A view from atop the prairie at River Bend Nature Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
WITH TREES MOSTLY STRIPPED of leaves, a visible shift in seasons has begun. But look closer, beyond the trees, and even more signs of a transition toward winter appear.
A weathered trail marker. I love these rustic, handcrafted signs placed throughout River Bend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
I’ve found the much-beloved River Bend Nature Center in Faribault an ideal landscape in which to hike, observe and photograph the nuances of seasons.
A view of River Bend from the overlook shows the interpretative center and adjoining parking lot plus the surrounding woods. The nature center covers some 823 acres. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
So on a recent unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon, my husband, Randy, and I hiked on the north end of River Bend, first to the overlook providing a sweeping view of the land below. And then we returned to the woods before aiming through swampland toward the prairie.
A splash of color among more muted and golden tones. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
All along our route, I paused, photographed and appreciated.
Sumac. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
Beauty, for me, is not splashy, but rather subtle. A dried seed pod. The rusty hue of sumac clumps. Red leaves twined to twigs.
Luna, riding in a bicycle basket, wears goggles to protect her eyes from trailside branches, her owner said. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
In the distance, leaves still clung to a few trees in a stubborn refusal to let go of autumn.
Towering swampland grasses sway in the wind. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
The wind blew fierce on this first day of November, making photography a challenge at times. Yet it was the wind which made for the best part of the hike—the dance of the tall grasses. I’ve always been captivated by the way the wind gracefully bends grass stems. It’s poetic and lovely and mesmerizing.
Towering grasses dwarf Randy as he hikes. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
I stood next to the towering swamp grasses—as high as 10 feet—for a while, studying the angle of the sun edging toward sunset, watching the slender, grain-heavy stems bend, bow, lean into one another.
A view on a portion of the Prairie Loop Trail leading to the top of a hill.(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
And then I headed up hill to the prairie, low gray clouds sweeping the sky, a hint of blue remaining. I thought of Willa Cather who wrote of the prairie. And Laura Ingalls Wilder who lived on, and also wrote of, the prairie. And my own prairie upbringing which influences my work as a creative.
A drying cattail. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
Fungi. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
Randy found an interesting stone along a trail. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
Much beauty exists here beyond a first glimpse. A puff-tipped cattail. Fungi laddering a tree trunk. A stone found on a trail.
A biker and his dog head up a trail toward the overlook on the north side of River Bend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2026)
On this balmy, for November in Minnesota, afternoon, hikers and bikers migrated to River Bend, some alone, others in pairs, some with their dogs. All were enjoying a day that felt like a fond farewell from autumn. The wind and warmth kissed us as we embraced this loveliest of lingering autumnal days.
Pumpkins photographed at a roadside pumpkin stand in Stanton. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
WHILE AT THE GROCERY STORE the other day, I picked up limited edition pumpkin spice bagels and pumpkin spice cream cheese spread. Yum. I crave the seasonal taste of pumpkin, not in excess, but just enough to satisfy me.
A sidewalk dining area, next to a parklet in downtown Northfield, features autumn decor that includes pumpkins. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Every autumn, pumpkin prevails. If I wanted, I could have bought pumpkin spice coffee to go with my bagels. Or pumpkin spiced cereal or whatever other foods feature this flavor. The options seem endless.
I do have two cans of pumpkin in the cupboard for muffins. I probably won’t make a pie. Does anyone make pumpkin pie from scratch, from baked pumpkins, any more?
A sign along Minnesota State Highway 19 directs motorists to a roadside stand in Stanton. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
That brings me to roadside stands that pop up in Minnesota each autumn to sell pumpkins, squash and other garden goods. There’s something about a wagon loaded with bright orange orbs or a field of pumpkins that makes me break out in a wide smile.
A roadside produce stand in Stanton. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Charles Schulz may have influenced my reaction. The Minnesota-born artist created the “Peanuts” cartoons. I grew up watching his animated cartoon TV specials, including “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” There’s something endearing about a boy—Linus—sitting in the pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin. His is a testament to unwavering hope and faith, trusting that the mighty pumpkin will appear.
