River Bend Nature Center | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Walking through snowy woods on a Sunday afternoon January 4, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: Faribault, Goat Dispatch, Minnesota, nature, outdoors, River Bend Nature Center, thoughts, winter

THE WEATHERMAN PROMISED mostly sunny skies Sunday in southern Minnesota. But predictions and reality don’t always match. Rather than sunshine here in Faribault, grey skies prevailed, matching my mood.

I needed a walk in the woods, an escape. Time to envelope myself in nothing but nature, in the muffled quiet of traversing a snow-covered trail winding through River Bend Nature Center.

There is something about trudging through snow, about pausing to study the bark of a naked tree, about tipping your head upward toward the sky, even if it is grey, that temporarily nudges away heartache.

So I walked with my husband through the sparse landscape of black-and-white. Sparse words. Silence in between. A Robert Frost poem. Only the sporadic cross country skier interrupted our solitude.

Occasionally I stopped to snapshot a scene. When my fingertips ached with cold from photographing birds in 27 degrees, I wove across the patchy ice of the parking lot to our Chevy.

There I photographed my final nature scene on a license plate.

Then our car wound back through River Bend, past snowy woods and a frozen pond, past the razor wire fence and grounds of the Minnesota Correctional Facility, Faribault (which sits right next to the Nature Center), back to reality. Still shrouded by grey skies.

BONUS PHOTOS:

Walking the dogs.

A tag at the base of a tree.

A sign in the woods explains an effort to rid River Bend of invasive buckthorn by utilizing goats to eat the invasive tree.

A sign in the woods explains an effort to rid River Bend of buckthorn by utilizing goats to eat the invasive tree.

Goats from Goat Dispatch will also consume these Christmas trees which area residents are invited to drop off at River Bend.

Goats from Goat Dispatch will also consume these Christmas trees and wreaths dropped off by area residents. The goats will be on-site during River Bend’s January 24 WinterFest.

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Autumn in Faribault October 12, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: autumn, Faribault, Minnesota, nature, photo essay, River Bend Nature Center, seasons, thoughts

Nearly noon on Sunday along Second Avenue in Faribault, Minnesota.

IF I COULD TAKE A DAY and tuck it away for safekeeping, to pull out on the dreariest of bone-chilling Minnesota winter days, it would be yesterday.

Gorgeous fall colors in a tree along Fifth Street Northwest across from Trinity Lutheran Church.

Gorgeous fall colors in a maple tree along Fifth Street Northwest across from Trinity Lutheran Church.

Sunday here in southeastern Minnesota was gloriously beautiful as in blue skies and sunshine and warmth melding with the changing colors of the season.

Biking through River Bend Nature Center.

A walk in the woods. A drive in the country. Fishing at the King Mill Dam. Sunday was a day to be cherished.

A deep blue sky provides the backdrop for aged cottonwood trees in River Bend Nature Center, Faribault.

My mom told me a few weeks ago how much she loves this month of cobalt skies. I’ve always felt the same about the skies of autumn.

A leaf from the maple tree in my backyard.

And the hues of the leaves. Do I forget from year to year how lovely are the blazing oranges, the brilliant reds, the subtle browns? Or are the colors sharper, more vibrant, this year?

The sun blazes through cottonwoods in Teepee Tonka Park.

Really, it doesn’t matter. What matters is seeing, and appreciating, the blessedness of autumn.

BONUS PHOTOS:

A black-eyed susan adds a jolt of color to a road ditch at River Bend Nature Center.

Prairie grasses have dried to a muted brown at River Bend Nature Center.

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A photo essay: Autumn at River Bend October 20, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: autumn, Faribault, nature, outdoors, photo essay, photography, River Bend Nature Center, seasons, southeastern Minnesota, thoughts

A trail through the woods at River Bend Nature Center, Faribault.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE, I’ve determined, to fast walk my way through a park or nature center, camera slung around neck or over shoulder. Impossible.

A slower pace allows one to notice the individual trees in the woods.

I cannot hurry, even with the goal to raise heart rate and burn calories. My desire and need to notice details, to take in and often photograph my surroundings, overrides.

Rudi, one friendly collie who cooperated for one photo.

On a recent Sunday afternoon walk at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault, I tried, oh, I tried, to step it up. But then Rudi appeared and I just had to pet and photograph this friendly collie. The thing is, I’m not a big dog lover. Typically, I’ll skirt a canine. But not this one who reminded me of Lassie.

A group of goats are grazing on Buckthorn at River Bend.

