Twin Cities Tourists

The Twin City Tourists
Returning from France, we’re again spending time in the Minneapolis area, more commonly referred to as "The Twin Cities," or by locals as "The Cities." This time we decided to act as tourists and take in some of the museums and art galleries that are so prevalent here. The current exhibit at the Walker Art Center, in downtown Minneapolis, is Picasso and American Artists. A wonderful collection of Picasso’s paintings and sculptures were exhibited side by side with American Artists of that era and later, to show the influence artists have on each other. I was fascinated to learn that Picasso never set foot in the U.S. but many American artists traveled to Europe to see his paintings and later many of those paintings made their way into American collections. We had a very nice lunch at one of the two Wolfgang Puck restaurants, before continuing on.
All of the art is not inside this gallery. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the U.S. It shares it’s 11 acres with the Cowles conservatory where we particularly liked seeing the Standing Glass Fish created by artist/architect, Frank Gehry. The story goes that when Frank was a child, his grandmother bought live carp on Thursdays to make into gefilte fish on Fridays. She’d let the fish swim in the bathtub overnight, where Gehry would play with them. This memory inspired him to create this 22-foot high construction of glass, wood and steel that rises out of a lily pond among the palms at the conservatory. The most striking sculpture there is the fountain-sculpture, Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. It weighs more than 7,000 pounds and is 52 feet long (the cherry alone is 1200 pounds). The handle of the spoon is a bridge and water sprays out of the cherry stem.
We were also in town for the Third Thursday event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It was billed as a Scandinavian Art Smorgasbord and featured "A Mirror of Nature" which was a celebration of Nordic roots - Nordic landscape paintings from 1840-1910. There were so many magnificent masterworks from Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland. We were amazed at the many perspectives of natured that were captured by these great artists of that era. We stopped for a cocktail in the reception hall and enjoyed some Nordic music. We stayed until they closed at 9pm, then went to a favorite German restaurant, The Black Forest, for an authentic German meal. We almost felt we had spent an evening in Europe.
Mixed in with playing tourists, we’ve again enjoyed spending time with the grandchildren. More hockey and baseball games, plus swimming in the pool and going to play miniature golf. Tomorrow we’ll pick up Daniel (13) and Carly (10) and head back up to the cabin for a week.

Morvan and le Tour de France

Morvan and le Tour de France
The skies were clearing as we left the Jura and headed west to the Morvan region of Burgundy. It’s a beautiful drive, leaving the dairy farming regions and making our way through charming little villages and passing gorgeous hillsides covered with vineyards. We had picked up a tarte de frommage at the local boulangerie in Oye et Pallet to have for lunch at our next stop, along with some dried meats. Our friends, the Gardynes, have bought a home in Chaumard, with the anticipation of retiring in a few years. It’s on a gorgeous lot in the country, with wonderful views, overlooking a lake. There is the main house plus two apartments, with private entrances, on the upper level and a former garage that Carol has converted to her art studio. Last September, I traveled to this area and stayed at a chateau where Carol conducts ten-day classes in the art of silk painting for three groups each fall. She’s now started advanced classes in the spring which are held here at her home. Carol is here this time on a vacation and plans to work in the garden and paint.
We arrive in the little village of Chaurmard about 12:30 and make our way to Carol’s home, to find a note saying they are having lunch in the village. Somehow we didn’t properly communicate about the tarte, but it allowed us to stay in for dinner and enjoy an additional bottle of wine. Her friends, Sally and Jim are also visiting from the U.S. (They recently became engaged and are planning a November wedding) so it was fun to meet and spend time with them. The afternoon was spent in the garden, followed by a walk to the village to pick up fresh bread and fruit. Our evening meal was spent laughing and chatting and sharing tales of travel and some great French wine.
Another walk into town the next morning, provided us with picnic food in preparation for watching the Tour de France as it passed by in the nearby village of Blisme. What a crowd there was lining the road leading to and through this little village. We met people from England, Belgium and the Netherlands who’d gathered to cheer on their team. The caravan arrived about 1:30, which consisted of specially-decorated sponsors cars and trucks, throwing candy and insignia souvenirs to the crowds. We had fun observing the local people, which Carol calls "payroll", (another story). After waiting another two hours, the racers zipped through, with four cyclists in the lead, and the rest of the pack following a few minutes later. I’m so glad we were here for this as we may never have another opportunity to see the Tour de France live. What fun! That afternoon Carol and I went to the next village to shop and see the Nicky de St. Phalle sculptures in the square. Dinner was at a local auberge overlooking the lake. What could be more perfect.
It was a short but wonderful visit and so good to see Carol. We left early the next morning to catch our flight out of Paris, back to Minneapolis.