Trust is essential for anyone running an untended, self-serve roadside stand like the ones I saw recently along Minnesota State Highway 19 in Stanton and also between Faribault and Northfield along State Highway 3. Pick your product and drop your money in a secured lock box. Now that’s trusting on the part of the vendor.
Pumpkins are incorporated into an autumn display outside Althoff’s Floral & Gifts in Cannon Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
While picking from the pumpkin patch is mostly done with Halloween over and jack-o-lanterns carved, pumpkins are still in demand as Thanksgiving approaches. Or at least I think they are with pumpkins often centering autumnal décor in yards, planters, at businesses, inside sanctuaries and elsewhere.
Pumpkins, squash and gourds pack a wagon at a roadside stand in Stanton. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Pumpkins in various sizes, shapes and colors, mixed with squash, gourds, corn and mums, make visually-appealing displays that say “autumn.” And I’m all about prolonging autumn for as long as possible before winter settles in for the next too many months.
The Cannon River in Welch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
DESCENDING DEEP into the Cannon River valley, it’s easy to feel transported, disconnected, as if in a place distanced from the realities of everyday life. At least that’s been my reaction when I’ve traveled to Welch, an unincorporated burg nearly 40 miles southeast of St. Paul in Goodhue County.
Gravel roads like this twist through the state forest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
On a recent fall color drive, Randy and I aimed east toward this riverside location as we left Cannon Falls along Minnesota State Highway 19. Not long after, we turned off the paved highway onto gravel, eventually following Wild Turkey Road and other routes that twist through Richard J Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest toward Welch. The state forest encompasses 1 million acres in seven southeastern Minnesota counties.
Before driving deep into the woods, we saw farm sites and acres of farmland. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I felt completely lost as gravel roads rose and fell before us, as farm sites came into view, as an occasional house hugged a forested hillside, as we looped back and forth, seemingly without direction.
Because I grew up on a square prairie grid where roads run straight, I always feel off-balance when I can’t grasp a sense of direction. But I trusted that Randy would get us back on track with the help of a paper atlas. There is no trusting cellphone service in remote areas like this.
A gravel road takes us deep into the forest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
As we traveled, I appreciated the natural beauty of the forest. But my imagination sprinted, too, with stories of fictional crimes committed here deep in the woods. I am a fan of mysteries, especially those set in Minnesota.
Heading down winding Goodhue County Road 7to Welch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Eventually, we reached a paved roadway that runs between Vasa and Welch. I admittedly felt a sense of relief when I spotted a guy picking up his mail, then saw vehicles packing the parking lot along the Cannon Valley Trail, a popular state recreational trail for bikers. By then we’d met a sprinkling of vehicles also. I felt like we were back in civilization.
If this all sounds a tad dramatic, it’s not meant to be. Rather, I’m simply trying to describe this region. Remote. Rugged. And beautiful.
Muted fall colors remained on our October 23 visit to the Welch area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
It was here, winding our way through the Cannon River valley, that we saw the fall colors we’d hoped to find. Not as bright or brilliant as anticipated on a windy, hazy day. But beautiful none-the-less.
Randy steps on shoreline rocks to view the Cannon River up close in Welch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
In warmer weather, this area is a recreational destination for those wishing to canoe, kayak or tube on the Cannon River with Welch Mill offering rentals and a launching spot. I walked to the edge of the Cannon, taking in the tranquil scene of water flowing between tree-lined banks. To my right, the river curved out of sight. To my left, water flowed under the county road bridge we’d just crossed.
A unique railing built of paddles subtly markets Welch Mill. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Other than a pest control truck leaving a public parking space and motorists pulling in to park and dine at The Bleu Dog Cafe, all was quiet in this village. I expect there are times when Welch thrums with activity. But not on this day.
A colorful treeline along Highway 19 between Cannon Falls and Vasa. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Shortly after taking in the river view, we returned to Goodhue County Road 7, winding our way uphill through hardwood forest toward the unincorporated village of Vasa. On this afternoon, the route proved popular for motorcyclists out for a fall color drive. Just like us.
Following hilly Highway 19 back to Cannon Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Eventually we emerged from the woods, heading back on Minnesota State Highway 19 to Cannon Falls, detouring briefly onto a gravel road flush with color.
