Visitors From Norway

Our good friends Gary and Rosie Anderson’s cousins from Norway arrived in Minnesota recently to visit relatives and tour the Gopher State (with a side trip to Wisconsin). They wanted, of course, to see some of the cultural highlights of our State such as The Mall Of America and Target Field. Shopping, a well known American custom was also to be included in the schedule. . The Troutbirders involvement was to arrange a visit to a "real" American farm. Through the graciousness of our neighbors, the Jahn family, our visitors got to see a Corn Belt hog operation.
Eli Sather Bergstuen is the grandmother. Her home is Biristrand, Norway. This is just south of Lillehammer. The parents are Even and Gerd (Eli's daughter) Taraldsrud and children Henrik and Mina. They live on a farm in Biri which is south of Biristrand by a couple of miles. The Lake Mjosa, part of the Mjosa River (like Lake Pepin is part of the Mississippi River) runs from Gjovik, south of Biri, to just north of Biri. The river continues on up past Lillehammer about 25 miles north of Biri.

Gary and Rosie (on the left) brought their visitors to the Mississippi river town of Winona to a family gathering that featured people from all over the United States. Here on Garvin Heights, high above Winona the Norwegians get a look at the broad Mississippi Valley Traveling by light rail, the visitors checked on the Guthrie Theater, Target Field and the Mall of America.

Mrs T. put on an fine dinner, Minnesota style, after the visit to the Jahn farms in the Spring Valley area. Never had they seen so much corn in the fields and the scale of the farming operation definitely made a big impression. Neighbor Rick Jahn provided a 2 hour tour of the facilities and equipment.

Taking a peek at the baby pigs.
Out in the field the guys have to check out the big Cat hauling liquid pig manure. Perhaps the ladies were not quite so impressed.

We began trooping into one of several large machine sheds. The size of a combine was evident by a tire towering over 6'3" Gary. The general impression was... Wow!

We had a great time meeting Gary's Norwegian cousins. Or as Minnesotans are not always accurately portrayed saying in the movie Fargo. Yah sure! You betcha

Baron

Over the river
and through the woods.

To Mother Natures place we go.

The dog knows the way.

We’re happy today.

Through green and neatly mowed.
Hiking through the woods. With Baron leading the way. O'er the fields we go . Laughing all the way
Bells on the Big Guy ring Making spirits bright What fun it is to laugh and sing A hiking song tonight. Hey!

Over the river and through the woods,Oh, how the wind does blow.The prairie is green. The birds are free. As over the ground we go.Over the river and through the woods To have a full day of play....

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a 1,137-acre horticultural garden located near the Twin Cities. It is part of the University of Minnesota's Department of Horticultural Science in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. It is the Upper Midwest’s/largest public garden.

The arboretum's earliest area was established in 1907 as the Horticultural Research Center, which developed cold-hardy crops such as Haralson and Honeycrisp apples and the Northern Lights azaleas. It is the largest, most diverse, and most complete Horticultural site in the upper Midwest with over 5000 plant varieties.
The arboretum features annual and perennial display gardens, plants developed for northern climates, demonstration gardens and natural areas including woodlands, prairies and marshes. It has many specialized collections of plants, shrubs and trees. The arboretum also includes a library and conservatory, as well as miles of hiking and skiing trails. A three mile (5 km) drive through the arboretum takes visitors past many of the collections. Guided tours are available at extra cost, and may be taken by tram, bus, or on foot. All in all a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year. I love it.
We visited there late last spring with Mrs. T's cousin Joe and wife Mary.

Irises

Surrounded by large oak trees, my gardens don't allow for sunshine needing plants like hybrid roses. etc. So I mostly have woodland wildflowers scattered throughout the landscape. Of course it's not all wildflowers as exceptions are made for for plants like hostas, which Mrs T dearly loves. One of my favorites, which I try to grow in spite of the less than perfect conditions, are irises. Oh the color! Take a look.

One thing I've noticed though, as the new hybrids become more colorful, bigger and taller, some have a tendency to fall over in the first wind. Fortunately, they still make great cut flowers.

Bull Run at Wasioja Civil War Days - Part III

It was the sound of martial music that drew me away from the displays toward the north end of the encampments.
I follwed the band up the muddy road towards the battlefield which was situated near a farmstead along a sloping oak woods and pasture. There a long series of grandstands stood facing the field and a roped off area with a sign that said "civilians do not cross." We found a seat among the crowd....

Directly in front of us, peering over the top of unbrellas, I could see a worried looking farm family gathered on the front lawn. They were talking to a Union officer who was pointing to the edge of the woods. A drizzle was beginning to fall. The sky was darkening ominously.

