Front Porches

I know it would have been smart to get in my daily walk during the early morning hours on our recent trip to NC, where we went to visit our son and his family. At this time of year, in July, the temperatures climb high, as does the dew point, so getting things done in the early morning is a good idea.

The front porch.

But the allure of their front porch won out. Our son and his wife and two children moved into a lovely two-story house with a veranda in the back – off the kitchen, and a porch in the front. They are at the end of a cul-de-sac, with a wooded lot next door and a landscaped, water collection pond across the street with more trees in the background. New houses were being built the next block over.

There are two very tall trees, with skinny trunks, across the street from where we sat on the porch. I loved looking at them – sometimes they would sway with the wind and intertwine at the tip top, and sometimes they would stand tall and alone –  but they were striking, and greeted me every morning.  

Sister trees…

I quickly got in the routine of sitting on the front porch every morning. I would usually be the first one up, make myself a cup of coffee, and head outside to the front porch. There were two comfy chairs waiting for me. I would enjoy my quiet time there as eventually the others would wake up. The best part was when the grandkids woke up, came out, and sat on our laps while we welcomed the new day. 

Good Morning Sunshine.

There are a lot of front porches in the “south” as tradition dictates. It was fun to look at them as we drove through the area. In this new neighborhood, when we saw folks on their porch, we always said hi, and in turn, when I was sitting out in the early morning and neighbors walked by, there was always a greeting. What a wonderful thing.

Peaceful morning.

The porch made me think of my neighbor across the street from us in Northfield. She’s has made her front porch into a sitting area, an extension of her house, and she’s out there as much as her time allows (which is a lot). People always stop to visit with her.  I think of her as our neighborhood watchdog, and find comfort in her being out on her porch so much.

Across the street, my neighbor has flowers surrounding her front porch…complete with rocking chairs and an umbrella. The corn growing from her flower pot was planted by a squirrel. We’re watching the stalk grow!

Our front porch, at our own house in Northfield, has a swing which I also love, and use often. However, a swing is not conducive to drinking coffee. Our front porch is covered and faces north, therefore shaded all day. Yet, it’s set back so it’s not as open and visible to passerby’s. We do use our back deck a lot. There are many trees providing shade in the morning hours and late afternoon/evening times.

Our front porch swing.

I ask myself would I do this – drink my morning coffee on the front porch daily – if our front porch had chairs instead of a swing? Would I fit it into my daily routine? I’m not sure. It just seemed right in North Carolina. Maybe because we were on vacation…

All I know is a front porch is inviting, and a great place to spend time!

Libraries

I like libraries. I like the looks of them. I like the smell of them. I like their offerings…books (and more). Our library in Northfield is wonderful. I walked out of the library the other day with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our city library.

The updated entrance to the library (2016).

I go to the library often…to borrow books, and CD’s, and even DVD’s for myself. My husband does too. I am in the habit of making my request online, then having the librarians find the item -at our library or another connected to the library system – and put it on hold for me until I go pick it up.

Another view of the Northfield library.

When the grandkids lived with us, we went to the library weekly for story time. Now I get to be the storyteller over Zoom. So now, I go to the library weekly to pick out children’s books for my story time. The children’s librarians are always willing to help me and I usually leave with about 10-12 books. I come home, read them to make sure I like them, and then let the kids choose which ones we’ll read. It’s great fun. 

Inside the original part of the Northfield library.

The other day I checked out an audio book and knew I wouldn’t be able to return the CD’s on the due date, so the librarian extended the due date for me.

A corner view of the original library building.

The library in Northfield is a Carnegie library. A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1882 and 1929.* So Carnegie libraries are older, and usually beautiful, brick buildings.

This is the original door to the Northfield Carnegie Library (no longer in use).

The Northfield Carnegie library was built in 1910. A large addition was added in 1985. Another renovation was completed in 2016. The 2016 renovation included many large windows that let in lots of natural light and it is lovely. There are some nice sitting areas where I sometimes go to write or read.

The newest addition to the library…bringing much natural light into the lovely space.

I remember during renovation the library moved to the city hall, yet they still were able to provide a limited, but wonderful, service to the community.

The yard sign for library.

I like books. I like to read. I like the variety from the library without having to purchase. And, the library is available to anyone. I am grateful for our library system…a gateway to the world of reading.

*Wikipedia

My Fairy Garden

While in Dubuque I mentioned to my friend that I’d like to place a small fairy garden among my flowers back home. Then, when we were in an antique store, she spotted a miniature porcelain table and chairs set…she wondered if that would work? We continued walking around the shop as I thought about it… and the idea took hold so I purchased the pretty, pink, green and cream porcelain mini-table with matching chairs.

A glass pebble trail leading to the table and three chairs.

The next day I bought a chubby little fairy/angel holding a cup of tea at a thrift store. 

The fairies in my fairy garden.

When I arrived home to Minnesota I rescued another lone fairy I had sitting outside (the one a squirrel carried off a few years ago and we found it up in the tree the next summer). I started planning the miniature set design.

Looking in on the fairies.

I found a spot in the corner of my back garden, under my fragrant, white rose bush, and next to the public sidewalk that goes past our house. I set a trail of glass pebbles to the table and chairs and placed my fairies on two of three chairs. This is a start.

My fairy garden is tucked under my rose bush.

I enjoyed forming this miniature world. My hope is that people will spot the fairy garden and find a bit of whimsey for the moment.

