As fall starts its arrival in Minnesota the days grow shorter, the nights are cooler, and the harvests begin. For the past few years we’ve helped some friends in the Wabasha area with their grape harvest. On a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, they have a beautiful vineyard that’s expanded every year. Last weekend we spent a day with friends and family picking grapes for this year’s harvest. Our work began under an overcast sky. After a couple of hours we stopped for a lunch break, only to look outside and see it raining. We continued harvesting in the rain for a few hours (not a problem except for the rain drops that ran down our arms when we’d reach up to cut the grape clusters), and then the clouds cleared and the sun came out leaving the grapes glistening with the rain. These are Frontenac grapes, a variety bred by the University of Minnesota and known for its cold-hardiness. As the sun started its descent to the horizon we left the vineyard feeling good about a full-day’s work outside. We shared a wonderful meal with our fellow grape-harvesters and then headed home with gallons of fresh-squeezed grape juice to enjoy in the upcoming months.
landscapes
Minnesota north woods
Last weekend we ventured to north central Minnesota, an area filled with woods and lakes. Although the anticipated fall colors were not at peak color yet, the area was beautiful in the cool of the early mornings and the sun dappled afternoons. Our trip was for R&R, and we spent the weekend exploring and wandering the landscape. We hiked on both forest and park trails, smelling the change of the seasons and listening to the rustling of the leaves. We journeyed down forest roads, stopping to admire lakes sparkling in the sunshine and listening for the birds – Canada geese, ducks, and loons. We put our canoe in a small lake and marveled at the clarity of the water down to almost 10 feet. Pulling out our fishing poles, we found the “sweet spot” on the lake and caught a couple of meals worth of sunfish. Our home base was a cabin at a small family run resort with our own dock overlooking the lake. The cabin was built in 1941 and had the charm and simplicity of only the necessities. Surrounded by trees and providing a view of the lake, it was the perfect place for us to appreciate and marvel in the beauty of the area.
Daybreak
I woke up in the dark the other morning, crawled out of bed, slipped on my shorts, T-shirt, and hiking boots and headed out the door with my camera. I’ve replayed this scenario so many times over the years. About 10 years ago I was living in Washington and would drive to Mount Rainier to see the sun rise over the mountains. Now I’m in Minnesota and I drive a few blocks and I’m walking through fields of tasseled corn, the temperature already at 80 degrees. In both instances I’m aware of so much more than the view in front of me. There are smells (whether of towering firs and cedars or agriculture fields) and there are sounds (of the creeks and streams that flow from the melting snow or the wind blowing through the corn and giving the geese thermals to float on). No matter where, there is so much that comes to life as the sun crests the horizon and the day breaks. The smoke from the wildfires in the west has drifted our way, giving our sunrises and sunsets a deeper shade of red and orange. This early-morning-time is ripe with the promise of the day (and the adventures) ahead.
Minnesota State Fair fine arts exhibit
The Minnesota State Fair is in full-swing and summer has made its hot and humid comeback too. But there is always cool artwork to be seen in the Fine Arts Exhibit. I’m happy to tell you that my entry “Single tree island, early autumn” was accepted into the exhibit this year. With a 15% acceptance rate, I feel exceptionally honored that my photograph was juried into the exhibit. If you’re attending the fair, be sure to spend some time in the Fine Arts Building. You’ll be treated to some beautiful, imaginative, creative, and unusual art of many kinds – all created by artists from the state of Minnesota.
Fishing through the sunset
On a warm summer’s afternoon we returned to one of our favorite small lakes for some fishing. Our plan was to fish through the sunset and after dark – something I have never done before. The winds died down throughout the evening and set up for a beautiful sunset, with the colors of the sky reflecting in the quiet of the lake’s surface. We’d shared some dinner in the boat and the fishing had been successful. The light in the western sky faded to black, the near-full moon was high in the sky and we were the only ones still out on the water. We pulled out our fly fishing gear and settled in for some night-time fishing. Our eyes adjusted to the darkness and our ears became our “eyes” as we listened for the fish to take the poppers we laid out on the surface. More reliable for me was feeling the fish tug on the fly line. It was beautiful to be out in the dark; the shoreline was discernible with the moonlight, the lake’s surface was like glass, the stars came out overhead, and the night sounds surrounded us. The experience and beauty of this summer’s evening and night on a small lake were now embedded in our memories.
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