Northfield – Valerie's Voice

Public Artworks continued…

To continue the public artworks post, here’s more I’ve seen in the past few weeks.

We took a quick trip to Florida to escape the Minnesota winter…only to be greeted by unseasonably cold weather there. O well, we had a good time. 😉

When we arrived in the Tampa (TMP) airport we were greeted by an oversized (floor to ceiling!) pink flamingo. His long pink legs and long pink neck bending down to the ground was fantastic.

In Dunedin, Florida there is an outdoor mural of dogs painted on a building in the downtown area. It takes up two outside walls of the building (one was in the shade and too dark for a photo). The artist called for photos from dog owner’s and then painted the mural depicting everyone’s dogs for all to enjoy.

Also in Florida, there was a well-done public shell exhibit close to the beach. I appreciated the collector’s willingness to educate the public on all the different types of shells found in the area.

Inedible, exquisitely decorated, layer cake.

Inside a restaurant, for all who entered to enjoy, was a tall, beautiful layer cake made of costume, sparkly jewelry. People come up with very creative ideas.

There was a sweet picture in a coffee shop’s public bathroom. A framed print someone probably found just to fill a space on the wall, but this simple piece spoke to me that day. It felt like an invitation to a tea party.

And finally, just the other day we went for a walk in the unseasonable 54* warm weather, along the Cannon River in Northfield. There, new to us (how long has it been there???) was another mural painted on a bridge abutment. There were several beautiful nature scenes.

The credit was only listed @surfaceofbeauty. What I could glean from online was the artist is Natasha May Platt, @surface of beauty, a floral mural artist…from New York!

We so enjoyed the public artwork of lovely floral and fauna paintings that bring hope for spring.

I plan to continue to look for different public artworks that speak to me. May you enjoy looking for all the public artworks in your ordinary days.

Quotes & Artworks

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love; it will not lead you astray.”
                Rumi 1207-1273

“You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” 
                Robin Williams

“Have I gone mad?” asked the Mad Hatter
“I’m afraid so,” replied Alice
“You’re entirely bonkers, but I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”
                 Lewis Carroll

Somehow these quotes speak to me of enjoying wonders of ordinary living. Living with abandon and paying attention to all that surrounds us.

One of a “nide” of pheasants that gather in the field in back of our house.
I learned a group of pheasants are called a **nide**.

I do love nature…oh so much. Recently I have enjoyed seeing up to 15 pheasants in the field behind our house. There is so much beauty in nature, and its proven to help our mental acuity when we stop to appreciate it.

Then there are made-made public artworks. I’ve taken more notice in the past few weeks as I’ve tried to be more in tune with my surroundings.

I had an appointment at the Park Nicollet Clinic in Burnsville recently. It is a fairly large facility so there is some walking involved to get from the parking garage, through the covered walkway into the building. There is a wall of posters hanging in the entry hallway. Many people walk on right by this display…I have before. But once I noticed the posters, I enjoyed looking at different Minnesota lakes on this cold winter day, when the lakes are frozen over now.

I’m posting four of the eight posters depicting different lakes in Minnesota.

As I stood admiring them an employee walked by and said to me, “I claim this one” pointing to the Lake of the Woods poster. I replied, “OK, I’ll take the Lake Superior poster.”

I took notice of several other works of arts on display throughout the clinic that day.

Other public artworks that caught my attention these past few weeks were huge (approx. 4 feet X 8 feet) photos printed on metal and posted along an antique store parking lot in Mantorville, of all places…

Rio Grande No. 5771
Photo by Brian Hindal, a local Mantorville resident.

Each photo is taken by a local person with a description next to the photo. There were ten huge photos and a variety of subjects… I’ve included three favorites…

Americana
Photo by Cory Ingram, a local photographer, writer, fisherman, and physician.

Sunflower
Photo by Annemieke van der Werff

These public artworks are a wonderful way to display local artists and create a warm and welcoming space…even in parking lots!

Also, there is a wonderful exhibit on display at the MSP airport, entitled The Felt Menagerie;

The bird is all made of felt…flowers, feathers, feet and beak.

A collection of unusual creatures by Dustin Black.

These pieces were so whimsical. They made me smile…and made me marvel at the work involved using all felt material.

Once you start looking…it’s amazing what you see all around on ordinary days.

More public artworks to be continued…

Bookshelf of Northfield Authors

There’s a new public art work display in Northfield, at the former site of the Archer House, called a “Bookshelf of Northfield Authors.”

I’m not sure when this art display was installed. I read a short blurb about it, dated December 10, after I noticed it driving down Division Street.

Fun magical characters, created by the artist, are featured throughout.

Steve Grove’s book is on this panel published in 2024, along with *Giants of the Earth* O.E. Rölvaag published in 1927.

I’m not sure how long the display will stay up, but it is a clever display and fun to see.

Pat Foley, our sons high school cross country coach, published a book on *The History of Northfield High School Cross Country.*

The artwork is on banners hanging along the fence at the former Archer House site. It’s 170′ long, with 17 smaller murals.