A group of goats graze on Buckthorn at River Bend.

Rudi proved to be distraction number two after I observed penned goats attacking invasive Buckthorn (more on that in a future post).

Oak leaves

More oak leaves

And still more oak leaves

My husband and I fast-paced for awhile before my eyes focused on patches of oak leaves in burnished shades of orange and red. I veered slightly off the tarred path for close-up images.

So many folks were walking the trails on a gorgeous autumn afternoon in southeastern Minnesota.

My husband claims this is a fossil in rock.

Rustic signs mark River Bend trails.

A burst of brilliant red berries caught my eyes.

Even dried swamp grass possesses a certain beauty.

A dried milkweed pod does not go unnoticed.

A single leaf is worthy of notice for its mottled beauty.

And so the distractions continued—fossil embedded in rock, leaves, tree trunks, contrast of colors and light, a quick chat with another couple, milkweed and signs and berries and dried swamp grasses.

A treeline showcases the changing colors of autumn at River Bend.

Everywhere, nature drew me to a halt.

Fallen trees and branches litter the woods.

Fallen trees and branches appear as nature’s art in my photographic mind.

And that’s alright. Sometimes life calls for a slow pace. An eye that sees a single leaf in the woods. An ear that hears the crunch of leaves underfoot. A nose that smells the earthy scent of autumn. A hand that feels the rugged bark of a fallen tree.

(These images were shot on October 12. One week later, River Bend’s woods had changed considerably with most trees bare of leaves. My husband reminded me that autumn can transition quickly in Minnesota.)

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These youthful musicians give me hope July 23, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: concert, Faribault, Hope, international concert, Minnesota, music, River Bend Nature Center, Songs of Hope, Sounds of Hope Ltd., youth

Songs of Hope performers present a selection from India.

IF EVER YOU DESPAIR in today’s young people, consider the youth participating in Songs of Hope, a six-week St. Paul based performing arts summer camp that is part of Sounds of Hope, Ltd.

Labeled suitcases were placed on the grass to inform the audience of the culture featured.

Labeled suitcases and stands denote countries of origin during featured songs.

Consider these young people who travel from all over the world—places like Vietnam, China, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Guatemala—to spread messages of peace, hope, understanding and more via song and dance.

As the sun sets, performers in traditional Vietnamese attire present selections from Vietnam.

These musicians lifted my spirits during a 90-minute outdoor concert last Saturday at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

Ready to perform in traditional Chinese attire.

They give me hope that, despite the unrest in the Gaza Strip, the tense situation in the Ukraine, the continuing war on terror in Afghanistan, the situation along the U.S. southern border, and, yes, even the gun violence in Chicago, we can resolve our differences, overcome cultural and other barriers, and live in peace.

Participating youth from all over the world paint their names on the underside of boxes upon which they perform.

Participating youth from all over the world paint their names and hand prints on the underside of boxes upon which they perform.

Hope, though sometimes an elusive word, is worth believing in.

BONUS PHOTOS:

Featuring Albania…

Waiting to perform.

Song and dance from Vietnam.

After the concert, goods from various countries and more were available for purchase. The young woman on the left is a native of Argentina who works as an opera singer in France. She’s in the U.S. for a month with Songs of Hope.

A sample of the merchandise available for purchase.

From Italy…

FYI: Click here to learn more about Sounds of Hope, Ltd.

And click here to view my previous blog post on the Songs of Hope concert in Faribault.

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Youth from around the world bring songs of hope to Faribault July 22, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Faribault, Hope, international concert, Minnesota, music, peace, performers, River Bend Nature Center, Songs of Hope, St. Paul

On a perfect summer night, Songs of Hope performed an outdoor concert at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

AS THE GOLDEN ORB of the sun shifted across the sky, as dragonflies dipped above the audience, as a distant train rumbled, Songs of Hope musicians performed before a rapt audience at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault on Saturday evening.

The performers focused on hope, like their name.

And the message they brought—in their dancing and in their singing—was hope.

Songs from Guatemala.

Inspirational defines these performers who have been attending the St. Paul based international performing arts summer camp, Songs of Hope. Seventy musicians from 15 countries are currently on tour, presenting 33 concerts in 18 days.

Chinese youth perform as the sun sets.

Songs of Hope is “about people getting together and sharing culture and lives,” Program Director Tom Surprenant said as he introduced the group.

Performing outdoors at River Bend.

But with audiences, like the one in Faribault, they share so much more: possibilities, hope, peace, freedom, justice…

In nearly constant motion.

