Simply Norma

On a recent trip home traveling through Fergus Falls, Minnesota, we saw a sign for the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center and decided to stop “where people and wildlife come together.”

The parking lot was practically empty (not a good sign) but we parked anyway and sauntered up to read an introduction sign.  After reading the sign we started walking towards the main building and were stopped by a couple coming out of the building.  They advised us that the building was closed today.  What???? On a Sunday? Yes, it’s only open Monday through Friday and some Saturdays for special events.  What a bummer.

We were told we could walk on the trail if we wanted to so we decided to so.  Why not since we were already there?

The Learning Center buildings are huge and appear to have classrooms.

There is hunting allowed during certain times of the year along with wildlife viewing (we didn’t see anything while we were there though).

“The Prairie Wetlands Learning Center offers environmental education programs for learners of all ages. The programs feature hands-on and minds-on activities that are conducted on 330 acres of native and restored prairie and wetlands by professional educators, college interns and highly trained volunteers.”

It was a beautiful sunny day.  Not much wildlife in sight though.

Definitely prairie …

The picture below is looking back at the buildings from the trail.

Towards the end of the trail we noticed a contemporary looking birdhouse, or should I say houses?. I wonder what kind of bird this is supposed to attract.  Thoughts?

Not sure how I would rate this Learning Center since we weren’t able to go inside.  The trail was well taken care of though.

On a recent trip to Fargo, North Dakota, we drove through a small town in Minnesota called Little Falls and decided to stop when we saw they had a zoo. The Pine Grove Zoo is small ~ big enough for a small town but still a little disappointing although from reading their history it seems like they’ve come a long way. (Donations are always appreciated.)

The animals appeared lethargic and listless.  I felt really sorry for a couple of them.  From what I recall, some of the areas for the animals to wander in didn’t give them much space.  Perhaps that’s part of the problem ~ although I’m not a zookeeper so it’s speculation on my part.

Let’s start with the cheerful part of this trip ~ the happier looking animals.

This alpaca was friendly.  He was donated to the zoo because he didn’t have goodly fur to donate anymore.

The Yaks weren’t overly friendly ~ staying at a distance.

The zebras looked healthy and were moving around ~ wandering wandering.  Can you tell if they are twins by their stripes?

There were so many black tailed prairie dogs burrowing around in a field of dirt. I wondered out loud “Why can’t they burrow themselves out of here?”  Right?

These two donkeys, although in a small pen, looked happy as a lark.  Can you see the smile on the one on the left?

Now for the not so cheerful part of this trip …

Although this arctic wolf looks like he’s smiling (now, how would I know that?), he was pacing back and forth, and back and forth.  To me, he appeared anxious and his coat seemed unkept, scraggly.

Click here for some facts on this wolf.  They are adaptable to extreme cold so, unlike me, Minnesota winters wouldn’t bother them.

Next was the cougar who totally ignored me. Well, except for when he did his business right in front of me. I wonder … maybe he did it on purpose so I’d get out of his area.  Hmmmm …  The cougar was also listless and lethargic. Not much room for him to run around in, in my humble opinion.

Lastly, and this really broke my heart ~ the bears.

This bear stayed next to the wall the whole time I watched him which was quite awhile.

I just couldn’t figure out why he stayed in this spot.

Then he did this …

Hmmm … I walked a little ways to the right to see what was on the other side.  And now it made sense.  He is a she and this must be her cub ~ by why are they separated?  This bear appeared to be suffering from separation anxiety. I’m not sure why they would be separated like this.

And look who came to console Mama Bear …

It was a touching scene that took awhile to transpire and to understand.

My heart goes out to these caged animals ~ one day the animals will be able to roam free …  in heaven.

On the east side of our house sits a hydrangea. Its growth is huge but we rarely get blossoms ~ except for this year.

The purple blossom burst into color late in the season.  Quite a difference from the pale color it started as.

As I pondered this, it made me think of my own life and how I have always thought “differently” ~ yet changing with time.

I remember over 35 years ago, I took a correspondence class to learn Fortran (computer programming). I diligently studied and sent my lessons in only to have them marked “incorrect, try again.”  The frustrating thing was that the answers were right but the steps I took to get to the answer were a little longer than their steps.

As much as I tried, I could not figure out how we both came to the same answer following different steps.  Yet they were saying my way was wrong.  Inside though, I knew I wasn’t wrong.  Different, yes.  Wrong, no.  Unfortunately I had to drop the class.

Has this ever happened to you?

