Weinzierl

Jewelers

Victoria’s Corner Bar.  Nightly Specials and Menus.  952-443-9944

Specialized assisted living for those

with memory challenges. 

Victoria.  952-908-2215

8 First Street in Waconia.  952-442-2885

942-443-2078

Funeral Home & Cremation Services

952-474-9595

Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic.

Occupational Therapy.  Speech Therapy.

952-443-9888

Huber

City of Lakes & Parks  952-443-2363

“Trees Are Our Roots”

8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990

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         It's my favorite wonderful time of the year.  May and June.  I love our yard.  I love our deck.  I love our home.  I love our neighborhood.  I love our town.  I love springtime in Victoria.  I love springtime on Lilac Lane.

         Every night before I go up to bed, I walk out our front door and spray "Deer Stopper" all around our house.  I spray around my lush hostas, my striking New Guinea Impatiens with the perfect name of Orange Crush, and around our retaining walls and deck and water fountain.  Yes, every night except when it's raining.  I leave the spray bottle and my crocs by the front door.  They are part of my summertime decor and a daily reminder to me to keep those deer from eating the fruits of my labor.

         When we started building our home here in 1971, we were entranced by the abundant wildlife in the neighborhood, and I often took pictures of the deer who wandered into our yard.  They couldn't see me because of the reflections in our windows, but I could see them.  Big deer.  Little deer.  Fawns fell asleep in our yard between trees, camouflaged by all that surrounded us in this former pasture land of Victoria.  When the fawns woke up and saw me standing only a couple feet away from them with my camera, they didn't even get up and run.

         But our wildlife is not so exciting for us anymore.  It has become, in fact, just the opposite.  When we first moved here, we were mainly maintaining a sandbox and a tree swing.  We didn't have much of a lawn because it was all wooded and wild.  The most colorful thing in our yard was a giant propane gas tank that I handpainted in  a large floral design.  I painted after lunch when my babies were taking a nap.  I remember my windows cranked open so I could hear them if they woke up.

         When natural gas was later piped down to this Schutz Lake neighborhood, the propane company picked up my painted tank and put it on display in their yard in Waconia.

         So where was I?  Oh, yes.  I'm spraying Deer Stopper every night now to keep the deer from having their dessert in my yard.  Over these many years, Allan has grown a lot of grass and I've multiplied a lot of delicious hostas.  And every spring I've come to fill dozens of pots with plants and so there is now something for us to protect from the deer.  The creatures we once admired are no longer welcome guests.

         It only takes me a couple minutes to spray -- it's not a big deal -- and I also get to enjoy for a moment the dusk of the evening or the dark of the night under the stars.  It's extremely quiet when the sun is down, almost like a spiritual thing, so hushed is the air.  There are no birds singing at that time of night and I haven't heard the crickets or tree frogs yet but I know they're coming.

         As you may or may not know, the birds start singing every morning at 5 a.m.  As soon as it warms up a bit in the spring, we open our windows for fresh air all through the night and so we hear them.  First one chirp, then another, until a whole chorus chimes in through the trees.  They're better than an alarm clock because they don't scare the bejesus out of you.

         I'm looking forward to all the other good things that arrive with June, especially the Concerts in the Park and the Classic Car Nights here in Victoria.  I love that our town has outdoor events, and that it has a Main Street, where sitting or strolling is safe and sociable.  Our restaurants set up their outdoor cafes and our downtown become like another neighborhood.

         Back in the old days, before my time here in Victoria, there were band concerts in downtown Victoria every Saturday night.  People came in to do their shopping and listen to the music.  Since those were the very rural days of Victoria, most of the people were farmers and their time to shop and visit was after supper, when the work was done.  Come to think of it, it's still that way today.  Concerts in the Park and Classic Car Nights are held in the evening, when the work is done.  It's just a different kind of work today.

         But downtown Victoria has certainly changed over the decades.  From pictures and hearsay, I know that in the time of the Saturday Night Band Concerts, there was a General Store, hardware stores, a lumber yard, a meat market, a barber shop and confectionery, feedmill and a creamery, also a cafe and three bars and a bank.

         None of those places exists as such today.  Full blown salons replaced the barber shop, and the bars are now full blown restaurants.  Today we've also have a micro-brewery, baby kids shop, floral gift shop, bottle shop, offices and other open doors.  When Hartman's new Lakeside building opens this summer, an ice cream shop will return to the streets of Victoria.

         I love the small footprint of our downtown, and its possibilities are unending.

         I also love June because the heat still isn't turned on high.  However, no matter when it gets turned on high, I hope I don't complain too much.  It's got to be better than the long cold winter we just came through.  See you in town.

From the Editor

Dedicated to the sunshine of truth,

the moonshine of meeting deadlines,

and the starshine of Victoria.

The Victoria GAZETTE

June Bugs 2014