New Backyard

Over the past week, out backyard transformed from a jungle garden to a blank slate with green grass. The garden was pretty, but it did not have any usable space.

The old block retaining wall was leaning the wrong way out into the alley and we were afraid that a storm would push the trees and wall into the alley and we would be faced with an emergency cleanup.

The retaining wall is now half the height it was and it's made out of big boulders. 

All we need now is a lawn mower...

 

Hot Twins Game

We took the boys to see the Twins play. We got lucky - our seats were in row 18 and in the shade. Rows 16 and below are in the sun, and everyone there cooked all afternoon.

 

PC Maker

GP used some of his summer job money to buy computer parts. What started out as an upgrade for the video card turned into him building an entirely new PC.

 

End of the Roll

It finally happened - JP finished off the monster 3000 foot roll of stretch wrap. We had bought it in Lincoln at Sam's Club maybe 7 years ago.

 

Quiet 4th of July

The N's came up for the 4th. We took them all over and enjoyed the quiet empty city. Everyone in town left for cabin country; the city turns into a ghost town. We explored and tried out some new (to us) restaurants in Uptown and Calhoun Isles.

We took in a Twins game. It's so easy being able to take the bus to games.

JP got M & the girls out on the paddleboard. It was a perfect day: hot and no wind.

 

Turtle Eggs

JP saw a big snapping turtle laying eggs in a front yard on our street. It had climbed out of the lake, up the stairs, and then across the street. No easy feat for a turtle!

S & I came across one laying her eggs along the walking trail by the lake. In a couple months, we will have baby turtles everywhere.

 

Pride

We hit the Pride festival at Loring Park on a Saturday and then the march on Sunday. Both days were fun and it was good to see people celebrating something good. Everywhere was positive energy.

This was the 50th anniversary for Pride in Minneapolis and it was a huge turnout; the celebration was cancelled the last two years due to the pandemic.

 

Buckled

We had our first taste of heat and all over the metro, there were reports of roads buckling. The concrete expands as it gets hot and has nowhere to go but up. The same thing happened to the curb at the dog beach. 

 

Baby Shower

We did a quick trip back to Lincoln for KO's baby shower. Afterwards we had a perfect day at the G's pool.

 

Excelsior Art Fair 2022

We took the boys out to Excelsior for the art fair. They really had a good time, and each bought some very nice pieces. CP's apartment is looking like a real home.

We stopped in to the Bull & Wren pub for a tasty lunch.

JP's score of the day was a new felt purse. She informed us all that she was not leaving the show without it.

 

Triple Homeruns

We went to the Yankees-Twins game with JP's roommate. We started the game with our first three batters belting out back to back to back homeruns!!! It was the 6th time this has ever happened in major league baseball.

We sat on the 3rd base side that was full of Yankee fans. We had fun talking smack with them throughout the game.

 

College Roomates

JP's college roommate and her son stopped in town for a couple of days on her quest to visit all of the major league ballparks. We took them around the city to see all the fun sites.

This was our first time seeing the George Floyd Memorial. The part of town that was affected most by the riots is coming back to life and looking good.

 

Breakfast Pizza

JP made her pizzas and GP talked her into setting aside enough dough for a breakfast pizza the next morning. Mmmm tasty! Eggs, sausage, & cheese with gravy instead of red sauce.

 

Mugo Pine Worms (Sawfly Larvae)

Our little Mugo Pine really had a tough year last year with the drought. It was looking fantastic this year with a lot of new growth and then one day it looked terrible again. What happened??

We had an infestation of sawfly larvae that hatched from eggs that were laid last year in the pine needles. The worms emerge and instantly start eating last year's growth. They are the same color as the needles and I didn't notice them until they moved. All at once!