Our spring has blossomed once again. Even amidst the cooler temperatures and late season, the magnolias have flourished and bloomed. Their bright white is a wonderful precursor to the later vibrant colors of the tulips and annuals that will follow. Although they bloom for such a short period of time, they seem to be the early messenger announcing the change of seasons.
Minnesota
Minnesota fishing opener weekend
This weekend has been the Minnesota fishing opener – a tradition of celebrating the beginning of open lakes and water, the promise of spring and summer, and the outdoor recreation of fishing. This is the weekend for the opening of walleye and Northern pike fishing – a time that finds all fisher-people out on the water. We have participated in this ritual for the past few years, heading north to some of our favorite lakes. This weekend we camped near Inguadona Lake and we were fortunate to be rewarded with a wonderful sunset. Although the day had been sunny and windy, with clouds around, the evening calmed and the sun broke through the clouds before setting. The reflection over the lake seemed fitting for the close of the day. As we later slipped into our tent, we drifted off to sleep with the sound of loons calling across the lake. All in all, a true Minnesota celebration of the fishing tradition and the North Woods and Lake Country.
Love before leaving
I had the very special opportunity to photograph a woman and her chocolate lab today. There is a wonderful love and communication between them, especially after the seven years they’ve shared together. She had told me of a ritual they have before she leaves the house in the mornings. Bella, the lovely lab, sits at the top of the stairs as the woman puts on her shoes to get ready to leave. They then sit down together for a heartfelt good-bye, a nuzzle of love, and some carrots are left for the dog who obediently waits until she’s told she can eat them. Then it’s on with their days as the woman heads off to work, and the dog patiently waits for her return.
Pasque flowers
As winter lets go of its grip, pasque flowers are one of the first wildflowers to bloom. They’re diminutive and small, perhaps only 5 inches tall, and they generally thrive in gravel prairie areas. In Minnesota these prairie areas are not common, however there is a glacial outwash area near the Cannon River south of the Twin Cities that has the perfect conditions for these harbingers of spring. I ventured down last week at late afternoon and was thrilled to find them in peak bloom. Their delicacy was made more evident by the backlighting that occurred as the sun was starting to set in the west. Their brilliance is my cue that winter will not last forever, and the flowers that grace our area, even for a very short period of time, are worth celebrating and appreciating.
Spring in the heartland
Last weekend as I was driving home from Iowa to Minnesota I was reminded of the beauty of the Midwest heartland. No big looming mountains, no expansive oceans, no rugged red rocks. But there’s a vastness of the land that spreads from horizon to horizon. Here’s the area responsible for much of the food that’s delivered to our tables, and this land goes through the temperature extremes of freezing, thawing, flooding, and drought. While I was driving on the interstate I kept one eye to the western sky and the colors that were building up to sunset. As the pinks were glowing I pulled off onto a county road; the smell of soil and cool winds came wafting through the car’s open window. This one field was between seasons with some snow still clinging to the cold earth, the soil that was thawing, and the ribbons of water and puddles that were reflecting the last light of a beautiful day and sunset. So much to be thankful for in this spring season of hope and renewal!
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