I find many instances where my “thinking” is different from others and I’m looked at as odd. Of course, many times we don’t come up with the same conclusion ~ as with math which is a challenge for me.

Another example:  Not too long ago, my husband purchased an electric weed whacker. He put the battery in the charger and the next day it was ready to use. And so it was ~ another challenge that my “differently thinking” brain was going to have a hard time figuring out.

One day, a friend came to help me work in the yard and one of the things I asked him to do was use the weed whacker. We headed over to where it was charged and I unplugged the charger.  Then my brain went blank.

It looked easy enough but honestly, I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.  I turned it around and around but normal logic did not kick in.

The picture below shows the battery in the charger.

This next picture shows where the battery is supposed to go.  My brain knew “something gets plugged in here.” But as much as I wracked my brain, I could not figure out how to get the battery out of the charger.

Such a simple thing ~ well, for most people.  I simply had to slide the battery off but as much as I tried, I could not figure out how to do it.

My friend saw my frustration, picked up the charger and slid the battery off. Just like that!  Now I know how to do it ~ the visual and hands-on training helped immensely.

I have learned throughout the years that my logic and other people’s logic is not the same.  I used to get frustrated that I didn’t “get it” but I’ve since learned that being different doesn’t mean stupid or slow. I’m just wired in a special way.

This has actually made me more empathetic to others who are also “different minded.”

Any more specially wired people out there?

Bears, bears and lots of bears.

We visited the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary on a trip we took to the Voyageurs National Park which is nearby.

The non profit sanctuary, located in Orr, Minnesota, was started by a man named Vince Shute who decided to stop shooting the bears that were coming on his property in search of food and instead make them a safe sanctuary where they could eat.  Trying to peacefully co-exist.

When we arrived, we were directed where to park and then we headed to the admission ticket booth where we paid $8 per adult. From there we stood in a line and waited for a shuttle bus to take us “up” to the sanctuary which is on a 1 mile gravel road.  Our driver warned us that bears roam freely here so we could see them at any time.

Once we arrived, we disembarked the shuttle bus and went through a caged type entrance to get to the viewing deck.  The viewing deck is long and heads in different directions so you can see bears on all sides.

Looking down from the deck, I noticed there were employees walking among the bears and putting food down for them.  They seemed unafraid and later I was told that there is a compound that they wear that the bears do not like to smell.

Although we were told that the food they give the bears is to supplement their diet, some of the bears looked overweight.  (Is that possible?)  I didn’t understand why bears would have to have a supplemental diet myself but … it is what is it.

Here are a few bear pictures.

The bear below was just lounging around.  You can see some of the food they give them underneath him.  Looks like he might be protecting it.

This fella looks like he was enjoying the smell of something in the air.

Although this bear was able to climb to the top of this tree stump, it appeared as if he was afraid to come down once the other bears came nearby.

This little guy was fast asleep.  Occasionally he would change positions.  How is it they don’t fall off?

Playing peek-a-boo with the cameras …

Doing the cha-cha-cha …

Mama bear with cubs … (one is hidden).

It’s hard to know how many bears come here but there were quite a few ~ as in more than 40.

Well, have a beary nice day.  hahahaha

A recent trip that took us through northern Illinois and then up through Wisconsin along the Mississippi River brought us to a small town called Alma, Wisconsin.

As we were driving through, I noticed a small gift store sign that my husband drove past and I asked him if we could go back and browse.  He immediately turned around.  Yay husband!

The “small” store, called Water Lily Gifts, wasn’t so small after all as both the main floor and the basement were filled with unique items that immediately captured my attention.  After paying for our purchase, we chatted with the store’s owner and it was then that he asked us if we had visited Buena Vista Park.  When we said no, he immediately said “You can’t leave town without going to Buena Vista.”

So we decided to take his advice. He walked us outside and gave us directions to the park. This was a friendly town indeed!

The store’s owner was right ~ this was one park we didn’t want to miss.

The drive up to the bluff was a winding one and reminded me of a mountain road in Puerto Rico that I had been on.  I was surprised to find farms way “up here.”

When we got out of the car, we noticed a road that went down to where the view is. It wasn’t too long of a road.

The park is just a portion of the 240,000 acre of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Arriving at the end of the trail, the views took my breath away.

Part of the view is of Lock and Dam #4.

Here’s another view of the Lock & Dam.

Pretty, no?

Lastly, here’s a picture of the plant next to the Mississippi River.

And to think ~ we almost passed up this jewel of a view.  It is definitely worth the time to visit.