France continued .. . . . .

More from the Jura:
Nicole’s other thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Valentine, arrived at Geneva airport (from her home in Spain) to spend a week. She’ll go to Paris with Nicole and then take a train to the south of France to visit with her other grandmother. Then she and her brother will take a train to the coast of France where her family has a summer home. It’s amazing to us how these young people can comfortably move about Europe on their own.

We continue to "enjoy" rainy, overcast days but try to get out for short walks and to visit area sites. The distillery in Pontarlier, where they make Pont Sec and other local liquors, is very interesting. We had a nice tour and learned how they continue to produce as they have for over a hundred years. We learned that during WWI there was a fire very close to the distillery and in order to avoid an explosion of the vats of alcohol, the owners opened all the taps and let it run into the streets. People were scooping it up as it ran down the gutters and the soldiers were collecting it in their helmets and drinking so much that some died. The river was white from the Pont Sec and later a smaller river was white as well, which is how they learned that the rivers were connected by an underground stream.
We stopped for a lunch of pizza and ice cream which Marie and Valentine particularly enjoyed.

Le Chateau de Joux is a famous landmark here. (see photos above)
This chateau, near the chalet of Nicole, has a ten century history of commanding a view of the gorge cut between sharp rock formations. This opening through the rocks provided a passage for military and commercial traffic beginning with the Romans when they traveled from northern Italy to Flanders and Champagne. It served as a military conduit as recently as 1940 when the Germans invaded France.
The castle has also served as a prison, most notable when Bonaparte sent troops to Haiti to quell the Black uprising in 1802. The leader of the uprising, Toussaint L’overture, was brought to the chateau and imprisoned. He was found dead in his cell one morning, the victim of the weather, tuberculosis and his exiled status.
The last moderniztion of the castle was completed between 1879-1881 by Joffre who subsequently became a Marshall.

On our last day with Nicole, we took a beautiful drive through the mountains and stopped at a favorite smokehouse and bought some of their special meats: beef and pork, very thinly sliced, to bring back and have with raclette. It’s always nice to bring a little bit of France home with you.
We reluctantly bid farewell to our friend, Nicole, after she promised to try very hard to visit us in the U.S. next year. Other options are to meet for a week or two in Montreal,Canada or San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Wherever we meet, it's always great to be together.

Next stop - The Morvan region of France. . . . . .

The French Countryside

The French Countryside
Flying to Europe, or anywhere, seems to be more difficult each time because of the security regulations - no liquids or sharp instruments, remove your shoes, jacket, empty your pockets, etc. etc. and then dress again, hopefully with no additional hassle. The good news is that because we love to travel, any inconvenience is worth it to be off on another adventure. I love Ian Littlewood's quote: "Travel is the basic desire to get to someplace or to escape from somewhere. There are those in pursuit and those in flight." We are definity in the category of "those in pursuit."

