Happy St Urho's Day!

We plan to attend the St Urho’s Day parade.  I will have parade photos tomorrow God willing and the crick don’t rise.

What you don’t know about St Urho?  He chased all the pesky grasshoppers that were eating all the grapes in Finland.   Purple and green are the colors of the day…representing the grapes.

Now for the Snow Stick contest!  Please leave me a comment with the date you think the snow and ice will be completely gone from the snowstick.  The winner or winners will get something special from me.  Those of you too shy can email me with your guess.  I will take guesses until Monday night at 9 PM.

Here is the Snowstick History:
2011  April 8
2012  March 13
2013  April 30
2014  April 10
2015  March 11
2016  March 8
2017 March 20
2018  April 22

Far Side

Guesses:
March 26 LD
March 31 Denny   Marilyn
April 2 Lisa
April 3 Marlys
April 5 Cathrin
April 7 Rita
April 8 Victoria Z
April 9 Pauline
April 10 Red
April 11 Dianne
April 12 Kay  Marti C
April 13 Gemma's person   Karen
April 14  Kathy    KCD   Dale
April 15 Phyllis
April 16 Jo Anne and unknown
April 17 Sara
April 18 sillygirl
April 19 Andrea   Betsy
April 20 Unknown  and Cathy M
April 21 Wendy D
April 22 Bonnie   Linda
April 23 Gene B
April 24 Granny M    Carol W
April 25 Joyce  F
April 26 diane
April 28  Barb
April 30 Susie
May 1 DJan
May 5 Sonja

Happy St. Urho’s Day

We got the flag up!

We are ready to celebrate!  Chance and I may have danced around the flag if we didn’t have such huge snowbanks!

The big parade will commence tomorrow…it is okay to share the day with that lesser known St. Patrick.  I am certain that many Minnesota towns and cities will be wearing the purple and the green in honor of St. Urho…who chased those pesky grasshoppers out of Finland and saved the grapes!  I will be taking lots of photos of the parade! We are expecting sunshine and  40F ABOVE zero ( 4C eh!)…practically sunbathing weather.

St. Urho’s Day Poem

Ooksie kooksie kollme vee
Santia Urho is the boy for me
He chase out the hopper as big as pirds
Never before have I heard those words
He really told those bugs of green
Bravest Finn I ever seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snake
But that Urho boy got what it takes
He got tall and strong on feelia sour
And ate Kalla Mojakkaa every hour
Thats why that guy dould chase those beetles
That crew as thick as jack pine needles
So let’s give a cheer
in our very best way
On the sixteenth of March
St. Urho’s Day!

Sky Blue Waters

Minnesota is well known for being the Land of Sky Blue Waters.  Possibly by the singing bear in the Hamm’s Beer Commercial.  Back when commercials were fun to watch instead of irritating.

From the Land of Sky Blue Waters [(Echo) Waters]
Comes the water best for brewing,
Hamm's the Beer Refreshing,
Hamm's the Beer Refreshing,
Hamm's!

I am not much of a beer drinker but that bear sure was cute.

I took this photo over on the OtterTail River in Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.  That is a Trumpeter Swan way out there.

The St Urho’s Parade

I made a date with Far Guy and Chance to go watch the parade in Menahga.

It was a partly cloudy day with a bit of a north wind.  It was cool but not freezing.

This gal has sisu which means bravery or hardiness.  She is escorting the grasshoppers out of town.

There were sled dogs…pulling four wheeled carts instead of sleds.

Men in underwear…perhaps my favorite part of the parade.

 

signs some said “Grasshoppers lives matter.”  “I’m going to build a wall and make the grasshoppers pay for it.”

I liked this one the best!

 

There were lots of kids!  They were throwing candy and beads.   The T Shirts say Sisu perhe or bravery/hardiness family.

Royalty was there.

The St Urho’s Royalty along with Miss Minnesota.

It was a nice parade.  We all enjoyed it.  Chance did not bark at the dogs but he did bark at the horses.

Happy St Urho’s Day!

March 16th is a mighty fine day.

tis the day of the Finns!

Today is the day that Finlanders all over Minnesota celebrate Saint Urho's battle with the pesky grasshoppers that threatened the grape crop. He chased the grasshoppers waving a pitchfork hollering "Heinasirkka, heinasirkka, menetaalta hiiten"...Grasshopper, grasshopper get the hell out of here.

Hackensack Minnesota

Hackensack Minnesota is home of Paul Bunyan’s sweetie.  Her name is Lucette and she guards the waterfront.

