Tag: 55+

Hummm… June Wrap Up

The Cedar Journal June 28, 2022

As June is coming to a close it is time to update my Hummm… most of these come from the last part of our Minnesota vacation but we had a couple that snuck into file since our return. We never know when those things that make us go Hummm… will appear! Enjoy!

Hummm…Is that a sleeping bag bottle cozy? Yup! It made me smile at the General Store in Marine on St Croix and then followed us on vacation.

The problem with some Hummm… is that once you see one, you see them everywhere, this one multiplied into crazy cute cozy’s everywhere!!! One last chance to purchase? Nope. Resistance to the cute cozy!

Hummm… smile face! This greets anyone on Walsh Road, Eagle Nest Lake 3. What a great way to brighten any day.

This Hummm…comes from the Front Porch Coffee & Tea Coffee in Ely. I guess the local campaign is going to the dogs also a limited focus group as this was found in the rest room.

Hummm… if things in Ely get really bad they still have one of these… a fall out shelter at the Post Office. Take note “B” in IL! 😂

Hummm… just in case you needed another life jacket. Cute cozy.

This Hummm… was provided as a solution to mosquitoes! No kidding. A dab behind your ear will keep them away. Hummmm… maybe next time….

Hummm… I really didn’t think that the Navy was using clean diplomacy.

Hummm… seems like this is either very manly or very old soap.

This Hummm… was found while paddling in Aalsmeer. This bus sign is located on an island surrounded by water… not sure how the bus will stop here. Maybe a canoe stop?

Hummmm… a canoe? That is a wrap for June!

** What has made you stop in your tracks this month and made you ask Hummm…?

Balance- Minnesota Canoeing

The Cedar Journal June 26, 2022

With the Minnesota vacation behind us we are trying to “find” our balance with our jet lagged bodies. After two years of hardly touching the water we now seem to be strengthening our under used paddle muscles.

Morning paddle on Eagles Nest Lake 3 close to Ely, MN

Canoeing is all about balance. Balance in paddle strokes to smoothly get through the water. Balance with your paddle partner (maybe a good dose of communication would help here too) to know when you will suddenly move inside or out of the canoe, failure to do so can cause one or both of you a nice swim in the water.

Balance with nature. While in a canoe or kayak you are the closest you will ever be with undisrupted nature. Suddenly you are part of the story that going on all around you.

A beaver dam at Bear Head Lake State Park. Ely, MN

When things are in balance then wonderful happy things occur. Like running into a free concert at the State Park.

Minnesota Lumberjack songs performance at Bear Head Lake State Park.

Sometimes practice on balance is needed or a reminder that maybe ego can be bumped.

“Cool! I can still portage a canoe…what was that sound? OMG!!! I am so embarrassed.”

Balance is needed when looking for the small wonders in nature. Here we are in a search to find wild orchids that grow on these semi submerged logs. Instead of orchids we found wild fly catcher plants.

We are now home in The Netherlands, new adventures coming soon.

We hope that each of you have found balance in your current lives.🛶

Memorable Monday

The Cedar Journal June 20, 2022

The view from our rental cabin in Ely, MN

Now at the end our vacation and waiting to see what sort of chaos waits us at the airport. I want to share some of the peaceful memories we had from our time in Minnesota.

A mayfly and the moon from our cabin overlooking the lake.

Cool wild fly catcher plants we found on one of our paddle trips

A family of geese glide across a beaver pond at William OBrien State Park

Deep breath, bags packed, memories documented, blog adventures to write, and an eight hour flight home to the Netherlands. My wild heart and love of the Minnesota wilderness renewed.

Hummmm…Wisconsin

The Cedar Journal June 12, 2022

We are paddling in Northern Minnesota and in the coming weeks readers will be able to read about our battles with the alternate Minnesota State bird. Until then…

Hummmm…

Close to the start of this vacation we crossed the border into the neighboring state of Wisconsin and drove the backroads following the St Croix from Douglas County south to Osceola, WI. One would not think there could be so many instant Hummm… available. Here are some but not all we witnessed.

