Quarry Hill

 

A few days ago a friend from college asked me where I was. I said Mankato. She suggested I drive over to Rochester an join her at her hotel. We could explore Rochester, go out for dinner and enjoy the hot tub at her hotel. So I drove to Rochester which is a little over an hour from here. We met at her hotel. She drove me over to Quarry Hill Park and Nature Center at the suggestion of the desk clerk. We got there only 15 minutes before the nature center closed for the day. Wow! What an awesome nature center. The naturalist, with blue hair and a nose ring had just finished cleaning the cages for the leopard frog and salamanders. She put them back in their habitats. My friend showed her a picture of a green frog that came in with her outdoor plants last fall. Besides the salamanders and leopard frogs they also had a green frog, three snakes, a hissing cockroach, and fish. Their aquarium was large. In the middle of the aquarium at the bottom was a tunnel that small kids could climb under and look up at the fish from the bottom. They had perch and sunfish and bass and walleye and three gar. The gar kept to themselves at one end of the aquarium. Just before 4 p.m. the naturalist suggested we come and watch as she fed the fish. She counted 1,2.3, minnow before pouring a bucket of shiner minnows into the tank. The fish knew the drill. They were ready for her. Most minnows were swallowed whole and quickly by the fish. But the gar were different. The gar pinched the fish between their jaws, held them for 30 seconds, moved them closer to the gullet, and then swallowed them. Kids, adults, and seniors were fascinated by watching the fish eat their dinner. The naturalist talked about how different aged kids view this. Most kids think it's cool to watch fish eat. 13 to 15 year old would not say it's cook but they also don't look away. That is the advantage of having a young, enthusiastic naturalist on duty. When the center closed we walked over by the lake, by the limestone quarry, and finally there cemetery where patients at the Rochester State Hospital were buried. We looked at graves from the 1860's until the last one was buried in 1965. Most of the patients lived until their 70's. Then we walked the labyrinth. By now the snow was coming down hard and we decided dinner and a hot tub soak were next on our agenda. Today she has a conference on Habitat For Humanity as she is on her local board of directors.

 

 

The Women

 The other day I was in the library and I read a list of the best historical fiction novels. Kristin Hannah's book, The Women, was on the list. Then I saw the book sitting on the large print book shelf. So I took it down and read the first 240 pages. That was last week. Today I found the book again and read it to the finish. It was a great story about the women who served as nurses during the Vietnam War. The story is about a woman names Frances (Franky) McGrath. After her brother joined the Navy and was sent to Vietnam, she decided to enlist as a nurse. The Navy wouldn't take her because she had only a couple weeks of nursing experience after graduating from nursing school. The Air Force wouldn't take her. The Army Nurse Corp let her join and sent her there totally unprepared. She made friends for life with two other nurses. Franky found her calling in life serving as a nurse. She saw appalling injuries and events with massive casualties. She decided to sign up for a second year. Coming back home she was spat on and called a baby killer. Her story about transitioning back to civilian life is sad and tragic like it was for many Vietnam vets.

 

 

Walking Around Town

Today I was walking around downtown Mankato, looking at historic houses. This town has quite a few places on the national historic register. He is the old Blue Earth County Courthouse. At the top is a statue of a lady holding the scales of justice.

They also have art installations all over town. Some are not as appealing. I liked this one. The paper reads: Dear Jumbo, Eggsiting news! The research is conclusive. THE EGG CAME FIRST! Signed, The World Poultry Council.

 

East Of Eden

 Finally I finished reading East Of Eden by John Steinbeck. This massive novel, published in 1952 too be 9 and a half hours to finish. The beginning of the book is set in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Over half the story takes place in the Salinas Valley in California. The story starts with the Trask family. Adam and Charles are brothers on a farm. Adam's father forces his to join the Army and fight Indians. Eventually Adam returns to the farm and works with Charles. When their father dies Adam and Charles inherit a considerable amount of money. Adam moves to California with his wife, Cathy. He buys a great farm in the Salinas Valley where he meets the Hamilton family. Sam Hamilton has a large family. Unfortunately his farm is too rocky to produce much produce. He gets by with blacksmithing and helping other families. Most of the time the author keeps the story about the people. Once in a while he throws in a chapter criticizing American society and their thoughts about the war. Overall I thought it was a great story. I can see why it was a bet seller.

 

 

 

Reconciliation Park

Today I visited the Blue Earth County Library in Mankato. Located downtown and across the street and the railroad tracks from the Minnesota River. Also in the area is Reconciliation Park.

This park is the location where, on Dec. 26, 1862, 38 Native Americans were hung to death simultaneously in the largest single execution in American history.

 

Minneopa

I am staying in Mankato for a couple weeks. Today I visited Minneopa State Park. First I walked to the waterfalls.

Then I drove to the day use area and decided to take a long (5 mile) walk around the bison pen. I didn't see any bison for the longest time. A half hour before I got back to my car I saw the bison. Despite what the song "Home On The Range" says, we do not have buffalo in Minnesota. Buffalo are native to Asia and Africa. Bison are native to the Americas and Europe.

I watched the bison eat for ten minutes or so. They are digging down below the dried grass to get the new green shoots that are coming up. This prairie had 24 bison. I didn't see any bison calves. March must be too early for them to give birth.

 

Lazarus Man

 I read a book called Lazarus Man that was written by Richard Price. The story takes place in Harlem, New York City. Several characters frequent the neighborhood. One is the owner of a failing funeral home business. Another is a young man who uses his camera to take pictures of the neighborhood. The parks department buys some of his photos. Another is a recovered addict. One morning a apartment complex in the neighborhood collapses. Some tenants are killed. A local police officer is bound and determined to find all the missing persons. Three days after the collapse the recovered addict is found in the rubble. He is taken to the hospital where, besides breathing in all kinds of dust and rubble, his biggest injury is a sore on his tail bone where he laid on a piece on concrete. He becomes famous and starts giving motivational speeches that uplift others and actually help him too. I enjoyed this story about the Harlem community.