Someone Very Special

It was my birthday, July 16th. A gorgeous day and we decided to go for a hike.  Mrs. T and Lily led the way as we followed the local bike trail though a prairie like park in our town. On the way we ran across an unexpected sight. Several Turks cap lilies. They are a native wildflower which because of mowed ditches in our rural areas have become quite rare.

And so we had several "lilies" in the same area..... A week later with the arrival of our daughter in law Deanne from the Twin Cities, we all all decided to go for a prairie wildflower ride in search of  Turks Cap lilies a rare flower and any other types we could find.

And there they were as we found several patches along an old abandoned railway right of way.

 Later, we visited a nearby State Park and located some more midsummer prairie flowers.

Pale Coneflowers

Her name is Deanne and she is indeed someone very special to Mrs. T. and myself.  

Our daughter in law she was a steadfast pillar of love and support in our son Ted too short  life.  And now ours as well.  Standing with grace and courage in spite of the travails life has cast upon her, she brings hope and joy to all who know her.

 She visits us regularly in our "golden years".   And and then there is love and laughter and smiles……

 

 

 

Destiny of the Republic.

A book review on my other blog (Troutbirder II) .   Believe it or no it's not about the current disaster occurring in the White House. We go back to the age of the Robber Barons and learn the true story of an American President who is basically killed by his doctors.  Click on the picture of Mark Twain and me having a friendly conversation above for more details...

Long Way to Go Troutfishing

And so son and young grandson left the dessert and came all the way to southeastern Minnesota to visit and go troutfishing. Of course they had to go canoeing on some larger rivers before checking out the spring creeks for fishing

Then there was an invitation to our friends and neighbors Dick and Sharon  for supper and a chance to check out Dicks new Ranger.....

Our son,  being a biology and chemistry teacher, meant there would be some specimens collected including fireflies and other critters.

We also took some trips to check out other flora and fauna including the much (since I was a youth) modernized St. Paul Como zoo....

I'm sure the highlight for the novice young fly fisherman was catching them which he and his dad did a lot of.....

You catch them, then you have to learn how to clean them.  The eat em part comes easy

 

A Small United Nations

The names will be anonymous because this is the internet.  Our youngest sons family lives far away in the desert country of the American southwest.  There are five children now.
Our son born and raised in Minnesota.

 

His wife born and raised in North Dakota

 

Their oldest son born and raised in North Dakota and Minnesota. Next year a Senior.

Eldest daughter adopted from Ethiopia in Africa. Next year 9th grade.

Second son adopted from Rwanda in Africa. Next year 7th grade.

 

And then   two years ago a double addition. Twins. A boy and a girl. 

Next post:   Grandson number two comes to Land of Sky Blue Waters to learn how to fly fish for trout. He claims they're hard to find in the dessert where he lives....:)

 

 

 

Bouquets

It was July and Mrs. T.  was off playing bridge.  I decided it was time to check out  some garden flowers,  when a rare inspiration hit me.  Surprise the lady of the house with some bouquets, an
art form I had never tried before. Okay, take a look and try to hold back the spontaneous laughing! btw the wall hanging on the living room wall in the background is from my mom many years ago. I can still see her in the rocking chair busily stitching or knitting or whatever the technique used was called...

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was quite pleased. I've been wondering if they have a "beginners division" in the county fair next year? Probably not....:)

Revisionist History

"Give me Liberty or Give Me Death" Patrick Henry once said to the House of Burgesses but definitely not to me, though we did have a somewhat testy verbal exchange in Williamsburg that day. For details click on Mark Twain above to jump to my other blog.

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Our morning wonderful tour of the newly restored Minnesota State Capitol was followed  by lunch at one of St. Paul's best Italian restaurants, Cossettas. A favorite eatery and market place of ours located a short walking distance from the XCell Energy Center the home ice of the Minnesota Wild.

 Our afternoon stop would be the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

It had been some years since I had visited there.  I had fond memories of taking senior high English and history students there for field trips. We had created an interdisciplinary  Humanities course for a two period  two credits of English and History. Literature, art, music, science and history are were considered. The English teacher and the History teacher (me) shared the classroom and the  students. A phone call to the Institute would identify our unit focus such as the Renaissance.  A docent would lead a tour of the collection tailored to our subject. Perfect!!! 

A Massive Restoration

For these two lifelong residents of Minnesota a first time tour of The North Star State Capitol was long overdue. We took the daytrip with our friends at Heartland. The trip also included a visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We get off the bus and head up the walkway to the Capitol.

A quick look back  down the park like Mall towards the "Saintly City"..... St. Paul.
This landmark building, designed by Cass Gilbert and built in 1905 was looking somewhat shabby by the 21st century. What followed was a$310 million , 3+ year restoration and renovation. We had gone to see the results. All decorative art, murals, and paintings were restored to original patters and colors. New public spaces including galleries were added along with exposing limestone basement walls etc.

Of course our tour guide filled us in on the architecture, art and history.

 

 

In the peoples house looking at the chamber of the State legislature.  It was a great morning seeing our capitol  restored to its awe-inspiring glory.

 

Next: The Minneapolis Institute of Art