We arrived on the North Shore of Lake Superior mid-afternoon on a Thursday. The weather was perfect and amazingly cool compared to Minneapolis, just a few hours south. We made a few stops along the way to Gooseberry Falls and also pulled over to take a shot of the most photographed site in Minnesota, the Split Rock Lighthouse.
The air was fresh and pure. The brilliant blue waters of Lake Superior glistened in the sun. I could hardly wait to get to our destination, a log cabin along the shores of the lake, and spend a weekend relaxing, hiking and doing what I love best: Enjoying nature and being together with family. There couldn’t be a more ideal place for it than here.
Remember back in early and mid-Spring, I did a series of posts on the perennial gardens over near Lake Harriet? (click here to see most recent post). I found some delightful surprises that captivated my soul and I’ve gone back several times since to see what new has come up.
The biggest attraction of all of course is the Rose Garden which blooms each summer in hundreds of colors and types of roses. When it is in full bloom, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the city.
I’d been watching the Rose Garden often during my daily runs around the lake and nothing had transpired since the last time I’d checked. However, Monday was entirely different. Sophia and I set off on a bike ride along the lakes and on our way home I noticed a blur of color as we passed by the Rose Garden. I wondered out loud….is it ready?
The state of Minnesota may have some severely cold winters, yet one thing that makes up for it is the fact that we do have lakes.Lots of them. Recent estimates have put Minnesota’s lakes in the 11,000-13,000 range, depending on what you count as a body of water. Lakes not only provide us with water but with everlasting, pure beauty and recreation. You can hardly drive anywhere without seeing a lake.
Over the weekend, we had our good friends in town from Chicago and wanted to give them a tour of our lovely neighborhood in Southwest Minneapolis. After stopping at my favorite coffee shop Patisserie 46 to get a cup of mi gasolina we headed towards the Rose and Trial Gardens near Lake Harriet.
Last Friday, we finally had a sunny day! As they love to say in Minnesota, April showers bring May flowers. However, this year due to an extremely early arrival of Spring, things have played out a little bit differently. The flora that we would normally be seeing in mid-May has come about a month early and is peaking now.
Remember that post I did on the gorgeous Spring flowers I saw last month in Virginia? Well, those same lovely flowers such as the crab apple and cherry trees, tulips, daffodils and irises are now blooming here. Even the wonderfully, fragrant purple lilacs are in bloom sweeping a delicious, sweet smell into my house. The only thing left to come are the peonies.
I couldn’t help myself. I am overwhelmed by the beauty of spring and the delightful array of colorful spring flowers.
I believe strongly that nature can heal you. Enlighten you. And brighten your soul. I was drawn to visit the Minnesota Arboretum in the outlying suburbs for an afternoon of photo taking and embracing the beauty of mother nature’s rebirth and revival.
Hope you enjoy! No worries, too. After this post, I’m back to Guatemala with a visit to some of Antigua’s famous ruins!
When I was planning out my travel schedule this year, it never occurred to me that I would have the fortuitous opportunity of experiencing three Springs. Spring is one of my favorite times of year. After a long, cold, brutal, colorless winter suddenly there is a huge rebirth of color and everything comes to life. This rebirth of life brings so much joy to me that at times I find myself engulfed in absolute spring fever madness.
I can’t concentrate. I can’t stand to be indoors. My heart and soul are bursting with energy to be outside and to be alive once again. I want to run faster. I want to breathe freer. My soul is begging me to be outside, experiencing the thrill of mother nature at her finest.
Photo of tulip bursting with color and brightness and growing towards the sun…
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day here in Virginia. The sun was bright, the birds were singing and everything was returning to life once again. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than to do a two family picnic and hike along the Shenandoah National Park.
I have been in Virginia for less than 48 hours yet it has been enough time for me to go absolutely crazy enjoying the rebirth of nature and the flowers abound. I am concerned that I have become a tad bit obsessive but the spring flowers here are so spectacular that I can hardly stand it. So here it is. An entire post on the sensational flowers I saw today in a garden in Colonial Williamsburg. Hope you enjoy!
