Powell Gardens

I think I enjoyed the various metal sculptures and trinkets scattered throughout Powell Gardens. This reminded me of the child's game of Jacks, although these large spheres don't look anything like Jacks.

Powell Gardens

I will be posting photos and commentary from various gardens this summer. Today I will start with my first photo from Powell Gardens in Kansas City. There was a small greenhouse area attached to the main building. It was, how do you say.... very humid in there! I would imagine in winter these plants would be especially nice to see.

Check out the website for Powell Gardens. From May 29 to October 3 there will be Big Bugs at the Gardens. I do mean Big. I wish we could have seen these bugs, but we will have to be satisfied with all the normal sized bugs in our own yard.

Happy World Metrology Day

Metrology as in measuring things. Also important is Standards. It would do no good to say something is three meters long if we all used a different standard for how long a meter stick is. Our world would be pretty messed up if we didn't have standards of measurement.

Let's say you want to buy some property in Florida. You are told that it is 40 acres and will cost a pound of gold. Sadly for you, the acre that the seller is using is only the size of a cereal box. However, luckily for you, the pound you are using for gold only weighs as much as a marshmallow.

So, standards are good and insure that we can carry on all kinds of commerce, use medicine to heal us, know how long it will take to drive to Florida and back (to view your property), and more uses than you could count in an hour!

When is it Actually Spring?

Most people around here say that seeing a robin is the first sign of spring. I disagree. I have seen robins in December, drinking at our (heated) birdbath. Some of them stay for the winter, opting not to make the long flight south. It is one of the signs of spring, but not the only one.

Some also would say that when the juncos leave and fly north is a true sign of spring. And yet still today there are juncos around. Dandelions are up, at least a few of them. The grass is greener. Trees are starting to bud out. Magnolias are in bloom.

But what I used to consider the real sign of spring was a centipede in the house. We saw one just a few days ago. It was a young one, hiding unless you knew where to look. Let's just say that he went swimming and leave it at that.

The final sign of spring for me was seeing my first earwig outside. This is not a sign I relish. I do not like them as you may know if you have been reading and following closely. He was outside in the sand that moments later was swept up by the street cleaner. If I saw one, then I am quite sure there are thousands more hiding out under leaves or planters or mulch.

Earwigs are a sign of spring that I could do without.

Happy Pi Day

And yet another Pi Day comes and goes. Where are the cards from Hallmark for this occasion? Why is it not a national holiday? I guess the best we can do is to think of circles, diameters and circumferences on St. Patrick's Day and make that suffice for our celebration.

Of course I shouldn't complain. I could have baked an Appl Pi and I should have. I have no good excuse.

Everybody will just need to celebrate as best they can. Maybe next year I can send out Pi cards to all my friends and family.

Lift Bridge Cover-Up

No, that's not my clever title. I found it over at a really neat website with cool webcams and great photos. It's Duluth Harbor Cam. The Cover-Up he's referring to is the planned painting of the bridge. Not a fun time to be working on the bridge, but in the summer when the bridge is going up and down as ships arrive, well you can see how that would be even worse.

You can watch some short time-lapse videos of scaffolding and poly wrap being put up on the north tower of the bridge. It's really interesting to watch. And as I remember how I struggled trying to untangle Saran Wrap to put over a cake pan of cinnamon rolls, I am impressed how effortlessly it seems to be done. The scaffolding is being done by Scaffold Service, Inc St. Paul, MN. The painting will be done by Rainbow Painting Co.

Spend some time looking at this website, including the archives, and more info, (on right margin), and Northernimages link (at the top). It's just like being in Duluth except without the cold and the wind.

Hoar Frost

We had three nights of foggy weather and therefore three days of hoar frost. The trees were all so beautiful. I wish I could have taken photos of all the lovely landscapes I saw as we drove to Twin Cities or just shopping around town. Some of the best views were in places that it would have been too dangerous to stop and snap a photo. But here is one just to give you an idea of the friendlier side of winter.

Happy Palindrome Day

01.02.2010

The Strib had a short, short article noting that today is a palindrome. So everyone go out and celebrate.

Oh, and also... Happy New Year!

Birds and Blizzards

The birds have been busy at the bird feeder. I have seen as many as four female cardinals at one time on the feeders. I've also noticed that the juncos are perching on the feeders now to eat and not just eating off the ground. There is room for 10 or maybe 12 birds at one time at our feeder, so often the birds have to wait in the tree for their chance to get a good spot.

We are winding down from our first significant snow of the season and it has been a blizzard. So far we have about 10 inches. Schools, churches, and many businesses are closed. Meetings have been postponed and smart people are staying off the roads if they have the option of staying at home.

Student Dashboard

Occasionally I look at the webcam from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology. Today the weather is great. At lunchtime there were lots of students walking on the Mall, plus students sitting on the grass studying or talking and even two guys playing Frisbee. I looked around a bit more at the other links on the IT website and found that they even have a link to find food and restaurants in the area. It's good to know that they can keep important stuff in focus.

Colder, Windier, Rainier

"The livecam is currently unavailable due to the weather. Enjoy this photo of Lake Superior big waves."

That's from the Visit Duluth.com Livecam today. It could be that there's just raindrops showing up and blocking the view or maybe it's all blurry from blowing back and forth in the wind. I didn't really think there would be kids playing at the beach today.