I was beyond impressed by these young people who sang with such force and enthusiasm and rarely stopped moving as they presented 90 minutes of songs spanning multiple nations from India to Jamaica to Guatemala to Italy to Russia and many other places.

The band provided upbeat music that made you want to dance.

The band provided upbeat music that makes you want to dance.

Even though I could not always understand, music bridges language and cultural differences.

Selections from Jamaica included “Linstead Market” and “Stand Up For Your Rights.”

Truly, skin color, eye shape, height nor any other physical characteristic mattered as these youth performed.

Nevaeh, the daughter of friends, wore the perfect shirt for the concert.

They were to me just kids sharing a hopeful message through song and dance, showing us that we are all human beings who can get along if we make the effort, living in harmony and peace with one another.

Look at the fun these youth were having singing a song, "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream" about ice cream.

Look at the fun these youth had singing “I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream,” a song about ice cream, a universal treat.

Especially moving was the group’s performance of “I Am Malala,” based on the experience of the young Pakistani girl who was shot simply for pursuing education. “Fight for what you believe in…for education…infinite hope.”

Hands joined in hope.

After attending this concert, I am, indeed, hopeful.

My heart went out to this boy from Israel given the current situation there.

And I expect so is the young soloist from Israel who sported a t-shirt reading “PEACE & HOPE from ISRAEL.”

FYI: CLICK HERE to see a schedule of the remaining performances in the summer concert schedule, which ends on July 27. The final concerts are in St. Paul, Roseville and Montgomery.

Please check back tomorrow for additional photos from the Faribault Songs of Hope concert. If you have an opportunity to attend a performance, do. Songs of Hope will inspire and uplift you.

Comments (16)

No April Fool’s: Sixty degrees, then snow & tornadoes April 1, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: Faribault, Minnesota, nature, River Bend Nature Center, weather

THEY THRONGED TO RIVER BEND Nature Center Sunday afternoon.

Walking the trails, this a rare one that wasn’t snow-covered and icy.

More warm weather outdoor enthusiasts than I’ve ever seen at this nearly 750-acres of woods, prairie and water on Faribault’s east side.

Handcrafted signs guide visitors along trails.

Bare-headed baby tucked in mother’s arms. Elementary-aged boy in helmet zipping his scooter down a tarred path. Elderly couple snugged on a bench.

Trees tapped to collect sap in bags.

Folks clustered around an evaporator that cooked freshly tapped maple syrup.

Kids played in the water with sticks similar to this scene.

Kids played in water with sticks similar to this scene.

A trio of kids crossing a stick bridged across a rush of water.

A family picnicking.

Guy in shorts; boy in snowpants.

Abdi studies by the swamp.

Abdi, a native of Ethiopia, benched by the swamp/pond studying for his medical lab class in the quiet of nature, away from his noisy apartment building.

A 20-something teaching archery to kids just outside the interpretive center.

And us, threading our way along still icy trails, slushing through melting snow. Me, grabbing my husband’s hand to keep from slipping, his snow boots gripping the ice, mine not.

Patches of green grass mingle under water with dead leaves.

My eyes grasping for green and finding it in patches of emerging grass.

The brightest green discovered–moss on a log.

Green moss on dead logs.

The tiniest of green plants poking through the dormant prairie grass.

A snippet of green cedar upon snow.

Searching for signs of spring.

Trees reflected in a “lake” of water from the snow melt.

Finding it in watercolor paintings.

I’ve never seen this much water roaring over the nature center waterfall.

Water roaring over limestone in a three-tied waterfall.

Water rushes down a trail.

Slogging through water, with grass and dead leaves squishing beneath our boots.

Sunday and sixty degrees. Glorious. Spring.

And then came blizzards (northern Minnesota) and tornadoes (southwestern Minnesota) on Monday with temps plunging into the 20s and 30s overnight. A wind advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m. today for a portion of Minnesota sweeping from southwest/central to southeast with sustained winds of 25 – 35 mph topping at 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

No April Fool’s.

FYI: According to an article in The Marshall Independent, a twister was sited near Taunton Monday afternoon with structural damage from the storm reported five miles north of Minneota. On Monday, a tornado warning and a blizzard warning were issued simultaneously for a portion of southwestern Minnesota.

In Yellow Medicine County, the West Central Tribune of Willmar reports structural damage from a tornado at three farm sites southeast of St. Leo.

