As we walked along the river trail the other morning, we heard an unusual number of birds singing. The sound ramped up as we got closer to the hundreds of birds we could not see (except for a few in the treetops) but it sounded like a huge choir of birds, and not the normal bird songs one hears in the spring. Loud chirping was more like it. We took notice.
As we walked through this moment, we passed some walkers and they commented on the sound from the birds. I recognized one of the walkers as the orchestra conductor at St. Olaf College…I said to him as we passed, “I think the birds need a conductor.” His group also commented on the number of birds there must be to make loud “music” like that.
Gary and I continued on and all at once there was silence!
Not one bird sound. They all stopped at the exact same moment…for about five seconds.
Silence.
Then, just as quickly as they stopped, the birds resumed their singing again, loudly again. We looked at each other and Gary quipped, “They must have had to turn the page.” I laughed.
The conductor said he’d love to see all the birds take off at once. That would be a sight to see.
I do love birds…to watch them at the feeders and see them in nature, to admire their unique beauty and hear their sweet songs.
I was surprised by tears the other night, when I sold our vintage baby bassinet.
The bassinet was handed down to me from my mother, and I only assume, she and my dad bought it, or were gifted with it, when I (or my brother) was born.
The vintage bassinet.
I’m not even sure why I became a little emotional when I put it on the front porch, because we used it more as a decoration these last three decades than for our newborns to sleep in. At one time someone suggested I put a fern in it and let the fronds drape over the sides. That sounds pretty, but I didn’t do that. Mostly I filled it with all our stuffed animals.
There is an endearing story about the stuffed animals in the bassinet. We had a sweet kitty cat named Caramel Corn (that was her coloring). She was a cat that liked people, and the indoors. When we moved to our house in Northfield, she oriented herself to her new digs. One day, shortly after we moved in, I couldn’t find her. I looked everywhere and she was not to be found. I thought, although it was highly unusual, maybe she snuck outside. So I waited, and hoped she’d find her way home.
A few hours later I went upstairs and out the corner of my eye I saw some movement towards the bassinet. I went over to check it out and to my surprise, there was Caramel Corn snuggled with all the stuffed animals in the bassinet! She looked so cozy. I was relieved she was safe and in the house.
Our precious Caramel Corn.
The new buyer wanted the bassinet for that very night, but she couldn’t come at a time when we were home, so she asked if I would leave it on the porch for her to pick up. I placed the bassinet on the front porch (without the stuffed animals) and decided to trust her to leave the money under the mat (she did).
As I set the bassinet on the porch I thought of my own babies, and then about the baby that was to sleep in it that night. I figured, even if I didn’t get paid, it was a good feeling knowing a baby was going to be sleeping in the bassinet once again.
We recently we attended a St. Olaf Orchestra concert. The college finally opened the campus to visitors, so we could be on campus. The orchestra concert was especially inviting since it is one of Steve Amundson’s (the conductor of St. Olaf’s orchestra) last concerts. He will be retiring at the end of the school year, after forty years at the college.
I enjoy attending St. Olaf orchestra concerts. The audience is guaranteed an amazing, and varied, performance. The students create beautiful music and sound fantastic. At this concert, besides being one of Steve’s last concerts, two out-of-the-ordinary things happened.
First, this concert was performed a few days after the invasion of Ukraine. Steve added a special piece to the program, “Nimrod”, a beautiful, calming piece, and he called for a moment of silence to remember the people of Ukraine. It was poignant.
Then, in addition to featuring two outstanding soloists, a cellist and a clarinet player, another special and distinct piece of music was performed. The husband of a friend of mine, commissioned Steve Amundson to write a piece in honor of his wife and her retirement from thirty-plus years of working at St. Olaf College. The composition was débuted at this concert. It was titled “Gratia Viva” and the piece was remarkable….marvelous…wonderful… it’s hard to find words to describe it. It was such a sweet piece of music, and it was exciting to know the people and story behind the song. How one composes music, especially for multiple instruments, is beyond my imagination.
