Minnesota

The fleeting time of peonies

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Here in Minnesota we have experienced an unusually short spring season and have quickly moved into the summer season. Our temperatures jumped from temperate to “just plain hot” quickly, and with that it seems everything has bloomed and blossomed at the same time. The lilacs came and went. Daffodils, tulips, poppies, iris, and peonies all burst into bloom together. It’s been beautiful and yet it’s also been overwhelming, and it seems that it’s now all gone.

But the peonies have always had a fleeting time of bloom. Their greenery grows rapidly once the snow is gone and the sun warms the ground. The tight buds form, then start to show color, and then the ants are seen all over the buds. Peonies provide sugar and compounds that the ants need, and the ants benefit the peonies by keeping other potential invaders away from the blooms. This year the early heat with temperatures in the upper 80’s and even 90’s seemed to shorten the already fleeting peony bloom. I felt like I needed to harvest as many flowers as I could to bring inside and out of the intense heat, hoping to give them a chance of lingering a bit longer. The benefit to me is it allowed me to savor their beauty and their scent so much more.

A trip south to escape our long winter

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Our Northern winter keeps coming with record amounts of snowfall and colder days than usual. This year we decided to escape the cold and head south. The morning we left the temperature hovered in the teens with bright sunshine glistening off the frozen ice on the trees. Crossing from Minnesota into Iowa brought us less snow. By southern Missouri we found blooming daffodils, and by northeastern Texas we saw redbud trees in bloom. With each passing state the temperatures were warmer and our smiles were bigger.

We experienced spring thunderstorms with heavy rain, and even a tornado warning. We rode our bikes in warm sunshine and in blustery winds. We sat outside without heavy coats, hats and gloves. We watched the sun set over open water. We reveled in green grass and the flowers and trees. It was a welcome assault to our senses to be surrounded by the colors of spring and the sounds of birds.

Dogwood trees were in full bloom, their blossoms so delicate and bright. We were talking to another cyclist (also from the North) who couldn’t contain her excitement over seeing tulips in bloom. That sent us on a driving trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We spent two hours soaking up the colors of tulip blooms – every color imaginable! We would pinch ourselves and then look at the weather app showing the temps back north in the 20’s and yet another snowfall.

After three weeks we began our journey back home. A cold front had dropped way south out of Canada and we had temperatures below freezing for the journey north. Our winter clothes and coats came back out of the closet and as we drove the season reversed back into late winter. We arrived home with more snow on the ground than when we left, but our minds were filled with the beauty of spring and the knowledge that eventually the warmth will return here too, bringing the colors and sights that we had absorbed on our trip.

Drift

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The big snow storm is moving out of Minnesota. Yes, we had snow and wind and white-out conditions, and now we are left with the task of shoveling. Our world has been very white the past few days as the snow blew horizontally with the gusting northeast winds. The fluffy lightweight snow was easy prey as it was picked up and carried by the wind. It collected along buildings, fences, and previous piles of snow. Our usual demarcations of walkways and sidewalks are now obliterated by the drifts. And yet the white curves are now a lovely contrast to those sharp edges that our eyes are used to seeing. It’s as if the whole world has been softened just a bit.

The fickleness of fall

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Fall – a season that changes from day to day as we transition from summer to winter. It’s never an easy transition and yet we are surprised with the temperature and weather swings. Just as we were reveling in the beauty of the fall colors we woke up to a wintry snowfall a week ago. It powdered the tree leaves with white, accentuating the yellows and reds and reminding us of what lies ahead. The air was quiet with the sound of the falling snow, and the temperatures were still mild. The waterfowl that were here didn’t seem to mind although many have already begun their migration south. By early afternoon the snow had melted, and a few days later we were enjoying sun and the warmth of the 60’s. But this short snow was our reminder of the approaching winter season and the beauty that will come with a landscape covered in white.

Bicycling and a lake = a perfect summer combination

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Tuesday morning we packed up our bicycles, a credit card, and a change of clothing, drove northwest 180 miles to Akeley, Minnesota where we met a friend, and started riding the Heartland State Trail. This trail was one of the very first rail-to-trail projects in the United States. We had about 15 drops of rain as we began our ride east to the town of Walker. After a lunch stop we connected with the Paul Bunyan State Trail, turning northwest. And as luck would have it we were being pushed along by a southeast wind and accompanied by overcast skies to keep the summer heat at bay. After 42 miles of riding through fields, forests, and remnants of logging and railroad towns we arrived in Bemidji. Sleep came easily after the fresh-air, exercise, and a delightful dinner on a patio overlooking Lake Bemidji.

The next morning we woke to a dark-cloud sky, winds gusting from the south and southwest, and whitecaps rolling over the lake surface. There was no one along the beach except the gulls and geese. The sun would break through the clouds, but the wind continued to howl. We took our time before getting back on our bikes, waiting for the winds to shift again, which they did, now blowing from the northwest – perfect for pushing us the 42 miles back on the trails to where we started in Akeley.

It was a great two-day adventure. There were stories told and laughs shared amongst the three of us as the miles passed by under our bike tires. The scenery was beautiful, the trails were good, the bicycling was invigorating, and the people we met along the way were delightful — a perfect way to take in summer in northern Minnesota.