A Great Day Made Even Better

Campers identifying critters in the river mud while I sat in a lawn chair on the dock and watched.

I knew yesterday was going to be a great day. I had an outing planned with my Master naturalist friends. We were going to meet at Wild River State park.  In the morning we were going to seine the St. Croix river and identify the critters we found.  After that we had a picnic lunch planned.  And after that a tour of a winery.  It sounded like a magnificent day.  What made it even better is that Offspring #2 and Offspring #1's wife were also going to be at the same park on the same day.  These two fine young women also participated in the seining of the river.  When the naturalist asked for a volunteer to hold one end of the net which involved walking out into the mucky weeds I was proud to see my offspring volunteer.  A woman who volunteers to get her calves muddy earn many points with any master naturalist group. With my leg wound I need to stay clean and dry.  That was my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  In the muck they found minnows, one small perch, dragonfly nymphs in various stages, whirligigs, crayfish, and other creepy crawly things.  There were many campers involved and they had lots of kids under four years old.  One looked to be a year old at most.  She could barely walk yet she was able to balance on her tiny bare feet on the cement boat landing.  In her sun bonnet and "onesie" she looked to have all the determination and agenda of any working woman.  All the kids were walking in the water, holding snails and minnows in little plastic cups, using nets to scoop up critters and looking at the river life.  What great parents here who brought their youngsters to explore, get dirty, and learn?  You meet so many nice people in state parks.  Who knows how many future biologist seeds were planted that day?  After a wonderful lunch in the picnic area we stayed for a class on medicinal wild plants. A chiropractor from Taylors Falls gave us a talk about edible and medicinal plants.  She said basswood leaves are more delicious than lettuce if you pick them before they totally unfurl in the spring.  I had never heard that before.  I had heard that you could get a chocolate like flavor from the round seeds of a basswood but I didn't know you could eat the leaves.  She went on and on about the great qualities of nettle.  Yes, stinging nettle; also known as burning weed.  Although you have to wear gloves when you pick it and boil it for 15 minutes to remove the sting, it is supposed to be packed with protein and vitamins.  I think I'm more likely to eat a basswood leaf than any burning weed. She took us outside to look at plants in the vicinity.  She showed us what chickweed was.  I have been curious about that for years.  I have plenty of chickweed in my garden only I never thought of it as chickweed.  I thought of it as that stretchy weed that stretches and breaks off when I want to pull it out.  When I got home I pulled a bunch of it and gave it to my chickens.  They gobbled it right up.  Here I've been passing right over delicious chickweed and picking dandelions for them.  After the plant lecture we left the park and headed over to a winery in Chisago City called Winehaven.  Today they were having an open house.  Anyone could come in and sample ten wines for free.  I have as much interest in tasting ten wines as I do in tasting ten kinds of meat - no interest at all.  My friends like the rhubarb dessert wine.  At the winery they had live music playing so I sat and listened to them perform.  My friends went on a tour of the winery.  That involved too much standing and walking so I sat on the patio, listening to music, watching boats on the lake across the road, and watching the birds fly by.  I found it relaxing to sit by myself and imagine being a bird.  Why do birds fly like they do at different altitudes?  Where are they headed? Do they go back to the same perches and stay in the same neighborhoods? What motivation do they have for flying above the winery and above the tree tops on this beautiful summer Saturday afternoon? 

View of the St. Croix River

View of the St. Croix River valley between two oak trees.