Redwood Waters

A small stream tumbles through a redwood forest.

Tea Crucial to a Balanced Life

"The proper, wise balancing of one's whole life may depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour." Arnold Bennett in How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
I totally agree! More from this little gem of a book later.

True Colors

Mum's Market Bag




Shell frame with lime design in center
Cover-up for???????

Fruit! The colors of which look pretty gross if you ask me. A pear, an apple, grapes and a lime, and... a chayote! It's a fruit you can eat with or without skin. In salads, it tastes sort of like a combo cross between a potato and cucumber. You can cook it any way you want and serve it with butter or herbs and spices. Here's to lime shades. Happy Thursday!

Flat and Walk

It was a pretty nice day for a bike ride yesterday. Just a little windy (10-20mph from the WNW). I needed to get out and ride - been off the bike for a week! Loaded up the road bike and headed for the Wabash Trace Trailhead Park. The parking lot was almost full. Must be lots on the Trace (though I had heard about trees over the trail). My destination was the Trails Center.

Lots of folks out on the trails. Stopped at the river boat ramp parking lot. Check the river level and visited with a couple mountain bikers.

Head-wind slowed me down a bit. Worst was the last mile from Penny's to the Trails Center. Ready for my rest, drink, and granola bar when I got there. Knew the Trail Center would not be open (Holiday), but it was a good place to turn around.

Great to have the tail wind most of the way back. Coasting much of the way. Having a great ride when I flatted. I heard it, not sharp crack, more of a whimper. Must have been some glass on the trail into the dirt there at the pumping station (E. Manawa Rd just off Rt 92).

Knew it was about 3 miles to the car. Debated and decided to change the tube. Got everything torn apart and ready to apply the new tube. I could not my CO2 inflater to work. It would not put any air into the tube. Emptied on inflater. Of course, there was no one on the trail that stopped with a pump. I ended walking the bike 3 miles back to the trailhead and my car.

As I was walking along the trail, I noticed LOTS of glass shards on the trail. Think there have been may idiots pitching glass (beer bottles?) from the car, at the trail and/or bike riders.

Will be at the bike shop to get the tire repaired and the inflater checked out (or I will have to bring a pump on the road bike).

Playing "Tagged" and Sugar's Contest Picture

Oh my non-dogness! Before I go into the story, Sedona (http://tollertales.blogspot.com/) tagged me a while ago, and I haven't gotten to "play" before today, so here are my instructions for the game:
1. Open your "My Photos" folder and select the 6th folder.
2. Select the 6th photo in that folder.
3. Post the photo along with the story behind it.
4. Tag five of your friends to do the same thing.
Sounds like fun, huh? You never know what might show up on someone's blog!!!
This is what came up when Ma followed all the above rules and she's a bit red in the face. For the last seven or eight years, she's been writing (mostly editing) a book that was published last December. This is a picture of her answering questions at a reading she did in New York last February. (Mom's photo files are alphabetized rather than arranged by date.) It was apparently a successful trip, but I missed her a lot cause I didn't get to go, but I'm very proud of her! I know that a ton of you doggies have been tagged to do this, and it is interesting to find out what pops up. So any of you pups out there who have not been tagged to play this fun game, please consider yourselves... Tagged!!!

And this photo is for Sugar's (http://I-need-a-sugar-fix.blogspot.com) contest - I may be a little late, but finally found the picture I remembered I had - I am "not where I am supposed to be" hehe!

Return of the summer bike trip series

After an April we'd all like to forget weather-wise, I figure my readership could use a little pick-me-up that involves warmer temperatures on the horizon.
Well, here it goes: Back by popular demand is the summer bike trip series.
Over the next few months, I'll be doing occasional entries about destinations in the Mankato area that can be reached on two wheels and a set of pedals (and hopefully with minimal flat tires). Unlike typical training rides, these trips won't be about the speed that one can complete them in. Rather, they will about the appeal of their destinations and the adventure it takes to get there.
It seems like this got a lot of good responses from people last summer. Perhaps others share my cycling-crazed belief that life is simply more exciting on a bicycle.
Similar to last year, I will post a route map of each trip and write about the ease/challenge of the ride, the safety of the ride and the appeal of the destination. Also similar to last year, I will post any trips submitted to me by other riders. Just e-mail your suggestions, photos and maps to avoigt@mankatofreepress.com.
Here are a few guidelines if you're going to suggest a trip:

• The destination should be a place that has some appeal to it. Maybe it's a restaurant with good food. Or a state park with some cool hiking trails and viewpoints. Or perhaps it's a historical landmark with an intriguing story behind it. Whatever the case, it should be a place you want to stop and hang out at for awhile.
• Extending the previous guideline further, it should be a place that can be enjoyed by people beyond yourself. Your grandparents' house may be an enjoyable visit for you, but it means little to me (unless of course they're making cookies, then it's somewhat enjoyable).
• It has to be a destination that a person can bike to and make it back to Mankato in a day. The bike trips are meant to be more of a "fun stuff to do on your day off"-type activity. I enjoy visiting the North Shore area of Minnesota as much as the anyone, but unless you're Lance Armstrong, you're not biking there and back in a day.
• On the flip side, it also has to be a destination with some degree of difficulty to reach. Reasonable guideline: If it takes you less than 15 minutes to walk there, it's not a challenge.
• The route should be relatively safe for cyclists. Roads are pretty much unavoidable if you're going to bike to another town. However, there's a big differencTe between biking on a low-traffic country road with wide shoulders than bracing for the constant flow of cars on Highway 169.

Here's a recap of the bike trips I did last summer:

• Rapidam Dam Park
• Minneopa State Park (recent addition: The Minneopa Trail was not complete when this post was written. That would now be the easiest and safest route to the park)
• New Ulm (I used the entire city as one destination. In hindsight, one location would have been a better idea. If someone wants to suggest an individual destination in New Ulm, I would be OK with it)
• Trail Blazer Bar & Grill (recent addition: The ripped-up part of the Sakatah Trail that I mentioned in this point is now paved)
• Amboy Cottage Cafe
• Green Giant Statue Park
• Franke's (Kolacky) Bakery
• Seattle Space Needle (just kidding)

Fire and Ice

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus).

Captured during his unannounced guest appearance at the Fire and Ice show¹.
Alabama Power's indiscriminate and ugly tree-removal policies have saddened me every time I drive this road.²

But when the sun warmed that questionably broad path, I was surprised at what popped up.

Wild hyacinths (Camassia scilloides). They dot the woods beyond the power lines, but this much sun exposure (and no late killing frost this year) caused a population explosion.
I doubt they'll last here long -- brush will dominate within a year or two, choking out anything this small.
But obviously, they can lie dormant, waiting for the day when they feel the sun again.
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¹Fire Pinks and Wild Hyacinths
²They don't practice quite so much dogwood-twisting tree torture in ritzy lawyer-heavy Birmingham suburbs, but out here in rural areas, I'm sure they figure no one of importance will mind.
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Friday Ark.