Later in the evening Ellen and I went to downtown Northfield for the annual Winter Walk. It was a perfect night for being downtown. The streets were blocked off and draft horse teams were giving rides in wagons. A special treat this year was a sleigh being pulled by honest to goodness reindeer. There was a giant snowman roaming around saying hello to children.

The public library had a wonderful display of trains. There were several O gauge layouts that were so popular when I was young. There were some HO layouts, and even one that was running on the small N gauge track. But the train I liked the best was the large steam engine tractor. I’m not sure what the scale is, but it was made by a local man in 1961. It burns coal to create steam and is quite powerful. In the library the operator was using compressed air to make everything turn…and to blow the whistle from time to time. It took tremendous skill for the maker to use metal lathes and cutting gear to create this steam engine. It is often at the Rice County Steam and Tractor show on Labor Day weekend.

At this time of the year the Arboretum also has a lot of scarecrows scattered around the grounds. Some are made by Arboretum staff, others are designed and made by firms that support the gardens. There are some very, very creative creatures. Again, lots of things for children to enjoy.

Of note this season are giant steel sculptures of roots. They are placed all over the grounds and are varying sizes, shapes and colors. I can see why the artist is taken with roots of trees and plants. There is something powerful in looking at the shapes and sizes of roots. These steel root shapes are remarkable. I cannot imagine the work that was involved in bringing these big sculptures into the Arboretum, and then in a few months, bringing them back out to move to another venue.

One of the things I always enjoy seeing is the interior of the main building at the Arboretum. Most of the interior trim appears to be clear Douglas Fir. That is a beautiful wood and makes excellent beams as well as standing and running trim for doors, windows and baseboards. The main atrium of the building has a vaulted ceiling with heavy timber beam trusses. The way the light plays on the trusses and the geometric patterns is very interesting.

If you are looking for a fun fall activity, put the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on your list of things to do!

In the room that faces the lake we created a vaulted ceiling. We used hand cut rafters and fit Styrofoam insulation into the rafter spaces. The first piece of Styrofoam is pushed into the space against some 1″ wood spacers. This creates a good air flow from the soffit vents out through the ridge vent. Doing this helps keep the room cooler and vents any moisture out. We use spray foam to seal the sides of the Styrofoam. We also use spray foam to seal any holes in the framing.

While Ellen and I were in the area we drove up to Duluth. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we spent part of it at Canal Park. The maritime museum there has a lot of history to review. There are several ship engines on display, including a good sized diesel engine, a large tug boat steam engine, and smaller fishing boat engines. There are several dioramas of model boats, photos of Duluth from the past 150 years and lots of other things to look at.

While I was in the area I stopped in at Kettle River for ‘Ma and Pa Kettle Days’. Kettle River is a small town of less than 200 people just west of Moose Lake. It is a pretty town, right on the Kettle River. There has been so much rain this summer in the area that the Kettle River is really flowing along heavily. There were lots of people in the town for the festivities. I always like to see the old tractors and discovered that they were having a raffle for a nice little red International tractor—-a good draw to get people at the event.

One of the other things I like to see is old murals and signs. Kettle River has some great ones on the sides of the grain elevator in town. This part of Minnesota is also remembered from the huge Moose Lake-Cloquet forest fire of 1918. That was a terrible event that claimed hundreds and hundreds of lives of the early settlers. Transportation and communications were primitive and so many farm familes perished as the fires swept across the area. The historical society in Moose Lake has excellent displays about this sad event, and Kettle River has a memorial as well.

We came across the Federal Building which must have been constructed in the 1930′s as it had a distinctive Art Deco style. It is an imposing building and does not give off a lot of ‘warmth’ like many of the smaller buildings in the downtown do. I also liked the Stearns County Courthouse with its dome prominently noted at the top.

As we walked around the courthouse I noticed there were some sayings in the stone over the entrances. As a former lawmaker I especially liked this one that reads “Where Law Ends Tyranny Begins”

While we were at our cottage I ‘harvested’ the last of our tomatoes and peppers from our little garden. I thought the bowl of bright red produce looked nice. These end of the season tomatoes and hot peppers are my favorite as they seem to have captured the sun and goodness from the soils and sun and concentrate it in these little packages.

Naniboujou Lodge

The light fixtures were lovely. The ones in the dining room are original to the lodge and most of the others are accurate reproductions to what was originally used. But the thing I found most enjoyable at the Naniboujou Lodge is that it does not have any televisions, radios or phones in any of the rooms. I’m not sure about cell phone service as I didn’t see one guest using a phone. No one was sitting around staring at lap top computer screens either. That is my kind of lodge!

We also spent some time at our lake cottage. There has not been any frost yet so our flowers are going strong and we picked a good crop of tomatoes and peppers from our little garden. The sunsets were magnificent.

The main feature is of course the parade. There were lots of entries including trucks from most local fire organizations, lots of Princesses from nearby towns, and of course political candidates.

I saw one of the strangest vehicles I’ve ever seen. I guess it is some type of ‘mud bog’ vehicle since it seemed to be associated with a standard type mud bog truck. It looked like a cross between a mud bog truck and a set of bleachers!

There was a big crowd for a town of about 20 people. They had a lively old time polka band entertaining people. There was a wagon pulled by draft horses giving rides to people. They also had a pony ride set up for smaller children. The brats and sausages were a hit with everyone. Weather was perfect and a good time was had by everyone in attendance.

I thoroughly enjoy stopping at small town events like this. Minnesota has a lot of small towns and most seem to have some sort of summer event. It is a good way for people to get together and visit.