Trails – Valerie's Voice

We’ve had unseasonably warmer weather for this time of year (except for that one cold night in Duluth at Bentleville). It hit 54* yesterday. Gary went for a bike ride (my bike was put away for winter already) and I went for a long walk around the three ponds in our neighborhood.

This is one portion of the pond where hundreds of geese are facing the same direction.

This is a regular route and we often see wildlife. We’ve seen otters, and a beaver a couple years ago, a fox and frogs and such. However, the past few days the ponds have been clear of any wild life. I thought the Canadian geese and ducks had flown south. I guess not, they were back, in mass.

The geese in the pond from a different angle.

It was a beautiful sight, and a fun sight since they were mostly all facing the same direction…like they were waiting for a preacher to start preaching.

The beautiful Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Minnesota.

Which led me to thinking about a recent concert we went to at Our Merciful Savior’s Cathedral in Faribault Minnesota. We entered the church from the front and I liked what I saw.

The menagerie of stuffed animals taking up the front pew of this church.

The entire front pew was lined with all different sorts of stuffed animals…all looking towards the pulpit. I thought it was a clever way to fill the front row since so many of us head to the back of church to sit, but I found out after the concert, when we visited with the priest, that he keeps the stuffed animals up front for his children’s sermons.

Glass frog…photo off internet public domain

Then, as I continued walking along, I thought about an age-appropriate book I’ve been reading for our grandson. This adventure book talks about different animals in the Amazon rainforest. It introduced me to a glass frog. It is amazing (as all creatures are). This frog has a lime green, camouflage back with a translucent underside where you can see the organs inside its body! I had to look it up! I had never heard of this.

And sure enough, there is such a creature! And there are a couple of fun videos on the internet about the glass frog! I’ve added a couple of links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twAK29xwb6Q

The male glass frog also is the soul protector of the eggs and will ward off its predator, the wasp, with one swift kick of his very long leg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7zARByAu1c

Once again, I’m reminded “All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all” – unique, wonderful and amazing!

On these glorious mornings, Gary and I are walking on trails we’ve recently re-discovered.

We park outside the Oaklawn Cemetery and pass through the gate to Carleton College’s Cowling Arboretum…the upper arb. (The lower arb has nice trails too…it goes along the Cannon River and through the woods. The entry point is at a different section of campus.)

From the entrance we use for the upper arb, you can choose to go to the right or left. The right leads down to the prairie, the left takes you through an heavily wooded area of oak trees, and all the trails connect.

Amber tips of prairie grass and yellow goldenrod. — The beautiful landscape with amber tips of prairie grass and golden rod…

A posted sign offers information on how the different sports have worked-out on the upper arb over the years.

An interesting and informative sign about the upper arb and sports activities.

Carleton’s cross-country teams (men’s began in 1938 – women’s in 1970), practice on the trails and hold track meets. In the early 1990’s, Runner’s Magazine voted the upper arb the best place in Minnesota to run.

Carleton College started grooming the trails for cross-country skiing in 1978, and continues to open the trails to all skiers. We have skied and snow-shoed in the upper-arb during winter.

Juniper trees were abundantly full of berries.

I enjoyed learning that in the 1930’s there was a Saddle Club, and horse and riders were permitted to jaunt on the trails. An equestrian center was also built on the upper arb, but was shut down in 1964. It would be fun to ride horseback on the trails, although it is no longer permitted.

This photo added for fun…this is Abigail, one of the animals I help care for once in a while (not at the arb).

We have done a bit of walking on the trails in the upper arb in previous years, but not during this time of year when the prairie is in bloom. It is so pretty!

It feels like we’ve discovered a whole new trail. We pass very few folks out on our morning hike. We have the trails mostly to ourselves.

The striated lines on this boulder stood out.

A beautifully, landscaped boulder rest area.

The sun shines on our path. The sky is blue. It is so peaceful.

A beautifully mowed path, with Carleton College’s water tower in the background.

We’re grateful Carleton Colleges maintains the trails, and opens them up to the public.

Tag: Trails

More Random Thoughts on Animals

The Upper Arb