Unlucky Seppman

I have made 3 visits to Minneopa State Park. On my second visit I didn't see any bison but a fellow hiker told me they were opening up the road through the bison prairie probably the next day. So today was warm weather so I went out there again. I drove over the cattle grate to get in. I saw the bison near the Seppman Mill. Louis Seppman decided a mill was necessary. He was a stone mason. He started building the mill in 1862. Construction was finished in 1864. On a favorable windy day he could mill 150 bushels of wheat into flour. In 1872 lightening struck the mill and broke off 2  the arms of the 4 armed wind mill. He repaired the mill. In 1880 a tornado came and tore off 2 arms. In 1890 another storm came and damaged the mill beyond repair. 1890 was the last time the mill ever produced flour. The mill was repaired in 1970 but no wind mill arms were ever attached. The doors on the mill were all locked but there were gaps to look inside. The inside is empty but I could smell the dank, musty air that flowed coolly out of the gaps in the wood. After a quick lunch I drove out of the bison prairie, parked my car, and walked around the perimeter again. Lots of people had the same idea today. The picture below shows the bison on the prairie and in the background you can see a truck driving down the gravel prairie road.

Good Bad Girl

 Alice Feeney is the author of the novel called Good Bad Girl. This is a twisted, convoluted mystery. We hear the story about an elderly woman unhappily living in a care home, her daughter, a young girl who works at the care home in housekeeping, and another woman working at a women's prison as a librarian. All the women distrust each other. The ending resolves att the mystery in a way I never thought to expect. I think the theme of this entertaining book is that the line between good and bad can be very thin.

 

 

Death Valley

 Melissa Broder is the author of Death Valley. This fiction novel is about a woman who goes to  a Best Western to escape from her life. Her father is in the ICU. Her husband is chronically ill. She takes a hiking path that the Best Western staff suggested. On her hike she finds a huge cactus that really shouldn't exist in this area. On her hike she gets lost. This is where the book hooked me in. How many times have I gotten lost on a hike. My old friend always tells me the first rule of safety is to tell someone where you are going. Do I listen? Yes, but I don't do it. I really enjoyed this comical novel.

 

 

 

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.