Tired Pup

After our hike, it started raining. The tent was set up and dry, but we got caught in the car. 

The dog rode out the storm like a champ. He was exhausted and grateful for some down time.

JP found her spot in the back.

 

St. Louis River - Jay Cooke State Park

We hit Jay Cooke State Park for our spring camping trip. We learned our lesson last year and booked it in May rather than April. There was no snow in our campsite, but there was a fair amount of standing water (but no mosquitos yet!).

The St. Louis River was spectacular. Only one floodgate was feeding it from the lake up above and it was still an impressive amount of water. Last year with the record snow, the river took out this bridge. What you see here is the 7th incaration of it.

The river drops over 350 feet (higher than Niagra Falls) thru the park in a series of falls and rapids. It's one of those things that you never hear about, but should. It was a major portage back in the Hudson Bay Trading Company days.

We did a nice 9-mile hike with the dog and saw a porcupine along the way. For a while the birds went silent, which I think means that someone (wolves?) is about. We didn't see predators other than an eagle.

 

Moring Dog Walks

So far it's not getting old.

 

Team Outing

We had a big conference @ headquarters and my entire team got together for a team outing and celebration: a Twins game! The Blue Line was not working, so we took the next best mode of transport from Bloomington: the D-Line. It is not the same as the Blue Line or the #4 bus I normally take home. It was full of excitement and great conversations. This guy got on with his toboggan and it was the talk of the bus.

We had some great seats in Section 109 between 1st and home plate.

Twins Win!!!

 

Cinco de Mayo 2024

We hit Cinco de Mayo @ Nico's Tacos. Perfect day, pefect friends, and a few drinks & some nachos in the sun made for a great day.

 

Perfect Day

Today is going to be nothing but blue skies, no wind, and 70 degrees. Perfect day in Minneapolis!

 

Backyard View

This post is just a benchmark of where the aspens in the backyard are starting the 2024 season. I'm guessing that by the end of the season they will be blocking more of the alley view.

Everything in the backyard is coming back to life. The rabbits aren't as bad this year and we're getting normal spring rains, so hopefully we will get back to normal.

 

Science Museum

CP suggested that we check out the Minnesota Science Museum in St. Paul. 

Since it was May the 4th, they had a Star Wars thing going on. CP had a great day: dinosaurs and Star Wars.

 

Sunrise Walks

We're at that point in the calendar where morning walks coincide with the sunrise. 

It looks like the Lake Harriet eagles might be back.

 

Feline Literacy

The cat loves nothing more than a captive audience trying to read.

 

MS Flowers

We took in all the flowers in bloom in MS. The MSU rose garden smelled wonderful. We were a few days early for seeing the magnolias bloom.

The nice lady at St. Paul's in Columbus gave us a quick tour of her amazing 1830's church.

 

Pork Rind Nachos

JP's favorite BBQ place was not open, so we tried somewhere else in Starkville. I like pork rinds and I like nachos, but surpisingly, I do not like pork rind nachos. The crispy pork rinds soak up the pulled pork juice and turn back into little scraps of pigskin leather. ¡No bueno!

 

MSU

We had a lovely long-weekend trip to see everyone in Mississippi. Everything there is green and full of life.

We had a nice walk around on campus. The landscaping there is really pretty.

 

Lyndale Ave. Turkey

This turkey roams around the neighborhood at work.

There used to be a whole herd, but it looks like we're down to just one this year.

 

Rare Photo

My friend took this incredibly rare photo of Saturn transiting the sun at sunset. It's something no one has seen before.

 

Bandshell Paint Job

The bandshell restoration is nearly complete, and The Bread & Pickle is open again. With our first 80 degree day, the path around the lake was like a New York City sidewalk. 

 

Bench Leveling

We had our first hot day of the year - it officially hit 85°. It has been 190 days since we were in the 80s. JP had a full day planned for yard cleanup. We leveled both of the stone benches and trimmed up some trees. 

It's amazing how heavy rock is. We rigged up some rails for the bench to slide on and it worked fairly well. The vertical supports were leaning at 20° downslope. We were afriad that the whole thing was going to tip over, but once we dug down 8" we realized that the supports were still solidly stuck in the ground.

 

Tornado Sirens

We had a lovely rain, complete with dark skies, a rainbow, and tornado sirens. Having lived in Nebraska for 15 years, we appreciate what it means when the sirens start going off during a storm. However, it was a false alarm - the city was testing them as part of "Severe Weather Awareness Week".

 

Catnap

The cat is loving being outside. She is usually pretty good about staying on the patio, but now and then we catch her out of bounds.

 

Nico's

We are still sad that Tinto Kitchen left us, but we are learning to cope with the new Nico's Tacos. They are packed every day of the week. It was a perfect afternoon to enjoy their patio for $5 nachos happy hour.

 

Lake Views

We still have not grown weary of the lake. The morning dog walk is peacful and quiet.

The afternoon walk home from the bus stop is bustling.

 

Ducks Are Back

Our ducks have returned to roost in the backyard. We put in some baby duck steps so that they will stick around once the little ones hatch.

 

Destroy All Monsters

Our local theater is AMAZING. They show some really good movies. We hit the Saturday matinee for a showing of the 1968 classic, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters

They have a full bar and the best buttered popcorn in the Twin Cities.

It wasn't a sell out, but every single person there was a hardcore Godzilla fan. 

 

Play Ball!

DK & I hit Target Field for the Twins home opener. It's blacked out for our ticket package, so we had to get some cheap seats in the upper deck. It was chilly in the shade, but it was a lot warmer than last year. There was barely any snow remaining.

Even the cheap seats have a great view of the action.