I noticed the other day, we have tree images in every room in our house. We never planned it that way.
I do love trees. And I do love nature.
I love birds and critters, sky and clouds, flowers and trees, sunrises and sunsets.
I try to be out in nature whenever possible, and I try to bring some of it indoors.Â
I took photos of my tree images to share. They are as varied as live trees themselves.
And I am reminded of the âtree poemâ by Ilan Shamir that “gives advice from a tree.” The poem is often abbreviated, and seen on bookmarks or plaques.
Advice from a Tree
Stand tall and proud. Go out on a limb. Remember your roots. Drink plenty of water. Be content with your natural beauty. Enjoy the view.
The entire, beautiful Advice from a Tree poem gives even more advice. You can read it here.
Truthfully, there are even more tree images (and flowers and birds and…) around our house. We were surprised when we realize how many we had hanging around, or should I say, standing tall.
In addition to cleaning up my flower gardens in the fall, I also clean up my fairy garden. I remove the fairies and paraphernalia, wash them up, then store everything away until spring.
Then I place a winter scene in the garden, with a single component; a fairy sitting next to a snowy tree. Even though, in “normal” winters, snow covers it up for most of the season, itâs fun to place this ornament outside to have a winter fairy scene too.
Of course, this non-snowy winter the garden has not been covered in snow, and you can see the fairy and tree easily.
However, it has been invaded by an alien.
The other day as I was walking by, I noticed a small figure next to some glass mushrooms I forgot to put away last fall. When I picked it up, it looked like an alien. I trust it’s a friendly one.
I will add him to my ever-changing and expanding fairy garden this spring.
It’s fun to know others notice this whimsical little world, tucked away under a rose bush in my back yard.
We have arrived safely home from our 4,690 miles road trip, through eleven states in southeastern US. We saw a lot of beauty in nature, and beauty in the many friends and family we were able to visit. We are grateful all went well, and we had a great time!
There have been unusual weather patterns all across the country. It was warm here in Minnesota during February, with little snow fall. And it was cooler than normal in the southeast, where we were.
In Iowa Monday night, February 26, it was 72* and we ate dinner outside on a restaurant patio.
But our welcome home present was a cold snap. As we drove closer to Northfield the next day, the temperature kept dropping. When we arrived home we unloaded our car in 25* temperatures. It also started snowing. Sigh. We woke up to 5*!
It is predicted to remain cold for one day and then the temperatures will start climbing back up again. What a roller coaster. I wonder what kind of weather March will bring?
Urness Recital Hall on the St. Olaf College campus is a wonderful venue all year long, but it is especially cozy this time of year with its intimate setting and attractive lighting.
We bundled up and went out into the cold night for a 7:00 performance at Urness Hall, knowing it didnât take long to get to campus, it would be easy to park, it would be a free concert with a reasonable time commitment, and weâd hear some exceptional music.
The venue was maybe half full with students and community members. We sat on an aisle, behind a St. Olaf conductor of a different ensemble, who was in the audience. I’m sure she couldn’t help herself…she was covertly conducting the performance from her seat. She was fun to watch.
There were three musical scores on the program. The first two were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750, a German composer, and they both included the harpsichord. The third piece was composed by Pyotr Lylich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a Russian composer.
Apparently during the 16th-18th centuries, the harpsichord became an important European instrument, which may be why Bachâs compositions included the harpsichord.
I donât know the history of St. Olafâs harpsichord, but I overheard this was the first time it was played in Urness Recital Hall. James E. Bobb, the conductor of a choral ensemble at St. Olaf, and an organ/harpsichord professor, played the harpsichord during the performance.Â
The third piece by Tchaikosky was performed by 21 students from the St. Olaf orchestra. They were student-lead by the first chair violin (or viola), and included four string instruments: violin, viola, cello and bass cello. It was a lively, spirited performance. The students really do put a lot into their playing. Not only is it wonderful to hear them play, it’s fun to watch them play.
