Winter – Page 2 – Valerie's Voice

Winter Walks

A go-to place for us to walk outside in the winter is the Carleton College campus. Their sidewalks are always scraped clean – down to the cement – with no traces of ice. It feels very safe to walk there without worries of falling down. We are grateful for the team that keeps the walks so clear of snow and ice. And grateful for Carelton College to open their campus to the community.

The beautiful Skinner Chapel on Carleton College campus.

We were on campus on Saturday for a winter walk. It was cold, but not windy, which we all know makes a difference, plus the sun was shining and that always brightens the spirits! I took a few photos on this picturesque campus.

Two beautiful white birch trees stood out against the red brick science building.

My favorite gnarly tree on Carleton’s campus…a favorite in winter and summer.

Even the dorms on campus are lovely with the red brick and red roofs.

The following day however, was not so cold. It was 46* and it felt balmy! We decided to go to a park we know that maintains a clear trail in the winter… Whitetail Woods, in Rosemount, MN.

When we drove into the parking area it was full! It seems everyone wanted to take advantage of this unusually warm day in February. This park has a nice 2-mile paved trail, along with multiple trails throughout the woods for more hiking and cross-country skiing.

The loop trail is not all paved…there are wooden slats,…

and there is metal grating over a swampy area.

There were a lot of people and dogs, walking on this trail, free of ice (except two small spots), getting a dose of fresh air before the snow and cold make its way back to Minnesota in the coming week.

Looking through the trees, to the lake in Whitetail Woods.

And another winter-type walk… Once in a while, I’ll go to Menard’s (a big box home improvement store) to walk indoors, on especially cold and/or icy days. Last week I had a little shopping to do there, and I thought I’d add a couple circles around the perimeter of the store to get in an indoor walk, on a very cold day. After shopping and some walking, I checked the pedometer on my phone and was surprised it hadn’t calculated many steps. I thought maybe it needed to recalculate so I continued around the store a few more times and checked in again and the number of steps still hadn’t changed. I decided something was not working, so I put my phone back in my purse which was in the cart. I left Menard’s after an hour and went home. Later it dawned on me that the step counter on my phone didn’t count my steps because it was merrily rolling along in the cart!!!

Now I know. HA

Winter Fairy Garden

My fairy garden has taken on a winter look. While doing fall yard chores, I collected and cleaned up the fairies and table and chairs I used to create a fairy garden last spring, and stored them away until next spring…

My little granddaughter liked my fairy garden. Unfortunately, on a recent visit she wanted to see my fairy garden again, and I had to tell her I had taken it in for the winter.

But alas, now there is a new fairy in place…a winter fairy sitting by a frosted tree at the end of the glass, stepping-stone path, under the dormant rosebush in our back garden…looking out at passersby, bringing joy, and doing whatever it is that fairies do.

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.

Winter’s Beauty

Valley Grove is a special place…two historic churches on top of a hill, surrounded by a cemetery and some lovely pine trees and oak trees…

The two historic churches at Valley Grove.

There was an old, old oak tree that stood in one corner of the cemetery, providing shelter and shade for many gravesites, but it blew down in a 2018 tornado. That was a sad day.

This stately, old oak tree stood tall in the corner of Valley Grove Cemetery. This photo was taken months before it was felled by a tornado.

Valley Grove remains a place of beauty…in any season. And one I like to visit often.

I was recently snowshoeing there on a bright, sunshiny day, after a morning of hoar frost that shed its shards onto the freshly fallen snow causing them to sparkle in the sunshine, making us feel like we were walking through diamonds. It was stunning.

We walked for a couple of hours in the glistening and untouched snow, creating paths through the prairie land and into the woods.

We noticed several varieties of animal tracks crating their own paths and sometimes leaving us to wonder what the animals were doing…dancing I’m sure, in the wide open spaces while no one was watching.

A Winter Wonderland

As we were driving south towards Rice Lake State Park and the surrounding area the trees kept getting frostier…is that a word?

I believe it was ice crystals from the fog. It was not freshly fallen snow (it has not snowed for several days now), that covered and clung to every – single – branch.

The images were breathtaking and, of course, hard to capture on a camera, especially those from a moving car. We stopped to hike, and as I stepped out of the car I felt I stepped into Narnia.

Here are a few photos from that day.

Another from the car window…apparently blue tinted. 😉

We stopped along the road for these photos.

The weeping willow was my favorite…

The weeping willow, dripping like icicles.

He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. Psalm 147:16

Our Snow Angels

Snow Angels
All bundled up
Almost unrecognizable
Skipping down the snowy sidewalk
Stopping to take it all in
Noticing squirrels
And planes, and dogs
Squealing with delight
Then falling into the snow
Beautiful snow angels
Disguised as Grandchildren

01/2019 vb

Snow angels sliding down a snow mound without sleds.

Frosty the Snowman

We took a drive down to Faribault MN to see Faribault Frosty. Even though we do not have any snow on the ground Faribault’s Frosty still came to be – and is a wonder for us all to see.

Frosty is an oversized Snowman and one that has been created every year for 17 years by a wonderful family giving this gift to their community in Faribault. Employees from Shattuck- St. Mary School’s ice rink shaved ice with their Zamboni for this family’s tradition to carry on in spite of the fact there are no students at the school practicing their hockey skills or ice skating.

We took our grandchildren to see Frosty standing tall. As we drove up the master creator was on a ladder tying Frosty’s red scarf around his neck. He told us we came just in time – that the kids could help him patch up Frosty by adding snow to some holes in Frosty’s body. The kids had a great time doing so.

This is a great tradition this Faribault family has built. Frosty’s creator, was so kind to our grandhildren and he made their day.

And mine too…every little act of kindness these days really means a lot.

Too Much, Too Soon!

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

Revived

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.

Faribo Frosty

A gigantic snowman is fun for any age to see. And this huge snowman, Faribo Frosty, appears each winter in Faribault, MN. It is an annual tradition for this Faribault family to create an enormous snowman with a hat and mittens and scarf, and all other snowman trimmings, including a bucket for his pipe.

We thought it might have melted a little before we got to take the grandchildren to see it this week because of the unusually warm temperatures, but if it did melt any we couldn’t tell…it was still huge, and a big hit with the kids.

The family encourages people to stop by to see FariboFrosty, and to take pictures, and to enjoy their wonderful gift to their community. We are joyful recipients of their labor of love and are thankful for it.