CATEGORY: MRS. ANDERSON

Minneapolis is one of the world’s great cities.  Its early designers had a feeling for the prairie and for open green spaces.  The city site is blessed with the Mississippi River on its east.  A north-south row of lakes on the west and more lakes across the south make a rough L of water.  Including the river it makes a U of water. Early on, the city fathers made public parks along, around and connecting all that water to preserve it for public use.

Bob’s parents lived only two blocks from one of the north-south lakes.  We discovered that there was a 35 mile long walking/bicycle path through the entire loop of parks and closing the top of the U from the Mississippi to the northern most lake.  We borrowed bicycles from some of Bob’s cousins with the intent of traversing the whole route, but didn’t make it all the way.  However we did make it the length of the lakes and across the south to the river.  What a marvelous biking experience!  We stopped often to enjoy the park views, feed squirrels and look at birds.

Although I had seen pictures, I had never before seen a cardinal or an eastern blue jay.  I had never even seen a picture of a female cardinal.  With their honey colored feathers and orange accents, I thought they were far more beautiful than the males.  There were also lots of big gray squirrels who’s huge silvery tails made graceful undulating arches across the grass.  One of them ran up my pants and jacket and sat on my shoulder.  They have very sharp claws.