Still January

The street in front of my house is still covered with packed down snow and ice. It takes a sustained warm spell to rid the surface of its irregularities, and that hasn't happened yet. There is a kind of stark beauty to a clear January day with the blue sky and the naked trees. The ice covered sidewalks are treacherous and demand respect for those of us approaching geezerhood and I can see the wisdom of Florida and Arizona. The grocery bags in the photo are being used to contain recyclables for St. Paul's ongoing recycling program.


I took my creaking body to the Wooddale Tennis Center this morning and played a couple of sets. I wasn't really on my game, but I managed to get the ball over the net more times than the friendly opponents and eked out some victories. The club was not so busy this morning so we were able to play an extra half hour before quitting and calling it a successful day. We sat around a bit and discussed Serena's win in Melbourne over Justine. I remarked that the tale of the tape in this morning's Strib listed Serena at 5'9"" and 150 pounds, and that I was pretty sure that they must have been measuring someone else. I think she must have another 20 pounds on that frame - she can't possibly be smaller than me. That's my just opinion.

I fixed Santini's "famous yams in the oven" recipe from the experimental blog to eat for the evening meal. The yams, veggie burgers and steamed mixed veggies filled the menu. I was joined in a hearty repast by Herb and the princess.

The radio informed me that the current full moon is the brightest full moon of the year. I'm not sure how they know that or why it matters, but it was a high point of my daily input of usually useless facts that sometimes aid in solving a crossword puzzle later in the month.

Not much January left.

Venus in Eclipse

I admit it. I went to the Fair, not once, but twice. It's an experience that I won't repeat this year, but it was, as the old Norwegians are wont to say, different. PP was working at the MCC booth by the DNR area, so I stopped and picked her up as her shift ended and we took this photo of her pretending to be an MCC employee in the photo cutout. She actually is an MCC employee and has, on several occasions, wielded a chain saw. So, other than the wooden-like stance, it could be a photo of her at work.

Then we toured around the fairgrounds. We ate some of the on-a-stick gastronomic delights(?), like the alligator and a pronto pup, visited the International Bazaar, and generally checked out the Minnesota people out in public and on display. I had a tour of the Poultry Barn while PP was working, and only later thought that I could have encountered the bird flu in that venue. But I wasn't alone. Apparently Garrison Keillor spent some time there this week, too. I was struck by the variety of chickens that people raise, some of which are quite attractive birds, yet when one buys chicken meat in stores there is no mention of the variety that one is buying. Apparently they are all the same, at least taste-wise.



The other must-go exhibit for me is the fine arts display. The range of art work is wide, but there are a lot of very talented artists in Minnesota that enter their work for ribbons and a chance to be displayed. I personally like the sculpture and the oil paintings.

I found the car parks in the Como area pretty interesting, as did Mr Moohoo on his blog. My next photo is of some one's second income source. The $15 rate for parking seems pretty excessive, but they are filling their yards and collecting their fees. It was and is possible to park free at Highway 94 and Snelling and catch the bus to the Fair, also for free. It's hard to knock the free enterprise system though.



Venus lost her match this afternoon to the resurgent Kim Clijsters at the US Open, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4. It was a very weird match with the two offsetting bagel sets, before a hard fought third set. Clijsters is returning to the game after having a baby girl. The only mother, that I can remember to ever win a grand slam event was the athletic Evonne Goolagong. Clijsters has a few obstacles to winning this one, including Serena, but she's in the quarter finals. It's all a pretty good show.

Tiger Lily Time

The tiger lilies came out over the weekend. I guess it was time for them to begin to bloom for the summer. This one lives in my backyard.


The GTA had a session of tennis at Marie Park this afternoon. It was windy, sometimes gusting unpredictably, but the tennis wasn't bad. We managed two sets 4-6, 6-1 before taking the rest of the day off. Tennis Dennis made an appearance and explained that there is another week to wait before he returns from his current injury.

The other court was used by a guy and two 7-10 year olds that he was babysitting, he said. The boys kept throwing their rackets and refused to stop when asked. Eventually they left to go home, but for a while they were quite disruptive. Their rackets are pretty banged up from all the tossing, but no one got hurt.

Both Venus and Serena are through to the quarterfinals at Wimby and there is a large possibility that they will meet in the final. In the men's draw, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick are among the eight players left. Roger is looking good, but the guys who are left are strong players who really want to win this tournament. The finals are this weekend. I'm still picking Fed.

Ques: What's the difference between a pigeon and an investment banker?
Ans: A pigeon can still make a deposit on a Ferrari.