We will continue to monitor the college’s music calendars for more events, now that the campuses are open to the public. Both colleges offer many gifts to our community, and I am grateful.
Over a year ago, in November 2020, the Archer House River Inn in Northfield was destroyed by fire.
Going… (photo by cb)
This month, it has finally been taken down. It took over a year to set things in motion to dissemble this historic inn that was on the National Register of Historic Places. It took a few weeks for the demolition to be complete.
Going…
It was a sad sight to see on a daily basis in Northfield’s downtown. The area is now cleared out, but a “hole” remains on Division Street (the main street), and in resident’s hearts. What will replace the beloved hotel remains to be determined.
Remembering an extra special homecoming:
Bringing up the Christmas boxes from the basement.
Choosing carefully the holiday adornments.
Taking time to decorate each room.
Decorating with the grandchildren in mind.
Wanting to create for them the wonder of Christmas.
Selecting the biggest and the best Christmas tree,
Cutting it down to size to fit in the pine-sided room,
Admiring the spruce’s perfect imperfection.
Smelling its wonderful scent,
Stringing on the lights,
Leaving off the ornaments...for now,
Creating enchantment within our home.
Lingering in the precious moments,
Recalling cherished memories of Christmas’ past.
Waiting with excitement at the airport,
Anticipating their arrival from the international terminal.
Spotting their figures linked together...my heart skipping a beat.
Rejoicing and giving thanks.
Pulling into the driveway at home...
Entering the house ahead of the others to turn on the tree lights...
Anticipating the joy of the little ones seeing the lighted Christmas tree.
Coming to a standstill.
Looking in awe.
Their happy faces lighting up.
It was priceless.
The Minnesota Explorer is a magazine that highlights different events throughout our state. Recently, it featured an article on Christmas shopping in historic small towns. I love exploring different small towns and this sparked my interest, so I did a little research. I didn’t really need to shop for anything…much of my Christmas shopping was done…but the idea of walking in and out of stores, gazing at window displays, seeing Christmas lights light up the streets, was appealing to me.
A sign outside the Northfield Library. Inside the library were some model train displays. Not as many as in the past, but still fun to see.
After checking out a couple different towns I realized all I wanted was right here in my hometown of Northfield….and…the organized Winter Walk made it even more festive.
Bridge Square at dusk, the beginning of the Winter Walk.
I love to see the white-lit Christmas tree on top of the Malt-O-Meal hot cereal building at Christmastime. When we drive into town it always welcomes me home.
The Winter Walk happened last week on a beautiful evening. The weather was mild, stores were open late, luminaires lined the closed-off main street, Christmas lights lit up Bridge square and there are some fun window displays.
The streets were filled with many folks out enjoying the activities. It was a wonderful sight.
Colorful tree on Bridge Square…Santa’s small chalet in the background.
Fun necklaces were given away, until they ran out.
Walking along the street, tasting sweet treats, drinking cider and hot chocolate, smelling the wood burning fires in fire pits – offering warmth along the way,
There were multiple fire pits along the street for people to warm themselves by a fire. The aroma of the wood burning fires added to the ambiance.
watching the horse-drawn wagons full of people go by,
One of the horse-drawn carriages.
looking in the store windows and occasionally going into a store.
A window display.
It was delightful.
Donning our Santa’s hats.
Olaf made an appearance too!
Maybe I’ll visit a different small town next year but for now, Northfield’s Winter Walk was what I was looking for.
Walking through the prairie, on a cool November morning, was glorious.
The sky was interesting… blue patches in one direction, dark clouds in the other direction, with the sun trying to peek beyond the clouds.
We walked through the quaint cemetery at Valley Grove that leads to the prairie trails. We hiked the mown trails through tall grasses, stunningly gold in color, and as tall as us, in most areas.
We took the trail that leads down to the border of Big Woods State Park. As we walked along the edge of the park, it started to drizzle and I could hear the droplets landing on the dried leaves of the forest floor. It was a lovely sound.
