A Bench by Minnehaha Creek

It was a very nice day in the northland. One of those "one of the nicest days in the history of days," March edition. It was 59 or 60 degrees, warm enough to finish melting most of the snow in my yard. Thus, after lunch I went to Minnehaha Falls to see how the water was flowing and to generally walk through the areas that previously were too icy. The walk from the falls to the Mississippi River was pretty but still very brown. The whites have disappeared and the sprigs of green have not yet appeared. The water was roaring over the falls and flowing rapidly to the Mississippi, and when I got to the river, it was noticeably high. There were guys fishing in the river from the bank and a few boats with guys trying to hook a river fish.

On the way back to the falls this bench caught my attention. It's sitting a few yards from the creek and is a pretty good spot to sit and contemplate one's existence on this earth, and to be glad to be outside in nature on such a pretty day. The bench had been tagged by graffiti, but that's what happens to public structures these days.



As I long as I was at the falls, I snapped a few shots. The ice mantle that has encased the falls for the last few months is still nearly intact, and the water is burbling over the precipice. Spring at the falls is different than winter and fall. It has a different feel, energetic and fresh.


No tennis today, but I noticed that the courts are shedding their snow cover, and soon outdoor tennis will be breaking out on city courts.