And so, an hour and 15 minutes later, we were putting our jackets back on and heading home, glad that we took the time to venture out for some high-quality music, being uplifted on this dark, cold January evening.
Not only are the outside temperatures below freezing, but they are belowzero degrees Fahrenheit…with wind chills about -27 degrees, according to Alexa.
So what does one do in these subzero temperatures?
It would be a great time to go through the closets, or files, or piles of paper on desks…or to clean out the kitchen cupboards, or do some deep cleaning in the basement…
Did I do any of those?
Nope…
On this gray, cloudy, bitterly cold day we stayed inside. I turned on the oven and made some peanut butter cookies (using my momâs recipe),
then curled up by the fireplace and read all afternoon.
And it was good.
Now, what will the coming week bring…it is supposed to be below zero all week…
We took a CPR class this week. It was offered at the senior center in Northfield. Although I hope to never have to use what we learned, itâs good to be refreshed on what to do, just in case. Our instructor was engaging and knowledgeable and the three hours went by quickly. We were able to practice on a mannequin to get the feel of just how much pressure you need to use when applying compressions. Little green lights lit up when you were doing it right. These features were not in place years ago…many years ago…when I last took a CPR class.
The senior center in Northfield, called FiftyNorth, is a vibrant one. There are numerous activities and classes to choose from, and many members.
The smell of coffee brewing and popcorn popping in the lobby is alluring. A jig saw puzzle on the table by the window was inviting, people were chatting in the lobby while sitting on comfortable sofas and chairs, a receptionist was there ready to greet you and answer questions. There are rotating art exhibits by local artists on the walls. Iâm glad to be a member of this senior center, although I could make much more use of the facilities – I was more active prior to Covid.
After our CPR class, as we were walking out, we noticed Little Frida CafĂŠ & Taco Shop, a small cafĂŠ in the dining room of FiftyNorth. It has limited hours â only open for breakfast and lunch, on weekdays, serving authentic Mexican fare. I had always wanted to try it, so we took this opportunity to order the lunch special. It was tasty! And so reasonable. Another hidden gem in Northfield.
I did have to get used the senior center’s name change to FiftyNorth a couple years ago, but now I like it and think itâs catchy, and a good fit.
The grandkids have gone home and the Christmas decorations and beautiful Christmas tree have been taken down, and it feels too quiet in the house.
Nature always offers healing energy and is good for the soul, so we have done some hiking to help move on and to take advantage of this mild December/January weather (and no ice).
Over the past few days, we have hiked at Big Woods Nerstrand State Park, walked the Dundas Trail and on paved paths in the north section of town, and hiked in the lower Carleton arb with the Faribo Flyers bike club. There is a lot of evidence of beaver activity along the river in the lower arb…well over 50 trees taken down.Â
We also hiked on a trail in the St. Olaf College Natural lands. There is a well-defined, wooded trail that meanders along Heath Creek, and it is a hidden gem. The winter landscape is pretty for this time of year; there is light snow and ice forming patterns around the rocks in the creek, the forest floor is full of brown oak leaves. The water is flowing strong and you can hear the sound of the babbling brook as you walk along side it.
There are many mature oak trees on the trail, and some with unusual characteristics that is noticeable without its foliage. One has a branch growing straight out from the trunk, another tree has six sturdy trunks coming from one lone trunk. A very huge oak tree has fallen over the river…the enormous root system upended on one side of the creek, the trunk laying across the creek, and the upper part of the tree with its large branches on the other side of the creek…it almost could be a bridge across. (I couldn’t capture it on photo).
We had hiked this trail before, maybe a year ago, but now that weâve rediscovered it, I think we will be hiking it more often.
Itâs nice to have so many green spaces (natural spaces – as they are not so green in the winter) to access within such a short distance of Northfield. Each hike this week was enjoyable in its own way, and rejuvenating.