Another view.

To my satisfaction, through my upstairs window, I have seen a few people discovering it… and that makes me happy.

Emmaus Church

We attended church yesterday… for the first time since March 0f 2020 when Covid-19 shut everything down. We wore our masks and social-distanced ourselves inside the sanctuary, but the energy was there…the Spirit of God was there… building us up, and it was good to be together again.

The welcome entrance to our church.

Since we’ve been gone some updates took place…the sanctuary was painted, the podium platform was raised 10″ for better viewing, we got new, more comfortable chairs and brand new carpet…it looks great! And seeing it filled with people was even greater.

Outside Emmaus Church in Northfield, Minnesota.

It will probably one of those first times, always remembered, as to what it was like – attending church for the first time after a pandemic.

I’m thinking God saw it and thought it was good.

Walking at Carleton

Literally, within minutes, we got dressed in our winter gear, drove to the upper arb in Northfield, just a few blocks away from our house, buckled on our snowshoes and started walking in the woods in the early morning after a lovely snow fall the day before.

This photo of the colorful sunrise was sent by a friend (used with permission). We had seen a portion of this sunrise from our window which enticed us to get outside and snowshoe.

We went “off trail” and followed deer tracks and had a delightful time while getting exercise and fresh air. The sun was rising and it was very calm and peaceful. A great way to start the day.

We had fun following fresh tracks in the newly fallen snow.
An evergreen tree among pin oaks.

And we were back home an hour later. It’s wonderful to have the Carleton Arboretum so close and available. 

The upper arb at Carleton College.

The campus of Carleton College is also a great place to walk in the winter – without snowshoes. Carleton keeps their sidewalks clear and safe and there are lots of places to roam and get in a good walk, while weaving in-between the beautiful buildings and green spaces – well- white spaces in winter! We tend to go there often.

Clear ice forms this Carleton College logo ice sculpture.

The other day we were treated with ice sculptures. We don’t know who made them, we assume some Carleton students. We found three.

Mamma and baby penguin ice sculpture.
Olaf!

It was a delightful addition to our winter walk that day on Carleton’s campus.

So, so sad…

The historic river inn in Northfield caught on fire last night, about 5 o’clock. This morning fire trucks continue to pour water on the building and smoke still billows in the air.

A landmark in Northfield MN: The Archer House. Photo taken morning of 11/13/20.
Fire damage to the treasured river inn in Northfield. Photo taken 11/13/20.

What a tragic loss for our town…the beloved Archer House, opened 1877.

Photo taken morning of 11/13/20.

Leaves, leaves and more leaves…

We have enjoyed unusual November temperatures – in the 70’s – these past few days and they have been stunning. It has been great for working in the yard – raking up the leaves that were covered under eight inches of snow that fell in mid-October.  

One pile of leaves in the back yard.

We live on a corner lot, downwind it seems. Along with our own leaves, a lot of our neighbor’s leaves are blown into our yard, and stop there. Most of the snow has melted so it was time to rake them up. It’s a big job.

We used these black buckets as scoops to load the pick-up truck.

We took six loads to the compost site in Northfield. Four times we filled the pickup bed to the max.

Filled to the brim.

We also filled 30 big black bags and two garbage cans full of leaves. That took another two trips to the landfill.

I decided to shovel two small, leftover snow piles to get to the leaves underneath! A comic twist.
Last fall (2019) our grandchildren were visiting and enjoyed jumping in piles of leaves.

But I’m grateful…for the beautiful weather to be working outside, for our health to be able do the work, for trees to enjoy, and a good night’s sleep!

Our leafless lawn, for now.

Home Improvement

We moved into our house 25 years ago and we were younger then! I have always liked our house. Lately I realized having a hand railing at the front door would be a nice touch for us and for our guests. There are a couple of steps to navigate so having something to hold on to would be helpful.

For 25 years there was no railing by the front door.

So, several days before the 8″ October snowfall, we went off to the big box store to buy a railing and hardware. 

The railing before it was painted.

My husband went to work. First, the railing was measured and cut to size. Then some circular extensions were needed to be cut out so the hardware spacing was “up to code” as to how far the railing came out from the wall. Next the oak wood was primed, then painted, then put up with extra long screws. 

The finished railing.

It turned out well. It’s a great addition, and improvement, to our house.  

September Sky

We have always enjoyed buckling ourselves into our car seats and taking scenic drives, heading out of town on country roads. It’s fun to see the varied landscapes in our great state.

Photo taken last week, on the outskirts of Northfield.

When the pandemic took hold we started to take more frequent rides to get us out of the house.

Dramatic clouds over the corn field.

Last week we drove a short 20 miles loop around Northfield and were mesmerized by the sky. These dramatic photos were snapped when we quickly pulled over to the side of the road a couple of times.

The colors and lighting of these clouds are beautiful.

This particular evening we were on a road where you could see a whole lot of sky. The sky is always fun to watch. It has so many displays: blue with soft, white, fluffy clouds or clear blue with no clouds, and sometimes stormy skies with dark, angry clouds.

This is what the sky looked like when we left our house.

On our way back to town we saw this gorgeous sunset.

Evening of September 30, 2020.

I’m compelled to include the photo below, taken in July 2018 (pre-pandemic) on a drive west of Northfield. It was eerie. Soon after I took the photo it began to rain. Fortunately it was not a tornado.

This photo was taken July 2018.