Then the raindrops became heavier and we found ourselves walking in the rain…but only for a little while (and it was quite pleasant walking in the rain). The rain quickly stopped and soon the sun was breaking through in full force, and by afternoon the sky was cloudless.
We were in awe of the beauty of the golden grass on the prairie, with a slight wave in the wind, against different backdrops: two historic churches, the cospe of white birch trees, the state park and surrounding horizon.
We found our way to Hidden Falls 2 (for lack of a better name). The creek bed was dry and the water over the falls had frozen in place, into an immobile cascade. It seemed like time was standing still – until next spring, I guess. But, it too, had it’s own beauty.
Frozen!
We had the area to ourselves…no evidence of people or animals…and we continued to hike this on this splendid property maintained by The Valley Grove Preservation Society. I’m grateful for their work on behalf of this magnificent section of a Minnesota prairie.
A mown path through tall prairie grass, that doesn’t look so tall in the photo.
This is the corner of the Valley Grove cemetery where the beloved Old Oak Tree stood for 200 years, and was blown over during the 2018 tornado.
We were happy to get some fresh air and exercise before heading to downtown Northfield to support “Small Business Saturday”, where we did finish our Christmas shopping that afternoon…in the sunshine.
Autumn gel stickers put on our patio door by grandchildren.
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…
My fairy garden has taken on a winter look. While doing fall yard chores, I collected and cleaned up the fairies and table and chairs I used to create a fairy garden last spring, and stored them away until next spring…
My little granddaughter liked my fairy garden. Unfortunately, on a recent visit she wanted to see my fairy garden again, and I had to tell her I had taken it in for the winter.
But alas, now there is a new fairy in place…a winter fairy sitting by a frosted tree at the end of the glass, stepping-stone path, under the dormant rosebush in our back garden…looking out at passersby, bringing joy, and doing whatever it is that fairies do.
There was a major street renovation in our town recently. The intersection by the high school and middle school was transformed into a round-about, and four tunnels were added for pedestrians and bicyclists to use to avoid crossing the busy intersection. In the beginning, I wondered how much sense it made since it was costly. But now that it is completed, and working smoothly, I do like the results.
A future section of the Mill Towns State Trail will run through one of the tunnels.
To top it off, the city included monies for a public art display in the tunnels. There were bids for the job… muralists (artist’s self-identifier) had to submit their work and be chosen. For this public art display, Adam Tuman was the chosen artist.
The muralist: Adam Turman.
We have seen his work before. Several years ago, our son hired Adam to paint a beautiful mural on the outside wall of his office building in Uptown, Minneapolis. The mural included scenes of the uptown area (where the office is located) and signs of technology (the business).
Mural of the Uptown area on our son’s office building, in Uptown.
Another section of the cityscape view on the office building.
I also saw an exhibit of Adam Turman’s artwork at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN.
Now, here he is in Northfield, painting beautiful, illustrated works to highlight our town and its surrounding area.
Bridge over the Cannon River in downtown Northfield.
The other day we went to see how the tunnels were progressing and Adam was working. We introduced ourselves and struck up a conversation with him. Adam was very friendly and engaging and we were so glad to meet him. Of course, he remembered doing the mural for our son. We are thrilled Adam was chosen to do this public art display in Northfield. He has almost completed his work on the four tunnels.
Ruins of an old mill in Dundas, MN.
The colors are vibrant.
Bright colors.
The themes so apropos to our area.
Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
The painting so artistically appealing.
Prairie cone flowers.
I love the added touch; a bee.
You get a sense of being a part of something big as you walk through the tunnels.
This woodpecker scene is still a work in progress.
There will be 16 scenes representing four sections when he is through with this project: Cannon River, Nerstrand Big Woods, Prairie, and Oak Savannah.
Kayaks on the Cannon.
An up-close snipit.
Trout Lilies.
A barred owl.
A chickadee.
Adam Turman does amazing work, and it is definitely worth a trip to see these tunnels in Northfield.
