Creating Safer Roads on Winona's East End

It's been decided to create four roundabouts on Mankato Ave in Winona, Minnesota, USA.  And the work and busy traffic with reduced lanes is going strong.

There are many orange cones.  And this exist may be gone now as they prepare for this roundabout.

Roads are closing to allow work people to do the job.

Another barrel shot at Mankato Avenue and Sarina Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm using my bike to make my way on shorter trips.  There are some ingenious ways to work with all the construction.

More construction updates coming soon.

Be safe moving through Mankato to Hwy 61.  Allow extra time and remember to breathe.

  

Springtime in Winona

 

Flowering Tree near the east lake in Winona.

Redbud trees and crabapple trees create lots of color.  The crabapples are also very fragrant.

May 8, Bluffs surround Winona

May 15, Green bluffs surround Winona. A very dramatic change in the landscape!

Midland shooting stars in bloom

Ferns are coming up out of the rich leafy ground cover.

See the dark green at the center of the picture above.  That's some of the fern leaves getting ready to unfold open.  The leaves appear to be creating a circular hug around one another.

The fresh evergreen growth at the tips of the branches are fresh with new life.

The delicate pink of the Midland Shooting Star from another angle.  The colors are so beautiful together.

Ferns and violets growing together.

The invitation to hike the Holzinger Lodge Trails.  Join us sometime!

Spring in Minnesota

 

May 1st, the tulips that I bought at the last Indoor Farmer's Market were coming to their last days.  And incredibly beautiful on the inside.

Around my house, the tulips were not blooming yet.  The hyacinth were coming:

It was still quite cold--not much color on the branches of the trees yet.

I'm still wearing a wool sweater.  Happy for sun! Squinty eyes

Scilla, the little blue flowers symbolize loyalty, fidelity and constancy.  The work on the land, in our relationships, in our homes.

 

Got my bike out for the first rides of the season; early May is still very brown.

May 8th, warmer for a hike up to the Ice Park and found a little bloodroot.  It's about 3" tall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hike up to Sugarloaf had a bit of color with the yellow bellworts, an early spring native flower. 

Fringe tulips from my friends at Windy Ridge selling at the first outdoor Farmer's Market.

The fringe tulips inner beauty.

The cherry blossoms in all their splendor on the east end of the big lake.

 

Setting sun.  These beautiful days. Breathe in their beauty.  With the heat spike of last week, many early flowers had one day.  Breathe it in.  More next week!

Flow to Your True Home

The Brook, The Creek, The River Flow

 

The water of the brook sings a song of joy as it flows

It has a conversation that only it can understand,

or perhaps a grasshopper at the edge of the brook

can understand

scratching its legs

it seems to nod in agreement to the brook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The creek tinkles

like bells that a nearby fairy can hear.

The creek dances on the

banks and splashes and plays.

 

The river moves slowly

continuing toward the sea. It says,

“I am too sleepy to hurry or create such chatter.”

Then it flows down a hill

and starts to pick up speed and finds its

voice. 

A soft roar at first,

growing more steady as it caresses boulders and rocks.

A chatter of jubilation as it twists and turns

knowing that the sea is its true home.

                                         MaryLee Eischen April 2022

Where is your true home?

Update of the 100 Day Project

 The 100 Day Project is a post daily for 100 days about a piece of art that I'm creating.  Some are watercolors, some are my fiber work, some have my poetry included and some have other poets words that I love.

#12/100 Spread love everywhere you go. Mother Teresa

#36/100 "The Heart that Loves is Always Young." Greek Proverb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#37/100 Playing with left over paint.

 

#38/100 Watercolors and Words

#39/100 My words and stitching on Two Friends art quilt

#17/100--one of the missed days posted with a Walt Whitman poem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#40/100 "Our way of listening deeply to each other makes everything feel of little lighter." Part of a pose poem by MaryLee Eischen

#41/100 "I'm here to live out loud." Emile Zola

#42/100 "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the Life You've Imagined." Thoreau

#43/100 Auditioning through for an art quilt

#44/100 "The  river moves slowly continuing to the sea." MaryLee Eischen 4/11/2022 Part of a longer poem

#45/100 "Come close, can you hear?" MaryLee Eischen

#46/100 "The water of the brook sings a song..." MaryLee Eischen

#47/100 Hafiz poem

#48/100 "Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable." Mary Oliver

#49/100 "Just a minute," said a voice in the weeds. So I stood still in the day's exquisite early morning light." Mary Oliver

#50/100 "The water of the brook sings a song of joy..." MaryLee Eischen April 2022

#51/100 Thick Nhat Hanh poem

#52/100 Let's Grow Together"

#53/100 Earth Day 2022

#54/100 Rumi poem

#55/100 Eye or heart?

#56/100  "You are YOUR best thing." Toni Morrison

#57/100 The magic is inside YOU!" Dolly Parton

#58/100 Togare poem

#59/100 "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.  On a quiet day I hear her breathing." Arundhati Roy

#60/100  "Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf." Tagore

At the beginning of this project, February 2022, I started a tree of projects that I wanted to complete.

Here's the tree completed:

 

 It's play and serious thoughts of my art all at once.  It's fun and stimulating.  If you'd like to follow along, I'm on 

Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mleischen/?hl=en

These show up on facebook too: https://www.facebook.com/marylee.eischen

Here's to firing up creativity in oh so many different ways!

 

You can see the beginning of the project and the first days posts here: The 100 Day Project.

 

Join me!