Valerie's Voice – Musings on Life

I ran over a raccoon…

…while riding my bicycle!

I didn’t see him, and apparently, he didn’t see me.

He was crossing the bike trail, starting from under a bush right next to the trail, and I was riding along on that same side near the edge, since we were riding two by two. He darted out and I rode over him. The others I was with said it was a raccoon. He scurried off to the other side of the trail, into the field so I assume he survived. They said he was a big one!

I stopped my bike and took a deep breath. I knew I ran over something, but I didn’t know what. None of us could believe I did not lose my balance and fall over on my bike. I thanked God all was well, and we biked on.

We were on the Central Lakes State Bike Trail, near Alexandria, Minnesota. We planned this bike trip long before we knew how hot and humid it was going to be. But once on the bikes, it wasn’t too bad.

I stopped to take a picture of this “bevy” of swans. It was unusual for me to see more than one or two swans together.

The morning I ran over the raccoon, we started our ride early, leaving our cars at a parking lot along the trail that had an interesting, old threshing machine. The trail was an old railway bed…straight and wide and paved and flat. We passed lakes with beautiful white swans and egrets, saw a few bunnies on the trail, ran over a raccoon, and on the way back stopped at Evansville shelter for a break.

Two beautiful swans side by side on another lake.

On a side note; the small town of Evansville (pop.603), began about 1858 and was named after Evan Evanson (for real!). He was the first mail carrier to carry mail though this area and he built a shanty there to rest, and it became a stop on a stagecoach line. It’s amazing what you can learn in the most unlikely places.

Anyway, in Evansville, there is a nice shelter alongside the bike trail where we stopped to rest. And right there was a beautiful old bike with a sign saying “Free”. No gears, back-pedal brakes, fenders and all, in very good condition. We all wanted to take it home, but of course couldn’t. Hopefully someone claimed it for their own.

On this early morning ride, the straight and narrow bike trail offered us many diversions.

Naturally, we stopped for ice cream after our ride. 😉 This clever sign was in the shop.

Tumbled Rocks Trail

On our recent trip to Madison, Wisconsin we toured the beautiful state capital building, walked around the farmer’s market that occupies four sides of a large city block on which the capitol building stands (with hundreds of other people).

We visited Olbrich Botanical Gardens, ate at a few unique restaurants, and shopped a couple thrift stores. It was hot and humid, but we had a good time in spite of it. I have been to Madison many times, but Gary had never been there. He liked it.

On our way back to Minnesota, we stopped at Devils Lake State Park, a park near Baraboo WI, which is a half hour from Madison. Our friends knew of a unique trail there so we decided to take a hike.

It’s called Tumbled Rocks Trail. It was a narrow, winding, asphalt trail through humongous boulders…not “rocks” on each side of the trail. The trail followed Devils Lake and was scenic (although there was some haze from the wildfires burning in northern MN and Canada).

It was fairly easy walking on the water’s edge trail. The large boulders (Quartzite) created a natural cliffs as they tumbled down the hillside. I’m not sure where the boulders came from, or what made them stop where they did, and why they stay in place now, but it was an interesting hike. And it was pretty, with Devils Lake on one side and the boulders lining the western side of the lake. I like the name of the trail, although I do believe it should be named Tumbled Boulders Trail, not Tumbled Rocks Trail…although scenic, these are not your lovely, smooth rock piles.

We have been to many of Minnesota’s wonderful State Parks. Other than Interstate State Park we have not been to any Wisconsin State Parks. It was fun to finally see Devils Lake State Park, since for many years I have driven by the sign for it along the 90/94 Interstate through Wisconsin.

Our stop piqued my interest…maybe it’s time to start looking at other parks in Wisconsin: Mirror Lake State Park, Governor Dodge State Park…there are 50 of them in the state.

Water Lilies

Nymphaeaceae is the scientific name for the water lily family. Water lilies are lovely as they float leisurely on the water and look beautiful.

White flowering water lilies are common, so I was delightfully surprised to see many different colors of lilies at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison Wisconsin, where we took a weekend road trip. They were impressive.

According to Wikipedia: “Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water with leaves and flowers floating on or rising from the surface.” It was interesting to learn that the water lily family forms five genera (groups) with about 70 known species.

Several different types of water lilies can be found floating in the Sunken Garden in Olbrich Gardens. The sunken garden is a formal, traditional, English-style garden with an 80-foot reflecting pool, and small “water falls” over a cement drop at one end.

The pool is surrounded by mostly by spring bulbs, annuals and perennials with a view of Lake Monona in the distance.

A few more water lilies were growing in the pools surrounding the Royal Thai Pavilion in the Thai garden section of Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

My favorite color…a stunning blue and yellow flower.

Seeing all the different colors was a fun discovery…The water lilies added a lot of “splash of color” to the water pools.

They show off their beauty in a gentle and quiet way.

There was much to see in the lush gardens at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. The winding paths, little quiet spaces to sit, wonderful variety of flower gardens (17, plus an indoor conservatory), and large trees that provide a canopy of shade over some trails, a Prairie-Style viewing tower to climb for an overlook, and so oh, much more….

