Last week friends from out-of-town came for a visit. We had a great time showing them our new home, the thriving, yet quaint town of Northfield, and some southern Minnesota landscapes.
I noticed this “new to me” mosaic art installment on Bridge Square. From this angle, it frames the original Ames Mill and the dam on the Cannon River.
One of the evenings we were sitting out on our patio enjoying dinner and summer offerings…comfortable weather, sunny, blue skies fading into dusky skies, and no mosquitos!
My friend and I gazing up at the night sky.
My friend and I even laid down on the grass for a while, to watch the stars come out.
Gary and the beanstalk!
This seemed to be a good time to pull up a soybean stalk from the field behind us. I’ve been waiting to do this. I have never seen a soybean plant up close. All summer we have been watching fields of soybeans grow in our “backyard” and I was curious what they looked like.
A soybean stalk up close.
So, Gary climbed down the small incline and pulled up a plant, roots and all. It was about three feet tall and had several fuzzy little bean pods hanging on the stem.
Fuzzy bean pods.
We put it in a vase of water and stuck it in the corner of our patio for future reference, and for decoration. It’s slowly fading away, but the crop of soybeans in the field behind us is thriving.
Garfield Gardens is a daylily garden outside of Northfield, just off Highway 19, on the way to Lonsdale.
One view of dayllies at the Garfield Gardens.
The garden was started several years ago, by two siblings with the help of their dad, to provide summer jobs and income for the kids, who have now completed college and have other jobs. But the lily farm grew into a good business, and so the kids decided to keep it going.
They have an “open house” each summer, when the lilies are in bloom. This year it’s July 12 – 27. Of course, you can order plants online all summer. The website is: https://www.garfieldgardensmn.com
It works like the Aspelund Peony Gardens…you walk through the fields and see the many varieties and pick out the ones you like. At the daylily garden, they will dig up the plant right there and you can take it home with you that day.
Several years ago, we bought some lilies from Garfield Gardens, and planted them in our gardens at our previous house. They did well. The were healthy, grew tall, and bloomed beautifully every year.
The day we stopped at Garfield Gardens was a pleasant summer day; sunny and warm. We told them we stopped just to look – and they were happy to have us do so. It is always a pleasure to leisurely walk through fields and peruse the different array of flowers and their vivid, bright colors.
I wasn’t going to take any photos, but I couldn’t help myself…so I am happy to post an assortment of the lilies we saw that afternoon.
Matthew 6:28-30 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?"
Yesterday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a time that marks the beginning of summer. Unfortunately, it rained the whole long day. Again.
A non-rainy day in summer, on Daggett Lake, Minnesota.
But here’s a fun children’s poem by Robert Louis Stevenson (published in 1915) to help celebrate summertime.
Bed In Summer
In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people's feet Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you, When all the sky is clear and blue, And I should like so much to play, To have to go to bed by day?
On Saturday Gary and I rode a 25-mile bike loop for Tour de SAVE. SAVE is an acronym for Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. The ride was a fundraiser for this organization.
SAVE: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
After you registered, you could fill out a pennant to wear, naming a person or persons you were riding in memory of. Both Gary and I have personal connections to people who have taken their own lives, but there were a lot of folks riding for the sake of bringing awareness to suicide.
Gary has ridden this event in previous years. This is a jersey from a different year.
SAVE hosts several types of events, including 5K walk/runs, throughout Minnesota and the US. Click here for a link to their website.
Information signs were posted at the registration area.
We had a beautiful morning to ride. The hot and humid weather moved out and cool, dry air moved in. The rural route took us on backroads, past fields and farms. The blue sky boasted white wispy clouds.
Fields of corn and soy beans, and beautiful blue skies and clouds.
Country roads.
After the ride we met friends for lunch, and then walked to Bridge Square in Northfield to listen to some good band music, put on by the Vintage Band Festival, an annual outdoor music event in Northfield.
Minnesota Pipes and Drums, a musical ensemble consisting of bagpipers and drummers, marching up to the bandshell for their allotted time to play for the crowd.
And, of course, we had a dish of ice cream to wrap up a delightful, summer day.
A great place for ice cream in Northfield.
We were grateful for these wonderful organized events; yet we continue to mourn the loss of loved ones lost to suicide.
The last leg of the 25-mile ride was on the Dundas Trail.
On a warm, summer’s evening in Northfield, Bridge Square and the Riverwalk draw a lot of people. It is a nice place to stroll along the Cannon River, to look at the water falling over the dam, to see people fishing off the bridge, or just sitting and visiting or eating ice cream.
The log jam at the dam in Northfield.
The other night we took our ice cream treat down to Bridge Square and looked out on the river. To our surprise there was a log jam.
Another view of the messy log jam.