The mural depicts over 100 titles including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and children’s books all by Northfield authors.

Reading out loud, in a tent or under a tree?

It also features “the artist’s magical characters” throughout the display. The Latino artist’s name is Rocky Casillas Aquirre.

A History of the Northfield Public Library

It is a nice to stroll along the sideway to pursue the pictures and find names of writers one knows, and their book titles.

Historian Jeff Sauve has written several books.

It’s a clever and delightful way to celebrate these hometown authors.

(There are additional panels to see. I did not include all the photos.)

Week Two in Virginia

*Forgive me if this comes to your email twice. I tried publishing this at 6:30 am but it hasn’t gone through so I recreated the post and am trying it again.*

Continuing a photo journal of our adventures from week two, visiting family, in Arlington, Virginia (showing one to three…photos a day).

The impressive nave and chancel of the National Cathedral. It filled up for the advent service.

Sunday, November 30, was the first Sunday of Advent, and it was a special one. We went to an advent service in the Washington National Cathedral.

Heavenly voice and Bible readings filled the spectacular cathedral, and made for a memorable event.

Gary and I decided to take an overnight trip up to Pennsylvania to visit Gary’s family. His hometown is only about three hours away from where we were staying in Virginia, so we got up early Monday morning and drove to Pennsylvania for an over night visit.

One perspective of the farm where Gary grew up, in Pennsylvania.

We stopped at his younger sister’s farm for a visit. Then, we drove to the farm where Gary grew up. The friendly Mennonite folks who live there invited us in for a chat. They are lovely people.

Another perspective of the farm…this is the field where one of my favorite pictures was taken of our two young boys running in the field.

Later that evening, a lot of family members joined us for a dinner out, even though it was last minute.

We decided to drive back Tuesday morning, forgoing another farm visit to Gary’s other sister’s farm, simply because it was snowing and slick driving conditions. But we were grateful to be able to take this time to reconnect…our short stay was very enjoyable.

On Wednesday we ran errands and did some laundry and just hung out. Zoey and I made enchiladas for dinner.

We were ready again on Thursday to take the Metro into the city. The Metro is such a great system. We stopped at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, honoring the 34th U.S. President, on our way to the United States Botanic Garden.

The Lincoln Memorial model made of plant parts.

There was plenty to see indoors with special December exhibits: models of DC landmarks made from plant parts, and thousands of poinsettias were placed in groups all around the gardens.

A lovely display of pink/white poinsettias…I don’t think I’ve seen this sweet color of poinsettias before.

Next, we walked to the White House to check out the new ballroom construction, but we couldn’t see a thing.

After school the kids helped us count the miscellaneous coins the family had accumulated over the year. The bank said the coins had to be counted and put in wrappers. It turned out to be a fun project…and profitable.

Fun looking at and counting all the coins, and finding several foreign coins in the mix.

We went up to the rooftop to observe December’s full moon, Thursday December 4.

Lunch on Friday was in DuPont Circle. We met friends who were former neighbors in Northfield for many years. They moved to the DC area a few years ago.

We had a lovely lunch with our friends from Minnesota.

We arranged to meet at a restaurant along the Metro line so both parties could just hop on the Metro. We had a great time. As we walked back to the Metro station we stopped at a pop-up Christmas Market which was fun to peruse. There was leftover dusting of snow on trees and roses… it felt “Christmassy.”

Still swinging on the playground. The previous dusting of snow melted.

Zoey had Portuguese lessons again on Saturday. We went on another pleasurable walk with Ezra. Mid-afternoon we walked to a park near their apartment. The kids still enjoy play grounds. We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home. It’s never too cold for ice cream.

Happy Thanksgiving

Morning sunrise at 6:36 am on November 2, 2025 in Northfield.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim His unfailing love in the morning,
    His faithfulness in the evening...

Psalm 92:1-2

Runaway wild turkey on the streets of Minneapolis…November 8, 2025

Evening sunset at 6:05 pm on October 30, 2025 in Northfield.

The Northern Lights

Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (Ford Street, Northfield)

It’s not often one gets to see the northern lights, especially in town, and in southern Minnesota, but the last two nights there were wonderful displays right outside our front door. A neighbor sent a photo in a text alerting me to check out the spectacular show on Tuesday evening.

I have seen the northern lights a couple times in my life. Once with the naked eye from a parking lot at our church. That was many years ago – at that time I did not have an ever-ready camera (cell phone) to look at them through the lens that illuminates them. I remember faintly seeing green streaks in the northern sky.

However, in May 2024, having heard on the news the northern lights may be visible, I drove a mile out-of-town to watch for them. There were several of us folks who had driven away from the city lights to look for them. There was excitement in the air as we did witness a spectacular light show.

In May 2024 the colors were purple and green, with some yellow and red.

Tuesday night the colors were dramatic reds and greens…(maybe because Christmas is coming? HA)

Wednesday, 11/12/25 Ford Street, Northfield.

