Stonehenge

Okay, I will admit I didn't go to Stonehenge. I went to the Belwin Conservancy in Afton. I felt like I had been to Stonehenge though.

I was super disappointed that I didn't see the bison. Later a staff person told me the bison aren't here in the winter. That made me feel better.

There are deer hoof prints in the snow. How did a deer get inside this enclosure?

Nice sunset!

The Winter Solstice event started at 5. I paid ten dollars. I had 2 cups of hot apple cider and a cookie. Children and adults took night hikes with a naturalist. I met a young woman with Downs Syndrome. She was with her sister. She lives in Chippewa Falls. She has traveled to Australia and New Zealand. In January she will be in Hawaii. These two sisters were very loving. I enjoyed talking with them. They sat next to me and danced with their upper bodies. She sat in her sister's lap.

 

The guy on the left is playing a pan flute. The woman in the middle is the mother of the man on the right. They are from northern Chili. They made beautiful music together. A photographer from the Star Tribune was taking pictures.

The drumming was magical. As I left I used my phone to scan a QR code to fill out a survey. I told the man and woman standing there that this was like Stonehenge. He said Stonehenge had stones that were set there by aliens from outer space. I walked to my car laughing. I drove through the town of Afton on the way home. Stars twinkled in the sky. The Xmas lights were beautiful. Today I saw 5 red tailed hawks, 2 bald eagles, and two white tailed deer. 

 

Leaving On A Jet Plane, Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again, Oh, Billy, I Hate To Go

 

An Otter As Tall As Me?

I was reading an article in the Conservation Minnesota about river otters. I was astounded to read they are between four and five and a half feet long. I am not even five and a half feet long or tall. That blew my mind.

 

Jingle Bells Batman Smells

 

Vermillion Falls In The Snow

 

Fire Exit

Morgan Talty is the author of Fire Exit. I listened to the audio book. This is a debut novel about a guy named Charlie who grew up on a reservation in Maine.  His beloved step-father died in a hunting accident. Now his mother is progressing in her dementia. His best buddy, Bobby, is an alcoholic. Bobby helps Charlie car for Louise. Charlie has a daughter he has only seen once. He is desperate to get in contact again. This is a compelling story about culture, family and whether we owe it to others to tell the truth.

 

Stunningly Gorgeous

Today I drove to Winona to look at an apartment. I was early. I remembered that one talkative guy told me about a zigzag road that took you up Barn Bluff to Memorial Park. Dang, today they locked the gates. I kept driving until I came to Coleville Park.

I saw a couple of guys putting in a boat. I thought they were dedicated anglers. I looked again and one man was wearing waders and stood next to an orange fence similar to the ones I saw to protect the wild rice from the geese in the Saint Louis River. On my way back I saw the sun shining on the Wisconsin side. The area around here is stunningly gorgeous.