Spring has come a month early this year in Minnesota. After an unseasonably warm winter with hardly any snow to amply cover the ground or build a snowman, Spring has launched full force in what most people consider “Minne-snowta“.
The ice off nearby city lakes such as my beloved Lake Harriet faded into our memories almost a month early. The trees are in full bloom and the allergy index is high. My eyes are itching, my nose is running and I have desperately scrambled to unpack my summer cloths while the temperatures soar on average 30-40 degrees higher than normal. The average high for today of 44 degrees F is a long ago memory as each and every day another record is set and it feels like June.
In fact, it seems like we just skipped past Spring all together and jumped into summer. But the telltale signs of the trees, bushes and flowers in full bloom reminds me that yes it is still spring. The spectacular showing of brilliant reborn green has been making my eyes water as I marvel at their sensational beauty and watch the world around me come back to life. It gives me joy, inspiration and miraculous hope for the future as I witness the rebirth of Spring and embrace the phenomenal changing of the seasons that encompass the circle of life.
Here are some of my favorite photos I took today during my morning walk around Minnehaha Creek and Lake Harriet nearby my home.
This is part II of the series “Under the New Mexican Sun”. For part I, click here.
My daughter Sophia and I truly enjoyed our morning at the fabulous Albuquerque Zoo where we were truly able to get up close and personal with the animals. Instead of a sad place, it was a happy environment full of life and in close contact with nature. There were several times when it was just Sophia, myself and the big, black hairy gorillas peering over at us and questioning. It was surreal how humanlike the apes were! We could have spent an entire day at the zoo exploring yet there was more of Albuquerque that I wanted to see, namely the infamous Old Town.
Historic Old Town is the heart and soul of the city. It was built over seventy years before the American Revolution in 1706 by the Spanish and remains relatively unchanged. The centerpiece of Old Town remains the city’s oldest building, the Felipe de Neri Church which was constructed adobe-style in 1793. The main square is centered around the church and contains charming, tree-shaded side streets and alleyways full of art galleries, shops and restaurants. The adobe architecture is marvelous and I could have spent hours wandering around. Yet we only had a short time before we had to head back to the airport to catch our flight.
I had read the following descriptions of Albuquerque’s art and culture in the visitor’s guide, and it was easy to see what they meant. Art was everywhere!
“Authentic art reflects the city’s history, culture and creative spirit, blending centuries-old traditions and contemporary life in urban Albuquerque”.
This one is my favorite (from the visitor’s guide again) as it is a very accurate description of this enchanting city:
“Art is everywhere in Albuquerque: in world-class museums, in artist-owned galleries and in outdoor public places. The city is a tapestry of unique architecture and signage, from Pueblo Revival-style buildings in Old Town to pulsing neon signs on old Route 66”.
On our way to Old Town from the zoo, a meager couple of miles, I stopped numerous times to snap photos of some of this “al fresco” art. Murals were everywhere—-on abandoned building, sides of small shops and homes. It was fabulous! Poor Sophia sat in her car seat asking me why I kept pulling over, getting out of the car and bouncing with joy at each masterpiece. “Look at this art! It is beautiful” I beamed. “Yes mama” Soph replied. “Can we go now”? She’s only five…what a trouper!
We rose at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning to head back to Albuquerque where my dad would be catching an early morning flight. The sky was jet black and the tiny town of Taos was still fast asleep.
As we followed along the Rio Grande, the sky began to brighten and turn from inky black to a pale, milky blue. Weather had come in and the royal blue sky of the last few days had disappeared. It was a good day to head back.
The two and a half hour drive back to Albuquerque was peaceful and serene. Hardly a soul was on the road. I admired the lone western countryside and saw real rugged beauty in its jagged mountains and unique southwestern landscape. It is not like Arizona; there are no cactus in sight. Yet it still has that dessert, western feel to it. It was lovely.
