Sunsets

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

I’m not Irish but I do like the color green and I do like tales of St. Patrick – I read he used the shamrock to explain the trinity to others.

We have traveled to Ireland, the emerald isle. It is charming and picturesque, and green.

So, for those silly reasons, I decided to have a little St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

The seasoned brisket on top of the vegetables.

For the first time, I made corned beef and cabbage. I found a crockpot recipe that had good reviews. It called for red potatoes, carrots, onion, cabbage and corned beef, which my husband purchased at a store in the cities.

The cabbage is added to cook for the last hour.

I followed the recipe carefully – 8 hours in the crockpot, before our planned dinner time.

The crockpot on the counter, cooking the corned beef meal.

While waiting for our dinner to cook, I set the table, looking around the house for green items to use for decoration. I had bought some fun napkins for the occasion.

Green tablecloth, candles and themed napkins.

Also, I found a BINGO game online, using the Irish theme. Gary helped me make up several “boards” and we went out to find some prizes which I wrapped in green tissue, of course.

As dinner time grew closer, I put soda bread (another first for me) into the oven. When it was done, we were ready to eat. The corned beef and cabbage turned out, and were very tender and very tasty. The soda bread was a little doughy. But overall, we deemed the meal a great success, all the while Irish music was playing in the background. Delicious lemon bars were brought for dessert.

We had a fun time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

A traditional Irish Blessing for all...

May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

New Digs

My “Van”-na White pose with the moving van.

Last Friday morning the moving van arrived in the driveway of our old house. The four movers packed up all our heavy furniture and moved it a mile south to our new house. It took about six hours. We set up the beds and slept in our new place for the first time Friday night, and slept well. It was an exhausting day.

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise Saturday morning, over the field and bluff out our back windows.

And saw the beautiful sunset that evening.

We’ve been unpacking for almost a week and we’re making progress.

We’re celebrating the next chapter in our lives.

A Fun Twist

There was a twist in plans this year, for an annual get away (this would be #36) with my friend Frances. During the past year, she and her husband moved to Vermont. We wondered, what will we do for our trip this year? Then, there was a fundraising auction and she won a bid for a beachfront condo.

She asked if I wanted to join her on Fenwick Island, a coastal resort town in Delaware. Sure, I said, even though I had never heard of Fenwick Island. And then, we decided to include our husbands…that was the twist…that was new for us…and we had a delightful time.

The criteria for our get-aways include three things: some body of water to enjoy, thrift stores and/or antique shops to peruse, and gardens to meander. Would Fenwick Island meet these criteria?

The condo was facing the Atlantic Ocean and we had lovely weather so we could walk along the beach and sit on the balcony… a wonderful fulfillment for our water requirement.

We had a fun time trying on matching shirts (which we did buy).

One day all four of us drove to a nearby, historic town with tree-lined streets, and quaint boutiques – we found sidewalk sales and ice cream. Another day we left the husbands behind, and sought out the thrift stores and antique shops we always enjoy. There is usually no problem finding these kinds of stores anywhere.

A landscape by Piet Oudolf, a Dutch garden designer.

The third requirement is all about gardens, and we found out the Delaware Botanical Garden was only a half an hour away! How convenient.

The four of us walked the trails, and in addition to lovely flowers, there were other surprises along the way.

This “nest” was created as an outdoor classroom at the botanical garden.

Apparently two volunteers at the botanical garden are clever at creating sculptures with natural materials from the forest floor. They were very creative, and fun to discover as we meandered through the grounds.

A turtle – a clever use of tree trunk slices for the turtle’s shell, with green moss in-between the spaces.

Another blessing was seeing the nearly full moon (officially the following evening) over the Atlantic Ocean, the night before we left Fenwick Island.

We could see its refection on the wet sand…so amazing.

Our criteria was met…we had a great time…with added blessings.

Second Summer

The term Second Summer is now being used instead of Indian Summer, which was the terminology I grew up with. Although the name Second Summer is preferred by the Native Americans, it doesn’t change the fact that is a great event to experience during autumn in Minnesota. According to Wikipedia, “A(n) ~~Indian Summer~~ Second Summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.”

Sakatah Singing Hills Trail, November 12, 2023.

We had a beautiful, Second Summer Day over the weekend and decided to take our bikes out (which we thought were tucked away for the season) for another ride.

We went to Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. It was delightful. We added an extra layer and felt warm enough as we cruised down the paved trail. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, soaking up some illusive sunshine. We’ve had many cloudy days lately.

Sakatah Lake. The 39 mile trail goes along several lakes.

The leaves are all off the trees and the scenery on the trail looks a bit different than during the summertime. You can see more of the lakes as you ride by, and you can see into the woods and the forest floor. There were several other folks on the trail this day.

After our ride we took a quick detour to an out-of-the-way boutique filled with Christmas crafts and decorations. It’s called, A Touch of Class. We walked around the stable-turned-boutique and got some fresh ideas for the upcoming Christmas season. I always wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas, but it was a fun place to peruse, and get in the mood to decorate for the holidays.

