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Something After All

When I was trying to buy a house during a stressful time at my job I was beginning to think I should postpone the whole process. My friends were already asking me why I wanted to move to a suburb known mainly (to many) for the Mall of America.

But the house I found had a yard I could transform into a bird and butterfly and bee sanctuary and I liked the little street it was on.
So, one day, after another ugly day at work’ I stopped at home for my dog, Molly, and headed for a walk along the creek someone had told me about. We walked for hours - the upper and lower trails, enjoying the sound of the creek and the birds - the delightfully quiet calm of Nature in the middle of a metropolitan area, (I think Molly mostly liked the smells.)

I left feeling rejuvenated and calm and even had a solution to a work challenge!
Maybe Bloomington had something for me after all.

Forest Bathing

I'm a regular walker on the Nine Mile Creek trails with all their current configurations: paved, graveled, and unpaved single-track. I'd be very disappointed if these trails were widened, paved, and designed to be shared with bikes. As others have commented, it's nice, I would say essential, to have a local space to immerse in the peaceful soundscape of the creek amongst the slice of forest remaining in the creek valley. I think it is not selfish to maintain this one wild space within the city of Bloomington for walkers. Since Covid forced us all into our local parks, Nine…

A Many Sided Gem

There are so many things to love about this park. When our kids were small they enjoyed the play equipment. We came for picnics. With our dog we splashed in the creek ; we had old shoes to walk in the water and on the rocks. My grown children walk here, and so do my grandchildren. It's been rewarding to see how they love the park. We enjoy the natural beauty of it: the trails, the winding creek, the sound of the water, the birds we can hear and see. Some of the changes that are being discussed would take…