Here are a few photos depicting life these days…
Photo by ba
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Snippets from this Past Week
Photo by ba
Tag: Spring
Photo by ba
A New Grandson is Here!
“A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” Carl Sandburg
Our son and his wife had their baby boy yesterday and everyone is healthy and doing fine. This is good news!
The spring equinox was at 10:59pm on March 19 but some places were still calling March 20 as the first day of spring but I still think our newest grandson gets to have the honor of being born the first day of spring in 2020.
His name Luca means “bringer of light” and it seems so appropriate during these difficult days. He is 8 lb 3 oz and 20.5 inches long.
We are so excited to welcome Luca Abram to our family. What joy!
Spring is Here!
I’m used to celebrating spring on March 20 so I was surprised to learn that today, March 19, 2020, is the first day of spring this year. The spring equinox begins tonight at 10:49 pm.
The COVID-19 pandemic is on all of our minds these days…the uncertainty of it and the bigger picture of the fallout…is scary. I will not be posting much about it…it’s too overwhelming…but I am grateful for my faith to see me through.
The clouds have been particularly beautiful and unusual in the past two weeks and I’ve captured a few photos.
Psalm 147: 7 & 8
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
Here’s to spring! May it lift our spirits a bit during these difficult days.
Minnesota Twins
I’m not really a sports fan. I will watch an occasional football game and we always watch the Superbowl game but rarely will I watch baseball or basketball on TV, unless they are play-off games…those games can be exciting. But we had an opportunity to go to the Minnesota Twins baseball game over the weekend, and it was fun. It seems the Minnesota Twins team is headed towards the play-offs this year. They are playing really well.
Go Twins!!!
The tickets were free and the seats were good…in the shaded, lower section, first-base side of the field. The weather was fabulous! A beautiful Spring day and a super day to be outside. A great day to watch an outdoor baseball game in Minnesota. .
So off we went to, apparently, a sell-out crowd at Target Field. It took a long time to get through security check and into the stadium. We were outside the gates before the game began but missed the first inning because of the long lines to get in, and get through security. That was surprising.
The Twins played the Chicago White Sox and won! The score was 7-0 and there were two homeruns. It was fun to watch the game and even more fun to watch the people.
But one of the best parts for me was holding a two-month old baby! The little one was part of family we knew sitting in seats in front of us. I offered to hold the baby and was able to, for a good amount of time. I think I might have enjoyed that most of all.
Tulips
One day last week, in-between rain showers, I went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and the tulips were in bloom. The tulips were bright and colorful – oh so many colors! – and all delightful. I didn’t take enough photos.
In Matthew 6 it says “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”
As I “tiptoed through the tulips” in the arboretum I thought about the beautiful bouquet of tulips I received just a few weeks prior…and how gorgeous the “non-descript” white tulips were also.
Such beauty, such wonder, such intricacies in one specific specie of flower…and there are so many different species! It’s truly amazing.
Thirty Years
My friend and I celebrated our 30thannual “girls get-away” this week. We were more like girls when we took our first trip together in 1989, to Seattle. We didn’t know then that this tradition would continue thirty years, without missing a year.
She lives in Indiana, I live in Minnesota and at least once a year we get together to catch up on life. We always have a great time; we share stories of our sons (and now grandchildren) and bring each other up to date on our lives, while shopping thrift stores and antique shops, strolling along a river (or being near some type of water), and visiting botanical gardens and/or garden centers. Those activities make up our criteria for where we meet.
We met 37 years ago at church during greeting time (she lived in Minnesota at that time.) I had an infant and she was pregnant with her first child. After her son was born I offered to bring her lunch. I brought tuna fish sandwiches in a brown paper bag! But, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. On almost every trip someone asks if we are sisters…and we have begun to say yes.
We were near the Mississippi River this year and the spring greens and blooming trees were spectacular.
Mia: Art in Bloom
During the wet snowstorm last week I braved the elements and went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Mia) for their Art in Bloom exhibit.
