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.

 

On the Lake

The kayak has wheels so we can roll it down to the lake. It's too heavy for one person to go down the stairs, so we have to go the long way.

The sailboats were out for a race. 

JP's not sure about sitting down. She'd rather be standing on her paddleboard.

 

Memorial Day Weekend

We kicked off Memorial Day Weekend with a visit to Scheels to pick out a kayak. I've been thinking about one for a while, and CG told me about the one he's getting and talked me into it.

Then we (and 10,000 others) flocked to Gerten's to pick out some trees for the back yard.

 

Backyard Greenery

In addition to the fruit trees and bulbs, the azaleas and rhododendron are going crazy this year. Last year the squirrels ate a lot of the buds.

The back yard is coming to life. 

 

Flotsam

Game on! My first bass of the season.

The seaweed in the lake this year is nasty. There's a bright green slime that is covering everything, including the normal seaweed. Over by the south pier, it smells like death.

This guy washed up next to the dog beach.

 

New Tennants

There's a sign in the old Sparrow coffee shop window that says someone new is on their way. I think it's going to be a women's clothing boutique that used to be in Uptown.

 

Baseball Rituals

It's now a thing that when the Gs visit in the summer, we hit a Twins game. Last year it was freezing cold. This year was much more comfortable. BG brought a blanket, just in case.

 

Out of State Fishing

With the Gs living in Iowa now, CG purchased a MN fishing license. This is the first fish of the season.

 

Neighborhood Turkeys

The turkeys come and go from the neighborhood. The dog could not care less.

 

Work

For work, I went with a group of service techs to a Twins game. It got the pastrami on rye from the deli in the club level; it was amazing!

It's sad to see how sparsely attended weeknight games are.

 

Nice Day for a Walk

We did a lap around the lake for Bread & Pickle's opening day. 

It was warm enough to be in shorts and t-shirts. The fruit trees were truly spectacular this spring.

 

Poop Deck

The south shore fishing dock went back in.

After floating offshore all winter, it had a nice thick coating of bird poop. 

 

State of Hockey

The Wild are playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.I finally got around to making a flagpole out of an old hockey stick for CP's flag.

 

Get the Lead Out

Everyone on the block got their old lead pipes replaced this week.

The entire block was torn up with equipment running every day from 6 AM to 7 PM.

 

Native Plants

Down at the lake, there's a plot of land roped off with "Native Plants - Do Not Disturb" signs. For the past two years, it has looked more like a weed patch. This year, it really took off and is noticeably different than the surround untouched areas.

 

Whitewater SP

Our first camping trip of 2026 took us with the Ks to Whitewater State Park, two hours south of us on the Whitewater River.

It reminded us of the Palisades, except 3x bigger.

The K's camper serves as base camp. Our tent is not as exciting.

 

Neighborhood Construction Season 1

Construction in the neighborhood has commenced. There is a multi-year project to improve the storm sewer drainage for our alley. It involves running a 6x6 foot chamber the length of the block and new pipes down to the lake. Before that could happen, we had a new gas main put in last fall, and this spring everyone is getting new lead-free plumbing. The gas main runs under the sidewalk, so there's a section missing in front of each house so the connection could be made. Last fall, the sidewalk was temporarily patched with asphalt. This year, it was dug up and we're waiting for new concrete.

 

Morning Light

There are some mornings when the lake is calm and the light is perfect.

 

Sick as a Dog

For a while, S hasn't been feeling well. He's been puking at least once a day, and his stomach has been a mess. It got to the point that he became very lethargic and we could barely get him to his feet. We took him to the vet and they did some tests and gave him some pills. The next day he was looking even worse, so JP ran him to the doggy ER where he stayed for two nights. Had we taken him to the Waldorf Astoria in Hawaii, it would have been cheaper.

He had some ulcers and his digestive system was shut down. They unblocked and rehydrated him. When I went to pick him up, it took him a full 15 seconds to recognize me; he was really doped up.

He's now back home and doing well. He has a two-week course of medications to ride out. We're glad to have our pup back!

 

Kitchen TV

We have been talking about the need to mount the kitchen TV on the wall since we got it. This is the weekend to get it done!

Cutting into plaster walls is a nightmare. Next time I'm going to use the router.

 

Portrait Lighting

We took GP with us to celebrate the end of my first week @ work. The window lighting and wall paint made for a perfect portrait setup.

 

Pre-dawn Dog Walks

The days of sleeping in till 6 are over. It's back to early morning dog walks before heading to work.

 

Sunset on Free Time

This is the last sunset of the days of being unemployed.