FYI:Please check back for more stories from this late October day trip that took us east to places within 40 miles of Faribault.
All along, and on, our route, we saw farmers working, bringing in the harvest. This scene is near Nerstrand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
LAST WEEK’S STREAK of gloriously warm, sunny days here in southern Minnesota beckoned Randy and me to hit the road on Friday to view the fall colors. We’d worked hard earlier in the week, me writing and painting and he laboring over automotive jobs.
A sign propped outside a downtown Cannon Falls business fit the focus of our day trip. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
As life-long Minnesotans, we understand that these golden autumn days are fleeting. And, indeed, the weather has now changed to cold, gloomy and rainy. So our decision to take a day off and away proved the right choice.
Grazing in a pasture near Nerstrand on a beautiful autumn morning. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I love these day trips into the countryside and into the small towns in our region. It’s an opportunity to get out of Faribault, reconnect to our rural roots and delight in new discoveries.
The sky of sunrise as photographed from my home on Friday, October 23. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Before this outing even began, though, the day opened with a sunrise so lovely that I simply stood at my living room window taking in the scene before me. Light in shades of red, gold and orange fired across the eastern sky, blazing between clouds, creating a painterly visual.
Soon we would be off, picnic lunch packed, driving east into a landscape hazy with wind-blown harvest dust and land in need of a good, soaking rain.
The colorful Big Woods of Nerstrand on October 23. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
We saw our first masses of color in the dense woods of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. We opted not to stop at this busy fall destination park, but rather continued on to the small town of Nerstrand.
A home decorated for autumn in Nerstrand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
A quick drive-through didn’t reveal much new in Nerstrand. But I did spot the most inviting front porch area graced with autumn décor of pumpkins, mums and a corn shock plus a vintage bike and lush ferns. I wanted to walk right up the front steps, knock on the door and ask to sit a spell in one of the comfy wicker chairs for conversation and perhaps a mug of steaming coffee. I’ve always wanted to live in a house with a front porch.
A colorful treeline between Nerstrand and Dennison. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Onward we drove, winding our way toward Dennison, past farms and occasional splashes of colorful trees.
The name of this new business in Dennison, with the grain complex in the background, grabbed my attention. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Once in town, I noticed a new establishment, Cattlemen’s Saloon, which seems a fitting name for this small farming community. The saloon, previously the 625 Bar & Grill, opened a year ago under the same ownership but with a new focus and branding.
Warning signs posted in a vacant storefront window in the heart of Dennison. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I also happened upon some no trespassing signage that left me feeling uneasy. I got the message, as intended, that I ought to stay clear of this vacant property or else. I just don’t share the owner’s sense of humor regarding weapons.
Next we aimed toward Cannon Falls, twisting through the picturesque Sogn Valley area. Some fall color tinted hillsides of trees, but nothing spectacular. We realized that perhaps we were a week late to see the peak of autumn hues here.
This up-high vintage draws my attention in Cannon Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Yet, a drive like this doesn’t depend on a singular attraction to make it enjoyable. Rather, I delight in the unexpected, the quirky, the details that help define a place. And first off in Cannon Falls, that was an old John Deere tractor hoisted high atop a metal frame on the south edge of town. I wondered how that tractor was lifted into place.
With sweet treat murals painted on front display windows by Dani Liana of Red Wing-based Legacy Murals, there’s no mistaking this as a bakery, Sweet Kneads bakery in downtown Cannon Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Beautifully-decorated cookies in a display case at Sweet Kneads, Cannon Falls Bakery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
But it was in downtown Cannon Falls where I found the highlight of the day—Sweet Kneads. I love a good local bakery. Only on day trips do I treat myself to a bakery sweet, this time a blueberry Bismarck donut that was over-the-top yummy, oozing with blueberry filling that tasted fresh, not canned. It was one of the best bakery treats, if not the best, I’ve ever eaten.