The LSMMA webcam shows the true weather in Duluth. I can't see that it's colder, but I'm pretty sure it is. The water is browner that usual. I'm assuming that is from the wind a few days stirring things up so much. The green gates are open again today. There's more water on the sidewalks than a few days ago when I last posted. And at about 10:30 a.m. some of the lights are on.

Perhaps summer really is gone.

Cold, Windy, Rainy

One week ago I got my flu shot. I wore a short-sleeved t-shirt. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change. We have not had frost overnight here yet, but we have come close. It's 50 degrees now and raining on and off, mostly on. It's been like this for a few days, so we can sadly bid summer good-bye.

Today I have been looking at the Duluth Web Cam at LSMMA, the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. It is really, really windy there. The green gate is closed, the waves are reaching the top of the canal wall and all the sidewalks are wet. Even so, the Web Cam usually shows a person or two braving the blustery winds and rain to take a look at the canal.

The photo shows a warmer, calmer day with lots of people watching the Walter J. McCarthy departing Duluth. I took this photo at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11 of 2006.

Flu Shot

I got my flu shot today. There were about 30 people in line before me, but the line moved really fast. When I got into the room where the shots were being administered, there were four or five stations to get the shot. I sat down, got my shot and it bruised immediately. When I donate blood I am always told that I have good veins. I also bruise really easily. So, it's not surprising that I would get a bruise. Plus it bled a little bit, so I got aBand-aid.

No problem though. I went home and got the grass cut. Tomorrow rain is expected and the grass was really getting long, so I'm glad that's done.

Are you wondering if you should get a flu shot? The answer is YES. About ten years ago I had the flu. Ever since that experience I have made sure to get a flu shot each fall. Dave Barry wrote about that flu. The Martian Death Flu he called it. "The main symptom is that you wish you had another setting on your electric blanket, up past High that said: Electrocution."

He was absolutely right. I had on my pajamas and bathrobe. I had four blankets on and I had the electric blanket turned up as close to Electrocution as I could get. I took a long nap and eventually got warm enough to go to the kitchen. I sat in my chair and promptly fainted. That meant a trip to the emergency room to make sure it was nothing more serious than the flu and overheating. I got some medicine that I was supposed to take with food but I had absolutely no interest in food or any ability to make the effort to chew and swallow any kind of food.

Flu shot - Yes! Martian Death Flu - No!!!

Finally Some Rain

It's been almost a month since we have had any rain. Some parts of the state have had even less rain. And unfortunately, some parts of the country are getting so much rain that serious flooding is taking place.

I know that's the way it goes, but it is nice to finally have some rain. We are getting close to having an inch in the rain gauge for the last 24 hours. That means I don't have to drag the hose over to water the new grass seed I planted, at least not for a day or so. The seed has sprouted already, faster than I would have thought possible. Maybe watering it three times a day helped speed it along some.

It's not the best time of the year for starting new grass, but there's not ever an ideal time. One year I planted grass seed at the end of October and we had a mild November. That grass has done very well, thanks to a very mild and long autumn.

The temperatures now have been good, but trying to keep a smooth surface on the dirt when the squirrels are busy burying nuts in our yard is a test of wills. Will the squirrel dig yet another hole where my grass seed is? Yes, he will.

09/09/09

Just for the fun of it today, I wrote that date the way my friends in Switzerland do, with the day first, then the month, then the year. Oh, I'm just joking - I did put the month first. Another special day for those of us who like math and the numbers that make it possible.

Actually it is a special day for another reason. I donated blood, my 75th time doing so at the Mayo Clinic. Last week my hemoglobin was only 12.4 which is too low to donate. I rescheduled for today and lucky me it was up to 12.5 which is the minimum for donating.

But back to the number 9, 9, 9. Some years back there was a wonderful kids' show on PBS called Square One TV. It was great for learning a lot of different concepts in mathematics and also had a lot of humor. There was usually a song performed for each show by members of the regular cast. One of my favorites is "Nine", which you can watch on YouTube here.

University of Minnesota Marching Band

Ah, the Trombones. You probably don't want to stand right in front of them when they are playing. Not that they won't sound good, but you might get a whack upside your head! They sing, they march, they play their instruments and also they are always moving the instruments up, down, left and right. Who doesn't love a parade, especially with the University of Minnesota Marching Band leading the way?

University of Minnesota Marching Band

March On March On To Victory!

Not only can they play musical instruments, not only can they march in formation, but they also sing and they are good at that too. If you lean close, really close to your computer screen, you can hear them singing.

If you can't hear them, then there is another option. Go over to the website and buy their CD.

Scroll down to the bottom where you will find "Latest CD Now Available"

University of Minnesota Marching Band

The Drumline. Probably that is what you hear first. And yes they are good at what they do and yes they also have fun. Every once in a while I drum along with a song. It goes okay for a while and then by beat gets off and my hands trip over each other.

University of Minnesota Marching Band

Another proud symbol of the Band are the Cymbals. You notice the bright bandanas they are wearing? Do you wonder why they are wearing them? The answer --- Because. A few years back I remember them wearing goggles. And why were they wearing goggles? Again, they were wearing them Because. It's fun, it's what they do.

University of Minnesota Marching Band

We were at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday for a few hours. We always try to go when the University of Minnesota (Pride of Minnesota) Marching Band is in the Daily Parade. And we always try to plan it so that we can watch the Marching Band at the beginning of the parade and then run to the end of the parade route and catch them again.

This photo shows the clarinets, my favorite section if you must know. Within 10 seconds of when this photo was taken all band members were in their straight line formation with horns up and playing yet another wonderful song.