Our weather in the Twin Cities has been cold this past week — the coldest temperatures since last March. With that many of our lakes have frozen over, and I even made a first sighting this winter of a person ice fishing on a nearby lake. We were in Minneapolis today having a delightful brunch with family, and afterwords stopped by Minnehaha Park. It was the perfect opportunity to see the falls in a semifrozen state, surrounded by large icicles. Minnehaha Park includes the area where Minnehaha Creek empties into the Mississippi River. The park dates back to the late 1800’s and the name Minnehaha is from the Dakota language meaning waterfall. Minnehaha Falls is a 53 foot waterfall drop surrounded by limestone bluffs. After heavy rains in early summer the falls flow full, and in times of drought they’ve even been known to stop. But today there was one stream of water flowing over the bluff above into a small pool of open water. I was at the falls in late morning and the sun was beginning to reach against the northern side of the bluffs. As it heated and melted some of the icicles, they would come crashing down with the sound echoing throughout the ravine.
Mississippi River
Quickly slipping into fall
Just as the calendar shows us passing the autumnal equinox last week, it seems that nature is truly slipping into fall here in Minnesota. Our nights are getting cooler and the sun is lacking the heat it had even a few weeks ago. Yesterday morning we got up early to drive south to Wabasha, a town that sits right on the Mississippi River in the heart of the bluff country. The air was heavy with moisture and we drove through thick fog in places. As we were going to be helping some friends harvest grapes in their vineyard, we had been hoping for a sunny and warm day. When we arrived at their home overlooking the Mississippi River Valley we were still in the fog, but I was delighted to be able to divert my attention from the grapes to photographing their gardens. These fall-colored mums were in full bloom, and upon closer examination I saw that they were laced with the dew of this damp morning. The fog and low clouds eventually gave way to sunshine and a warm-enough fall day as we worked throughout the morning and afternoon picking grapes. The time passed quickly with conversation amongst friends, and our fingers and hands became stained and coated with the color and smell of the ripe grapes. By the time we drove home after a celebratory dinner preceded by a toast to the wine harvest, the clouds had passed and the sky was filled with a full canopy of stars overhead.
A summer bucket list
I have certain expectations and rites that I associate with the season of summer. My bucket list includes: (1) a baseball game with cold beer and popcorn, (2) putting the canoe in the water, (3) sharing a late-night bottle of wine on the deck, (4) eating cherry tomatoes fresh-picked from the vine, (5) watching a sunset, (6) a bicycle ride on an early Saturday morning that includes a stop for breakfast, (7) fishing (hopefully successfully!), (8) a chocolate malt from the dairy barn at the Minnesota State Fair, (9) swimming or wading or dangling my feet in a cool lake when the temperature is scorching, and (10) sleeping in a tent. Up until last week I’d checked off all my items except the last one, so my mission was to go camping. We ventured off to the southeast corner of Minnesota. Passing through acres and acres of corn and soybeans in the center of the state, we eventually came into the rolling hills and bluff country that’s to the west of the Mississippi River. The landscape is beautiful, with two-lane highways and county roads that curve and twist and go up to the tops of the bluffs and then sky-rocket down into the valleys. We found our way to a Minnesota State Park that’s nestled in one of those valleys – Beaver Creek Valley State Park. The park is situated so the creek flows right through it. Even to get to our tent site the road crossed the creek four different times. We weren’t driving on bridges, we were actually fording the creek and driving through it. We set up our tent at the base of a hillside nestled among the trees. Our days were spent hiking and exploring the park and the valley, along with this far southeastern corner of Minnesota. With all our outdoor activities, hot temps, and warm sunshine we slept well in our tent under the canopy of trees in the valley with the full moon high above in the sky. And just across the road from our campsite we could hear Beaver Creek, babbling its way throughout the campground and the valley.
Fall daybreak over the Mississippi River
Our fall colors have been changing rapidly. Knowing that they won’t be lasting much longer, I took a day off work and left the house before 6:00am. I drove southeast in the darkness and caught up with the Mississippi River. On a bluff above the river in Frontenac State Park I enjoyed the quiet and beauty of daybreak over the Mississippi. The morning was cool and coated the grasses and fall flowers with a light dew. And yet as the sun rose there was the promise of a warm Indian summer day ahead. As I focused my camera down the river to Lake Pepin I heard a rustling in the grasses to my right. Just as I glanced in that direction, a large doe leapt through the little bluestem and bounded down the hill — the only sound breaking the quiet. I spent the remainder of this warm day wandering the hillsides and bluffs on either side of the Mississippi River, in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The following days were windy and blustery, and I’m certain many of the remaining leaves found their way down to the ground. In the short span of this past week, the landscape has changed dramatically, getting closer to the inevitable first hard frost and winter.
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.
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