Cannon Falls businesses, like this floral and gift shop, do a good job of creating inviting exterior seasonal displays to draw customers inside. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
With sweets fueling us, Randy and I were ready to hit the road again, but not before a quick look at seasonally-decorated storefronts at neighboring businesses. We could easily have spent several hours downtown, home to restaurants, boutiques, a cheese shop, florist, winery, brewery, antique store and much more. Cannon Falls offers a lot. We’ve previously lingered for hours here. But this trip we focused on finding fall colors. So out of town we headed, eastward bound toward Welch.
FYI:Please check back as I continue on this fall color day trip into rural southern Minnesota.
In late September, minimal fall color showed in Mission Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
WEEKS AGO, Autumn whispered in the woods of Mission Park in the Brainerd lakes area. I expect, though, if I traveled Up North today, Autumn will have mostly exited. The same is happening here in southern Minnesota, the voice of this season diminishing, yielding to Winter.
In the woods, a face on a tree. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
But on that late September morning in Mission Township near Merrifield, only a few deciduous trees among the endless conifers were tipped in hues of orange, yellow and red.
The ridges and orangish hue of this mushroom drew me closer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
Following paved, dirt and grass trails into the woods, I also noticed an abundance of mushrooms. Fungi fascinate me. Those found here differ from mushrooms I’ve seen in my region of the state.
Look at the size of this mushroom compared to Randy’s boot. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
As someone who likes to eat mushrooms, I wish I could identify wild ones as edible or not. Interestingly enough, Faribault-based Forest to Fork grows mushrooms inside a former canning company complex in my community, far from the forests of northern Minnesota. I really need to try these locally-grown mushrooms found in grocery stores, restaurants, co-ops and more in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Besides mushrooms, I am also fascinated by dried seedheads such as these in the wildflower patch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
The mushrooms of Mission Park drew me close to admire their ridged edges, their shapes, sizes and hues. They seem magical without being magical in the psychedelic sense.
Gnomes welcome hikers to the trail system at Mission Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
This park offers its own bit of magic in the form of dozens of gnome statues hidden in the woods. I’ve always liked treasure hunts so searching for the mythical creatures adds an interesting element to hiking and photographing here.
One of numerous patriotic-themed gnomes scattered throughout the park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
An angler gnome seems appropriate for this area of lakes and woods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
In honor of America’s 250th birthday, a full-on patriotic gnome. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The gnomes are usually sitting out of reach in trees, most high enough to protect them from mischievous park visitors who want to have a little fun and move them. That would probably require a ladder or climbing a tree. A few, though, are within easy reach on tree stumps and spots lower.
A bee gnome sits high in a tree. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
And, yes, some gnomes have been relocated despite the posted warning: “Leave the gnomes be or bad luck will follow thee.” None of us needs bad luck. I’m not willing to take the risk.
A feather found on a grassy trail in Mission Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file July 2026)
I see details like leaves shadowing on a tree. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
A woolly caterpillar, which I moved off the trail. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
Rather, I enjoy the hunt, the photography, the beautiful natural world that surrounds me whenever or wherever I hike. A feather. A leaf shadowed on a tree trunk. A woolly caterpillar in danger on the paved trail.
A blaze of color on a maple tree in the park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
Autumn beckoned, first whispering, then shouting in colorful language that calls all of us to slow down, look around and fully see the beauty before us.
This view from hilltop City View Park in Faribault shows the beauty of the autumn landscape. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
AUTUMN RATES, undeniably, as my favorite season. I love the crisp mornings and evenings, the often sunshine-drenched afternoons. I love wrapping myself in the warmth of flannel or fleece. I love the cinnamon scent of apple crisp baking in the oven, the smell wafting through the house. I love roadside stands packed with plump pumpkins. I love hiking in woods, fallen leaves crunching underfoot.
My husband, Randy, photographs the vibrant trees across Kelly Lake, rural Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
But, above all, I love the fall colors. In shades of red, orange, yellow and brown, singular trees, pockets of trees and entire hillsides are ablaze. Now is the time to get out and view the colorful landscape before wind, rain and time strip those trees bare.
South Cordova Farms, Waterville, set up this roadside pumpkin stand in a rural area near Cordova. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
In the four-plus decades I’ve lived in Faribault, I’ve found this community and the surrounding area to be especially colorful. So there’s no need to leave town or travel far to enjoy the hues of autumn.