Our flight from Minneapolis had a seven-hour layover in Chicago. Since we hadn’t slept much the night before, and got up at 5:30 for a 7:00 AM departure, we were very tired, so went to the airport Hilton and asked for a "day room." The desk clerk, after satisfying himself that I wasn’t of the "oldest profession," said the best he could do was their standard rate of $179.00. We convinced him that we were only using the room for four hours, and that he could rent it again that night, so he said: "O.K. how about $75.00. So we had our naps and a nice dinner at the hotel and left refreshed for Paris.
We took a cab to the home of our friend, Nicole Barthelet. Her husband, and our long-time friend, Pierre, passed away in April and we were unable to attend the funeral service so wanted to spend some time with Nicole. Doug and I met Pierre through our jobs with Honeywell and Pierre is the one who introduced us. We have visited them many times in France and they have visited us in the U.S., including sailing with us in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. We’ve also traveled to other countries together and with Richard and Pauline Nault.
After enjoying a cup of tea, and hearing about the beautiful funeral services for Pierre, both in Paris and in the village of Oye et Pallet, we left on our five-hour drive to the chalet. It was a very cool day and it rained off and on the whole trip but we enjoyed catching up while sharing the driving. We stopped on one of the motorway restaurants that is the U.S. equivalent of fast food but always seems better when the sandwich is on a fresh baguette. The chalet was a welcome sight as we’ve visited here so many times, we always feel at home. Nicole is an excellent cook and I’m always taking notes so I can try these wonderful dishes myself. Over the years I’ve learned to make such things as pate’, onion tarte, maigret de canard, Moroccan chicken, pork with prunes, crepes, and this time a wonderful way to prepare salmon.
The next morning we walked down the hill to visit Pierre’s grave, which is at the small village church. He’s buried near his parents and next to his brother who died in 1983. When her time comes, Nicole tells us she will be buried next to Pierre. It’s cold and Nicole gives me one of Pierre’s hooded ski jackets to wear. I feel his presence as the jacket warms me. In the afternoon, Nicole’s granddaughter, Marie, arrives by train from Paris for a week-long visit. She’s a delightful, and very beautiful, thirteen-year-old. She’s also quite mature and personable, speaking three languages (French, German and English). She has just returned from three months in Germany so is quite fluent, and her English is very good - much better than my French. While here she’s making up her school work she missed, even though she attended school in Germany. We all love to play cards (well, Doug tolerates it) so she taught a new game and I taught everyone to play nine-card golf. Since it’s cold and rainy, we play during the day as well as in the evenings and we’re all pretty well matched.
Thursday is market day in the nearby town of Pontarlier so we bought fresh vegetables and some very nice potted plants to place on Pierre’s grave. It’s very difficult to be here without Pierre as our host. We miss him dearly. He had so many wonderful stories and loved to entertain us with his jokes. Over the years, Doug and I have learned so much about how to do business in France and the French way of dining, culture and a lot of history of France and Europe. Nicole misses him very much and often dissolves into tears when talking about him, but she wants to talk and reminisce about all the good times we’ve had, so we do. We purchased a tree (from the Naults and from us) to plant in Pierre’s memory and planted it where it can be seen from the dining room window.
This is a beautiful part of France in the Jura (mountains) known as Franche Comte - very near the Swiss border. In fact, we have hiked from here, crossing the border and returning by train. In this region, there are many cows and wonderful cheese is made here - our favorite which is made in September is Mont D’or. Others we like are Comte and Morbier. There is a new cheese this time which is soft like Brie and delicious.
While here, we helped Nicole trim the vines that grow up the sides of the chalet and would cover all the doors and windows if not cut back once a year. Since we usually come here in September or October, I incorrectly assumed we would have warmer weather in July. No so. We built a fire each evening and one day we kept it going all day and played cards huddled in front of the fireplace. I’ve been wearing a sweater of Pierre’s - Nicole says all the children have worn this sweater when they come here unprepared for cool weather. It’s a grey cashmere v-neck and I’d love to keep it but must leave it for others when it’s needed. It feels like Pierre is just perhaps traveling and will return at any time and we’ll see his warm smile and again hear his stories and laughter.
We try to do things for Nicole to somehow ease her grief but it’s there, always just under the surface - the tears ready to start and the sadness on her face. I remember the kindness of friends when Eric died and there was nothing they could do to ease the pain I was feeling but their caring was a comfort. I believe our being here is a comfort to Nicole and she says it’s good to her to have us here and to cook for us and the grandchildren. I know it helps to be busy.
We continue to play cards by the fire as the rain (with thunder and lightening) continues every day. We even had hail one afternoon! We’ve stopped even talking about the possibility of nice weather so that we could go for a hike and picnic.

To be continued. . . .

Around the world on a Freighter

Preparing for our Freighter Trip
As most of you know, we’ll complete our year of travel with an around-the-world freighter cruise. You might be interested in the preparation involved for such a voyage.

Last fall, we made the decision to embark on this wonderful adventure, and were able to take advantage of the 5% discount for booking at least six months in advance. At that time we knew only that the trip would be approximately four months and that we would begin and end in Houston, Texas; and we had a list of twenty-one scheduled, or "base", stops and sixteen possible additional ports.

