Explore life above the Arctic Circle and close to home
Carol Urness and Janet and Craig Swan shared two outstanding presentations with us. Carol's focuses on Traveling at Home and showcases a wide variety of animals, birds, bugs, plants that we can see around us if we pay attention and look. Carol has also provided a bibliography for the website.
Janet and Craig shared fabulous maps, pictures, and descriptions of their amazing trip to the Arctic.
Explore life above the Arctic Circle and close to home
Wed, Mar 6 2024, 10am
Explore life above the Arctic Circle and closer to home when UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program meets via Zoom from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 6.
Janet and Craig Swan will discuss and show pictures of their travels to and above the Arctic Circle: the land of the Midnight Sun, glaciers and mountains of amazing beauty, arctic birds and mammals that are at the heart of this challenging environment.
"Traveling close to home" is how Carol Urness describes her presentation (rescheduled from January 24). “At some point most of us have to give up travel to distant lands. In this presentation, we will consider ways to ‘travel’ to interesting areas near home, even our own backyards.”
Please mark your calendars. A Zoom invitation will be emailed to UMRA members a week before the program.
—Lynn C. Anderson, Armchair Traveler program chair
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.