Taking One Last Drive on the Historic Lift Bridge - ABC of Summer Fun (Letter B)

Since the 1930s, the Stillwater Lift Bridge has been a fixture in the community and state. On August 1st, after dropping off projects at the Washington County Fair, we drove one last time across this bridge.

On August 2nd, the bridge was closing forever to vehicles.

Every day, over 18,000 cars would travel on this bridge. It was never meant for this much traffic.

Now that the bridge is closed, it will be improved and rehabbed. Over the next 18 months, it will be restored to its original 1931 appearance.  The familiar gray paint - the color we have always seen the bridge as - will be covered with a “federal green" paint - the color of the bridge when it opened.

Lampposts that once stood along the bridge many years ago will be installed which will change the look of the bridge as it transitions to becoming a pedestrian trail that goes from Minnesota to Wisconsin.

The bridge will still function as a lift bridge to allow larger boats passage. The only difference will be that the red and white striped bars will go down to block people and pets rather than vehicles when the lift portion of the portion is in use. 

While the bridge is being restored, the lift section will be removed and improved. It will be reinstalled when the bridge is nearing completion.

Vehicles now can cross between Minnesota and Wisconsin on a new bridge that is about a mile and half south of the Stillwater Lift Bridge. It is the St. Croix Crossing Bridge that is a hybrid bridge that combines two different bridge designs. I guess it's only the second of its type in the country (maybe the world). 

Source

The girls and I drove across this bridge on Monday, August 7th. It's a beautiful bridge, and much larger than I thought it would be in terms of the number of lanes on each side. There's even a sidewalk for people to cross. We saw people, pets, and bicyclists on the sidewalk. 

Perhaps some day we'll walk across both bridges. What a difference in experience both will be - one an historic and quiet walk...almost a walk back in time. The other walk will be a look to the present and future. Two diverse types of walks to marvel at nature and engineering - both in the past and present. 

Tea Party at Panola Valley Gardens - ABC of Summer Fun (Letter T)

On Sunday, August 13th, Sophia, Olivia, and I went to Panola Valley Gardens for an afternoon tea. The flowers were beautiful.

As we walked from the parking lot to the pavilion (in the background) where the tea party was being held, there were colorful gardens everywhere.

There were annuals combined with perennials.

There was a very light rain, so the flowers were covered with rain drops.

There were sheep grazing in the pasture in the distance.

Statues were in some of the gardens.

The afternoon tea menu was displayed so we knew what to expect.

The tea cups and pots were displayed on a table. Each guest could pick one cup and saucer; and there was one tea pot for each table.

Olivia liked the black tea pot, so we picked that one.

The tables were under a pavilion that had glass doors. Since it was sprinkling, the glass doors were closed.

The girls by the tea cup and tea pot table.

We had our own table in a quiet corner which was nice.

Our centerpiece was red and greens.

The table next to us had a centerpiece with pinks and purples.

This was our table setting. Each table had different color napkins, placemats, plates, and cups.

What was nice was that each table was reserved for only the guests in one's party. So, there was no need to make small talk with strangers.

There was lemon curd and Devonshire cream for the scones; and a fresh fruit plate.

We enjoyed a variety of sandwiches.

Sophia enjoyed sampling a variety of sandwiches. There were plenty of sandwiches for us to try each one.

There was a chicken salad sandwich and spanakopita that we all liked. Sophia and I liked the egg salad sandwiches too. 

The scones were delicious. Soft, slightly sweet, and flavorful - blueberry, raspberry, and cinnamon-apple flavors.

There were a variety of desserts.

The girls were so excited to try macaroons.

Each of the desserts was different from the other which was nice. There was such a variety in taste throughout the afternoon tea.

We all enjoyed the experience and would like to go back at another time. There are both lunches and afternoon teas throughout the summer. Perhaps this will become an annual activity for us.

Wood Burning - ABC of Summer Fun (Letter W)

Continuing with the ABC of Summer Fun, Sophia, Olivia, and I took a wood burning class at the Wyoming Center for the Arts on June 15th. This represents Letter W on our list of activities we want to do this summer.

Both of the girls have wanted to try wood burning now for some time. They had expressed their interest in taking a session about wood burning at a 4-H winter workshop day. However, they didn't get into the class due to full enrollment.