At a boat launch and camping site along the St Croix River. Hummm… where there is smoke there is fire danger! These campers must not have been taught the rules of fire and camping. No one was at the campsite and this huge branch was smoking and outside the fire pit.

A stop at this cafe in Danbury, WI provided a wonderful breakfast, great service and Hummmm… an additional feel good message even for us who are pagans. How can you not start the day feeling good knowing that someone loves you!

A stop at a Holiday Station in Dresser provided two Hummm…. This one was clear that instruction was needed.

This Hummm… made me laugh out loud. First, anything that says Pandora’s box is questionable but on this item I am not so sure I would participate. But, I did feel compelled to inform the outside world!😂

Growing up in Minnesota I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the above in a consignment store but Hummm… with a baseball Mom hat on, it made my Hummm file.

Checking into our hotel in Osceola we found that this sign might have been difficult for people to accomplish at this front desk. Hummm… closer look… do I really have to place my feet there? How does that work? Maybe a bit much laying on the carpet? How? Ok… well… just take a picture. Hummmm…

The restaurant Tippy Canoe is right next door and we had the best wait staff and loaded up on cheese curds. Thanks Bobbie for the wonderful service and conversation. Then we headed back to the hotel and it seems that the universe was trying to keep us in town.

“Hey, do you see that? Is someone trying to keep our car from moving?”

“I wonder if it is like super glue gum?” Instantly a Hummm… file addition!

I can report that we made it out of Wisconsin safely and we want to thank the State for the making us think outside the box.

We hope you enjoyed this addition to our Hummm… collection. Enjoy looking for surprises in life and Carpe Diem!

cedar strip canoe

Hummmm…. May 2022

The Cedar Journal May 31, 2022

I have had a pretty boring month but even a boring month can place a few Hummm… things into the digital file. Plus, May brought a close to an era, but more on that later in the blog.

For the bird lovers out there! Hummm… this extremely friendly dove was at our camping site and was very content on posing for pictures. Someone who is most likely waiting for this bird to show up (notice the leg tag) should know that it found camping much more fun than heading for home!

Amsterdam is always full of Hummm… and this month as I walked through the center of the city towards my destination, through several clouds of sweet smelling plant smoke, I saw the following, Yes! I got a picture at this point as I wasn’t actually sure it wasn’t my brain reacting to the inhaled smoke.

Once I reached my destination I walked through the door and asked in Dutch if the place was open and got the “deer in the headlight” look. With a delayed response “I don’t speak Dutch!” in broken English. 🙄 Hummm… all those Dutch language lessons and years of experience living here and Amsterdam is now only speaking English (well… forms of English or American language) but Dutch? Then again, there was that smoke cloud I walked through.

Most of you who read this blog on a regular basis (that includes the one regular from China) knows that I am a huge tree hugger! Yup, I have hugged hundreds of trees and feel it is my duty to try to save as many of them as I can (unless they are seedlings coming up in my garden😬), so maybe this next Hummm won’t be shocking.

Hummm… clue two… the sign in Dutch asks what is money if the ice cap melts?

Oh boy… hummm… these individuals don’t look like tree huggers.

But then on the same day in another part of the country the Hubby sent me this Hummm…

Hummmm… that is correct! A skeleton in the backseat of an American gas sucking car! Seems he wasn’t worried about the planet in the 1980’s and looked at what happened to him!

This Hummm… comes all the way from… wait… Minnesota?… really? Nope, this find was at the Dordrecht Steam Engine Show.
Hummm… Thanks Erik!

The last of the Hummm… for the month is how we started the blog. With a picture of our beloved Cedar.

It is the end of the Cedar era at our house. She has now been passed on to a new family in Friesland who will restore her to her former glory.

It was bitter sweet to see her go but knew it was the “right” time for her. To us she seemed to have gained weight over the winter and that alone would not be a good reason but my old shoulder injury/back issues couldn’t lift her without causing me to feel crappy for days afterwards.

Canoeing is fun and hurting is not!

So we are now in search of a Minnesota made light weight canoe in the Netherlands.

Hummmm…