If I lived closer I’d visit there often…

A Field of Corn

Gary, who is 6’3″, is standing out in the cornfield behind our house.

In reference to corn growing, the saying used to be “knee high by the fourth of July”. Today with modern fertilizers, herbicides, and modified seeds, corn grows faster and taller than ever before, and is much taller than knee high by the 4th.

Now they say you can hear the corn growing, or you can see it grow… and we felt that. We watched the corn grow in the cornfield behind our house and it seemed like we actually witnessed it growing…it grew so fast and so tall. It’s already tasseled. I will not like to see the field harvested…I love the view.

The corn is taller than Gary with his hand held high!

It is a beautiful sight, and we’re happy to wake up to this refreshing country view each morning.

Our beautiful backyard view from the window.

Outdoor Concerts

One of summer’s pleasures is going to outdoor concerts. It’s a treat to be outside, sitting in the shade on beautiful evenings, with the sun slowly setting, listening to good music (and no mosquitos biting).

Faribault hosts weekly concerts at their Central Park’s bandshell every summer. By the time the concerts begin, the park is mostly shaded. People start filling in the open space, setting up camp chairs or blankets to sit and be entertained by different bands.

Last week, a band called Little Chicago played and we went to hear them. It’s a group that has been together several years (since 1999). They are based in New Prague, Minnesota and call themselves a Horn Band…a rock and roll band with a brass section. They play pop/rock musical hits from the 1960s and 1970s. They featured songs from the bands Chicago, Eagles, and many others. There were ten instrument players on stage along with two main vocalists providing an entertaining concert.

They played the songs from when Gary and I were in our teens…the era of classic rock and roll music with lyrics you could mostly understand and sing along. I was surprised at how easily the words to songs came back to me from songs I hadn’t heard of in years…for instance Mellow Yellow, to name only one of many.

A beautiful night to be sitting outdoors listening to music.

That led me to thinking of a song we used to teach to our first- graders in church years ago. The song is called Input, Output (lyrics by Kathie Hill and Gary McSpadden, released in 1984). The chorus is this:

Input output, what goes in is what comes out.
Input output, that is what it’s all about.
Input output, your mind is a computer whose
Input output daily you must choose.

The song compares your brain to a computer. What you hear and see (the input) changes what you say and do (the output). This rings true, and are words to remember. Especially for the young ones and modern music….the words they listen to in song stick.

I really enjoyed singing along to the oldies from so long ago when I was a teenager– I wanted to get up and dance…some young children did.

It was a great evening of free entertainment.

4th of July in North Morristown

As the country celebrated its 250^th year on Independence Day, North Morristown celebrated its 133^rd celebration of July 4^th. It claims to be the longest running 4^th of July celebration in Minnesota.

I call it a sweet fair…quaint might be a better word. It’s definitely small-town Americana. It’s in the corner of a cornfield. It’s a fundraiser for the only building around, which is Trinity Lutheran Church and school.

There is no charge to get in…one just needs to pay for the food you want to eat, with a variety of hamburgers, BBQ sandwiches, Roast Beef sandwiches, fries and onion rings etc…to chose from. And then, it’s off to the pie tent to choose from the variety of homemade pies, or ice cream or mini-donuts. We have been going to this celebration for many years.

We arrived early enough to set out our lawn chairs in some shade, went to buy lunch, and then pie, to eat while we waited for the band Monroe Crossing to start. Monroe Crossing is a Minnesota-based bluegrass band that has been together 25 years. I’m not sure of their connection to North Morristown 4th of July celebration, but they have been performing there for as many years as we have attended. They are a major reason why we go to this event…that and the pie!

Fish Pond – throw a line over the half wall and catch a prize.

There are kids’ activities including a train ride, Fish Pond (I used to like this when I was little), pick a duck from the pond to win a prize, a miniature merry-go-round, and more. There’s bingo for the older crowd, a corn toss competition and a “beer tent and dance floor” not fenced off, but one can tell the obvious boundaries.

The mood is festive and celebratory with people decked out in all kinds of red white and blue attire. Large extended families gather for picnics, friends gather to enjoy each other, and a whole lot of volunteers are there to help keep it all running smoothly.

We have had a hot, humid and rainy streak in Minnesota, but this day the rain held off. The sky was blue, the temp was a bit lower and there was a nice breeze. We left the fair mid-afternoon. There were a lot more planned activities, culminating with fireworks in the evening…however the predicted rain did come, so I’m not sure they were able to shoot off any fireworks.

Happy 250^th birthday America.

A Backyard Visitor

The other night, about 9 pm, I looked out the window to see if there were any fireflies and saw a different visitor. A beautiful sight. A deer was eating brush behind our house at the edge of our yard, as the sun was setting, which made for great lighting for a photo.

The deer stayed for a while… such a joy to watch…then walked off through our neighbors, into the sunset.

Sweet dreams Bambi.

A Belated Summer Solstice Bonfire

How does one celebrate a summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the beginning of summer? Well, first don’t forget to plan ahead. I missed it. Second, you need to have the perfect evening…and we did…when we celebrated the longest day of the year a week later.

