Pride Parade 2024

We took the bus downtown and caught the Pride Parade. In some places, it's still called a march, but in the Twin Cities, it has turned into a celebration.

The parade draws 200,000 people, and the whole Pride Festival brings in 600,000. We skipped the festival this year and hit Brit's and Peavey Plaza for lunch instead.

Happening at the same time was the US Olympic gymnastics trials at Target Center. The entire length of Nicollet Mall was blocked off for a Parisian-themed market. Hundreds of vendors set up shop and it was a fun atmosphere. 

 

New Tree

We finally replaced the poor sculpted pine tree in the back yard. It was struggling when we moved in, and then got hit by the worms twice, snowblower discharge from the record-snow winter, and the excavator when we redid the space. It was a beautiful tree, but one by one its branches died and all that was left was a spindly trunk with a pompom at the top.

We hit Gerten's in Inver Grove Heights and they had a fantastic selection. JP found the perfect tree and GP & I put it in. In another 15 years it will be back to what the original was.

 

Dog Walk

It was raining hard enough to skip the morning dog walk, so when I got home from work, S was ready to do our normal route. The creek is as full as I've ever seen it, and we kept running into a white heron. Sometimes it's hard to believe that we live in a bustling city.

 

Summer Evening

Summer in Minneapolis can't be beat. High temps in the 70s, enough breeze for sailing, and live music in the parks.

We hit a Wednesday evening band at the Bandshell with DK & ZK. The lake was full of sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboarders. They are an incredible backdrop-in-motion for the bandshell as they slowly sail past the windows to the lake. As the sun sets, the park goes into shade, but the boats on the lake remain brightly lit.

Dog Day

S loves Nana's house. He lays in the grass and watches everything. The front porch is pretty good, too.

We were so busy that we forgot to take any pictures of the gang & Nana. We'll have to go back.

 

Home of the Spotted Cow

We took the kids down to Nana's for the weekend. We got an early start and hit New Glarus along the way. Both boys were introduced to the Spotted Cow. 

 

Up the Creek

All the non-stop rain is keeping the creeks and rivers high. This dock at Minnehaha Creek is usually a couple feet higher than the water. S really wants to go swimming, but between the current and depth he has a tough time.

 

Rained Out

We tried to catch a Twins game, but Mother Nature had other plans. We did a lap around the park, got some food, and hit the gift shop where CP picked up a sweet Twins jersey.

The game was called half an hour before first pitch. We bailed and hit our favorite British pub, Brits, for a snack. It was packed due to a euro championship soccer match.

 

Nutty Squirrels

The squirrels hide their walnuts in every pot. They are out of places to hide, so now they're stuffing them under pillows.

 

Steel Edging

Along the sidewalk, we have a steep slope up to the boxwood. It has always been a mess - the rain washes soil & mulch down onto the sidewalk. JP picked up some nice steel edging and now it all looks much nicer and we have a clean edge. Hopefully it will retain some water better for the boxwoods.

 

Wienerfest

We carried on a tradition that predates us in the house: Wienerfest! 

 

Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra

Live music at the bandshell is back in full swing. It's a pleasant walk along the lake to get there, and it's even better with the neighbors. It's good to see the place packed with people.

Friday night the Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra played pops. It was fun knowing all the songs, and it looked like the orchestra had as much fun playing as the crowd.

 

Oil Spill Neighbors

Our new restaurant neighbors on the alley have some oil barrels on their back porch that are leaking and running down the alley. We have alerted them to this (and the fact that it is unacceptable) on multiple occasions yet they are doing nothing about it. Hopefully the Minneapolis Health Dept. can explain it better than we.

UPDATE: The city was able to get the point across to them and everything has been cleaned up. We ended our boycott and celebrated with the Ps by hitting happy hour for margaritas and nachos. 

 

Water

The bandshell complex is almost done with its new paint. Maybe it will be done in another year.

S totally expects to go swimming on every walk, whether its the lake or the creek.

With all the rain we've had, the lake is high and the beaches are getting smaller. So far, this is the 12th rainiest year on record; it's a big change from last year.

 

Visual Aid

Our new tool is the phone camera. Neither of us can read anything without our readers, especially in poor lighting. This is where we were trying to see the pressure gage of the paddleboard as we pumped it up for the season.

FWIW - It's weird that the scale goes yellow-green-red rather than green-yellow-red. The recommended range is 10-15 psi.

 

Backyard

The backyard is coming together. 

 

Edina Art Fair

Last year, the art fair was sweltering. This year we had a gorgeous Minnesota day. Everyone and their brothers were at the fair. Our walk from home was not much further than where some people were parking.

 

34 Counts

This is a fairly significant event in the history of the United States. 

 

Iris Bloom

Now that the miniature irises have some sunshine and water, they are thriving.

 

Hailstorm

We had a hailstorm that was on the verge of destroying all the spring plants. It was just hard enough to poke holes in the hostas.

 

Mexican Train

We have been playing Mexican Train Dominoes with the boys. It's a lot less complicated than playing Scythe.

 

Turtle Season

Tis the season for the turtles to come ashore and lay eggs. Despite the park district blocking off part of the north beach for them, this turtle was determined to drop her eggs on the main part of the beach.

We usually don't see whitecaps on the lake. This was not a day for paddleboarding.

 

Mouseless Excel

One of my few superpowers: mouseless Excel.