This year I decided to give myself a birthday gift—an afternoon with nature and poetry.
There’s a little garden in Minneapolis, along Minnehaha Creek, called Longfellow Garden. It’s named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I’d never been there before, but I had read about it. Someone online mentioned going there early or late in the day to photograph birds. His photos were stunning. But what intrigued me more was the name. I love poetry, and I’ve been holding onto a small book of selected poems by Longfellow. I thought it would be fitting to finally read and annotate that book in a garden named after the poet.
When I arrived, I walked around first before finding a spot to sit. I meandered along cobblestone paths, through flower beds alive with bees, moths, and butterflies. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many bees in one place at one time—it was a beautiful display of pollination in action. The cicadas added their high-pitched, fuzzy background song.
In the untended fields nearby, goldenrod and milkweed grew wild. I followed a footpath that led me to a statue of Longfellow himself. Beyond the statue, I saw more open field, bluebird houses, and a sign warning of a drop-off to deep water. I turned back then, ready to find a place to sit and open my book.
That’s when I came upon a two-thirds replica of Longfellow’s house. It’s rarely open to the public, but two kind women happened to be there and invited me inside. They showed me around and shared bits of history. One of them was a botanical artist who told me how she had drawn a fern that was new to science back in the days of Lewis and Clark. Prints of her illustration are now in several Lewis and Clark museums or interpretive centers. I can’t remember exactly what I was told. I only remember the drawing was beautiful.
Getting to look inside the Longfellow replica house and looking at the artwork was an unexpected birthday gift.
Eventually, I sat outside the replica house, opened my little book of Longfellow poems, and began to annotate. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift. Nature and poetry. What more does a girl need?
