Tulip time

I was out walking with NCW this morning and we encountered tulips in full bloom. I'm not sure how they were able to get the the flower stage while enduring one of the longest winters in local history, but there they were. Tulips are a sure sign that winter has fled and we'll be able to spend some quality time outside. I suspect that the Tulip Festival in Holland will have a larger and more brilliant array of bloomers, but these were a welcome sight on Lincoln Avenue in the Saintly City.

There were other sights to be seen, sights that signal spring has finally sprung. This year the neighborhood gardening enthusiasts have convinced the city to allow a public garden area near Linwood Park's tennis courts. They have decided to go with a variety of small gardens called key hole gardens, a new concept to me. Since I'm not participating, just observing, I thought I'd try to find out a little more about the concept.  I guess I have some gardens to watch for the summer.

Outdoor tennis starts on Monday for me. I've seen other people on city courts, all smacking the ball around. I've been content to spend my time on indoor courts. I'm looking forward to wind, sun, and sunscreen.

Snowless bike

It was just a week ago that I posted a photo of a snow covered bike. Today it's still in the same spot but the environment around it has changed dramatically. I don't think the bike has moved in that week.

I'm just saying.

This has been an abnormal spring

It snowed again over night. It was quite pretty this morning and it seemed like a good time to go for a walk and catch the morning sun on the new snow. Down the street on Fairmount I encountered this bicycle locked to a rail and layered with the heavy snow. It was a sight that needed to be recorded.

The snow isn't eight inches deep, but it put a layer of heavy snow on all the trees. The blue sky this morning is very welcome, and the snow will be gone by Friday. This was taken about a block from where the bike is anchored.

The sun is as high in the sky and as intense as it is on August 19. I think that spring is about to spring.

Yuck factor

Maybe it's time to give up on spring. There was a message written on a window on Lexington as I drove by this morning said, "Merry April." I guess we're due for up to six more inches of what I sometimes call "lovely whiteness."

The Minnesota weather radar pretty much sums up the yuck factor.

I'm still going to play tennis tonight at Wooddale. It may be a wild ride there and back.

Later edit:  Tennis has been cancelled.  The roads are bad.  There will be other sunnier days to hit the courts.

The falls flows again

Finally, an April day with some sunshine, no wind and temps in the 40's.   I took it as an omen that spring may yet appear. The NCW and I decided that after lunch we should go see how the local water falls was handling the extra flow of water. The rain and snow melt added enough water to the flow of the creek to make the falls once again a real water falls.  The ice has yet to melt away, but soon it, too, will be flowing down the creek.

The NCW was happy to be outside and proud to be able to pose jacket-less. The falls are to be seen in the background.

We walked down to the big river and back, too. There were quite a few people out enjoying the sunshine, some of whom were still wearing parkas and stocking caps. It'll take a while until we really believe that winter won't reappear.

The Boston Marathon bombing has taken much of my attention today.  I still can't imagine how anyone can intentionally kill an eight year old child and consider that to be a good or even defensible act.  Random acts of insanity must somehow be quashed.  Hug your children and be careful out there.

Another birthday

As hard as it is to believe, the Prairie Princess (aka Daughter of Norway) turned 30 years old today. That week there was a huge snowstorm that dropped maybe 10 inches of snow in my backyard, and tonight there is another big snowstorm waiting in the west wing to drop another load on the Saintly City. What goes around continues to go around. PP is in Norway finishing a master's thesis this week and won't see the storm, but it looks like the weather there isn't much better.

And one of the last photos of the Prairie Princess before she made her return flight to the old country, here with the North Country Woman at Lake Como in January. She has grown a bit since 1983.

Happy birthday, my baby girl.

Birthday month

It's April and it seems like there are more family birthdays this month than any other.

Just thirty-three years ago Unky Herb was born in a Minneapolis hospital. I have quite a few photos of the boy from 1980 and this is one of my favorites. There was a snow "event" the day he came home from the hospital, and today seems to be very similar. There were flurries yesterday and today is cloudy and dripping but it is probably too warm for a snow dump, but April is a cruel month. Perhaps the cruelest.

Another photo from 1980 when Unky Herb was a mere infant. That youngish looking guy was me, Tennis Tousan, now an elder, perhaps a geezer.

We had a little cake for lunch, and we're planning a birthday dinner next week.

It has been a long slow slog towards spring, but it looks like we're going to have flowers and grass and leaves on the trees again soon.   I've had a few walks over by Como Lake and the trail around it has been clear of snow and ice for a few days.  Soon the crab apple trees will begin sending out blossoms and color will return to Minnesota.

Pi Day

I couldn't let March 14 go by without alerting the world that it is again Pi Day. There's a web site to buy t-shirts and stuff, too.   It's also not a bad day to indulge in a nice slice of pie.

I think it might be appropriate to have a frozen pie, too, because spring in these climes simply refuses to return. Another minor snow dumping this morning and probably a bit more over the weekend.

More baseball

This time it was the Twins visiting the Rays in Port Charlotte. It was a cold day for this part of Florida. It was 54º when we got back from the game, and windy. Not frigid by Minnesota standards, but a bit uncomfortable sitting in one spot in the stands.

The Twins brought most of their available players to the game, but Mauer and Morneau were off to the World Baseball Classic, and thus a fair amount of their offensive punch was gone.  We had good seats near the first base dugout and close enough to be nervous about foul balls. The stadium is a nice venue for baseball, good sight lines and easy to get around. There is an aisle all the way around the outfield and plenty of places to buy overpriced, but actually pretty tasty ball park food. I had a gyro with lamb meat. We arrived early enough to watch some batting practice and infield, plus a chance to walk around the stadium.

The game was pretty good for the first few innings until the fifth when Jared Burton gave up three runs on four hits and the final score was 7-2 for the Rays. But it was baseball and pretty cool.

 

One of these fans is from Minnesota and the other spent the last three months in the snowbird haven near the Stone Crabs' home stadium. It was a cold day at the ball park, at least for this part of southwest Florida.

 
A little look at yesterday's activities and to add to Santini's blog, I'm posting a picture of banyan trees (and tourists) on Banyan Street in Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. Yesterday was a bit warmer than today.

 

Ambling in Kiwanis Park

It was a little cooler today, but still nicely into the 60's.  We went to Kiwanis Park somewhat west of here for some sauntering and a little nature observing and bird watching. It's home to quite a few water birds and even some turtles and I even saw a raccoon.  Kiwanis Park's only about a mile in circumference (if it were a circle), but the trail meanders back and forth among slash pines, cypress trees, southern oaks, and an abundance of palm trees of several types.  We encountered this equipment early on and NCW and Santini had to try it out for the camera. We were just out for a stroll, so we were open to stopping and observing the trees and bushes.

 

 Kiwanis Park has some exercise equipment built into the ground that people can use as they saunter around the park. It's not a large park, but Santini and NCW were maximizing their efforts by balancing on the low balance beam. The one that you can't easily fall off.

 

There was a bit of required silliness when the posing was going on. Here I am with NCW under a southern oak tree, or so I think.

 
This is one of the white egrets or hurons that was out today. This guy had just grabbed some tainty morsel from the pond and was happily having an early lunch.

 
The weather is cooling a bit this week, but we're scheduled to see the Twins play the Rays on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park, home of the Charlotte Stone Crabs minor league baseball team. And a really nice baseball facility.