City View Park offers a bird’s eye view of Faribault and beyond. Here buildings at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf poke through the treetops. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Several local spots draw me back year after year. In town, City View Park by the water tower and just above Roosevelt School on Faribault’s east side, offers a spectacular vista view of the valley below. I picnicked there the other day at high noon, taking in the tree-scaped land for as far as my eyes could see. Even in the haze of the dusty air, colors popped in the mass of dense trees. It’s a spectacular setting any time of year.
A maple in City View Park. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Among all those trees, I picked out local landmark steeples, struggling to identify some, sure of others. I also paused to appreciate the colorful maples in the park.
From the public boat landing, I zoomed my camera lens to photograph the distant color-splashed shoreline of Kelly Lake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
To the west of Faribault, Kelly Lake, as viewed from the public boat landing, rates as another favorite local color spot. Each October I walk out on the short dock and take in the scene across the lake, the orange treeline slicing color between blue water and blue sky.
Whether in town or out, autumn shows her rugged beauty, here along a gravel road buffeted by cornfields. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Within the Faribault city limits, the Straight River bluff packs a colorful punch as do trees along many streets, like Second Avenue and Seventh Street. The campus of the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, a place where I sometimes walk, presents more color.
Driving into woods along a back gravel road west of Faribault, exact location unknown. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
As with anything, we often bypass beauty that lies directly before us, blending into the background of daily life. In my own backyard and next door at my neighbor’s, maples fire orange and yellow.
On a fall color drive in the Montgomery area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Consistently each autumn, fall color drives take me along roads around area lakes like Roberds, Union and French. I have yet to do the complete lake tour this year. I’ve found fall colors aplenty in the Montgomery and Lonsdale areas, too.
A rural fall scene of harvested corn along a hilly gravel road, Falk Avenue, near Cannon City and Nerstrand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I have not yet headed over to the Nerstrand area for a stop at the historic hilltop Valley Grove churches where color splashes a treeline across the prairie. Nearby Nerstrand Big Woods State Park rates as a popular fall color destination, parking lots crowded to overflowing on October weekends. I prefer the quiet of Valley Grove.
A farmer picks corn along Falk Avenue near Cannon City against a colorful backdrop of trees. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Mostly, I simply want to immerse myself in autumn. Visually by viewing distant treelines and rolling farm fields along Falk Avenue northeast of Cannon City. Or up close along Farmer Trail, a twisting gravel road snugged by woods.
Across fields, I photographed this picturesque farm site near Richter Woods County Park west of Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I love autumn. The woodsy, earthy scent. The feel of soft flannel and cozy fleece. The crunch of biting into a locally-grown apple. The taste of cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars. And, above all, the oranges, reds and yellows of this season blazing color across the southern Minnesota landscape.
A recent fall drive took us deep into the southern Minnesota countryside, where harvest is underway. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
A PLANNED FALL COLOR DRIVE evolved into more like a harvest drive as Randy and I traveled recently through parts of Rice, Steele, Waseca and LeSueur counties. While we saw some color in the trees, fall field work centered our observations.
Combining beans, a dusty, dirty job in dry conditions. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Area farmers were busy harvesting soybeans on the day we meandered through the countryside to the west of Faribault with no set destination.
A beautiful barn, fronted by a cornfield, somewhere west of Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Given our farm backgrounds—Randy rooted in Morrison County in central Minnesota and me in Redwood County in southwestern Minnesota—we remain interested in farming, particularly in spring planting and fall harvest.
An overview of soybean harvesting with multiple combines and trucks in the field and on the road. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
On this unseasonably warm autumn day, farmers hustled to get the beans out, their mammoth combines enveloped in dust as the machines raked across the acres. A stretch of hot, dry days made for ideal harvest weather.
A farmer waits outside the grain elevator in Montgomery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Grain trucks idled, awaiting loads of beans. Others brimmed with golden orbs. Gravity flow wagons pulled by tractors or pickup trucks also held the bounty of crops.