Comments (24)

Tears on a Tuesday April 17, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:20 AM
Tags: comfort food, deer, life, Minnesota, nature, River Bend Nature Center, thoughts, winter

BETWEEN FORKSFUL of the ultimate comfort food, homemade mac and cheese, I am crying. Not just tears, but great sobs that heave my shoulders, force me to remove my eyeglasses, cause me to place my head between my hands, elbows resting upon the table.

Issues of the day—anger and disappointment, worry and concerns—have welled up within me to this bursting point of emotions.

My husband sits in silence, forking mac and cheese into his mouth while the torrent of words and tears releases. I wonder what he is thinking. Perhaps that his wife has momentarily lost it.

Sometimes, though, it is good to cry, to let it all out, to be true to yourself and how you are feeling.

I tell him, too, that I feel, in this moment, as grey as the day in this longest of Minnesota winters. I want to run away from the snow and the cold and the gloom, all of it. And I think then of my mother who occasionally uttered similar despair, her desire to just run away, away from the pressing responsibilities of raising six children. Her issues are not mine. And the concerns I feel on this day are not all that major, but too much for me on this Tuesday.

So, after supper, after the left-over comfort food has been scooped into a container and tucked into the refrigerator, after I’ve washed the dishes, I suggest a walk at the local nature center. I grab my camera, slip into my Sorels, pull a stocking cap onto my head, zip my sweatshirt.

Entering River Bend Nature Center, I eye the next-door prison with seemingly infinite scrolls of razor wire unfolding before me. The site is disconcerting. I am always troubled by the prison’s presence right next to the nature center.

But as our car follows the road that dips and curves past the pond and the woods and then zooms down the hill to the center’s parking lot, I can feel the easing of tension in my shoulders.

Deer cluster in the woods at River Bend Nature Center, Faribault.

Then my husband spots the deer clustered in and on the edge of the woods and I slip from the car, leaving the door ajar so I can photograph them.

For the next hour there are no tears, no hurried worried words or thoughts, in this place of serenity.

These corn-fed deer show little fear.

Curious brown-eyed deer. Heads turned toward me, radar ears on alert.

Leaping across a path near the nature center parking lot.

Graceful leap of legs. The click of the shutter.

Last year’s nest…

Along the muddied trails, reflections of bare trees in puddles and promises of spring in green moss on dead logs. Last season’s nests bared by bare branches.

Geese on the prairie pond.

The trill of birds and the bark of geese in the swampland pond. Ripples in water. Golden sun setting. The swatch of red on a blackbird’s wings.

And in the prairie a weaving tunnel trail in the brown earth and the memories of this place waving in summer-time wildflowers and tall grass.

Day fades into evening at the nature center.

Here I find promise and hope in my evening of despair.

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The winter whisperers September 8, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:13 AM
Tags: autumn, Faribault, Minnesota, nature, nature photography, River Bend Nature Center, seasons, winter

I CAN HEAR THEM. The whisperers.

They rustle through the cornfields, fingertips brushing brittle leaves.

They swish through the tall prairie grasses, hips not just swaying, but sashaying, in the bending breeze.

Their voices drone like a billion buzzing busy bees.

In the woods, I strain to hear them as my flip flops crunch leaves strewn upon the path. I know they are there, hiding among the trees.

When two bikers pedal past me, the whisperers think I cannot hear them whispering. But I can.

At 4:28 in the morning, when the owl’s hoot awakens me from sleep, I cannot hear the whisperers. But I feel their chilling presence slide through the open bedroom window, brushing my bare shoulders with icy fingers.

They cloak themselves in glorious golden robes…

hide among the grasses…

tempt me with wine.

Their distractions and disguises don’t fool me. I hear them whispering of winter in these early days of autumn.

FYI: All of these photos, except the vineyard and the cornfield, were taken at the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault on Monday, September 3. The other two were shot a day earlier east of Waterville.

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Lessons in gathering sap & making maple syrup on a summery day March 19, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:53 PM
Tags: Faribault, food, maple syrup, Minnesota, nature, River Bend Nature Center, tapping maple trees, weather

THE GATHERING OF MAPLE SAP at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault looked nothing like this on Sunday. Obviously, harvesting methods have changed since this vintage photo was taken. But so has the weather.

A copy of an historic photo displayed inside a teepee at River Bend Nature Center showed how sap was once harvested. Typically, there's still snow on the ground during the sap run.

Nature Center visitors (many clad in capris/shorts, t-shirts, flip flops and sandals) gathered to learn about making maple syrup on an unseasonably warm and snow-free afternoon more like June than March. This isn’t exactly sap-flowing weather with record day-time high temperatures near 80 and overnight temps well above freezing. Night-time temps need to dip below freezing for best sap yields.