Hackensack has very little traffic unless all 300 residents are out and about at the same time, except during the Chain Saw Carving Festival when they block off downtown and you cannot find a parking spot anywhere even if it is raining.

Chain saw carvers come from far and wide to show off their work.

They carve back behind the fence, there are lots of chips flying.

I wandered around the back of the exhibit area… the area was roped off so I couldn’t get too close.

I so want this bench.  It would replace my log bench that bleeds pine sap every summer. You have to watch were you sit or grab an old towel to sit upon.  I am an expert at getting pine sap out of pants, a little skin so soft and then when the pitch has dissolved  use some dawn dish soap and very hot water to get out the skin so soft.

The lemonade gal switched to some fancy kinds of coffee, it was a cold rainy day..her lips were as blue as Lucette’s dress.  Many people were bundled up in winter outerwear.

Bears are a big thing up here in the northwoods. 

The chain saw carvers both guys and gals (there was at least one gal) are true artists.  Another lady and I decided that these bears looked too grumpy to be welcome bears…perhaps they are for people who live on the lake and have company to cook for every weekend just because they have a place on the lake:)

St Urho’s Day

The parade is today.  I am hoping to get some good photos.  Last year it was 60 degrees F this year it might get to 15 degrees F…that converts to –9C..balmy.  It snowed and snowed yesterday..so we hope the roads are clear by parade time.

If you haven’t heard of St. Urho before you must have been living under a rock.  He chased the pesky grasshopper out of Finland and saved the grapes.  Finns all over the state of Minnesnowda celebrate the 16 of March!

Now for the St. Urho’s Day Poem

Ooksie kooksie kollme vee
Santia Urho is the boy for me
He chase out the hopper as big as pirds
Never before have I heard those words
He really told those bugs of green
Bravest Finn I ever seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snake
But that Urho boy got what it takes
He got tall and strong on feelia sour
And ate Kalla Mojakkaa every hour
Thats why that guy dould chase those beetles
That crew as thick as jack pine needles
So let’s give a cheer
in our very best way
On the sixteenth of March
St. Urho’s Day!

The parade last year..2012.

One of those pesky grasshoppers!

It snowed all day yesterday, morning, afternoon and night.

This is the view out the Living Room Window.  The snow keeps sliding off the roof and falls right in front of the window.   It makes you feel like you live in a snow cave.  It is surprising how much light can get through a snow bank:)

St Urho’s Day

Take the day off, sit around in your purple underwear and have some Fish Soup and Flatbread. Wave your Finnish Flag!

This is the famous day that the great St. Urho chased the evil grasshoppers out of Finland and the grapes were saved!

We missed the big parade that was held last Saturday..we had ice and then snow covered roads and blizzard warnings..so we stayed home.

The evil grasshoppers being escorted out of Menahga last year!

Now for the St. Urho’s Day Poem

Ooksie kooksie kollme vee
Santia Urho is the boy for me
He chase out the hopper as big as pirds
Never before have I heard those words
He really told those bugs of green
Bravest Finn I ever seen
Some celebrate for St. Pat and his snake
But that Urho boy got what it takes
He got tall and strong on feelia sour
And ate Kalla Mojakkaa every hour
Thats why that guy dould chase those beetles
That crew as thick as jack pine needles
So let's give a cheer
in our very best way
On the sixteenth of March
St. Urho's Day!

Chance and the legendary St Urho!

Snow Stick Report:

Sorry LynneFtWorth she guessed March 15  and Karen guessed March 16.  The snow is still here.. it is melting but not very fast:)

Grace at Bovey

The little town of Bovey is famous. You have probably seen the famous photo/painting and didn’t even realize that it was The State Photograph of Minnesota.  I knew about the painting..I have seen it many times. I just didn’t know the story..

Sometime in 1918 a peddler by the name of Charles Wilden posed for a photographer by the name of Enstrom.  The photo was of an old man praying, it was meant to capture the simple things that we could be thankful for instead of pining away for the things that we didn’t have.  In the photo are a Enstrom Family book, spectacles, a bowl of gruel, a loaf of bread and a knife, and of course the elderly gentleman praying.  The photo was made into a painting and Enstrom put one in the window of his studio in Bovey, and every time he sold one he painted another.  The photo was named “Grace.”

Now if you listen to the locals in Bovey..they put their own spin on this story.   The elderly  gentleman, possibly a hobo was nicknamed a “Swamp Angel” he came into town one day, got a shave and a haircut, bought a new shirt and had his photo taken.  Then he disappeared back into the swamp..never to be seen again:) 

Thank you for your kind comments and prayers for Trica, we appreciate them.  She was released from the hospital and returned to her home yesterday afternoon.