I suppose I could theoretically get to Hasty Brook from here by water. All I would have to do would be to paddle down Sand Creek to the St. Croix River, about fifty river miles, then cruise down the St. Croix to Hastings, MN, where it meets up with the mighty Mississippi, then paddle upstream, through several locks and dams and then over a hundred river miles to where the Prairie River meets the Mississippi, then it would be just a short paddle upstream and across Prairie Lake to the inlet of Hasty Brook, then upstream just a short distance.Of course, it's easiest to just log on to the virtual Hasty Brook. But yesterday I decided it was time to take a drive and see Hasty Brook, and Lynne and her family, in person. It's just under sixty miles from my place, about an hour's drive across a mix of hayfields, aspen woods, and tamarack bogs. The drive went quickly, and with Lynne's able directions I easily found out that Hasty Brook is indeed a real, wonderful place.
When Starflower and I arrived, Lynne and her husband Art had just left to drive to Cloquet, but their teenage daughter greeted us and contacted them by cell phone; they couldn't have been more than a few miles away because they turned around and arrived quickly.
What a fun, relaxing visit. We lounged in chairs, chatting while we watched pine siskins and chipmunks at the bird feeders. Lynne had put out a hummingbird feeder, and we were delighted to see that the hummingbirds had found it. Starflower told Lynne about our rabbits, and they compared rabbit stories. We went for a short walk, going up the driveway to the road where there were fewer mosquitoes and deerflies, and walked to where a bridge crosses Hasty Brook.
Now I know why Lynne is so in love with this place. It reminded me of what our Sand Creek cabin was like before it was home, when we used to live seventy miles away on the outskirts of the city in a subdivision. It was our refuge, and Hasty Brook is a beautiful, quiet refuge. Thanks Lynne, for the directions! I'll stop by again sometime!
8 comments:
Oh, gosh. That sounds like a much better reception than you got here! Darling daughter told me it was you after you left. I'm so sorry!
I'm starting to wonder if I could get from Roundrock to Sand Creek by water. I suppose I could from Kansas City more easily. I don't think I'd make it in time for the housewarming party though. (When is that, by the way? My invitation seems to have gotten lost in the mail.)
Oh, I am so jealous! Wish I could have been there too. How lovely to meet up at Hasty Brook. Glad you all had such a wonderful time together. :c)
Heidi- I should have thought to ask for you! But I didn't want to invade either. When these eggs are gone, we'll be back. :)
Pablo- funny, I never mailed invitations. I'm thinking mid September, like the 23rd? Nothing's set in mortar yet.
Jayne- I think you would absolutely love the place. Lynne and I have met before, but it was nice to see and feel the place she writes about. And Art and the family are so nice!
Sounds like a nice visit.
I can't get over how much that creek looks like one of our tannin tea colored FL creeks.
Wow, Hasty Brook looks so different from the way I remember it in February! ;-)
FC- Most of the creeks and rivers around here are that way. I remember the St. Johns River being very brown, that being before I learned brown water was the norm here. Acid soil I guess.
RuthieJ- Ah, the other side of the calendar. I remember it, vaguely...
Lynne told me Mike H was planning some September pelagic birding trips. I hope you can come up, and that it won't be the boat trip from hell all over! :)
We visited Lynne and Art at Hasty Brook last month and they are just the nicest people and Hasty Brook was so pretty and full of wildlife. Your Sand Creek sounds wonderful, too! When driving up through northern Minnesota I couldn't get over how everywhere you look was a lake. I'm really taken with northern Minnesota.
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