The falls at nineteen degrees

I took an afternoon walk by Minnehaha Falls. As I left my car I noted the temperature was 19 degrees, a sign that winter is setting in earnestly. The water over the fall is just a dribble, a sign that we are experiencing a kind of cold weather drought. The icicles are forming and the water in the creek is firming up, but the dramatic ice dams of previous years have yet to form. The stairs down to the creek level are closed, but still passable, so I went down for the photo and for a walk along the creek.

There were very few people out today, just the guys from Prairie Restoration who are burning brush and cleaning up the areas that they are turning into areas with more native plants. I stopped and talked to a couple of the guys who were tending a fire down towards the big river. I asked if they knew the Prairie Princess, who had worked there about a year and a half ago, and they said they did. The guys, Nathan and John, wondered what PP was up to, and I explained her decision to go to grad school and her current location. I walked to the Mississippi and back without encountering any other "tourists." I guess it's too cold for December meandering. The sun is low in the sky and there wasn't a lot of sun in the creek valley to photograph. We are only two weeks from the winter solstice.

The leaves are gone and the form of the hill can be seen from the bottom. This is the way I chose to go back up to the top of the hill.

The sign at the top of the steps indicates premature closing of the stairs.

Winter is here.

Wherein I walk on water

After four straight days of the tennis wars, I had the day off. I think I needed it, although I spent a lot of yesterday being a couch potato - watching the Vikings lose the NFC Championship to the Saints, and later watching a lot of Australian Open tennis on ESPN2. I watched a couple of sets of Nickolay Davydenko, the Russian ghost, trading ground strokes with a Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco. Much later, in the wee hours, Davydenko won in five sets to advance to the quarters against Federer.

This afternoon I got a little restless and took a trek down to the big river to see how the storm was coming. The western part of Minnesota is shut down today by blowing snow, but the Capitol City is functioning. I walked along the river, actually on the surface of the ice where the cross country ski tracks were, until I saw an object in the middle of the stream. I walked closer.



It appears to be an easy chair that someone dragged out to the center of the river and allowed to be frozen to the surface. It'll likely be there until spring.



I continued down the river past the end of Pike Island and back, then made a trip inland to Upper Lake. The snow grew some in intensity and the sun was nearly obscured and a little spooky over the lake. I was pretty much alone for most of the walk. The dock on Upper lake is shown below.



Two of the three people that I saw on the walk were carrying shovels, the pointed kind for digging trenches. It's odd to see anyone carrying a shovel down there, so it's kind of a mystery. I suspect it is related to the St Paul Winter Carnival Treasure Hunt, which I think is currently in session. I should look it up, but I know the ice sculpture contest was injured by the January thaw that hit over the weekend, so it is Winter Carnival time. Whoever finds the Winter Carnival medallion wins a nice cash prize

There will be more tennis to play again tomorrow.

More Cow Bell

The temperature has been below freezing now for 49 or so consecutive hours. I made a special tripto Como after 90 minutes of tennis to see if it had iced over yet. There is still open water, as you can see in the photo through the flurries, but the lake is over half iced over. This is what happens in December in Minnesota. Water turns solid. Snow flies. It gets cold.



"I have a fever and the only prescription is more cow bell." - Christopher Walken. See video.

Ergo. Honky Tonk Woman by the Rolling Stones.

The whole SNL skit with the Blue Oyster Cult song, "Don't Fear the Reaper".

Recreational outdoor ice

It is the middle of February and an outdoor ice rink is still flourishing at Linwood Park. There were no skaters on the ice when I took this shot, but they had just left the surface. The temperature soared to 35, the first trip above freezing this month. We are not in danger of losing recreational ice for a while yet.



This rink reminds me of the ice in Coleraine when I was a mere lad. There is home made ice surrounded by snow banks and an ice path to a warming shack. Unlike this ice, the Coleraine ice was frozen on top of two tennis courts across the street from Mullins' house. This ice was built over a soccer field, and sometimes baseball diamond. Recreational space.