Shortly thereafter, I noticed on the ridge to the left, Confederate artillery began to appear. Two rebel officers stopped in front of us and began looking to the pasture where the Federal troops were gathering. On the hill another officer held his arm aloft, dropped it and a tremendous roar ensued. Everyone started and the line of cannon disappeared in a flash of flame and billowing smoke.

The Federal artillery responded in kind and an exchange continued for some time as the boys in blue marching abreast slowly began to move up toward the woods firing as they came. Soon the whole battlefield was covered with smoke and the darkening skies unleased buckets of rain upon all. Without a raincoat or umbella ( a lady next to Mrs. T was sharing hers), I was soon soaked to the skin. My intitial thought was that if the soldiers could keep going, I as a patriotic citizen, could do no less. When the shivering set in there were second thoughts on that point. In historical fact, when the Federal army began to be pushed back at Bull Run, a retreat turned into a rout and the vast crowds of gawkers from Washington fled in terror, clogging the roads back to the capitol and adding to the general misery. I decided to follow that historical precident and soon joined the long line of people heading back to the campground and buses.
Along the way we went passed the surgeon's tent where the horrible evidence of the cost of such battles was evident.
It was then that I heard my name being called. Two battlefield angels of mercy, Sharon and Mary Jo, had spotted my soaked and shivering self and sheltered me under a canvas and brought me a steaming hot cup of coffee. Mrs T soon joined us and we decided, in spite of the rainy afternoon, it had been a wonderful day revisiting the past at Wasiojas "Civil War Days" some 150 years after the actural events.
"Angels of the Battlefield" Sharon & Mary Jo

Wasioja: Civil War Days - Part II

It was Saturday June 25th and the Troutbirders, along with Sharon and Mary Jo were heading back in time. They were on their way to Civil War Days in Wasioja, Minnesota. Wasioja was a small but vital town, whose future had been blighted, when much of its youth had been killed in a heroic stand at the battle of Chickamauga . The date was Sept. 20, 1863.
For this first time event, with battle reenactments, three clashes were scheduled. Friday: Chickamauga, Saturday: Bull Run, Sunday: the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Although the forecast this day was for partly cloudy with a slight chance of late afternoon showers, the dark overcast skies early that morning, did not augur well for staying dry. But, optimist that I am, I expected the best for ourselves and the Union troops who would meet the Rebels later that day near the Virginia town of Manassas. We were there early so things were just beginning to stir. Lets take a look...... Various ladies in groups and individually were preparing meals in the encampment area. I stopped to talk to several.
Troutbirder: "So ladies would you mind if I took your photograph?"
Wives: "No. No. Not at all. Do we have to hold perfectly still and not even breathe.?"
Troutbirder: "It’s not a problem with this camera. . Just smile."
Having broken the ice, they proved to be very friendly as I asked them why they were there. The answer involved their husbands, their interest in the conflict and the opportunity to visit new places and meet new friends. Many had been attending reenactments all over the midwest and some even further away.
I used a similar approach with the soldiers themselves. I approached some boys in blue, which led to the following exchange after having obtained permission to take their picture. Remember now, later in the day the Battle of Bull Run was to be portrayed.
Troutbirder: So you boys surely aren’t expecting much of a contest with those scattermuffin rebs today are you?"
Soldiers in blue uniforms: "We’re from Virginia. 32nd Fairfax Militia."
Troutbirder. "Oh Oh." It seems that early in the war neither side was totally standardized when it came to the color of uniforms.
I wandered over to where a large crowd had gathered to hear a speech. It turned out to be the tall man with the top hat and his wife Mary. He spoke of the difficult task ahead and what had to be done to preserve the Union. The audience didn’t applaud much, but in the spirit of things seemed to be listening very closely. When push comes to shove and it now apparently has, I believe most of the people of the brand new state of Minnesota will stand with this man from Illinois.
As the noon hour approached the crowds grew larger and larger. I met a number of people on their way to the battle site. Sad to say, there was almost a festive atmosphere. The general attitude seemed to be that the war would be a short one because most everyone believed one side or the other wasn’t all that serious or even capable of fighting.
Troutbirder: "So are you gentlemen following the troops?"
Two Senators: "Yes. Indeed. On to Richmond we say. The traitors will scatter like chaff in the wind. You can count on it!"
Troutbirder: "Ladies. What’s the occasion?"

Camp followers: "We’re on our way to a picnic. We hope to catch a sight of those Zouaves from New York. They're soooo dashing in those red uniforms."
Meanwhile Mrs. T was visiting the southern encampment and I was drawn to the sound of music coming from a nearby tent
Oops not that one. This one.

Then the sound of cannon fire drew me to a nearby hillside. The battle of Bull Run had begun. Next in Part III.