A red and white cooler sits inside the cab of this combine. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I noticed the details, too, like a small cooler inside a combine cab, probably packed with lunch. My friend Virginia shared recently that she delivered lunch to her son harvesting in the Millersburg area. It’s likely not all that uncommon for family members to take meals to farmers in the field. Going up to the farmhouse for lunch takes too much time.
A grain truck barrels down a gravel road in a cloud of dust near Cannon City. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Time is the farmer’s constant companion during this season of harvest. As the days tick closer to winter, pressure mounts to get first the soybeans, then the corn, out.
Grain bins dominate a farm site near Blooming Grove United Methodist Church, rural Morristown. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
And then there’s the weather, always the weather. Unwanted rain can delay harvest, adding to an already stressful situation.
Farmers, whether in the field or on the road, are in a time crunch to finish the harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
It takes a lot of mental fortitude to crop farm—to handle the stressors of time, weather, fluctuating prices and increasing operational expenses. But help is available 24/7 through a free and confidential state-funded Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline at 833-600-2670. Trained counselors will listen, help and connect as needed. Other resources such as NAMI Minnesota and the Suicide Lifeline (call, text or chat to 988) are also available to assist.
A fire extinguisher hangs on the combine exterior as a farmer harvests soybeans. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Along with mental health are physical safety concerns. I was reminded of that when I noticed a fire extinguisher attached to the side of laddered steps leading into a combine. Occasionally fire erupts when crop debris meets hot machinery or parts get overheated or for other reasons.
Machinery parked in a farmyard, at the ready for harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I expect most farmers take safety seriously. Yet it’s easy, when you’re working long, exhausting days and late into the night on minimal sleep, for accidents to happen. Every harvest season across Minnesota there are stories of grain bin rescues, sometimes successful, sometimes not.
An Allis Chalmers corn chopper, like this one exhibited at the 2010 Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show, claimed my father-in-law’s left hand and part of his forearm. Randy is standing next to the machine. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Thankfully safety shields on modern day machinery mostly protect from serious injuries, unlike when my father-in-law’s left hand was pulled into a corn chopper in 1967. The accident happened as he hand-fed corn into the chopper. The blades chopped off his fingers with a surgeon later amputating part of his forearm. Eleven-year-old Randy, in the field with his dad when the accident happened, turned off the power take-off and then ran to a neighbor’s farm for help.
With much of the soybean harvest now done, corn harvest is underway, here near Cannon City. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
As we drove through the southern Minnesota countryside, deep into harvest, I thought of that long ago farm accident involving the man who would become my father-in-law. And I considered all the farmers today who love the land and farming, but who work in one of the top 10 most dangerous occupations in the U.S.
A tractor pulling a gravity flow wagon, turns off old U.S. Highway 14 in Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Farm life may, on the surface, appear a bucolic, simple life. But in reality, it isn’t. It’s hard work. I’m reminded of that as I travel through the countryside, documenting field work. This chosen life comes with rewards and risks, from planting to harvest.
Kids create at activity stations along Faribault’s Central Avenue during the Fall Festival. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
KIDS COSTUMED as Big Bird, Buzz Lightyear, a firefighter, cowboy, dinosaur, pig, even a cupcake, and many other characters descended on Central Avenue Saturday for the Faribault Fall Festival. What a delight to see the street crowded with costumed kids and with adults enjoying a beautiful, sunshine-drenched autumn day in our historic downtown.
Creating art for buttons at an activity offered by Friends of Buckham Memorial Library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Kid-painted pumpkins line the curb to dry. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
One of the many art stations set up for kids to create. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
The event featured not only kids’ activities and trick-or-treating, but also the Studio ARTour, fire department open house, vendor market and chili sampling.
Serving up chili for Faribault Transportation. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Next to his wife serving chili for Faribault Transportation, this volunteer serves Christ Lutheran Church chili. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Randy and I arrived at noon specifically to sample chili made by non-profits, businesses, candidates for public office, a church and other cooks. For $5 each, we enjoyed a tasty lunch of chili samples. But it wasn’t all about the food. Moving among chili serving stations set up on sidewalks along several blocks, I met new people, talked with friends, dodged costumed kids, all the while feeling a strong sense of community connection.
Faribault City Council candidate Natalie Halverson serves turkey pumpkin chili (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Fest-goers answered a question posed by candidate Halverson. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
City council candidate Natalie Halverson scooped out pumpkin chili made with foods sourced in Faribault, including turkey and beans. But she also served up an opportunity for locals to jot down their answers to this question: “What are the most important qualities of an effective Faribault City Council?” That engagement impressed me.
Fest-goers sample chili and other food made by Nancy Greer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Around the block, Nancy Greer served her beefy chili, cornbread, cheese and crackers with a pepper spread, and mini cupcakes on a festive table outside Our Place on 3rd. Like Halverson, she offered more. Greer shared mental health and suicide prevention information, handing me a flier about World Mental Health Day on October 10 and Recovery Road MN. The Recovery Road team is walking 1,776 miles to raise awareness about youth mental health and reduce the stigma.
A beautiful autumn-themed centerpiece crafted by Nancy Greer for her chili serving table. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Greer’s care, compassion, generosity and optimism—she wore a butterfly tee emblazoned with “BELIEVE in who you are”—left me feeling really good. I walked away with a business-sized card telling me “SOMETIMES YOU FORGET you’re AWESOME. SO THIS IS YOUR REMINDER.” The flip side of the card included validating words such as strength, bravery, smartness and love.
Launching stuffed animals. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
All around me I witnessed and felt the love. Families walking together. Grandparents, parents and volunteers leading, assisting or simply standing by as kids painted small pumpkins, colored cloth trick-or-treat bags, jumped in a bouncy house, launched stuffed animals toward a dinosaur, created sand and button art, and more.
Signage marks one of two Studio ARTour sites in downtown Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Creatives brought their homemade and handcrafted goods to sell in downtown Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
Vendors selling everything from sweet treats to handcrafted items lined the center of Central Avenue.
Family activities set up in a block of Central Avenue. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2026)
I didn’t hit every aspect of the Faribault Fall Festival. But I experienced enough to feel the strong sense of community created by this event. It’s good for the heart and soul of a community to come together, to have fun, to appreciate one another, and to recognize that this city we call home is worth celebrating.
City View Park on Faribault’s east side provides a sweeping, colorful view of the city in October. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2022)
IF I WANT TO VIEW fall colors, I needn’t go far. I can step into my backyard to see glorious golden maples. Up the street from my Willow Street home, more trees blaze. If I follow Second Avenue to its intersection with Seventh Street, I’ll find especially vibrant trees on a corner property owned by friends Mark and Laurie. There are more splashy hues along Seventh Street and all about town. Tree-lined bluffs rising above the Straight River burst with color. Faribault is a beautiful, historic riverside city anytime, but especially in autumn.
A view of the Cannon River from the pedestrian bridge at the Cannon River Wilderness Area between Faribault and Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Yet, even with all the colorful trees in town, I like to go into the countryside to see the colors, too. And it’s not just about the orange, red and yellow leaves. It’s also about sky and water, fields and farms, the “all” which comprises and defines rural Minnesota in September and October.
This weathered barn with the fieldstone foundation sits along the gravel road leading to Richter Woods County Park west of Montgomery in Le Sueur County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
It’s also about following back gravel roads, the vehicle kicking up dust. It’s about meeting massive farm equipment on roadways. It’s about stopping to look at a weathered barn. It’s about traveling at a slower pace.
A view of Kelly Lake and a colorful shoreline. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
And it’s about stopping, exiting the van to walk into the woods or stand along the shoreline of an area lake to admire a colorful tree line.
A sweeping view of the countryside in the Union Lake area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
As a native of the mostly treeless southwestern Minnesota prairie, it was not until I moved to Rice County in 1982 that I fully realized just how overwhelmingly stunning this season is in our state. I didn’t grow up going on vacations with the exception of two—one at age four to Duluth and the second to the Black Hills of South Dakota during my elementary school years. But each autumn, my siblings and I piled into the Chevy with our parents for a Sunday afternoon fall color drive along the Minnesota River Valley from north of Echo to Morton.
A partially-harvested cornfield in the Union Lake area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
And so my love of Sunday drives (which were frequent during my youth because Dad wanted to look at the crops) evolved. As did my understanding that all we needed to do was travel a short distance to see a different landscape. One with woods, colorful woods, in autumn.
