Nature – Page 9 – Valerie's Voice

North Morristown’s Oldest Ongoing Fourth of July Celebration

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 4^th 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.

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.

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.”

Another Turtle on the Trail

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.

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.

Happy Summer, Cheery Sunshine

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.

I don’t remember the name of this clematis growing up our back deck.

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.

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.

A Rare Sighting

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.

Aspelund Peony Garden

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.

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.

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.

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!

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).

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.

Morning Stroll

“Make a morning ritual of strolling through your garden. No weeding allowed – do it for the pure and simple joy of observation.” Jane Austin Miller

Every year, about this time, I think of this quote. I like it.

When I do stroll, I like carrying a cup of coffee in my hands.

It’s not a long stroll, and not daily, but it is an early morning stroll, and I do not pull any weeds…just enjoy.

It’s fun to watch the garden grow.

Whitewater State Park

A change in plans for family members opened up an opportunity for Gary & I to go camping over the weekend at Whitewater State Park, in one of their camper cabins.

This is Rainbow Trout, the name of the camper cabin we stayed in.

The camper cabins are cute…there isn’t a better word…just like baby animals…baby cabins are cute! The one we stayed in was only a year old. The cabins are like children’s playhouses. Inside are two bunk beds, a small picnic table with two benches, large, screened windows, electric lights and a ceiling fan and extra outlets. Each cabin has a small screen porch attached. Everything is built with knotty pine. The cabins are simple but functional and are a lot of fun to stay in.

Inside the camper cabin, from the porch.

Growing up in a kid-friendly neighborhood we had a shack in our backyard. It was a great place to play with the neighborhood gang. This camper cabin, which of course, is larger and much nicer than our backyard shack, brought back some fun memories of playing in, and on top of, the shack.

It doesn’t take long to get settled in to a camper cabin. Soon we were enjoying the great Minnesota outdoors. Whitewater State Park is in southeastern Minnesota, in a valley. The Whitewater River runs through the park, and beautiful, rocky bluffs surround the river and park.

One morning our hike took us up the bluffs with vistas at the top overlooking the valley. As we ascended so did our body temperatures, and at the same time the outside temperatures were climbing… into the 90’s, very unusual for our spring season.

Gary hiking on the trail. An interesting cavity in the tree.

Needless to say, we were very hot at the end of our hike so we quickly changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the spring-fed swimming hole in the river. It felt wonderful. This is something I rarely do anymore, but our bodies needed to cool down. I believe there is something very healing having your body surrounded completely by cool water. We could almost feel our body temperatures lowering to normal as we lingered in the water. Of course, many others in the park were also enjoying the swimming hole, but surprisingly it wasn’t crowded. It seems people stayed in the water just long enough to cool their bodies down.

Looking down on the park from our hike up the bluff. The swimming hole is the opening in the river with a sandy beach.

After we got out of the water we took showers in the shower house and then went out for an ice cream treat.

We found some fun ways to beat this unseasonable heat.

Dove Drama

This morning, after starting the coffee pot, I took my usual trip to the back deck and said good morning to “Miss Dove”, the mourning dove whose nest is in the honeysuckle vine. Her two babies (squabs) were there, although I could only see one clearly, but I’m pretty sure both mama and baby smiled back at me.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down looking out my window when all of a sudden I saw a flurry of activity by the nest. I thought maybe the babes were learning to fly…and then I saw a squirrel, attacking the birds.

I immediately rushed out to scare the squirrel but by the time I got there the squirrel was gone, and so were all three birds.

Feathers were floating everywhere in the aftermath of the attack. I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t believe what just happened. First, my special friends were gone…were they dead? I was so sad. And secondly, I didn’t know squirrels went after birds.

All morning I kept checking the nest, hoping the birds would fly back but they didn’t. However, later I recognized one of the baby doves sitting on top of our lattice wall. I was so happy to see it. It was looking at me, and I suppose, wondering where his mama was. I didn’t know what to do so I called a friend familiar with birds and he said I could try to pick up the baby and put it back in the nest, but we decided to leave it alone since it was already capable of flying.

I recognized this baby dove on top of our lattice wall.

Eventually the baby dove flew into the tree and I can only hope it was reunited with its mother. I have no idea about the second baby dove. I hope it too survived somehow.

Ah, nature… it’s beautiful, but can be harsh. I will miss my brood.

Miss Dove and her two little ones

A mourning dove, I affectionately named Miss Dove, has a nest with two eggs in the honeysuckle vine growing on the trellis on our back deck. I step outside daily to say good morning to her and she has grown accustomed to me tending my flowers and changing the nectar in the hummingbird feeder that hangs right below her. She has hatched her two eggs. Now there are three crowded into their little nest and it’s a precious sight to see.

A good look at Miss Dove and her baby behind her. Her other baby is behind her and in front of the other youngin’.

Although she let’s me come close it’s still hard to capture a good photo with the branches in the way.

Look for the three eyes: Mama, and two babies.

Welcome little ones.

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park

I’ve always preferred a picnic rather than going out to eat on Mother’s day…I don’t like the crowds. This year Mother’s Day was colder than usual so we ate at home but went to Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park to hike and look at the wildflowers, which I always love to do in the spring.

We were surprised when we arrived mid-afternoon at Nerstrand. The cars were packed in, and overflow parking meant cars were parked outside the park! This is good…I love seeing families getting out to enjoy the outdoors and discover Minnesota’s beautiful state parks.

We walked a familiar trail and did find the spot where the unique-to-the-Nerstrand-area dwarf trout lily blooms, but they were not blooming yet. There were lots of other wild flowers in bloom though: bellworts, Dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty, anemones, trout lilies everywhere and marsh marigold, to name a few I recognized. It was beautiful, and the trees were budding out in spring greens.

Additional bonuses: I saw my first hummingbird at our feeder on our deck today.

Maybe I should name the mourning dove. I say good morning to her every day.

Our mourning dove continues to sit in her nest on her eggs, and near Pond #2 in our neighborhood are several Canadian Geese and their goslings.

I do love nature.