Doug and I previously took a freighter (a German container ship) from Auckland, New Zealand to Seattle in 1996. It was an eighteen-day trip, with just one stop - in Honolulu - and we thoroughly enjoyed it. That particular ship had the capacity for ten passengers and we were the only two aboard. In spite of that, the Captain and officers had three parties, just for us: A "Getting Underway" cocktail party, a "Crossing the Equator" party," and a "Last Night Aboard" dinner party.

We’ll start this cruise with several ports in the U.S., (New Orleans, Virginia and New Jersey) then on to Germany, Belgium and Italy. From there we’ll sail across the Mediterranean Sea, then transit the Suez Canal to Asia where we’ll visit - among others - Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China (four ports), South Korea, Japan and Singapore. We’ll then continue across the Pacific Ocean towards the West Coast of North America, where the ship may call at Long Beach, CA, then transit the Panama Canal and proceed, via the Gulf of Mexico, before disembarking in Houston. We’ve been advised that our itinerary may vary according to cargo requirements.
We chose Rickmers-Linie shipping line which has multi-purpose vessels that carry general (breakbulk and project) cargo, in addition to containers, so that port times - about 1-3 days - should provide plenty of occasions for extensive and interesting shore excursions. For example, in China we will have the opportunity to book organized tours with local agents and enjoy the exotic flair of Southeast Asia.

This ship, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, has Polish/Croatian Captain and Officers, and the crew are Filipino. The actual vessel that we’ll be aboard is the "Rickmers Jakarta", which was built in 2003, is 192 meters long, with a speed of 19.5 knots. It has a capacity for seven passengers and to date we know that there will be at least three since our sister-in-law, Martha, from Alaska, will be joining us.

To give you a little feel for our accommodations: There is a passenger lounge equipped with coffee, TV, VCR and DVD player, and a library of movies and books. Meals are served in the dining room, which is shared with the ship’s officers. There is an outdoor saltwater pool and open deck space with deck chairs for lounging. There is a large recreation area/room with bar and full-length windows on two sides, facing forward and aft, for viewing in wet weather. There are laundry facilities (towels and bedding are provided) and the steward cleans the cabins once weekly. All passenger cabins are carpeted and have private bathrooms. The cabins are also furnished with TV, VCR and DVD players and audio systems with CD and tape player and AM/FM radios. It should be quite comfortable; and we have booked the owner’s suite, which includes a sitting room where we can set up our computer and I can paint. We’ve also been told we can use the internet in the Captain’s office, so should be able to stay in touch by email, and I can continue to post articles on my blog site.

The requirements for freighter cruising:
Your passport must be valid for at least 10 months from commencement of the voyage, if you are cruising around the world. We renewed our passports in December, so are good to go for ten years.
Tourist visas, for U.S. citizens, are required and mandatory for China (multiple-entry for this cruise). Tourist visas for Vietnam and Indonesia are usually required prior to arrival, but the port agent can arrange for visas to be issued upon arrival. We just received our China visas and thought we would need visas for India but recently learned we won’t be stopping there.
Vaccinations against Yellow Fever are compulsory. I got my vaccination in San Diego and Doug was prepared to get his in Duluth, MN but was told the risk of dying from the innoculation was greater than dying from Yellow Fever (at his age) so he won’t be getting one. We also have Malaria pills, to be used if needed, antibiotics (for any type of infection) and strong pain pills.
The ship does not have a doctor aboard. Therefore, all passengers, regardless of age, must present a clean medical certificate from their physician prior to boarding, which confirms that they are in good health and able to travel on a freighter without regular medical care. There is also a maximum age requirement of 75. Last week we sent the forms off to our doctors in San Diego and received the forms this week. Doug will be 73 this year, so it’s good we’re taking this trip now.

What do you take on a four-month voyage? We know there will be varied temperatures and weather conditions as we travel around the world, so we’ll have warm and cold-weather clothing. The good news is that, unlike a cruise ship, we won’t need formal wear. We plan to take just one small roll-on bag, a carry-on bag and a garment bag each; for our clothes. We’ll also take our laptop and printer, i-Pod and speakers, books (including language texts) and my art supplies. Of course, we’ve already anticipated having any necessary prescription medications and toiletries and cosmetics. That should be all we need. We plan to use only our debit card (no credit card bills to pay) and all other statements have been taken care of for the year. We have our mail forwarding service in place and will arrange to receive mail at various ports about twice a month. Our friends, Ted and Marietta Johns, have graciously agreed to allow us to leave our car at their home at Lake LBJ, near Austin, TX, for the time we’ll be gone.