Colorful trees by Union Lake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
The topography of Rice County is incredibly diverse. From the familiar flat prairie to rolling hills and valleys to lakes and rivers and streams, it’s all right here. Lovely.
Sometimes you just have to stop and look up, here in Richter Woods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
I encourage Sunday afternoon drives, or whatever day works for you. Forget about schedules and the work at home. Get in the vehicle and go. Go local. Appreciate what’s right in your backyard.
Pull over along a gravel road, if it’s safe to do so, and take in the countryside. Stand along the shore of a lake. Walk into the woods. Hear the crunch of dried leaves beneath your soles. Look up at the colorful leaves. And see, really see, the autumn beauty that surrounds you…before winter strips the land, leaving it naked and exposed.
Driving along Rice County Road 30 from Nerstrand toward Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
A HILLSIDE ABLAZE in color appears before us as our van descends Rice County Road 30 northwest of Nerstrand. The road curves, twists into the valley between farmland and farm sites until we reach our destination, Valley Grove churches.
The gated entry to the historic Valley Grove churches near Nerstrand and south of Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Randy steers the van off the paved road onto the gravel driveway leading to these two historic Norwegian immigrant churches standing high atop a hill overlooking the rolling countryside. This secluded place rates as a favorite destination of ours any time of year, but especially in autumn.
From the churchyard, I focus my telephoto lens across the prairie to the distant woods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
The hilltop location offers a sweeping view of the surrounding land, including the Big Woods, especially colorful now. I simply cannot get enough of the red, orange and yellow tree lines that provide a painterly backdrop to this bucolic setting.
The 1894 wooden church opens today for weddings, a Country Social, a Christmas Eve serviceand other special events. The stone church serves as a fellowship hall/gathering spot. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Here the 1862 and 1894 churches rise, a testament to the faith and endurance of the Norwegian immigrants who settled this area. The topography likely reminded them of the homeland they left for new opportunities in America.
The prairie fronts woods ablaze in color, as viewed from the churchyard. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
On this day, as the wind blows cold and strong across the churchyard—so much so that we eat our picnic lunch inside the van—I ponder how these foreigners felt once winter arrived in all her cold and snowy starkness. Perhaps they wondered why they ever left Norway.
A vibrant bush on prairie’s edge. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
But on this fall day, I recognize also how much they must have appreciated this beautiful hilltop location. The Valley Grove Preservation Society works hard to retain the natural beauty of these 50 acres of land. The trees. The tall prairie grasses. The wildflowers. They also maintain the two aged houses of worship—the old stone church built first and the adjacent wood-frame church constructed 32 years later.
Grassy paths lead into and through the prairie. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Prairie wildflowers dying and going to seed. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Randy steps up for a better view of the distant Big Woods from the prairie. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Beyond the churches and surrounding cemetery, we follow an uneven path into the prairie, pausing occasionally to take in the colorful, distant trees. Randy steps atop a limestone slab for a better view. I spot a garter snake a step down from his feet, then edge away, not at all fond of snakes.
On the other side of the rolling prairie, the churches rise. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Turning back toward the churchyard a bit later, I see the churches rise like ships upon an ocean of prairie grass. It’s not hard to visualize Norwegian immigrants boarding ships, sailing across the massive ocean bound for America.
Aged and new tombstones fill the Valley Grove cemetery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
The hopes and dreams they carried to America and eventually to Minnesota imprint upon tombstones in names and dates and words. Their hopes imprint, too, upon this land.
Zooming in on the colorful trees surrounding Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
When I walk this ground, I feel the imprints of souls beneath my feet. This place seems sacred. Sacred in the voices I hear if I lean into the wind and listen. Sacred in the vistas I view.
Found at a gravesite, a serenity stone. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
Valley Grove is a place of serenity. Of quiet. Of natural beauty unequal in the autumn of the year.
A farm site nestles among the woods below Valley Grove. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)
All of this I find, feel, experience, see on an autumn day at Valley Grove, among the rolling hills and valleys of northeastern Rice County.
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