Water of life

Or rather one of the three raw ingredients for whisky, or 'uisge-beatha' in Gaelic. Peat-brown water from a burn (stream). Water is something that Scotland normally has plenty of, and this is the surplus-to-requirements water from Glenrothes distillery on Speyside.
More distillery photos to follow in due course. I can't help it. I grew up in a small Highland village with a distillery round every corner, and worked in one for several years during university vacations. I wish Blogger had an 'aroma' facility, and then you could breathe the whisky-scented air.

Superior Galaxy

Here is a shot I have been wanting to capture for some time, the Milky Way Galaxy over Hollow Rock on the shores of Lake Superior. This was taken at 12:02 AM on June 9, . The stillness of the night was unbelievable. Rarely have I seen Lake Superior so calm and never before have I seen the stars reflecting so nicely in the waters of the big lake. The sight you see here is a vivid memory that will live forever in our minds. I owe thanks to Jessica for this photo, for it was at her urging that we went out to photograph the Milky Way on this most exquisite of nights!

Conquering Fear

I just finished So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. It has dovetailed nicely with the other book I'm reading called When People Are Big and God Is Small by Edward T. Welch.
I wouldn't say that I'm a fearful person overall. But after reading both these books, I've recognized fears in my life I didn't know I had.
Here is a list of scripture from Beth Moore's book to do away with fear.
God will:perfect everything that concerns you (Psalm 138:8)work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28)contend with those who contend with you (Isaiah 49:25)fight this battle for you (2 Chronicles 20:15)equip you with divine power (2 Corinthians 10:4)delight to show you mercy (Micah 7:18)meet all your needs according to My glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)give you grace that is perfectly sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)be your power in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)do immeasurably more than all you could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within you (Ephesians 3:20)
With all these promises from God, there's NO reason to ever fear anything. I believe the problem, at least it is with me, is that we don't truly, deep down, 100 per cent, trust God enough to do what he says he will.
For that kind of faith and trust, scripture reading MUST be accompanied by fervent prayer. Is it God's will for you to trust him? Absolutely! This is one prayer you can count on him answering; in his own time, of course.
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7.

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads

Fresh off the resounding success of the inaugural Mankato Marathon, Mark Bongers and the staff at Final Stretch decided to add another race for Mankato-area runners to sink their teeth into.
Their newest creation is the 7 at 7 Trail Race, a trail run which will take place on May 15 at Seven Mile Creek Park, which is located off of Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter. The race will be ran entirely on the park's trails (though it's unclear which trails will be utilized, or what the course map is) and participants will have the option of running a 7-mile or 5k race. A Kid's 1k will also take place.
Cost for the 7-mile race is $30 until March 15, at which point it goes up to $35. The 5k race is $25/$30 with the same registration deadlines.
This won't be the first time a race has graced the trails of Seven Mile Creek. A 5 at 7 Trail Race took place there in , with Chaun Cox winning the 5.1-mile race in 40:36. (Free Press story here)
Although nobody expects this year's version of the trail race to rival the Mankato Marathon for participation (seriously, can you imagine 5,000 runners in the Seven Mile Creek parking lot?), I'm guessing it will attract more runners than the 22 it drew in . Road races have been growing big-time in popularity over the last few years, and groups like the Mankato Multisport Club have helped establish a healthy running culture (no pun intended) in the area.
Count me in as one of the excited runners for this race. Trail runs in general are a lot easier on the body (more cushion than the road) and Seven Mile Creek seems like the perfect place to hold a race. The honeycomb of river valley trails there are beautiful to walk through, so I imagine they'd be just as beautiful to run through. I've always wanted to run in a trail race, and this event provides a convenient avenue to do so.
If that's not enough, it's going toward a good cause. The race is being done to help raise money for the BackPack Food Program, a Mankato United Way initiative to help ensure that underprivileged kids get nutritious meals when they're not at school.

Ducks, Limericks & a Rattlesnake named Katie

Some of you may recall how my brain was completely taken over by the need to write limericks about ducks - last year. It was all Knatolee's fault. She began a World Wide Duck Limerick Competition...it ran for years...an exaggeration, but it felt like years. I must have written scores of limericks.

It got so that my brain made a limerick of everything I did, even at the most inappropriate and serious times my brain would suddenly come up with a limerick!

Time passed and I forgot all about the competition, lost my ability to write a limerick. (Thank goodness!) Back to normal. Then a while back I received the wonderful news that I had won the competition and a prize would be winging its way to me!

The other day I found a package awaiting me and this is what was inside - my prizes from Knatolee!

A beautiful hardback book, delightfully illustrated by Knatolee. Young Harry and I have read it twice already. It is set to become a firm favourite. Only one problem, Harry is not at all happy that we don't have rattlesnakes in Owl Wood.

There was also a lovely selection of handmade cards by Knatolee - featuring her ducklings and hens. All wonderful stuff.

Thank you Knatolee. It was fun and your book is stunning!

Check out her wonderful blog here.

It's been raining

and I'm taking a few people on the walk described on Friday 3 June, ...

and today it was cloudy, but dry and warmand the whole walk is a bit over 7 miles without the detours.

All the same I ended up with muddy trousers, wet almost to the knee, from walking through a wheat field after last night's rain.

Possibly one or two more inclines than I recalled.



With Sue, Kate, Barry and Eddie.

Gretton - Kirby Hall

14 of us for this short walk before our annual pre-Christmas get together at Mel and Norma's.

Weather - icy underfoot, which was better across fields than mud. The rain began to persist later in the walk. About five and a half miles.

From the village hall, down the track towards Kirby Hall, then just after the junction, follow footpath signs over a few fields, coming out near the recycling plant on Gretton (Brook) Road. Turn left and follow the road past the turning to Kirby Hall. Go as far as the deer-proof gate. Turn right along the footpath. We followed this for about half a mile, then turned right to visit the new bridge to Priors Hall, for a photo opp, and a snack break.




From here we retraced our footsteps and continued to Kirby Lane, then along the drive to Kirby Hall, and up the slope behind the gift shop, through the magnificent new gate, which has replaced the very dodgy broken stile.

Across the fields, and down to the four-stile crossing with mud, and up to the metalled track leading back to Gretton.