Lake Phalen

Today I had a pleasant walk around Lake Phalen.

Some of my walk was on a tarred path and some of it was on the road.

 

Does This One Fit?

 

Snow In The Middle Of The Street?

This afternoon, after visiting the awesome library in Hastings, I decided to take another walk in the park. Look at the beautiful piece of art hanging in a tree at Levee Park!

I went across the street because I thought I saw some ice houses on the river. Turns out they were on dry land.

I went to the Post Office and was surprised that they leave snow in the middle of the street.

 

IChippy is In Favor Of Recycling

 

LeDuc

After dinner tonight I walked the 15 minute path to the LeDuc Mansion where they were having a solstice event. I went into the shed to get a glass of hot chocolate first.

Then I walked over to the fire pit where people were sitting around, talking, watching the fire, and making s'mores.

I felt fortunate to be able to visit. On the weekend after Labor Day they have a Civil War event. People camp in the grounds. Delicious bread is baked in the Dutch oven outside. Vegetables from the garden are harvested for food. Can you see the girl doll peeking out of the window on the left?

I spoke with 2 ladies who volunteer here and they were a wealth of knowledge. They told me the chickens are beautiful. Heritage breeds are used. One black chicken has iridescent feathers like a peacock. The upper two floors were for the servants. There are no fireplaces up there. In the winter it was too cold and in the summer it was too hot. I felt bad for the servants. Now those floors are used for storage. On the top floor, in the circular part, was a chapel.

I would estimate I saw 100 people. A man from the Hastings Register was interviewing a woman who works in the gardens. She has been volunteering here for 10 years.

Outside the men were talking about the original owner and his political views. One woman said her husband put LeDuc's essays on the computer, edited them, and published it.

Now my clothes smell like smoke so I need to wash them.

 

Oh, no!

 

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.

 

I Took Suggestions

Last night I met the site steward at the Lost Valley Prairie Scientific Natural Area.

So this morning I went there. I met a young guy about to drive off in a Bobcat. He said they were cutting down trees and gathering brush.

She also suggested I visit Grey Cloud Island.

So I went there too.

A bald eagle flew toward me and went right over the top of my car.

 

Party

 Last night I went to a holiday party and had much fun. Free food, free drinks, people I know,  conversations had, it was terrific. I am so glad I joined the MN Master Naturalists.

An Amazingly Lucky Day

Today I got a message from a friend of mine. He and his wife went to Berlin because she loves Bach and her cousins live there. He made a You Tube video of their trip. Now I want to do that for my next trip. I went to the library to get a book on Japanese language. They didn't have any books but I found one on Libby. I drove to Kaposia Landing. Incredible. Simply Incredible.

I met a friendly couple. They said they were going to take the path down the hill to get out of the wind. We could hear the eagles talking to each other. He got some great photos. He used to work for NW Airlines. He said that to test the engines they would throw a frozen chicken into the engines. He met 3 birders at Silverwood Park in New Brighton. They were all doctors. One was a doctor in Peru. They went birding in Peru. He said he was in Costa Rica. I said I was going to Costa Rica soon. I said I wanted to see a Harpy eagle and a toucan. He showed me pictures of both birds.

I didn't get the apartment I wanted in Winona but the second choice is also good so maybe I have found an apartment. That is cool.

I will tell you the other lucky stuff tomorrow.

 

All Things New

 I have a new favorite historical fiction author and her name is Lynn Austin. I just this morning finished reading All Things New. Set in the south, just after the end of the Civil War, Josephine is adapting to the changes around her but the rest of her family is not. Her mother thinks it's terrible that she works in the garden or sews a dress. Josephine doesn't like being bored. Josephine makes friends with Lizzie the slave. Her mother, brother, and younger sister are appalled. Josephine is right but will the rest of the family come to that same conclusion? 

A Walk Downtown

After lunch I decided I would walk downtown. I walked to the east of Highway 61 down to the river. On the way back I walked a block or two west of Highway 61. A few spots were slippery so I walked in the grass or on the road.

This one cracked me up. This is a rock bass. I looked at the link from the QR code and learned that I could buy or rent this statue.

I walked through the Confluence Hotel. This is a fancy place. Some day I would like to eat at their restaurant.

After the hotel I walked into 2 local shops. The second one was a game shop. I looked at all the games and comic books. I ordered a delicious cup of ginger/tumeric tea and sat in a room with 20 mostly male customers playing role playing games. Walking on the west side of the highway was a whole different vibe. The lawns on the west side are bigger. I got back to my place at 4:30.

 

River Blades Skating School 19th Annual Skate With Santa At The Hastings Civic Center

I planned to walk to the Civic Center at 5:45 because it was only a 3 minute walk and I didn't have to cross any major roads. I took 8 steps outside before I realized the parking lot was glazed in ice. I decided to drive. My snow scraper is in the trunk. The trunk was frozen shut. So I used my plastic card from the YMCA in Duluth which worked very well. I was only 5 minutes late. There were so many people there I had to park in the boondocks. The boondocks were slippery so I walked in the grass. The closer I got to the door of the Civic Center, the less slippery it got. How come so many people came out on this slippery night? There were more than 300 people there.

I was laughing and clapping and singing along to the music.

Santa is sitting on the ice handing out gifts to children. At 7:15 guests could join on the ice.

I am so glad I decided to go. On the other side of the arena I watched a few minutes of a hockey game. It has been a llllloooonnnngggg time since I watched a hockey game.

 

Vermillion Dragonfly

This morning I went for a 2 mile walk from my hotel along the Vermillion Greenway. I saw a dragonfly. The prairie had lots of big blue stem and sideoate  gramma.

Hastings has nice parks.