So, what have we forgotten? As long as we have all of the items "required for boarding," I think we’re o.k. We’ll have a few stops in the U.S. and can pick up any incidentals we may have forgotten.
We’ll arrive in Houston on the 11th of August and pick up Martha at the airport on the 12th. We’ll rent a car and drop off our car at Lake LBJ. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Houston on the 13th and we haven’t been advised of the departure date but hope that we can board on the 13th. If not, we’ll stay at a hotel in Houston until our boarding date.

Stay tuned for further logistical info.

MORE FROM THE NORTH WOODS

More from the North Woods
There’s a beautiful full moon tonight and it’s creating a silvery reflection across the lake that looks like you could walk across to the other side. I froze my butt off trying to get some photos at the right time and exposure. They don’t quite do it justice but I will post them here anyway. I watched for the bear but guess he’s as much afraid of me as I am of him.
Today we took a drive up the Arrowhead Trail to see what was reported as "a lot of development" but only saw one house from the time we left the Hovland Post Office until we got close to Grand Marais. Apparently we were in the wrong area, but we did see some wildlife: a red fox, four deer (including a really young one) and a black bear just ambling across the road. Lunch at Chez Jude, one of the new restaurants in Grand Marais, was a real treat. It was too cool to dine on the porch but the dining room was quite charming with some very nice local art and white linen tablecloths and napkins. Quite a step up for this area. After lunch, we visited some of the many art galleries and book stores in the downtown area.
Since we’re leaving tomorrow, we decided to also have dinner out and drove up to Grand Portage Casino and Restaurant. The ribs were excellent and the meal, since it’s at a casino and on an Indian Reservation, was quite reasonable. It happened to be 50s and 60s weekend and they had a huge tent set up down by the beach with two rock and roll groups from Thunder Bay, Ontario ( just ten miles north of Grand Portage). The music was good and we shared a table with two ladies from Thunder Bay and enjoyed an hour of dancing to the music I remembered from my teens and twenties. Lots of fun.
Next week we’ll be in France - from the 2nd till the 13th of July - then we’ll spend a week in Minneapolis before returning to the North Shore.

IS THIS LAKE WOEBEGONE?