This was my first time to see this annual event of floral artistry. I think it works like this: a floral artist submits an idea using flowers and greenery that depicts different pieces of artwork…either sculpture, ceramics or paintings.
When awarded, the artist starts creating their floral masterpiece which is then set next to the artwork. A plaque conveys the artists name and how many times they have participated in this event.
I was excited to see this exhibit, and it was worth the snowy drive. It was the touch of spring I needed after this rather long winter.
It was the creativity of passionate artists using flowers.
It was the charm of being at the art institute.
It was the warmth being inside and occasionally walking past the vast windows of the Mia looking outside to see large snowflakes falling.
It was a fabulous event. I enjoyed every minute.
First Ride of the Season
Last Friday, temperatures were in the 50’s and the sun was shining bright and it felt like spring had finally sprung. I went on my first bike ride of the season around our “country block” which is 9.3 miles. We start at our house and ride north, then east, then south, then west back home…we are out of town within a mile so we are mostly riding in the country, on paved roads. It felt wonderful.
The best part of this first ride of the season…I was on my new electric bike! I was surprised on my birthday when I unwrapped a box with a picture of this bike I’ve wanted for a season or two. We picked it up in town on Friday. The bike is a beautiful coral color. I’m excited and I look forward to this biking season. Thank you Gary.
Big, Beautiful Birds
They are a sight to see. They come by the hundreds this time of year. They fly overhead about same time each day. If I had to plan an event around their appearance it would be somewhere between 4 and 6 pm. They are loud…so loud that I can hear them honking as they fly overhead even when I’m in my house with the windows closed. When I’m outside, I can also hear the flapping of their wings. It’s a wonderful sound.
They are Canadian Geese. They are beautiful to see in the air and on the water. However, if they are on land, in the yard, or on sidewalks they will leave a horrible mess behind. But at Pond Three, the blacktop path is clear and the hundreds of Canadian Geese land and stay on the water.
Our neighborhood has three ponds (I have affectionately named Pond One, Pond Two and Pond Three) with a walking path around them. A few geese hang out in the ponds all year…in the spring it’s fun to watch the goslings as they swim across the water all lined up in a row, in-between mom and dad.
The adults can be very protective of their offspring and hiss loudly if you get too close when they are out of the water and on the edge of the pond. It can be a bit intimidating having very large birds walk toward you hissing.
While on a walk last spring I came upon a women using a cane. I smiled and said hi as I passed her by. Soon after, I came upon two adult geese with their young on the edge of the path. As two adult birds started hissing and walking towards me I stopped to wait for my new path companion so we could walk by the geese together using her cane to wave in front of us for a little protection.
Last evening the rising, full moon was huge as we walked around Pond Three. It was stunning. The pond was already full of geese but more geese kept coming, flying over our heads and landing in the pond…their silhouette in the dusk-colored sky was breathtaking. We stopped in awe for several minutes just to watch the magnificent sight. (I didn’t have my iPhone along for a photo,)
My husband asked the question…do the geese stop at Pond Three because it has open water, or does Pond Three have open water because it attracts hundreds of geese? I don’t know the answer but I do know they are beautiful and strong and noisy…we wondered if they make noise all night long?
Soon the Canadian Geese will be on their way again, flying to southern parts of the United States. They do seem to enjoy this stopover in Northfield and I’m glad.
The Color Green
Green…spring greens…such beauty…everywhere you look. It’s dazzling.
And there is not just one color green but many shades of green.
Just think if everything green was the same color, tint or shade of green.
Of course the same can be said for the color blue and red and purple and other colors – they all have different shades, but shades of green surround us and are so pronounced, especially in spring time.
Shades of green are on display for us all to see just by going outside.
Green is an amazing color.
When my boys were little and coloring with crayons I explained that God created all the colors before Crayola made crayons. What fun to look inside a fresh box of crayons. 
I love color…our brains like color…but right now I’m partial to green.