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.
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.Chimney Rock.
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.
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.
Feathers were flying everywhere.
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.
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.
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.
Into the woods.
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.
Gary and I flew to Nova Scotia in 2013 and rented a car to tour the provinces of Nova Scotia (including the Bay of Fundy) and Prince Edward Island.
We were hiking around the Bay of Fundy during low tide. It was amazing to hike far out from shore on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, knowing in a couple hours water would rise to cover the entire area once again. And it would be deep waters. The record tide recorded is 53’…it was 43’ the day we were hiking around the sea floor in the Bay of Fundy.
According to Wikipedia: “The Bay of Fundy is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the state of Maine. It has the highest tidal range in the world.”
I don’t really understand how tides work – I do know they’re connected to the moon’s cycle. I remember when we took a trip to Maine in the 80’s I learned there were two tide cycles each day: two high and two low. I was so surprised. Growing up in the Midwest and not living near the ocean I didn’t know such things. I guess I wasn’t listening in school either. HA
I remember while hiking in the Bay of Fundy, I once again was in awe of God’s amazing creation. When the massive tides recede, the endless mudflats are home to many sea creatures and people love to search for them when the tide is out.
Green…spring greens…such beauty…everywhere you look. It’s dazzling.
And there is not just one color green but many shades of green.
A lily shaping up nicely.
Just think if everything green was the same color, tint or shade of green.
Greens in the garden.
Of course the same can be said for the color blue and red and purple and other colors – they all have different shades, but shades of green surround us and are so pronounced, especially in spring time.
Solomon Seal popping up in the garden.
Shades of green are on display for us all to see just by going outside.
My camera didn’t capture the shimmer in the tree tops.
Green is an amazing color.
Raindrops on lily leaves.
When my boys were little and coloring with crayons I explained that God created all the colors before Crayola made crayons. What fun to look inside a fresh box of crayons.
I love color…our brains like color…but right now I’m partial to green.
