Sunny Sunday in St Paul

So much to do on a brisk October day. The Twin Cities marathon runs down Summit Avenue about four blocks from here. I decided to go look at the event and maybe get some photos. The Governor's Mansion is about 24 miles from the start and that's the general location of my viewing. It was about 11:20 when I got there, about 3 hours 15 minutes into the race. The people I saw were in no danger of winning the race - the men's winner was about 2:14 for the 26.2 miles - but they were quite good runners. I stayed until after 12 and the runners were still good and they were still coming in groups and a pretty steady stream. There was a water station by the mansion - it's in the first photo. I didn't see any people that I knew, but the bulk of the people going by mile 24 looked determined to finish, and they're likely going to sleep well tonight.

The back view as other runners went by going east towards the capitol.  House of Hope Church is in the background.

This afternoon I remembered that I hadn't been down to the river to see the crest of the fall flood. I went to Harriet Island and later to downtown St Paul to get some perspective on the water level.  The benches on Harriet Island that I featured a couple of days ago are now isolated in flood water and the ducks are hanging around feeding from the bottom.  The Mississippi river in the background is likely to stay out of its banks for another week or so.

The view from the middle of the Wabasha Street bridge shows Raspberry Island. The areas where PP planted native grasses earlier this year are at the far end of the island - where the trees are partially submerged.  I think it is safe to guess that replanting will be necessary.

No frost here yet. The tomato plants are still alive and safe for another week or so.