The projects done at the 4-H workshop were simple because there was only about 50 minutes for the class.

The class we took was 3 hours and led by an artist. The experience we had provided a more in-depth look and creative instruction - so things worked out fine.

After the artist introduced himself; the class members introduced themselves; and the artist gave some background and instructions about the wood burning, we could begin on our projects.

The first step was to select an image that we wanted to start with and place it on a piece of wood. Olivia chose an image of a pheasant.

I chose a butterfly.

For the first project, Sophia decided to create her own image by sketching it directly onto the wood. For her second project, Sophia used one of the photocopied images.

If the designs weren't hand-drawn on the wood, we used a piece of carbon paper and tape. The tape affixed the image where we wanted it and the carbon paper went under the image. We used a pen to trace the outline of the image and a few details.

The next step was to take a smaller piece of wood and practice using the wood burning tool. It is quite different than a paintbrush, colored pencil, or marker.

Your hand is further up the barrel and can't go near the point since the metal tip is all heated. It gets pretty hot too...it takes just a split second to pull one's hand away when the tip is accidentally touched.

Also found out that longer hair should be tied back. The girls didn't have any challenges with their hair, but twice mine touched the hot tip and the smell of burning hair permeated the room. It's not a pleasant smell.

At any rate, after practicing on the smaller wood pieces, we tried our hand at the designs we chose.

Depending on how much emphasis you wanted on the image, you could hold the wood burning tool like a pencil and trace your image lightly; press down more to darken the lines, or hold it at an angle and burn off sections of the wood.

Since the butterfly was black, I used the side of the tip and held it down as I moved it slowly on the wood. It definitely darkened the areas that I wanted to be black.

Sophia did a very nice job using the side of the tool to add subtle detail and shading.

She did both lighter shading with the fish and darker shading with the rose that she drew.

Olivia's pheasant was much lighter in comparison to what Sophia and I did. She added lots of little dots and marks on the wings and chest to represent feathers.

We had a mixed reaction to wood burning. Sophia enjoyed it and definitely wants to do more wood burning projects in the future.

Olivia and I both felt like we were introduced to a new art form and gained some skills that we didn't have prior to the class. However, we both have other types of art and crafts that we prefer.

If anything, this class gave me a huge insight into the level of work and talent involved with wood burning. It is significantly more complicated than I anticipated. Seeing projects that have been wood burned at the county and state fairs now will be much more interesting now that we know the process and skill needed to do the images.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - June 21, 2017

From this Side of the Pond

1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

I put together an ABC of Summer Fun list at the beginning of June. There are 26 activities on the list of things to do between June 1st and August 31st.

Five of the things we've already done; and quite a few are coming up soon.

Summer goal that we did already: make homemade yogurt.

Some of the things on the list that we'll aim to do in the next couple of weeks:
- Go to the Science Museum - there's an exhibit about Pixar Films and the science behind them.
- Go to the Minnesota Zoo - there's an Australian exhibit there.
- Go swimming in a lake at a county park.
- Go on a nature tour (we will be doing this when we travel to Arizona).
- See a new nature center (we will be doing this when we visit two national parks next month in Arizona).
- Go to a county fair.
- Go to a festival we haven't been to yet.
- Fly a kite.
- Attend programs for teens and adults at the public library.
- Go to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home?

In the past, I've collected shells when I've been at beaches. I would bring them back home to show Sophia and Olivia.

Shells on a beach on St . Padre Island.

(Taken on April 30, 2010.)

Some of them were incorporated into the girls' art projects and others were used when they played in the sandbox. It was like having part of the ocean in their sandbox.

What's your favorite place to comb for seashells?

Since I don't regularly look for seashells, I don't have a favorite place to visit.

How many of these 'best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?

Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

I've only been to Sanibel Island. If I could pick any of the other places to visit, I would choose Jeffrey's Bay in South Africa. I have no idea what it looks like or what to do there. However, it's on only one of two continents that I haven't been to yet in my life (the other is Antarctica).

3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

Out of the phrases noted above, shell out money would be the best one to describe what has been happening recently and will be happening soon.

It seems like we've had one expense after another - mainly a lot with health care issues. We're also experiencing increased costs with homeschooling as the girls are getting into courses and activities that have more substantial fees.

