Twins with the Ns

The Ns came up for a few days to get away from the NC heat. As anyone who visits knows - we're going to take you to a Twins game.

 

Kitchen Lights

JP found some cool lights for the kitchen TV wall. Now it is complete!

 

Special Olympics USA

AK got us great tickets to see the Special Olympics USA opening ceremony. 

It was fun watching 51 teams enter the field and take their places. Once they were seated and some speeches were made, the music started and we were treated to a beautiful sunset show.

 

Dogsitting

We (JP) babysat one of the neighborhood dogs. She is terrified of the cat and does not leave JP's side, unless she's tearing around and playing with S's toys.

 

Penn Ave Stairs

I've always wondered what it would be like to ignore the stop sign at the end of Penn Ave and launch into the lake. Turns out you don't make it all the way to the lake. Instead, you will take out one of the railings and hit about 3/4 of the way down. Someone tried it. 

 

Cool Workday

We were blessed with a nice 73° Saturday, so we jumped into action and did all the projects that demand cooler temps. First was straightening the cutter and pulling off all the non-functional gutter guards. Then we re-set all the bricks along the new curb. 

Then we got the paint out and touched up the trim on the front windows. 

 

Fishing

During our morning dog walk, we watched a father take his two boys into the water to fish. At first I felt back for him - it was chilly, and the wind was blowing a steady 15 mph onshore. But then they started reeling them in nonstop. The boys were catching them faster than their dad could unhook and re-bait their hooks.

The wind died down and S went around the lake a couple of times. He did not seem to mind it.

 

Pride Night Twins

We hit Gluek's before the Twins' Pride Night game. The boys had never experienced the table-sized pretzel.

I've learned to pick seats that are at least a few rows under the second level. We had a soaking rain that emptied the stadium, but we were high & dry. As the sky cleared, we were treated to a nice rainbow over center field.

 

Bent Gutter

We had a crazy storm blow thru in the middle of the night. We didn't hear a thing when this branch came down and hit above the front door. It bent up the gutter and broke some shingles.

 

Dog Tired

After two days of running, swimming, and chasing ground squirrels, the dog finally took a nap.

We camped with the Ks and their friend E.

 

Fog

With the water at 37° and the air over land at 80°, the coastline was swirling with fog. 

It made for a surreal landscape.

 

Gooseberry Falls SP

The water looks amazing! I'd dive in, but it's only 37°.

We have plenty of photos of the dog at the end of his leash. Here's the reverse.

The falls dwarf the 200 people standing around.

 

Camp Afternoon

By late afternoon, the fog bank had retreated and the wind slowed.

We enjoyed a great camp dinner and then wandered down to the shore and watched the northern lights.

 

Cooler by the Lake

When we reached Gooseberry State Park, there was a fog back just offshore that was drifting tendrils of fog onto the shore. 

It was in the 80s in the Cities, but 40s on the North Shore. Brrr.

 

Second Spring

On our way up north, we stopped in at Jay Cooke State Park to see the rapids. We were treated to a second spring with all the fruit trees in blossom three weeks after our had faded. Duluth was in bloom in a major way.

No trip up Highway 61 is complete without a stop at the New Scenic Cafe. 

 

Slimy Fish

This is the first northern pike I've ever caught. I had no idea they are so slimy!

 

New Tile Roof

After two months, the roofing crew completed the roof on the big Spanish house at the end of the street. The old one lasted 100 years, and I'm sure this one will, too. The gazebo turret in the middle is fully copper clad. The price tag was as much as our house is worth.

 

League Night

One of the test engineers at work invited us to see his jazz band play in St. Paul. We were a bit concerned about the type of jazz it was; jazz covers a fairly broad spectrum. We were happy when we walked in and heard familiar swing jazz tunes. 

 

Fishing Sunset

I've committed to catching some fish this year, so I've been walking down to the lake in the evening to try my luck. No fish this time, but what a sunset!

 

New Trees

The trees picked out at Gerten's showed up so we spent a day digging holes and planting them. Two new droopy spruces and a Japanese pine. Slowly, the back yard is growing.

 

Turtle Eggs

This morning I spotted the snapping turtle laying her eggs alongside the sidewalk at the end of the street by the lake. 

She later crawled back down the stairs. I'm not sure how she made it up them. While wading/fishing, I found this guitar pick on bottom of the lake. Today is Turtle Day!

 

On the Water

So far, I've had the kayak out four three-hour tours of the lake. I'm enjoying the new vantage points. 

We had a pair of swans hang out for a quick rest on their way north. 

The lake is full of cormorants. They keep me hopeful that there truly are fish in the lake and someday I'll catch some.

 

New Curbs

This week everyone got new curbs poured. We need to reinstall the bricks we had there. At some point, we should also get the holes in the road paved.