The St. Olaf College campus is a beautiful place to walk. It has lots of sidewalks, mature trees and magnificent buildings to look at. I took a walk up there last week, planning to stop in at a holiday open house in the newly renovated (well, two years ago now) Steensland Hall.
Steensland Library (now Hall) was built on St. Olaf Campus in 1902. It was the third building to be built on campus. Old Main was the first in 1877, then the Ytterboe Dorm (originally called Menâs Dormitory) was built in 1901. Ytterboe was torn down to make room for the student center, Buntrock Commons, which opened in 1999. Both Old Main and the Steensland Hall are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Steensland Hall, a smaller, quaint, Neoclassical Revival-style building was built close to Old Main. It began as a library then morphed into several purposes over the years, after a new, larger library was built. Then, the Steensland library sat vacant from 2001 until its renovation in 2021.
It was renovated to house the Hong Kirekegaard Library…the largest collection of books (outside of Denmark) by and about the Danish philosopher Søren Kirekegaard. Scholars come to St. Olaf to do their research here, since the books cannot be checked out. The lower level provides cubicles for visiting scholars.
When I walked through the door, I was greeted by a former acquaintance from when I worked up on the hill. Her first words were, âThereâs a blast from the past.â I smiled, and she took me on a tour.
Upstairs, which is the entry level, there are a couple of offices, many bookshelves, and a big round oak table in the middle, welcoming people to come and sit a spell, and enjoy the charming and inviting space.
The building has lots of windows, so itâs very light and bright inside. There is a beautiful glass dome in the ceiling which was damaged in the infamous 2006 hailstorm, but the restorer was able to find the original glass provider and acquire more glass to repair the dome.
Of course, the building is now all up to code. There is an elevator, and a handicap assessable bathroom on the lower level, in addition to the work area cubicles, a classroom, and a small kitchen.
I was glad to finally have a chance to go inside and see this small, little building that has so much character.
Iâm reading a historical fiction novel, The Magnificent lives of Marjorie Merriweather Post(1887-1973). She was an American businesswomen, socialite, and philanthropist. She was the only child of C. W. Post who invented Grape Nuts cereal (in 1897) and Postum, a supposedly healthy, decaffeinated hot-powdered drink, intended to replace coffee (in 1895). Postum Cereal Company (now Post Consumer Brands, shortened to Post) was the original name of her fatherâs company, located in Battle Creek, Michigan, where Marjorie grew up. After his death, Marjorie inherited the company at age 27. For much of her life, Marjorie was known as the wealthiest woman in the United States.
Fast forward 125 years and Post bought out Northfieldâs beloved Malt-O-Meal cereal company. Although Grape Nuts is still made, it is not made in the Northfield plant. (But the hot Malt-O-Meal cereal still is.)
In later years, Marjorie bought smaller food companies and combined them into one business called General Foods. Itâs an interesting read.
As I was reading, I remembered my mother use to make a quick bread using Grape Nuts. They are hard, nutty kernels, but tasty. I decided I wanted to make that bread again. I remembered I liked it, especially toasted. I could not find my momâs hand-written recipe in my collection, so I looked online and found a different recipe for a quick bread made with Grape Nuts. I made one loaf. It turned out OK, but it was not as good as I remembered my momâs to be.
I reached out to my brother and he found my momâs Grape Nuts bread recipe in their recipe box. So, I made her recipe and it was yummy. Iâve included the recipe below.
Now, I have to decide if I want to try Postum. đ
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Rubyâs Grape Nuts Bread Recipe
1 Cup Grape Nuts
2 Cups Buttermilk
1 ½ Cup Sugar (originally 2 cups sugar...I reduced it)
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda in 2 tsp. warm water
4 Cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
Soak grape nuts in buttermilk for 15 minutes.
Add sugar, eggs, soda and salt.
Stir in flour and baking powder.
Put in greased loaf pans and let stand 10 minutes.
2 large pans or 4 mini loaf pans.
Bake 350* for 1 hour for larger loaves.
Bake 350* for 30-35 minutes for mini loaves
.