech Lake on the wall in the house. Leech Lake is one of the largest lakes in Minnesota.

It was fun seeing the four cousins together (ages 8, 7, 6, and 3). They immediately connected and had a blast playing with each other: running around, creating secret forts, playing games, digging in the dirt and, of course, time on the boat; swimming and fishing.

The pontoon boat is tied at the end of the dock.

We enjoyed fires, one in an indoor fireplace the first night, and others outside in a fire-pit.

The nice, permanent fire-pit with comfortable chairs for everyone.

We were able to take several pontoon boat rides; this was one of my favorite things to do. I love being on the water. The kids fished off the pontoon boat and Gary, the biggest kid, caught the biggest fish.

We anchored the boat in a spot for swimming. And I jumped into the lake! I’m not sure when the last time I jumped out of a boat and into water. Jumping into the lake was a pretty common activity for me during my growing up years…but not so much now.

But I did it so I could go swimming with the grandkids. They were a great incentive, and it was fun!

Gathering around a big table each night, and eating dinner, was very special. What a wonderful thing to do, to set apart time and all sit down and eat good food together.

The large dining room table in the center of the “cabin”.

I will cherish the memories we created up north. I am so grateful for this undivided time we had together.

Painted Rocks

It intrigues me, every time I find a painted rock when I’m hiking, or at a picnic area…or in any unexpected place.

Three of my unfinished rocks among the “teacher’s bunny rock” she painted while she supervised our work.

I mentioned this to a friend and she said she paints rocks and asked if I would like to come over sometime and paint rocks with her. Yes, I said enthusiastically. And she invited three others.

The table was all set for our creative endeavors.

She had all the paint, and brushes, and ideas, for us to be successful in our first-time rock-painting “class”, plus a delightful time was had by all.

We were attentive to our projects and having fun!

I learned some good tips. I will find time to paint more rocks, with fun designs and encouraging words, and place them on trails, or in my fairy garden, or who knows where???

It’s a fun activity.

Fairy Doors

On the shores of Lake Superior, I noticed something unusual in the woods near the cabin. There were wooden, painted fairy doors leaning on the base of three different trees.

The working doors had hinges and a small door knob. I was intrigued. I went to each one and opened the door, but there was nothing behind any of the three doors. I was disappointed.

I went into the cabin, found a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote out three short encouraging messages. I folded the paper in two, and placed one behind each fairy door so the next person to open the door will find a treasure.

Lake Superior Venture

We just returned from an amazing time on the north shore of Lake Superior. As I’ve written before, it is one of my all-time favorite places to be. When we arrive at the cabin we rent, I sigh a happy sigh when I walk through the door and see the lake through the floor to ceiling windows. It is a marvelous and breathtaking sight that I never grow tired of. I literally feel a calm come over me. I miss it when I’m not there.

During our time at the cabin, we did what we normally do…we enjoy God’s bountiful creation. We bike and hike, drink our morning coffee on the deck, watch the sunrise, have a bon fire on the rocks, relax, read good books, eat delicious food overlooking the lake, and just sit and look at the lake.

I had good intentions of cleaning up my computer files, or deleting photos off my phone, do a little writing, but none of that happened. The lake is alluring and mesmerizing, and we can just sit and do nothing but enjoy the vista for hours…and so we do, and we do not worry about getting anything accomplished. I believe we are being rejuvenated from the inside out.

We traditionally go up to the north shore in September but this year we had reservations in July. The weather was cooler than normal for July, the sunrise is earlier in July…5:20ish…and different kinds of flowers are blooming in July…like beautiful lupines, perky daisies and bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil.

A photo exposition follows:

A view outside the cabin. I was pleased to see lupines on the property. We started seeing lupine along Scenic Drive as we were driving up. Lupines are not in bloom in September, when we are usually at the cabin.

One of our hikes…overlooking Oberg Lake in summer, 2023.

This is same overlook of Oberg Lake in autumn, 2019.

Streets lined with gold…Highway 61, back roads and bike trails were lined with bird’s-foot trefoill. It was impressive.

This is a bridge on the new section of the Gitchi-Gami bike trail, which we rode on from Cutface Wayside Park into Grand Marais.

Temperance River…a hike we always enjoy, along the gorges of this wild river.

We enjoy a bon fire on the rocks outside the cabin.

Clear water reveals the rocks underneath the waters of Lake Superior.

Our hike to Caribou Falls…down 156 steps to see this beautiful waterfalls, then back up 156 steps! It’s worth it. It’s gorgeous.

Our son Tim took a photo of lupines and a single daisy years ago…it was fun to recapture a similar posturing.

Lake Superior…some days it’s calm, other days it’s not…somedays it’s gray, other times it’s blue, sometimes it’s somber…sometimes it’s glistening… with everything in-between. And, sometimes it all happens in a day. (I told Gary these are the kind of glistening diamonds I like.)

I’m so grateful for our time on the shore of Lake Superior.

A Hedgehog and A Firefly

A flicker of light~
Twinkling and twirling around...
Fireflies at night.

While in Minnesota, our Ukrainian friends saw fireflies for the first time. They were excited. We were with them one evening, and the fireflies were dancing all around us. We all enjoyed seeing the fireflies, as well as our friend’s excitement.

A hedgehog I saw in the wild in Ukraine, 2008.

I told them the one and only time I saw a hedgehog was in Ukraine, and it was exciting to see it. We walked to a village after class one day, to an interpreter’s home, and we saw a cute, little hedgehog tucked away on the side of the path.

God is creative!

“God made the animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the crates that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24