A couple big tree trunks were stuck in the dam and hundreds of branches and sticks have accumulated at the blockage. We’ve never seen it backed up so much.
There are always many folks fishing along Bridge Square.
It was a sight to see. Hopefully it will be cleaned up soon.
Last weekend a friend and I went to delight in the peony gardens in Aspelund. I was reminded to visit this lovely acreage now, this time of year, when the peonies are in bloom.
In the background is one of the out buildings on this acreage. The peony gardens are front and center.
This year there was a lot of color, yet there were many buds to still open, which was the stage of the peonies in my garden, and that’s why I had to be reminded that the Aspelund gardens may be ready to explore.
The location is a scenic, peaceful, country setting, about twenty minutes from Northfield. There are a couple of out buildings, the wine tasting room with an attached deck and table and chairs, there are rows of grapevines, and a lot of rhubarb growing all over…and of course lots and lots of peonies.
The peonies are for sale…but you are most welcome to visit these gardens without purchasing anything.
The coral color was one of my favorites.
There is a tire swing hanging from a large, old tree and two little girls, in cute little dresses, were enjoying themselves on the swing that afternoon. It was a very nostalgic and sweet picture…that I didn’t capture on my camera.
We met up with a blogger friend of mine, and her husband, who were at the gardens the same time we were. We meandered the peonies, found chairs on the lawn since all the outdoor tables were taken, and ordered a flight of wine to taste a couple of the many variety of wines they offer.
It was a lovely and relaxing way to spend a late spring, almost summer, afternoon.
It was hard to get a photo of this yellow peony, but the color was delicous.
These are a few photos of the vibrant peonies I took, but I want to share a link to an expanded blog about this Aspelund Winery, written by the friend with whom we were enjoying the wonderful afternoon in Aspelund. Check out Minnesota Prairie Roots and enjoy a great tour.
After the Japanese beetles ate many leaves off our birch we could now see a huge squirrel’s nest in the treetop. It looked like a two story unit so we called it the “squirrel condo” – however we didn’t see any evidence of squirrels hanging around.
The squirrel condo.
Gary has been trapping squirrels all summer. We’ve brought fourteen squirrels to what we call the “squirrel resort” – an area twelve miles from our house. The “resort” has a lot of mature trees, a meadow and a pond…everything squirrels need to rebuild their lives away from our birdfeeders!
This ladder plus an extension rod was needed to reach the huge nest.
Even though we didn’t see any signs of activity in the nest we decided to take it down. We recruited friends to help. Gary climbed up his highest extension ladder and used a twenty-foot tree trimmer extension pole to reach the nest.
He knocked the nest and much to our surprise, two little ears and a head popped up, then three squirrels scurried away from the nest. I didn’t see where the mama went (maybe she jumped to the evergreen nearby) but I was startled as one juvenile squirrel jumped to the ground and ran close to my feet! The third squirrel, a sibling, clung to a tree branch. He looked scared and confused.
The “timid” squirrel.
Gary began swatting to loosen the nest… the lower portion first. It disengaged but got caught in the tree branches. We managed to whack it out. Next Gary went after the larger section of the nest and knocked it out of the tree right away. It fell to the ground. No traces of the condo remained. The timid squirrel kept clinging to a branch watching our every move.
The makings of a huge nest. It filled a large garbage container.
The other two squirrels must have been nearby because soon we saw the younger squirrel go back up the tree to help his brother (or sister) while the mama squirrel waited at the bottom of the tree trunk.
The mama squirrel looking up the tree at her “teenagers”. Squirrels are typically born in the spring and are on their own 8 months later…we figured the young squirrels were 6-7 months old.
Eventually the two siblings came down but only the brave one ventured away from the tree. The other squirrel climbed back up.
The two siblings coming down the birch.
We continued watching as the mother squirrel led her brave, young one across the street. In the middle of the road he stopped so she picked him up by the neck and carried him the rest of the way, like a mama cat and her kitten. Once safely on the other side they both scampered through the neighbor’s front yard into the back.
The mama leading her young away from the birch tree.
We kept an eye out for mama to return for her other young’un but we never did see her. Later that day we sought out the third squirrel but couldn’t see it in the tree. She must have come back while we were not watching and showed her offspring the way to their new surroundings.
It was entertaining to watch this all unfold…and no squirrels were injured during this process.
Trapping squirrels, knocking out squirrel nests…I wonder what other squirrel adventures we’ll have?
My aloe vera plant started to show signs of distress last winter. In June I set it outside as it’s last hope.
June 16 is when I took this picture of my dying aloe vera plant.
I guess it loved the hot summer sun. It thrived, and I’m glad. Now I hope it will survive another winter indoors…
This is my healthy aloe vera plant today. It’s in a ceramic pot I bought over forty years ago when a friend and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park.