We didn’t see as much activity on Wednesday night…at least the times when we checked, but we did catch on fabulous green streak with purple hues.

What an awesome, glorious, “free event”, put on by the Father of Lights.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 
who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Impromptu Purchase

I had a short time between appointments last week, so I decided to tuck into a gift shop in downtown Northfield. There were fall items on sale, but a large part of the store was already decked out for Christmas. I wasn’t planning to buy anything.

A 5″ x 6″ Wooden Plaque: Primitives by Kathy ~ Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

But, the moment I saw this painting on a wooden block, I knew I wanted it. It was a totally impromptu purchase, which I rarely do, but I loved the image and the joy it brought to me. Maybe it’s because I had been out to helping on the farm earlier this week; feeding two horses, two donkeys, two goats, two Nigerian Dwarf goats, two sheep (they’re new), eight chickens and four cats. I have grown fond of these beautiful creatures.

Most of the farm animals I work with are represented on this picture plaque. The horse, donkey, sheep, goats, and rooster are so familiar to me. The picture made me feel happy and joyful, and worshipful even. I loved to see the animals gathered around the manger, worshiping baby Jesus. Although it is a Christmas scene, I plan to keep it up all year long.

Later that same day I was driving to an art exhibit and passed a farm. “And on that farm” was a row of sheep that caught my attention. Several sheep were all lined up along a long wooden fence, with their heads hanging through the first horizontal rail. All their heads were lowered…they looked to be eating something off the ground. And then I noticed one, big brown (black?) sheep (or possibly a goat) facing the others – outside the fence. The whole scene made me smile and I turned the car around to go back and take a picture.

Artist: Julie Fakler – Pet Portraits in acrylic paint & clay.

I went to the art gallery to see one exhibit, and afterward was lured in to another studio with a special exhibit of animals painted on clay, and other mediums. Farm animals seemed to be the theme of my day, so I took more photos.

Artist: Jule Fakler – Pet Portraits in acrylic paint & clay.

Artist Julie Fakler offers a variety of pictures to choose from on her ‘Pet Portraits” business cards.
She is a local artist in Faribault, MN.

I do love animals. It was a good day.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful, 
The Lord God made them all. 
		                                                            Stanza 1 by Cecil Frances Alexander

Soybeans and such

Last week friends from out-of-town came for a visit. We had a great time showing them our new home, the thriving, yet quaint town of Northfield, and some southern Minnesota landscapes.

I noticed this “new to me” mosaic art installment on Bridge Square. From this angle, it frames the original Ames Mill and the dam on the Cannon River.

One of the evenings we were sitting out on our patio enjoying dinner and summer offerings…comfortable weather, sunny, blue skies fading into dusky skies, and no mosquitos!

My friend and I gazing up at the night sky.

My friend and I even laid down on the grass for a while, to watch the stars come out.

This seemed to be a good time to pull up a soybean stalk from the field behind us. I’ve been waiting to do this. I have never seen a soybean plant up close. All summer we have been watching fields of soybeans grow in our “backyard” and I was curious what they looked like.

So, Gary climbed down the small incline and pulled up a plant, roots and all. It was about three feet tall and had several fuzzy little bean pods hanging on the stem.

We put it in a vase of water and stuck it in the corner of our patio for future reference, and for decoration. It’s slowly fading away, but the crop of soybeans in the field behind us is thriving.

A Hummingbird Haiku

A daily affair.
In mornings it comes to drink,
Sipping sweet nectar.

It flutters in place
Near a pot by the glass door,
Bringing much delight.

As it twirls around
Its beauty and its splendor
Makes my world stand still.

Valerie Bollinger 2025

We Shall Overcome

I have been singing We Shall Overcome over and over in my mind since we attended a John Lewis Rally last week, at Ames Park in Northfield. It wasn’t a lengthy rally, but it was a powerful one. We attended the event to lend support for non-discrimination and fair treatment to all human beings. It was a beautiful evening and a good turnout.

There was a short program about John Lewis’ life and a few songs were sung, We Shall Overcome being one of them. And then we marched together, a re-enactment of the ’65 marches in Selma, Alabama in which John Lewis participated. The marches were a non-violent protest against discrimination in the 60’s.

The long line the rally group created was impressive as we walked two abreast over the 5^th Street bridge to downtown’s main street, which was closed off to vehicles. There we linked arms, and walked together four across, to mimic what they did in Selma. We walked down one block on Division Street, through Bridge Square to the Fourth Street bridge.

As we were walking the man linked on my left abruptly ran off to the side and started hugging a man on the sidelines. His wife said he must have seen someone he knew. When he fell back in line, he linked up arms again and explained he noticed the Hispanic man on the sidelines watching us march and he was crying, so he ran up to give him a big hug. I had not noticed the man on the sideline, nor noticed his tears, but I’m glad my line-partner did.

John Lewis’ quotes are words to remember during these unsettling days.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.”