Olivia on the bars at gymnastics lessons.

Forthcoming are two foot surgeries for Sophia to address bunions she has on both of her feet. At 16 years old, her toes are edging towards 40% which is highly uncomfortable for her to walk on. Am hoping that by doing the surgeries (one in July and one in September), that her feet feel much better.

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

I don't enjoy watering the gardens because I have to open the cellar doors, walk down uneven steps, and go into the basement. Then I have to drag the hose up the stairs, go back down the stairs and turn on the water, and then go back up the stairs. I have to drag the hose all over the place to water the gardens.

Sophia and Olivia adding compost to

the strawberry garden on May 25th.

We've been battling with the grackles who seem to find

some of the ripe strawberries before we do.

There was a 21-day drought in which I had to water the gardens or we'd lose everything. For the past week or so, there has been plenty of rain so that has been sufficient.

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

It seems like reading books - holding physical books - is becoming more rare. People are so connected to their devices and reading online. I like to have a book in my hands when I read it versus reading a digital version of it.

Going to the library to check out books has always been something I've enjoyed. Walking up and down the aisles - pulling out books that look interesting - is something that I can't do if I'm reading everything online.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday I got a call that the girls were awarded free teen memberships for the summer to the YMCA. I am SO excited!! They have been wanting to go swimming at the Y ever since it opened one year ago. There is a lap pool, vortex pool, and water slide that they particularly want to use.

Getting the free memberships truly is a bright spot of the week. I can't wait to tell them when they come back from 4-H camp!

Lutz Backyard Railroad Garden - ABC of Summer Fun (Letter L)

When I was putting together the list of things to do for the ABC of Summer Fun, I came across the Lutz Backyard Railroad Garden. I had read about outdoor railroad gardens, but never have seen one operating in someone's backyard.

There are four times during the summer that the Lutz Backyard Railroad Garden is free and open to the public. Sunday, June 18th, was the first time for 2017.

The train winds itself through little vignettes. One of the first things we saw were two rides you would see at a fair. Both had music and were operational with the horses going around and the Ferris wheel turning.

There was a volcano with smoke coming out it.

The train traveled over bridges and by waterfalls.

It traveled through small towns. If you look closely on the right side of the photo, there is a popcorn maker (the red stand). Every once in a while, the "popcorn" would pop up in the little glass enclosure.

There were many water features including this fountain and multi-layer waterway that led to a mill and waterwheel.

Tucked into every corner, there was something to either see or read.

There were bridges to cross and gates to pass through.

One of the intriguing things was this hand-built water contraption that would drip water down from the top into the red tubes. When they filled or got heavy enough, they would tilt and then fill the next tubes. The process would repeat itself until it filled the bottom white tube with water. The water would go up to the top again and continue the process.

There was a little area with a gondola that moved. Each of the cars shown below would move up and down on the wire. Below it was a water fountain that would go off periodically.

The tracks were nestled into rocky areas and between many annuals and perennials. It was an interesting combination of gardening and railroad hobbies.

The trains and anything that can be taken or damaged by the elements are brought indoors into a shed. The trains go on the track and then there's a lift section at the end by a little door that leads to the shed. This is where things are stored.

One part of the railroad garden had an emergency. Firefighters were putting out a fire. There was smoke coming out from a couple of the windows.

The girls were looking at one of the parts of the display.

When you see people next to the train, buildings, and plants it gives an idea what the scale of the railroad garden is and how much work is involved.

This was so much fun to see the railroad garden. There are a couple more free-and-open-to-the-public railroad gardens that are located in the Twin Cities. We are going to go to these this summer to see how others set up outdoor railroads.

After seeing Lutz Backyard Railroad Garden, we drove about five minutes to Caponi Art Park. We hadn't been there, and I was curious to see what it looked like.

One of the sculptures was called Pompeii.

There was another interesting geometric one along the trail that wound through forests and grassy areas.

The rock work was impressive and creative.

We didn't stay at the park a long time because a storm was coming in. Felt it was better to get back to the car before it started raining.

All in all, it was a fun day seeing two places that we hadn't seen before. The railroad garden, by far, was the highlight. It was inspiring, fun, and such a fascinating combination of two hobbies that we are interested in: trains and gardening.