Northfield – Page 9 – Valerie's Voice

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

Too Much, Too Soon!

Go away winter! We are not ready for you. 😉

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.

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.

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.