Ash Tree Blues, or Purples

The ash tree blight scrutiny has spread to my neighborhood, too. Mr Moohoo has reported these purple insect traps in ash trees in various parts of the city. This one is on Grotto, near Osceola. I, too, am obsessed with the purple traps - there is a row of ash trees lining both sides of the street on the block that I live. There are a bunch of trees on Grotto that don't look very healthy, not unlike a bunch on the Mississippi River Road, which are well along in the process of dying off. There are traps in Como Park, too, near the Conservatory. Ah. rotten luck.



The temperature in St Paul set a record for the date yesterday - 97. Unky Herb and I finally uncovered the AC and turned it on for the season.

I played two sets of tennis this afternoon with the GTA. It was about 80 degrees and my stamina was good enough to last through both sets. Curt and I played together, won some games, but managed to come out behind in both sets.

Wimby is well into the first week. Both Venus and Serena are playing well and may again meet in the finals. The Screaming Maria lost today and is no longer a factor. I'm predicting Serena to beat Venus in the finals. Roger Federer is the favorite in the men's draw, except for the Brits, who are hoping that Andy Murray (a Scotsman) will win before the blanc mange aliens do. He means to win Wimbledon. I hope he does. They haven't won their own tournament in over 70 years.

Ninety-three Again

It was too hot and too windy to bike or play tennis. It made 93 degrees again for the second day in a row, and the breeze was in the 25-30 mph range much of the day. But I did manage to get in a set and a half of tennis at 4 pm at Marie Park. It was not as much fun as usual, but better than a sharp stick in the eye. I managed to be on the winning side for the complete set and also did not hurt myself. A successful outing.

This photo was taken at Linwood on my way home from checking out the progress on the Linwood courts. The courts haven't been worked on since yesterday. No progress. The strength of the wind may be seen in the flapping of the flag of the USA.



The French have been running their national championship in Paris at Roland-Garros for a long time. They have had a hard time finding a French national who can win the tournament. The last French man to win was Yannick Noah in 1983 (the year that PP was born) and the last French woman was Mary Pierce in 2000. The Americans, too, have had some recent droughts in the win department. The last USA man was Andre Agassi in 1999, and the last USA woman was Serena Williams in 2002. It is also true that Chrissie Evert won the French Open 7 times.

Winter Carnival Snow Sculptures

Every January the city fathers have a celebration of ice and cold to distract the citizens from the ice and cold that permeates the environment. There has been a snow sculpture contest the last few years. This year the snow creations were done at the state fair grounds, a few blocks south of Larpenteur Avenue. Because the weather has softened some and the temperature reached into the low double figures above zero (12), I ventured out to see what had been created by the artist geniuses of the great northland. I was rewarded.

A snowy tree. Well formed and woodless. (Second prize winner).


Snowy mushrooms. Large and showy. Not very tasty.


Snowy dragon head. The body must be below ground. (Third prize winner)


Snowy castle. Like its cousin the sand castle, beautiful, but ephemeral.

I spent maybe fifteen minutes at the site. The sun was bright, but the wind was blowing and the windchill was below zero. My camera stopped working because of the cold and I went to find some warmth in my trusty Matrix parked on the street. There were some other hardy souls about, all bundled against the wind, and probably all native Minnesotans.

My tennis tidbit for the day. The Australian Open Tennis Tournament is reaching its final days. I watched Serena Williams win her semi-final match against Russian Elena Dementieva, who won the Olympic Gold Metal last summer. Serena is a beast. She hits the ball very hard and keeps it on the court most of the time, but the best part of her game is that she knows that she's going to win and then makes it happen. She is hugely confident; 6-3, 6-4, to get to play Marat Safin's little (? she's six feet tall) sister, Dinara, in the finals this weekend. I'll be playing some tennis myself, but without as large a crowd or with as much money at stake, at Fort Snelling Tennis Center. I'm hoping for low gravity days.

Scooter Skates

It was a cool enough day early on to take a bike ride. By 6:30 pm it was raining, so it was good to ride early before tennis. I took a circuitous route to Como Park - up Western to Como and then to the lake. I wanted to see if I could get a picture of the Global Harmony Labyrinth on Lexington Avenue. It was dedicated to commemorate the St. Paul Nagasaki Sister City relationship. A labyrinth is not a maze - it only has a single path to the center. It's a kind of tool for meditation. I have walked the labyrinth and it takes a little while, but it is not possible to get lost. Here is a photo of most of the Como Labyrinth.


It was a 12 mile bike trek and broke no speed records or even much new ground.

I was able to get in two sets of tennis before the rains came. It was somewhat better tennis from the Tousan, and I was on the winning teams both sets. It's weird how the skill level fluctuates so much from day to day.

And to make this a more attractive blog entry I offer up a photo of a cute girl and her dog. It's an old black and white photo that must be 15 or so years old. That dog loved to play with that girl. That girl will be back from Japan in 22 days for a visit and some time on the beach with Wireless, Herb and the SLOs, and I'm buying her all the fresh blueberries that she can eat. The dog, alas, has departed this earth.


