This weekend was the grand opening of the Ordway Gardens at Como Park. The new addition to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory allows for the viewing of one of North America’s top ten public collections of bonsai. After a seven-inch snowfall on Thursday into Friday, the opening took on a non-springlike look. How unusual to see a Ponderosa Pine bonsai with snow at its base! It seemed a true testament to the hardiness and the beauty of bonsai. And with the conservatory dome reflecting in the glass panel behind the tree it was a perfect representation of the beauty and the specialness of the conservatory and the new gardens.
spring
A weekend on the North Shore
Last weekend we decided to go to the North Shore of Lake Superior. We left the Twin Cities Saturday morning in rain, drove through the fog and into the sunshine in Duluth, and drove along the shore to 50 degree temps. We were looking for a unique place to spend the night and found the perfect spot – the Two Harbors Lighthouse Station. Neither of us had spent the night in a lighthouse, and this was the perfect time. This lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the North Shore of Lake Superior, with the first lighting in April, 1892. The area was a major shipping point for iron ores and the lighthouse was crucial in providing safe passage into Agate Bay Harbor. A keeper in residence was assigned to the lighthouse until 1981 when the Coast Guard fully automated the station. Fourteen years ago the Lake County Historical Society opened the residence as a bed and breakfast, and a unique and wonderful one! Saturday night, as we came “home” to the lighthouse with a sky-full of stars sparkling above, it was easy to imagine what life was like a century ago. On Easter morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and noticed that the sky was fluctuating between sunshine and snow showers. Spring is fickle this year, and especially in northern Minnesota. When we left the lighthouse we drove inland on county backgrounds, going in and out of the snow squalls, reminding ourselves that spring will be arriving. Eventually.
Spring’s welcome
I awoke on the first day of spring, stepped outside, and inhaled. Brrrrrrr; the temperature was 4 degrees and all the hairs on the inside of my nose froze. As I looked around, the landscape was knee-deep in snow. There was nary a blade of grass to be seen or a flower shoot to encourage to grow, but there was a blue sky above and a bright sun shining. Spring (as commonly defined with blooming trees, flowers, and green grass) has not physically arrived in Minnesota yet…we remain hopeful. Rather than post another photo of snow, I went searching for evidence that we were at least starting the transition from winter to spring. I headed to the Mississippi River in downtown Saint Paul where I joyfully found it is not frozen solid, but the water is actually flowing in this area. There were chunks of ice drifting by on their journey southward from our cold northern climes. As I stopped and listened I could hear geese calling and I saw ducks flying into the open water. And there was also a hint of warmth in the bright sunshine. Soon our snow will be gone and we will see green grass and green leaves and know that spring truly has arrived.
Lilacs
One of my favorite flowers of spring are the lilacs. Throughout Minnesota you see them everywhere — as small bushes, fences, and even tall hedges. They can be trimmed to remain small or they can be allowed to grow to the size of trees. They line the sides of many of our highways and roads, and when they’re in full bloom (as they are right now) they are beautiful. They range in color from white to pale purple to a deep, dark shade of purple – almost burgundy. And if you’re lucky to be riding your bike alongside a hedge of lilacs their scent will descend over you and fill you with the smell of the very best that spring has to offer.
Spring-time cycling
This year we are planning to do the Bike Across Kansas (BAK), a seven-day, 475 mile ride from the western border with Colorado to the eastern border with Missouri. It’s a great adventure filled with the beauty of the Kansas plains, the hospitality of the small towns that we stay in, and the camaraderie of 800 fellow cyclists. We are now in serious training mode. We headed out on our bicycles yesterday morning with chilly temperatures in the 40’s and overcast skies, hoping to get a ride in before the promised rains that were on their way. As is common in spring-time in the upper midwest, the weather can change at any time (and usually does). The skies were gray and dark to the north, but occasionally the sun would peek out long enough to give us a bit of warmth. Unlike our fellow-cyclists living south of Minnesota who are now logging rides of 50 miles and more, we are just unthawing from our winter weather. Our ride yesterday gave us the chance to test multiples layers of clothing along with full-fingered riding gloves to keep warm. Eventually we will pare down to single layers and cycling shorts but that time is still ahead of us. Yesterday’s ride was filled with the scent of blooming lilacs and the spring-time colors of the ornamental trees. All this, including the rain holding off until the afternoon, made our ride a delight and a joy.
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