We had the happy privilege of having a wedding in the family this past weekend. It was a time of joyous celebration and happiness. The bride and groom are both in the Army, and met while stationed in Iraq. Their time at Camp Liberty was eventful in many ways and even more so after they met. Their dates consisted of meeting mid-base and sharing pizza. His deployment was over before hers and he returned to the U.S., waiting for her return three months later. They settled in Texas and continued planning their wedding here in Saint Paul. The wedding ceremony was joyous and happy. Both the bride and groom were surrounded by their parents, siblings, school and university friends, and military friends — many of whom traveled from across the country to share in the celebration of their marriage. The toasts were heartfelt and the celebration continued late into the night, concluding with a wedding brunch the following day. I wish them the very best in their marriage together. There will be trying times, especially next year when she will be deployed back to Iraq, but I believe their love story will continue and with their commitment and love they will write their own happy ending.
Author: lindastaatsphoto
Grape harvest, part 2
Yesterday was part 2 of our 2010 grape harvest experience. For the past few years we’ve helped some friends who live on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River harvest their acre of grapes. This is certainly a much larger operation than our one concord grape-vine! Six of us worked most of the day, stopping only for lunch, and made good progress. It’s delightful to work amongst beautiful scenery, with good conversation and good laughter. Certainly makes the harvest much more enjoyable and fun. We spent the day harvesting frontenac gris, although we were treated to tastes of all the varieties of grapes our friends are growing. The alpenglow grapes that are pictured here are a beautiful shade of soft yellow/green, that develop a light blush as they ripen. I can attest to their most wonderfully sweet and juicy flavor. After the sun had set and we had been in the vineyard all day, we retreated inside to a delightful meal and were able to lift our glasses to toast this year’s harvest with a glass of wine from last year’s harvest.
Concord grapes – the sweet smell of summer
Our harvest of concord grapes was plentiful. With pans and trays of the purple grapes everywhere, the sweet smell of summer has been wafting through our kitchen. Their fresh aroma is strong and intoxicating, and it strengthens as the grapes simmer on the stove, crack open, and release their juices. For now we’re enjoying a deliciously flavorful concord grape sorbet that melts in the mouth — a small taste goes a long way. It’s a deep, dark color of rich purple; almost (but not quite) too beautiful to eat. And we also have a plethora of concord jelly ready for the upcoming months. When the snow is piled around and the temperatures are cold, we’ll open a jar of grape jelly and be quickly transported back to the waning days of summer.
A day at the Fair
Yesterday it was me and 234,383 of my best friends spending a cool summer’s day at the Minnesota State Fair and setting a record for single-day attendance. The Minnesota State Fair is the second-largest State Fair in the country. With the fairgrounds covering 320 acres it’s imperative to allow at least one day to see your favorite things. There’s the Mighty Midway with its games and carnival rides, the food, the Giant Slide, Machinery Hill, the food, the animals, the exhibits, the Space Tower, the Grandstand, and the food. We refer to the Fair as the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and we celebrate with friends and food. Anything and everything is available on a stick, from fried pickles to pronto pups. For many the Fair is a day of grazing from one food booth to the next. I especially enjoyed the animal barns. The pigs that weren’t being shown in competition were sleeping lazily, the sounds of the roosters were echoing off the walls in their building, and the goats were busy nibbling on the shirts of the passers-by. People who attend the fair are always in a good mood, as are the vendors, and the employees at the fair. Even the woman at the information booth who helped me three different times — she too was in a good mood. I even found two special friends from the Minnesota Twins – Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau – who “stood still” while I had my photo taken with them. What a great ending to a fine day at the Fair!
The woods of northern Wisconsin
We spent the past weekend in northern Wisconsin near the shores of Lake Superior. It was a true late summer’s weekend with hot sun and blowing winds. To get a break from the heat, we drove to the southern part of Ashland County. Off a remote gravel road in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is a trailhead leading along Morgan Creek to a cascading waterfall. Here in the forest with the canopy of trees and the gurgling of the creek, we found a welcome respite from the summer’s heat. The trees are still a glorious green, but occasionally we saw a few leaves that were starting to change in anticipation of autumn. With this image of Morgan Creek I wanted to bring together the green of the forest, the blue reflection of the summer sky above, with a few hints of autumn color also visible in the water’s reflection. These are the photos and memories that we will be savoring in the middle of January when our scenery has turned to white and the temperatures have plummeted into winter.
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