Category Archives: St. Joseph

Carpenter Gothic

I work as administrator of a small retreat center, the Episcopal House of Prayer, in Collegeville, Minnesota. It was built in 1990, part of a strong tradition of ecumenical collaboration that happened at Saint John’s Abbey, who lease us the land on very … Continue reading

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First Prairie Flowers

Last year, after much spraying and mowing and spraying and mowing, vast new areas around our house and what is known as “the commons” were seeded in prairie flowers. A heavy mix of flowers. Now we get to see what … Continue reading

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Extending the Season: an experiment

I just looked back through this blog at the garden entries from May 2011, 2010 and 2009. I can’t quite believe I’ve been blogging this long but I’m also amazed at what a helpful chronicle it is of my gardening learning curve. Each year … Continue reading

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The Ten-Day Forecast

For about a month, I’ve been checking the 10-day forecast at least every other day. It tends to change over the course of 10 days, though usually the highs just get higher and the lows lower. Since March was like April … Continue reading

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Sinclair Lewis Country, part 2

First, I owe my town and particularly its ice cream PALACE an apology. In fact, now that the logo is up, it’s called Cone Castle, not Kone Kastle. That report, false, was in the local newspaper, that often takes great … Continue reading

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Sinclair Lewis Country

  Our town has made some significant strides in moving away from the vision of a small town described in Sinclair Lewis’s novel Main Street. The model for Lewis’s Gopher Prairie, Sauk Centre, is about 20 miles northwest of here, just three exits … Continue reading

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Easter Ham (2)

We hosted Easter again this year, and it has become one of my favorite days of the year. Everyone comes, so we have a crowd of more than 30 people. We’ve found spaces to seat 28 at tables, and a … Continue reading

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Cold Snap

Yesterday I saw this bald eagle in the newly tilled field near our house. We rent the field to a dairy farmer who grows wheat there for his cows. I’ve never seen an eagle just standing on the ground before. … Continue reading

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Stuck

My husband bought this truck last week from a man who is stuck. He is in his late 40s and within five minutes of meeting him, he was telling us about his son’s suicide four years ago. His son, an … Continue reading

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Epic Dinner Party

This can be a difficult time of year. Now when we’re really anxious for spring to begin, we got our first snow. There are times I just don’t know what to do with myself. Also, we’re coming to an end … Continue reading

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