Yet, the glum prospects for a bountiful sap harvest didn’t stop Nature Center volunteers and staff from leading visitors into the woods for a hands-on lesson in tapping trees.

I busied myself taking photos while volunteer Diane walked us through the steps of selecting and tapping a tree. My husband and I passed on the opportunity to participate, instead allowing brothers Alex and Aaron and their mom, Betsy, from south Minneapolis to step up and get the sap flowing.

Alex took his turn drilling a hole into the maple tree.

Almost immediately after the drill bit was pulled from the hole, the clear sap started running from the spile.

Volunteer Diane checks placement of the bag, usually three per tree, hung to collect sap. About 40 gallons of raw sap produce one gallon of syrup.

Besides the actual tapping process, we learned that sap runs up the tree, not down. I suppose that makes sense now that I think about it.

Later, after we’d tapped our tree and set the collection bag in place, we wandered over to the evaporator where staffer Elaine told us about boiling the water off the sap.

Nature Center staffer Elaine shows visitors four syrup samples and asks which would be sweeter. Typically the lighter-colored one. She also explained the process of boiling away the water in the wood-fired evaporator. Summer attire was the dress code of the day for most, with only a few exceptions.

For any would-be maple syrup makers, here’s the tip of the day from Elaine: “Do not do this in your kitchen. All the steam is sticky.” A good tip for those of us, too, who are photographers and like to get close to the action.

Before we headed over to the final station and a lesson in how Native Americans harvested and processed sap, we sampled homemade maple syrup. It was much thicker, darker and sweeter than the near colorless, runnier maple syrup I tasted last year at the farm of a Faribault area syrup maker. The sap’s sugar content and the cooking process can all affect the end product. I’d choose real maple syrup any day over imitation.

Samples of homemade maple syrup. Pure, delightful sweetness.

Inside the teepee, copies of vintage photos and books on maple syrup were available for visitors to peruse.

Over at the final station, near a teepee set up in the woods, we learned that Native Americans used hollowed-out elderberry sticks as spiles (spigots) and collected sap in waterproof birch baskets.

Much more information was shared. But since I was photographing scenes, I wasn’t taking notes. I figure if you really want to know the ins and outs of making maple syrup, you can research that yourself or attend a hands-on event.

If you want to sample River Bend’s homemade maple syrup, plan to attend the annual Pancake Brunch from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 29. The event also includes an early morning Maple Syrup Fun Run (5K run and 1M walk). The top male and female adult and youth runners will each receive a bottle of River Bend maple syrup. Now how’s that for a sweet prize?

CLICK HERE for more information about the Maple Syrup Fun Run and Pancake Brunch.

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A perfect summer day in Minnesota June 6, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:23 AM
Tags: deer, Faribault, Minnesota, nature, reflections, River Bend Nature Center, seasons, summer, thoughts, weather

The sun sets on the prairie at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault on Sunday evening.

SUNDAY BROUGHT as perfect of a day as we have here in Minnesota. Sunshine. High temps without the humidity. No wind. A day to linger outdoors until the sunlight fades into the dark calm of a perfect summer evening.

Honestly, do days get any better than this?

In Minnesota, we gather these days into our memories, filing them away for the brutal months of winter, of bitter cold temps, snow (dare I mention that word?) and too much darkness.

For now we choose to celebrate the days of summer with family and friends, backyard barbecues and icy beer, laughter and conversation.

Here’s to the arrival of summer and the banishment of winter to some hinterland far, far, far away from Minnesota.

A deer I spotted just inside the nature center. (If only I had a telephoto lens.)

I saw this deer atop a hill at the nature center as my husband and I were leaving after a short hike. Same deer?

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Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Walking through snowy woods on a Sunday afternoon January 4, 2016

Autumn in Faribault October 12, 2015

A photo essay: Autumn at River Bend October 20, 2014

These youthful musicians give me hope July 23, 2014

Youth from around the world bring songs of hope to Faribault July 22, 2014

No April Fool’s: Sixty degrees, then snow & tornadoes April 1, 2014

Tears on a Tuesday April 17, 2013

The winter whisperers September 8, 2012

Lessons in gathering sap & making maple syrup on a summery day March 19, 2012

A perfect summer day in Minnesota June 6, 2011

Follow Minnesota Prairie Roots via Email

An essay of barn photos & memories; In praise of preserving country churches; & Testing the track during a Soap Box Derby trial run in Faribault

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