Is this Lake Woebegone?
One of the things they say about this area is "If you don’t like the weather, just wait a day and it will change." Well, we’ve seen temperatures ranging from the low 50s to the high 80s - sometimes all in the same day. And this is June. We’ve had high winds that put white caps far out into the lake and surf-like waves that crash onto the beach, while other days it’s so flat calm it looks like a plate of glass. Some days, the fog moves in and we can barely see past the edge of the porch and at night there’s a hazy glow around the moon but the sky is clear enough to see several bright stars.
The weekend of June 22-24 was "guys weekend" which began early Friday (son,Craig and Eric Lehman arrived quietly at 3 am and crashed on the two couches). Friday afternoon brought Doug’s younger son, Scott, and his two long-time friends John Larson and John Fore (towing Larson’s boat behind Scott’s truck). I chose to escape to Two Harbors (about 1 ½ hours away) and leave the guys to their fun. Besides, I had some major shopping to do and wanted a pedicure.
The guys always need a project, so they proceeded to build a small bedroom (and a bed) in the back corner of the main part of the cabin. Buy the time I returned Sunday afternoon, it was finished and ready for me to decorate with new bedding and curtains. While I was gone, they also had time to split firewood, replace faucets on the bathroom sink, go to the spring to restock our drinking water, have a horseshoe tournament, do some weed wacking, visit the donut shop in Grand Marais, replace the element in the hot water heater, drink some beer, smoke some cigars, and cook some great meals over an open fire.
Sunday night, after a wonderful dinner of a seven-pound trout cooked over an open fire, Scott and his buddies built a bonfire on the beach and we sat out there for hours (it kept the mosquitoes away) and made s’mores, which surprisingly go great with red wine and other "beverages of choice". They also put on an amazing fireworks display with huge rockets and fountains they purchased in a neighboring state (where they’re legal).
The guys left Monday morning after breakfast and I changed the beds and got ready for our next house guests, while Doug went buy some fresh water herring from the local fishermen in Grand Marais. Jane and Dan Johns live about three hours away in Tower, MN on Lake Vermillion. Jane and I met several years ago (introduced by her sister-in-law, and my friend, Marietta Johns) and we later attended an "Umbrella Ministries" weekend retreat together, in Palm Springs, for mothers who have lost children. Two years ago we had a delightful visit to their home - made especially memorable by the time spent in their wood-fired sauna followed by a dive into the lake (which was a heart-stopping 20 degrees). These are hearty people who do cross-country and down-hill skiing, snowshoeing and crazy things like cutting a hole in a frozen lake and jumping in for a swim. They’ve even gone dog sledding, which sounds faxcinating.
We immediately picked up where we had left off, talking non-stop, while Doug prepared fresh herring sandwiches for our lunch. We did a little driving tour of some of the scenic spots nearby, ending at a nearby state park where we parked and hiked back to a favorite spot of ours, Devil’s Kettle. I didn’t realize how out of shape I am - guess that’s what comes of living in the flat lands of San Diego. But I wasn’t the only one - we all appreciated occasional stops (to enjoy the view of course) on the climb back out of the canyon.
Monday night, with the help of Jane, I made one of my signature comfort meals: chicken and biscuits, with a side of stewed Granny Smith apples. Lots of great conversation about the travel we’ve both done and the travel we plan to do in the next few years.
Tuesday morning, Dan and Jane suggested we go out for breakfast so we headed for the World’s Best Donut Shop. They’d read about it in "Minnesota" magazine where it was chosen as one of Minnesota’s fifty best restaurants. Well, I can heartily recommend the banana cream filled Bismark. For those not from around here (like me), a Bismark is a filled donut. This one was a raised donut, filled with banana cream and covered in chocolate frosting. Wow! Just as we were finishing our donuts, one of the third-generation owners, Stacie, came out with a mobile phone and announced that it was time for the radio call-in trivia quiz. The question of the day was: "Which state is number one (Minnesota is number two) for environmentally safe solid waste disposal? The first guess was "California," which Stacie called in a was laughed at. The next guess was "Wisconsin" which she called in and was told it was incorrect. Doug said "It’s Oregon - the only state that has more tree-huggers than Minnesota." She called it in, and it was right and they announced his name on the radio and he was told he won the prize of the day - a CD which he could pick up at the radio station in Grand Marais. Well, I guess everyone deserves their moment of fame. We were concerned that the press and locals might be in a mob outside the donut shop to interview him, but we escaped with no incident. Of course, Dan and Jane were very impressed by our local hero. After we said good bye to our friends, we found the radio station and Doug claimed his prize - from a box of used CDs of which he didn’t recognize any of the artists. What fun!
Tuesday night I walked down to the beach around sundown and, in addition to the deer foot prints, saw some bear tracks. Wednesday morning, Doug noticed a muddy paw print on the toilet seat lid in the outhouse. Then I noticed a muddy paw print on the side door leading to the kitchen. We didn’t hear anything that night, but Thursday morning we we awoke to see that a bear had torn open the door to the shed, pulled out the garbage, eaten what he liked and the rest was strewn about the yard. I guess there are some hungry bears around here. Tonight I stacked some outdoor chairs in front of the door so that we’ll hear him if he comes back and Doug scattered moth balls around the perimeter of the cabin (we used to do that around our vegetable garden in North Carolina to keep the critters away). It’s such a novelty to me to be amidst wildlife like this. Driving into town and back, I’ve seen a deer run across the road in front of my car on four occasions. They’re so beautiful and I would be devastated if I hit one.
We talked to one of the local people (actually she’d recently moved here) who was telling us about signing on to Boreal (the local WiFi service) where you can list things to buy or sell. She saw a listing for "A bag of kitty litter - slightly used". We assumed that meant that only a little had been taken out of the bag. Let’s hope! There was also an announcement: "This morning I saw a hummingbird just above my husband’s head as he was standing out on Main Street." It tells you that there’s not a lot happening here.
As Garrison Keilor says, at the end of his broadcast: "That’s all the news from Lake Woebegone - where the women are strong, the men are good lookin’ and the children are above average." (Or something like that).

Photos from the North Woods