Loving Minnesota

As many of you know, I live in Minnesota, a state smack in the middle of the nation on the east-west axis, and north, hard against the Canadian border. A state of prairie farmers in the south, and deep forests in the north, with one of the most spectacularly beautiful places, the North Shore of Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake/sea. And lakes! At times it seems like there is more water than land here. Minnesota is called "the land of ten thousand lakes," but depending on what size body of water one defines as a lake the real count is in the 12 to 15 thousand range. I've seen some estimates that even put the number close to 17 thousand. And a little south of the midline of the state and closer to the Wisconsin border, are the clean and cosmopolitan "twin" cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, where I make my home, near the banks of one of the world's most famous rivers, the Mississippi.

I really hesitated more than once in posting this. I lived in Texas for the better part of a year many years ago, and I found Texans to be some of the friendliest people I have ever met anywhere. Many of them did, however, have one little habit that I confess I found a bit annoying: They were constantly bragging about how great Texas was.... So, in true "Oh-I-don't-want-to-annoy-anybody" Minnesotan fashion, (We call it "Minnesota Nice" here, and we like to think of it as politeness and courtesy, although in many places I think they might just call it being "passive-aggressive." ;) I didn't want to annoy anyone with bragging....

But we should all love where we live, right? (Aside: of course, I should admit that if opportunity arose I would not hesistate to live further north...say in Canada.... I am truly a northerner at heart.) If you don't love where you live, then...move to where you love.... Of course, I know that's not always possible. I'm not originally from Minnesota; I didn't grow up here, but it is my adopted home, and feels more like "home" and "me" than any place I have ever lived, and the other day a few things started some gratitude in me that I am here. When I came to Minnesota, I immediately felt like "I know these people; these are my people...." Perhaps it is because I grew up in a Scandinavian family, and even though Minnesota has become a "melting pot" of sorts in recent decades, the effects of generations of predominantly Scandinavian settlement can still be very much felt in the culture here.

Here what originally got me on the path of gratitude these last few days:



(From showmappingworlds.com--a wonderful site!--via A DC Birding Blog.) The graphic shows the ranking of states in breeding pairs of Bald Eagles, our national symbol, and once an endangered species, but now a success story of environmental protection. As you can see, Minnesota is ranked #1, that is, we have the most breeding pairs of Bald Eagles of any state.

(image source)

They truly are beautiful, majestic, and awe inspiring birds. One of my fondest memories of was once in the Boundary Waters when I paddled my canoe around a bend in a river, and was suddenly not 25 yards from a nesting pair of Bald Eagles in the top of a tree just on shore. They were quite angered by my sudden intrusion into their world, and let me know that in no uncertain terms by their loud squawking and agitation. But I paddled by very slowly nonetheless. I wasn't going to miss a chance like that to be so close to these birds....

Then this morning thanks to a recommendation from fellow Minnesotan Deb, who blogs at A Sand Creek Almanac, I read a very evocative piece that captured much of the "essence" of this state I have called my home. Another Minnesotan, The Barefoot Gardener writes:

"A land of folks proud of their pragmatic and stoic way of life. A land of gossipy old Church Ladies, leathery farmers, resourceful farm-wives, and Grumpy Old Men. A land where the only appropriate comment when the weather is -30 degrees is "So, is it cold enough fer ya?"

We are obscenely proud of the fact that we will go ice fishing in temps that keep Polar Bears under wraps, and no snowstorm on earth is enough to keep us all from getting up at o-dark-hundred to take our little selves off to work. We are private people, unwilling to air our arguments in public and terribly embarrassed when others do.

Sometimes, especially in small towns, it seems that the cold has frozen the hands of time. It seems that everything is the same as it has always been; the same as it always will be."

Yep, that's the place I call home, the people I love...a pretty damn good description. I recommend Barefoot Gardener's whole post.

Happy to be here. That's all. And that's a good thing to be.