The USTA mixed doubles match last night was close, but went against us. The team as a whole, however, won two matches to one. We had to recruit a new team member to fill in for Jerry, while he's out, and he was on a winning duo. Hardcore Barb and I lost 6-3, 6-4, done in by better pace and younger legs.

Saturday geezer tennis this morning featured a guest appearance from Curt, who has been wintering in Arkansas. He was in town for appointments and substituted for Jerry. The tennis was pretty good quality, considering the physical problems which have overtaken us this winter. Tennis Dennis was limping noticeably at the end and has begun to plan his hip replacement surgery, to take place in about six weeks. For an injured old guy, he still plays a cagey game of lob and volley doubles, and for about an hour can still run like a young fellow. We are actively scouting for replacement players to keep the tennis rolling along.

I made veggie burger chili tonight, using the recipe that includes cocoa and chili powder. That, a salad by Unky Herb, and the corn bread, fresh from the oven and covered with honey, made for a filling meal for a cold day in February, on the way towards spring.

Flooding a Rink

It's December and it's been below freezing this whole month in the Saintly City. In my walk to gather full spectrum photons as part of my quest to ward off Seasonal Affective Disorder, I came across an employee of the City of St Paul engaged in an activity foreign to much of the country. This dude is flooding a skating rink. It's a new rink at Linwood. I haven't seen skaters there yet, but after the ice is well established there will be cheerful youngsters blading around on the surface. There is an art to creating a good skating surface in the great out of doors. There are quite a few people on the Iron Range who can do it, and I think that Mr Moohoo has some familiarity with the skill.


The days continue to shorten. Today here was 8 hours and 51 minutes. The people of Tromso, Norway near the burg of Sjovegan, where Hansine Hansen was born, have a much shorter day. It's north of the Arctic Circle. I was there on the day of the summer solstice in 2000. The sun stopped rising there on October 17th and won't be seen again until the middle of February. No sunsets either. Then in the middle of April the sun refuses to set and stays up until the middle of August. They only have about four months of the year when it is possible to see a sunrise or a sunset. We should send them photos of the beautiful sunsets we see every summer over Lake Michigan. The following link is useful in finding the length of days almost anywhere on earth.
Link to worldclock

There was tennis at Wooddale tonight. Tennis Dennis was on his game and we had some great points before he and Bill won the first set from Bob and me, 6-4. Then Dennis was my partner for the second set and we won a rare bageled set. TD's hip began to hurt him so we had to forego a third set. TD is still mobile enough to play. but he's starting to think that his hip replacement is going to happen soon.

Cold, Clear, Thin Ice

Yesterday was cold and calm. Today was not so cold, but windy. It felt just as cold as yesterday. Since there has been only flurries thus far this season, the ice has frozen clear, without a layer of snow for insulation. My mid day trek was a search for ice. In Minnesota this time of year it is a quest that is easily fulfilled. Thus the photo with the requisite "Thin Ice" sign for those foolhardy enough to venture onto the hardened HOH.

It was cold enough outside that I sought refuge in the Como Conservatory, and thought that I could get some photos in the flower garden. Two problems cropped up. The camera was so cold that it gathered condensation on the lens and was unusable for quite a while. And the flowers were being traded out from the fall flower show to the poinsettia show which starts December 1, this next Saturday. It was nice and warm in the Fern Room.


It is curling night. The Miller Rink will be at full strength tonight, I think. Wireless has returned from Paris and is expected back on the indoor ice at SPCC. We have a losing streak in progress that needs some inspirational curling to curtail.

It is Wednesday and Herb (UH) and I spent about an hour using iChat technology to talk with Kagami Sensei. She is studying hard for her Japanese language test which is scheduled on December 5. She's learning grammar and other idiosyncrasies, but not getting enough social interaction. She had Thanksgiving with Roberto and other assorted Americans. Miki and Roberto rounded up a turkey and roasted it in the tiny Japanese style oven, plus Roberto made some gravy. KS said that the turkey smelled wonderful, just like home cooked bird.

Only 24 more days until the solstice.