When I went to bed on June 20^th I realized I had let the summer solstice come and go without fanfare. So, I decided to plan a belated celebration. We invited some friends to join us at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park for a picnic. The afternoon was a lovely Minnesota summer day with “just-right” temperatures and low humidity. Which, in turn, made for a beautiful summer evening.

We did a variety of things. First, we went on a nice hike, through the woods and around the campground. Next we built a bon fire (and I burned some old journals – I still have a few more to burn). We grilled brats over the fire and ate typical picnic fare. Yum.

Sitting around the campfire…always a fun activity.

While eating dessert we each read out loud a few poems we had found about the summer solstice. We enjoyed each one.

There happened to be a Naturalist program in the park that evening, All about Owls. The timing fit into our schedule so we went. Andy, the naturalist at Nerstrand, does a great job and we learned several nuggets about owls. The park has started offering more naturalist programs and we’ve attended a few, and alway enjoy gleaning information from Andy.

This was at the beginning of the program…more people came to fill in the benches at the amphitheater.

After the program we rekindled our campfire and made s’mores. I brought an opened bag of marshmallows that were kind of stuck together. We managed to roast a few for our s’mores, and then threw the other big blob of marshmallows into the fire.

A nicely roasted golden-brown marshmallow made for a s’more.

I bought some sparklers to help us celebrate. Lo and behold, they were duds…we all remembered that term in relation to fireworks from when we were kids. We threw the duds into the fire pit and there they lit up and made beautiful sparkles amongst the flames. But fireflies made an appearance too, and let their light shine around us. They were better than sparklers.

Last but not least, as we were getting ready to leave we noticed the big, beautiful moon shining bright through the trees, almost full (2 days to go). That was an unexpected treat as it had clouded over and we didn’t expect to see it.

The most remarkable thing of all? We were out in this state park from 3:30 – 9:30 pm and did not have one mosquito bother us. We didn’t slap any, see any, or hear any…it was amazing, and certainly added to the enjoyment of the Minnesota outdoors. We had a great time celebrating summer.

And now… the days are getting shorter…

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Last summer when we were enjoying a street fair in downtown Owatonna, I entered my name into a raffle for tickets to the “Little Theatre of Owatonna”. I have always liked going to plays (and have been to a good many), but I never knew Owatonna had a “little theatre”. I was surprised to learn The Little Theatre of Owatonna (LTO) was founded in April 1966 and have been putting on plays for 60 years! How did I not heard about this theatre in Owatonna, just 30 miles from our town of Northfield?

The Little Theatre of Owatonna is housed at the Sharon Stark Auditorium within the West Hills complex in Owatonna. There is a lot of history surrounding this property, including the original orphanage that operated from 1886 to 1945, then a state school from 1945-1970, and then the city acquisition in 1974. (There is an orphanage museum on the property, which we have been to and is very interesting.)

The auditorium is located in the historic Merrill Hall, which originally served as the main campus for the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children.

A few days after I put my name in the jar, I got a call telling me I won two free tickets to any performance at LTO. They said they would keep my name in the box office for when I was ready to attend a show. I perused the brochure detailing the upcoming plays, but the timing didn’t work until this month when The Wizard of Oz was playing. I was interested, but I also wondered how it could work on a small stage? I called the box office to see if my name was still on the list, and it was! I learned play was over three hours long…3 hours and 15 minutes, with one 20-minute intermission.

I found my way to the theatre and enjoyed The Wizard of Oz immensely. It was fantastic! It ranks in the top tier of the best plays I’ve seen…Dorothy (a rising senior from Faribault) was amazing…as were all the cast members…scarecrow, tinman, and the lion. Everyone in the cast could sing like pros, and dance, and act…such talent!

The creativity for this small stage was very imaginative and resourceful. The corn in the field were actors back-facing, dressed in green and holding up ears of corn…the apple trees were three actors in elegant golden-brown dresses, draped with green capes and hanging red apples…bubbles came down from the ceiling for a dreamy scene…and fire shots blasted up off the floor next to the wizard when he spoke. The wicked witch melted to the floor (a trap door mechanism let her down), and a computer made the magic mirror feasible in the castle scene with Dorothy. It was all so wonderful!

The only signage for the theatre is posted on the front door.

It was great to hear all the nostalgic songs and fun to remember the scenes from the 1939 movie with Judy Garland. I can’t remember the last time I saw the movie, but it was many, many years ago.

I wish I could suggest seeing this play…but this was its last performance at LTO. I feel so fortunate to have seen it. I certainly will check for upcoming plays at this Little Theatre in Owatonna that is BIG on producing wonderful plays.

The End of the Rainbow…

…was in our backyard.

Maybe I need to walk through the cornfield in search of the pot of gold. However, seeing the colors of the rainbow so vibrant was a gift in itself.

It was amazing to see this vibrant rainbow in the sky during a rainstorm the other night. It hung around for a while.

All photos were taken from our back patio during the rainstorm Tuesday evening.


"I (God) have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth"
Genesis 9:13