Sunday, September 9, 2012

North Shore Memories

On vacation this summer, we stayed at a cabin on Caribou Lake along the North Shore area of Minnesota.  Here's the view from the dock where we watched the sunset every evening and felt the cool breezes blow and heard the call of loons in the distance.    And I bid farewell to my 40s.


I greeted my 50s with a hike to waterfalls at Cascade River State Park.  The water is the color of root beer because of the minerals in the soil and decaying vegetation.






I saw this wildflower all over the North Shore area.


I believe this is called Fireweed (Epilobium angustofolium)






I am not sure what this groundcover is called, but the bright red berries caught my eye as we walked along the trail.

Update: Bunchberry (cornus canadensis)







I had to stop and pet the moss because it fascinates me.   You don't see a lot of moss growing in Texas in the middle of August!


I know this picture does not do it justice, but I tried to capture the beauty of the peeling bark of the white birch trees along the trails.


I call this next picture "Growth Through Adversity"


We all encounter hard places in our lives.   We can only hope that we grow through them and in the end we stand tall and strong, right?

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge
Psalm 18:2

For you have been rooted in Him 
and are being built up and strengthened in the faith 
Colossians 2:7

This old spruce tree was a little large in its midsection, and through the years it has grown a few more lumps and bumps.

H'm...come to think of it, 
that's just about how my 50-year-old body feels right now :-)

These large trunk nodules are called burls


Even the golf course was beautiful,
with rolling hills, rivers, boulders, and trees.

And flowers, of course.




These simple yellow wildflowers were especially beautiful with Lake Superior in the background.



We enjoyed our break from the Texas heat
along the cool shores of Lake Superior.


I brought back memories...


...and a few rocks :-)

Toni 

13 comments:

  1. Happy Belated Birthday! What a great place to ring in your 50's! I love the photos of the lake and all the wildflowers!

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  2. Beautiful pictures ~ beautiful place! Happy birthday!

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  3. I had no idea that Minnesota could be so nice! Thanks you for opening my eyes! Great Blog ! I will tell you this, I`ve enjoyed my 50s above all my decades ! Godspeed.

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  4. Lovely! The little plant with the red berries is cornus canadensis or bunchberry. It is a dogwood --- yes, a groundcover dogwood related to the tree, and in spring it has little white dogwood-like blossoms, and the leaves turn burgundy in fall. It is one of my favorites and I have tried for years to grow it with no success, so I love seeing a patch of wild bunchberry with its red fruits here.

    Beautiful pictures of an enchanting place.

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    1. Laurrie, Thank you so much for helping me to identify the bunchberry! I can see the dogwood family resemblance :-) I'll bet the spring bloom is beautiful. Sounds like a wonderful plant with 3-season interest...blooms, berries, and foliage. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  5. Looks like the perfect place for a vacation--and especially for celebrating the next stage of life. The Bunchberries are beautiful, and the rest of your photos are fantastic, too.

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  6. Wow, what a wonderful vacation spot. Lake Superior must be a sight. Caribou Lake is pretty too, especially in that light. The tree growing on the rock is a common sight here too with all the gorge rock, but that one makes a more interesting and prettier photo.

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  7. What a great way to usher in a new decade!

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  8. Happy (belated) birthday! What a beautiful place. Burls are very valuable, and are sought after. Perhaps that's a good lesson - I'll try to think of my lumps and bumps as valuable burls! :)

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  9. Toni, A happy belated birthday to you! When I first read you had bid farewell to 40, I thought you meant you were now 41. You certainly do NOT look fifty, you young whippersnapper! I'm enjoying my 50's much more than the previous decades for some reason. It's not all bad, lol.

    Wonderful photos of Minnesota. Love the photo of 'Adversity'. Stunning. Now try to plant something like that in your garden and see how long it lives. Nature is amazing. Just look at those burls...wow.

    Love your rock souvenirs, too, by the time we get home from trips our car is bottoming out on every bump.

    On your previous post, the schoolhouse lily is absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me so much of our 'nekkid lady' lilies here, but the color is fantastic. So good to visit again now that my computer issues are over. Glad you were able to have a nice break from the heat!

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  10. What a beautiful place to spend your birthday. Would it be asking too much for you to share the name and/or contact information of the facility in which you stayed on the North Shore of Minnesota? And, how wonderful to be out of the Texas heat! Beautiful pictures, and thank you for sharing.

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