Serena rallies to win at Wimby and Scooter Skates. Paris Hilton got more slammer time than Scooter. Life is like that. It is good to have friends in very high places.

Ugly, But Functional

A nice day in June. I remained somewhat knackered and since my biking goal for the month has been attained (no bad falls), I took a rest day to water the crunchy lawn, wash my dirty laundry, and indulge in some photo scanning. I made a trip to the Friday Farmer's Market at St. Luke's and bought locally grown, aggresively priced veggies - tomatoes, cukes, and broccoli from farmers of a variety of ethnicities. There will be tennis tomorrow in the morning with the gang of geezers.

This is another ugly building that I'm entering in my own contest. It's ugly but functional. It's the route from Pierce Butler Road over the railroad tracks to St. Paul's Energy Park. One can ride across the bridge and take the back and forth switch-back to get down to ground level and continue on to Como Park. It fits the stereotype for structures near the railroad - rundown and rusty. I've used this route many times in the last few years. One's speed on the structure is severely limited by the sudden and extreme turns, but it keeps one off Lexington Parkway.


I scanned this old photo from 1961, partly as a gift to MM who commented on the Tousan's blog (and who is in the photo), and partly to try to figure out who was in it and where it was taken. I think I know almost everyone, and I'm pretty sure where it was shot. Suggestions of identities and location -> comment box.


Wimby update. Milagros Sequers is eliminated by Queen Serena 6-1, 6-0. Serena has too much power for the youngster from Venezuela. Matina Hingis also was eliminated today. Roger Federer took down Marat Safin in three sets. See ESPN for scores.

KG is still a T'Wolf.

Old Photos

Since we seem to have changed to old photos. This is the oldest so far and is an oversize photo in my possession that hasn't been seen by many eyes in many a year. It contains a couple of good looking gentlemen wearing very stylish hats and looking stern, who carrried the family DNA around for a good long time. Thanks, boys.

November, 1912. County Board and County Officers of Burnett County on Courthouse steps in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Town of Rusk George E. Miller, Town of Scott G. L. Miller, etc. etc.


George Eugene Miller (8/28/1875-1/26/1937) He is on the left. This picture taken when he was 37.


G. L. Miller (3/28/1848-3/15/1920) He is on the left center. This picture taken when he was 64.


I used my digital camera and its macro focus setting for getting these photos into the blog. Thanks to Santini.

I rode down to Upper Landing Park and Chestnut to try to find another Minnesota Rocks sculpture. I scrounged around for quite a while, and although there are a lot of Minnesota stones and some sculptures in the area, I was unable to identify a sculpture that fit the description and of recent installation. I gave up and rode home, photoless. It was a cool and clear day. Very fresh. 12 miles.

Serena lost to Justine Henin 6-4, 6-3. The last American is eliminated.

It was a beautiful afternoon so Wilson and I hit some tennis balls with another retired gentleman for about an hour at St Clair playground tennis courts. I hadn't struck a yellow tennis ball since Saturday morning and it felt really satisfying.

Hidden Falls

It was and continues to be very windy today in River City. I played some tennis in the wind to remind myself what a bad idea that is. The play was stroke practice at Sibley High School courts set on an open area where the wind was in command of all dimensions. But it was nice to be outside, windy or not. I'm taking a rest day from tennis tomorrow, to let it rain and to get stronger.

I managed to find my way to the Hidden Falls Minnesota Rocks sculptures today. And after living in St Paul most of the time since the fall of 1961 I actually saw Hidden Falls. I have many, many times ridden through Hidden Falls Regional Park, but never knew where the real falls stood. They are well hidden, but in a well known spot, because the area obviously is used extensively. There are stone trails, fire pits, and stairs of stones built by human hand and at great effort. I'll add a photo sometime in the future. I am embarrassed.

These are two more of the Minnesota Rocks public sculptures in St Paul. That's 4 of the 13 in St Paul. There is one in St Anthony Village and one in Vadnais Heights to track down, too.

Minnesota Rocks 3; by Salah Hammad of Egypt (untitled) on Mississippi River Boulevard near Hidden Falls:


Minnesota Rocks number 4; Sentinels by Juergan Zaun of Germany on Mississippi Boulevard near Ford Parkway:


Roger Federer stopped Nadal's clay court streak at 81 matches this weekend, so he may have become the favorite at Roland Garros. I'm sticking with my prediction that Nadal will win. And I'm starting to think that Serena Williams may be a "bootylicious" factor on the red clay. Time magazine has an article on her in the May 28 issue. I think that "bootylicious" is Serena's own term for her big babe tennis physique. It still seems fitting that Mauresmo should win the title in her own country. It's been a long drought for the home team there.