Taking advantage of a gorgeous “Indian Summer” day here in Minnesota!
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum hosts an annual scarecrow display. This year’s creations were submitted by local floral design professionals, and they did not disappoint!
Only 6 more weeks of Winter? Oh please. This is Minnesota.
“Backyard Bob” says another 6 months is more like it. Ha.
Oy. Sounds like quite the combo, huh?
Full Moon 06-13-2014 from Woodbury, MN
Actually, other than a race-around-the-house black wildcat, and a silly run-around-like-a-puppy black lab it was a pretty normal day!
For me, anyway.
My son had lots of excitement in the evening when Dad taught him to shoot a gun for the very first time. Hubby has been a trapshooter (like his father) since high school, so this was a BIG deal. So on this auspicious day, the two of them headed out to the Horse & Hunt Club with much anticipation, only to discover it was CLOSED.
Oh, the horror!
A little online research then revealed another facility less than 20 minutes away, so off they went. The boy took to it like a champ, not even flinching at the kickback. He was so proud to show me his very first shell when he got home, smiling ear-to-ear. One can see why trapshooting is such a rapidly growing sport in high schools.
Safety is the #1 priority!!
So I wonder, will they both be doing this 35 years from now when the next Friday the 13th Full Moon comes along? Betcha the answer is “YES!”
This willow structure reminds me of a Hobbit Hole
School is finally out! Time to enjoy the beautiful weather – outside!
Alex and I ventured out to the Arboretum to see the Butterfly Exhibit and search for Father’s Day (gifts) at the gift shop. The butterflies were very friendly and landed on us, but would not stand for having their pictures taken! (Hence, no photos of butterflies on our heads, hands and shoulders.)
One of Alex’s favorite things at the Arboretum is the Nature Play area under a huge shade tree. Complete with tunnels, forts, pinecone doll house and even a “kitchen sink”, it definitely sparks the imagination!
Nature Play Area at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum – Chanhassen, MN
King of the Forest
Bear Den?
What a great place for kids to get some sun, fresh air, and re-energize.
More playgrounds should look like this!
And it’s no April Fool’s joke either. All this white stuff wasn’t here yesterday. Brr!!
Sorry for the recent radio silence. I have been hibernating. Seriously.
According to the Winter Misery Index, we have had the worst winter in 30 years.
It has been brutal. My brain has been frozen and dormant. BUT Spring is peeking through the and melting the snow and ice, so it’s time to revive and get back to the business of living.
#cantwaittoseethesunagain
A reprieve from the cold.
It’s +40F here in Minnesota.
The perfect day to build a snowman…and for his head to fall off a half hour later! LOL
Delenn and I took a nice long walk and she was so happy.
Tail was wagging all the way. *doggie smile* 😀
‘Cause Hell is frozen over!
That’s a running joke around here in Minnesota – about the Vikings anyway.
But this weather is no joke. It’s more like: “WTF did we ever do to you, Mother Nature?!”
It’s downright life-threatening at -60F windchill. Exposed skin can freeze in less than five minutes. Holy Crap.
It’s been a few years, but I remember what that’s like. It was that cold when the power went out on January 17, 2005 and Alex was just over a month old. Our house in Duluth had electric heat, so power outages were especially bad. Our biggest concern was water pipes freezing and bursting. Luckily the outage lasted only 6 hours and we had several large glass windows facing East/Southeast on a very sunny day. Bundled up baby and tucked him under the covers of our bed and snuggled under the blankets with him.
I did also take a photo of our back porch thermometer. It read -40F objective temperature, windchill was -60F. It’s times like these that make me seriously consider leaving Minnesota.
A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM SATURDAY TO NOON CST TUESDAY.
* WIND CHILL VALUES: 35 TO 60 BELOW… WITH THE COLDEST READINGS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS: EXPOSED FLESH WILL FREEZE IN 10 MINUTES WITH WIND CHILLS OF 35 BELOW… AND IN 5 MINUTES WITH WIND CHILLS OF 50 BELOW OR COLDER.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS… MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.
A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
More Information
… A VERY DANGEROUS AND HISTORIC COLD AIR OUTBREAK WITH NEAR RECORD TEMPERATURES EXPECTED LATE THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK…
… AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW THROUGH THE AFTERNOON ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA…
…STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW… ESPECIALLY IN THE MINNESOTA RIVER VALLEY THROUGH MID AFTERNOON. GUSTY WINDS WILL LESSEN AFTER 3 PM… WITH SURFACE VISIBILITY IMPROVING.
A COUPLE POWERFUL ARCTIC COLD FRONTS WILL PUSH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY EVENING. NEAR RECORD COLD AIR WILL FOLLOW FROM SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY AS AIR TEMPERATURES PLUMMET INTO THE TEENS… 20S… AND 30S BELOW ZERO. IN FACT… A NUMBER OF ALL TIME COLD RECORD HIGHS MAY BE BROKEN ON MONDAY… INCLUDING IN THE TWIN CITIES METRO. GUSTY WEST OR NORTHWEST WINDS COMBINED WITH THESE EXTREMELY COLD AIR TEMPERATURES WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 40 TO 60 BELOW… WITH THE COLDEST READINGS EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. WIND CHILLS COLDER THAN 50 BELOW CAN CAUSE EXPOSED FLESH TO FREEZE IN ONLY 5 TO 10 MINUTES. A WIND CHILL WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN FROM 6 PM SATURDAY THROUGH NOON TUESDAY.
It’s so bad the Governor cancelled all school statewide on Monday.
| Parents/Guardians:All schools and programs in Eden Prairie Schools will be closed on Monday, January 6. Governor Dayton has ordered all Minnesota school districts to be closed due to the pending cold weather. |
Christmas Eve forecast for MinneSNOWta:
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Good thing Santa’s dressed in fur!
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Yes, we had a White Christmas. It was very pretty – and cold.
I spent my Christmas Holiday OFFline with my Tribe. Didn’t touch the computer for two days.
And it felt great.
We hosted this year. After Christmas Eve candlelight church service we had dinner. Foods included a veggie tray with bacon avocado dip and smoked salmon, Boeuf Burguignon with sweet potato biscuits and 4 kinds of paleo cookies: sleighbells, cookie dough bon-bons, gingersnaps and mexican wedding cakes.
We feasted, popped open crackers, exchanged gifts and sat by the real fire while watching the musical yule log on TV. LOL
Paleo Christmas cookies: sleighbells, cookie dough bon-bons, gingersnaps and mexican wedding cakes
Christmas Day brought more feasting on roasted chicken with green beans, squash, sweet potato biscuits (they were a hit!) and another platter of Paleo cookies. Grandpa napped while the rest of us watched the Hobbit DVD until it was time for them to continue their journey to SIL’s in Nebraska.
Great fun was had by all, especially the kiddo who found out he’s going to Disney World and LegoLand Florida in February. Woo-Hoo!
Any recommendations for things to see, do and EAT (Paleo) are welcome in the Comments!
“I’m going to Disney World!”
“Tinni!”
According to Today.com, Norwegian photographer Torgeir Berge took Tinni his German Shepherd on a walk, and they ran into this fox! Berge named the Fox “Sniffer.”
What Does the Fox Say?! “Tinni-Tinni-Tin-Tin-Tin-Tin…”
Now Tinni & Sniffer hang out all the time!
Berit Helberg is writing a book on the duo with Berge.
This song has been making the rounds at the local schools. Very cute [earworm]!!
You’re Welcome.