4:56pm, November 12, 2023 (sunset was 4:48 pm)

As we drove home, the sky had a pretty glow as it was near sunset, which of course is very early these days, in Minnesota.

There is supposed to be a couple more Second Summer days in the coming week…maybe we’ll get out on the bike one more time?

Sunset

We went out last night for the first time in a week. We’ve been sick at home. We were greeted with a spectacular sky and sunset.

Praise God for this amazing evening greeting.

Colors of California

We had a dazzling time observing all the colors during our few days in California.

Sun rising over the mountains, at the exact minute it was scheduled!

Lemon trees, lime trees, avocado and clementine trees, o my!

Gary an I on this rocky beach on the Pacific Ocean during low tide.

A lone tree on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean.

A fun hint of blue on our toenails to remind us of the ocean water and blue skies

We went to fly a kite and the wind took hold.

Lil’ Toot’s captain took us on a harbor cruise.

Along the Sea

We were in Florida last week, on the gulf side, close to Clearwater Beach. It was beautiful. Sunny… every day, temperatures in the 80’s…every day.

We spent time near the water, and submerged ourselves in the water once. It felt wonderful. We walked along beaches and enjoyed the fine, white, sugar sand, and seeing the awesome shades of turquoise water, beautiful blue skies, shore birds, sea shells, sail boats. We “soaked” it all in…sun, waves, sea air, warm temps.

We didn’t know the name of these interesting shorebirds.

Usually when I am on the water’s edge I look for sea shells…(or rocks if I’m on Lake Superior’s rocky shore). I can’t help myself. As I walked along looking for shells I thought about a poem I wrote several years ago. I looked it up after we returned home and am sharing it below.

Along the Sea (2010)

Here I go again...
Walking along the beach,
Tides go out, tides come in,
I’m open to what it’ll teach.

Water rolling over the toes,
Sun sparkling across the sea,
The gentle sound of waves,
All soothes the core of me.

I walk along and sing psalms
As the pulsing waves repeat,
I feel a sense of calm
As my eyes draw to my feet.

I reach down for a token
From the bounty of the sea.
And check to see if it’s broken,
If so, I toss it back quickly.

I can’t resist, so I pick up more
Searching for one without mars,
Noting what likeness to people they bore,
Broken, wounded, with scars.

So, I start being less selective
And find new beauty in these...
My mind gently corrected
As I choose shells along the sea.

California Coast

We walked along the Atlanta Ocean in January, and five weeks later we walked along the Pacific Ocean. We spent some time with our older son and his wife and two children on the California Coast. It was lovely, sunny, and in the 60-70’s. Here are some photos from our time there.

We grabbed a blanket, with coffee in hand, to watch the sunrise every morning.

We walked to the playground with an ocean view to let the grandchildren play.

We would see dolphins swimming off shore, and picturesque sailboats sailing by.

A mosaic tile art piece mounted on a cement fence.

We went on a sunset cruise and saw sea lions, and another beautiful sunset.

Lil’ Toot: our boat, and captain, for our sunset cruse.

Sunset, our third evening, from Lil’ Toot.

My granddaughter and I made fresh lemonade from the lemons off a lemon tree.

Gary and I walked along the beach, in my fancy boot (for my injured foot)!

150 concrete steps down to the beach (and back up!)

The beach and rocky shoreline – low tide rising.

We sat by the firepit and watched the sun set every night.

The colors of the sunset reflecting in the east.

We enjoyed our time together, and making memories.

And once again, it was hard to come back to Minnesota’s cold weather, but spring is coming.

It felt like we were driving through a sunset.

We were on our way to visit our youngest son and his family in North Carolina. Another road trip…YAY.

As the daylight came to an end on the shortest day of 2021, we found ourselves in the southwestern region of West Virginia. It was very scenic, and we were going up, and over, and down the “lesser” mountains (of the Appalachian Mountains), like a roller coaster, with a lot of curves too.

The sun was setting and the conditions were just right for a gorgeous sunset…poofs of clouds, reflecting the sun, catching the rays, turning red.

It surrounded us, and it lingered for a several miles! It was magnificent. I felt I was on a Disney ride, driving through a sunset.

It was dark when we drove into Charleston, West Virginia where we stopped for the night. The next stop…grandchildren!

Sunrise Over Lake Superior

One of my favorite things to do on our annual trek to the north shore is to watch the sunrise over Lake Superior. I set my alarm – just in case – so I don’t miss it.

I love sitting silently, waiting for the sun to come up. It is such a tranquil and quiet time…a beautiful time of enjoying God’s magnificent creation, a wonderful gift. There is a unique sunrise for each unique day…and it can change within minutes.

Then Friday’s early morning light filling the sky. (6:53)

We don’t see sunsets from the location of our cabin, although sometimes we can see some color in the western skies at sunset, creating silhouettes of the trees and rocky shoreline near-by.