Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Waiting for the solar eclipse in Minnesota April 7, 2024

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:26 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The moon rises while the sun sets. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

SUN. EARTH. SKY. MOON.

Monday, April 8, marks the date of much hype, intense interest and eyes focused skyward for an afternoon solar eclipse. Here in Minnesota, we will witness a partial eclipse with the moon covering about 75 percent of the sun around 2 pm.

Solar eclipse glasses overlay a Minnesota Public Radio News article published in the Faribault Daily News. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2024)

But…the weather forecast is for cloudy skies, meaning disappointment for many in Minnesota who hope to view the solar event through special eye wear. I picked up free eclipse glasses at my local library. So I’m set, just in case the cloud cover lifts.

Carleton College in nearby Northfield is also set to celebrate at Goodsell Observatory, where small telescopes will be placed outside the building for solar viewing beginning at noon. That is if the weather cooperates. (Check the website for updates.) The event is open to the public.

The total solar eclipse will cut a diagonal across the country from Texas through Indiana to New York and beyond. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2024)

No matter, I expect to notice visible changes in daylight as the moon passes between the sun and earth from 12:45-3:15 pm in Minnesota.

Isaac’s solar system art, created several months before he turned five. (Minnesota Prairie Roots edited photo April 2024)

A half hour to the north of my southern Minnesota home, my 5-year-old grandson Isaac likely will be all-a-chatter about the eclipse. He can rattle off facts about the solar system with the knowledge of an expert. Plus he loves art and has created enough solar system drawings to fill a gallery or at least plaster my refrigerator. I expect many other kids share his excitement. And that is a good thing—anytime kids (and adults) get excited about science.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Artistry in a Minnesota sunset April 24, 2017

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The sun begins to set as we head west on Minnesota State Highway 60 toward Kenyon.

 

SUNRISE, SUNSET…so begin lyrics from a song in “Fiddler on the Roof.” I’ve always loved that musical and the song about the seasons of life. How quickly we progress from the sunrise of life to the sunset.

The setting and rising of the sun, while symbolic of life, are of themselves worthy of appreciation. There’s such beauty in the hues that break across the sky, weaving with clouds and sometimes water to produce spectacular visuals. Works of art, really.

 

A line of clouds divided the sky as we continued west.

 

On an early spring Saturday afternoon, returning from a day trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin, my husband and I aimed toward the setting sun, the sky layered in darkness and light.

 

Between Kenyon and Faribault, the sun silhouetted a farm site.

 

As we drove along Minnesota State Highway 60 west to Faribault from Kenyon, the sun slipped closer to the earth, blazing like a brilliant spotlight in our eyes.

 

 

 

 

Then, entering Faribault on the east side, cresting the Highway 60 hill before dipping toward the river valley, I saw before me hues of orange and yellow brushed across the sky like a watercolor painting. It was one of those moments of nearly indescribable, spectacular beauty. A gift at the end of the day.

Welcome home.

FYI: Please check back for photos of the sun setting over the Cannon River by the King Mill Dam. We headed there to watch the final moments of the sunset.

© Copyright 2017 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reflections on a prairie sunset June 30, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:59 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Sunset on the prairie

WE STOOD ALONG THE EDGE of the gravel road Saturday evening, my 13-year-old nephew and I, mesmerized by the glorious golden sun pinking the sky above and below a layer of blue grey.

I raised my camera. He lifted his phone. We snapped several photos, compared, wished for better zooms to photograph the prairie sky north of Lamberton in southwestern Minnesota.

Sunset on the prairie 2

“It’s what I miss most about this place, the sunrise and the sunset,” I said.

“And the stars,” Stephen added.

Sun and stars.

He was right. The stars, too.

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Sunday sunset February 24, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:39 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

ON THE WAY HOME from Montgomery, Minnesota, not Alabama, late this afternoon, the sun danced with the clouds:

Sunset - Copy

Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling