Seasons Change And So Do I

A few weeks ago I was griping about summer winding down, about how blue I get when I notice the days are starting to get shorter, when the leaves on the trees start looking old and tired, knowing that in a few short months we will have winter.   But, fortunately, those feelings are short lived.  Even thought tomorrow is the last day of summer, I am enjoying the changing weather.  It's good sleeping weather.  Boy, do I sound more and more like my Mom!   But it is.  Cool enough at night that you need to pull a blanket up to your chin, but warm enough during that day that you can still wear short sleeves.   Transition days.  You need a jacket in the morning on your way to work, but, it's so nice in the afternoon when it's time to go home that you forget it there and then come morning, no jacket.  I've done that three days this week so far. 

I did pull some old friends out of the back of my closet yesterday.  I'm a jeans kind of gal.  I love wearing jeans.  But, since I can't wear them to work, except on rare occasions, I wear cords a lot during the cooler weather.   I wore a pair yesterday, and it was like finding an old friend.  I was so happy and comfortable.  I know it sounds silly, but I think just about everyone has something in their wardrobe that they love to wear more than anything.  Even more than my jeans, I love my corduroys.  And, I love sweaters.  Sweaters and cords go together so well.  My sweaters are ready and waiting, but it will have to get pretty cold before I pull them out.  I do have a fall-ish vest on my needles that should be done soon, and I can wear it during this transition time.  I also have a nice cardigan that I finished this past spring, but haven't worn yet.  It will be perfect with cords, or dress pants.   I'm ready for the change.  Change is good.

I was able to walk with Jody today after work.  It's been weeks.  She was busy, then I was busy, then she was, and well, we finally connected.   Hopefully we can get back to walking together more regularly again.
 

OOPS #2.  What's with the capsized boats?

The leaves are starting to turn.

There was a flock of geese at the Big Beach today that fascinated us.  They were all doing somersaults.  Really.  Somersaults!  Neither of us had ever seen this before.  We assumed that they were cleaning themselves, rubbing their backs on the sandy bottom when they flipped over.

I don't think anyone else really even noticed.  No one stopped to watch like we did.  They all just kept walking by.

Lots of fluffy clouds and bright blue sky.  Beautiful day for a walk.

There's been some work going on along the creek over the past week or two. A new dam has been built to keep the creek from flowing into the lake.  A few years ago they put an inflatable "bladder"  here to keep the creek water out.  They did it to clean up the water quality of the lake.  Now they've built this dam.  Looks like there will be a gate, probably to let water out of the lake if it gets too high,  not to let the creek in.

Minnehaha Creek is just about bone dry.  Did they close the dam at Lake Minnetonka so they could do the dam building, or is it dry due to the lack of rain?  

Always something interesting to see around here when your eyes are open. 

Enjoy the last day of summer tomorrow!

I'm Back!

Have you missed me, Lake Nokomis?  I've missed you.  Even though I drive by you frequently, it's been a long time since I've actually been down to visit you.  But summer is over, and it's time to get back into a routine. 

It was a perfect afternoon to get back to the walking/photo taking/blogging routine.   The horrible hot, humid weather is, I hope, behind us, and I'm looking forward to a long, lovely fall.  I added the lagoon to my walk today.  It's so peaceful back there.  The whole walk was quiet.  I'm not talking about the traffic and the planes - they were still there.  It was something else.  Kids are back in school, vacations are over.  All the "extra" people were gone.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad people use the city lakes and parks.  We're so very lucky to have one of the best park systems in the country.  And this is a beautiful place to spend a summer day.  But, I'm a bit selfish.    I'm glad to have "my lake" back.

No one on the playground.  There was one lone swimmer.  No one out sailing or paddling.  Only these two fishing under the bridge, no one on the fishing docks.  I wasn't forced off the sidewalk by people walking three abreast.  There were people, yet a sense of solitude.  It was peaceful.

I did see a lot of familiar faces today.  The regulars were out in full force.  Another nice thing.  We recognize each other.  We smile, nod, say hi, or at least most of us do. I saw Brandon, the guitar player.  Haven't seen him for quite awhile now.   He was walking his dog Willow, and of course had his guitar on his back.  He told me he's planning to move to California soon.  I'll miss seeing him and wish him well. 

The black walnuts were falling  - almost got hit by a couple. It was not an area to linger. 

OOPS!

Interesting plants - I have no idea what they are.  I would call them "bottle brushes", because that's what they look like.  Anyone?

That's all I have for today. 

FRESH PRODUCE AND GIANT BABIES

I haven't been doing much walking or picture taking this month.  We've been having some work done on the house, and that's been taking up most of my spare time.  I have a lovely new bathroom floor (thanks to my friend Andy), and a new toilet (no thanks to the incompetent guys the plumber sent out).  The tub will be reglazed next week and a new shower door installed,  and it will be lovely!

Andy laid the tile on Monday but had to break apart the toilet to get it out because of the way it was installed, bolted and bonded to the floor in some weird way. There was no flange.  He knew we were planning on a new toilet, so that wasn't any big deal, except, we only have one bathroom.  I had misunderstood him about not being able to use the toilet - I thought just for the day while he was working on the floor, but I was wrong, and we spent the night in a motel.  I had told the plumber on Monday about the missing flange and he was to call Andy and see what was up with that, but he didn't call.  Talked to Andy Tuesday morning while he was grouting the floor, and still no word from plumber.  I called Plumber and he said he'd be out at 1:00 to see what was needed for the job (which he did)  and then would have the guys out between 3:00 and 4:00 to install.  Great, perfect!   "I need a new shut-off valve too".   "No problem".    I got home from work at 3:00.  Floor looked lovely.  4:00 came and went, no plumbers, and by 5:15  I called find out where the heck they were.  "They're not there yet?  We dropped off the toilet with them hours ago."  Um, NO!  I wouldn't be calling you if they were here!!!  When they finally showed up about 20 minutes later,  Bob noticed that the shut-off valve wasn't on the work order.  No problem, they would ran over to Home Depot to get one (less than a mile away).  An hour later they were back (must have stopped for supper) and installed the shut-off.  Then they started installing the new flange.   Broke their only drill bit.  It wasn't a masonry bit, just a plain old everyday bit that doesn't want to drill through a ceramic floor with a cement under layer.  "Why yes, we did tell your boss that the floor is ceramic".  Back to Home Depot for a drill bit.  By about 7:15 they had the base of the toilet installed.  Looking good, in the home stretch......... and then I heard some very loud swearing coming from the bathroom.   They broke the tank while trying to install it!  They'd have to come back in the morning, but, we could still use the toilet, we just needed to "flush" by using a bucket of water.   Better than another night in a motel.  After they left I noticed that when they replaced the shut-off valve, they left the old, rusty disk-thingy that snugs up to and covers the hole in the wall where the pipe comes out of.  They were only an hour late when they came back the next morning with the new tank.  They did replace the old, rusty disk-thingy with a new, shiny disk-thingy,  installed the tank with no further mishaps, and gave us a small discount.  It's done and it works, and I don't have to run over to my neighbor's bathroom anymore, at least not until Friday when the next guy comes to reglaze the tub and I can't use the bathroom for 6 hours or so. 

I've already posted this next picture on Facebook and Ravelery, but I just have to do it again.  GIANT CYCLOPS BABY.   It's on a garage a block from where I work, and we have absolutely no idea what it means.  There are giant molecules all over the sides of the garage as well.   People are strange.

It's pretty creepy.  The outside arms on both look fairly proportionate, but the inside arms are tiny, with tiny hands that look more like pincher's.  And then there's the bubbles.  I am so glad I don't have to look at this everyday from my yard!

I went to the Midtown Farmer's Market this morning.  Bought some lovely vegetables and other things........

                                                            

All the veggies look great, but I also bought a  loaf of homemade honey wheat bread, along with some

fresh butter, some homemade chokecherry jelly, and some Colby-jack cheese.

I couldn't resist and had to have a treat when I got home - it was worth every single calorie!

Carpe Diem

I'm still here!   I've been walking, and taking pictures, but I just haven't felt like writing.  It's the time of year.  Summer's almost over and soon it will be Fall.  And we all know what comes next!   I know I should just enjoy the present, but it's so hard for me.  I'm a warm weather, sunshine kind of girl.  I think it would be great to be a kid again.  We were able to just  live in the moment back then.  We were oblivious to time/day/date. One day ran into the next. Weekday, weekend, it was all the same.   I've noticed recently that the days are getting shorter.  I'm up early and out of the house before 6:00.  It's still dark now when I leave the house.  As a kid I probably didn't get up before 8:00, and I'm sure I wasn't even aware that this happened.   It was just another summer day that lasted forever.  We'd get up, have a quick breakfast and then head to the park, come home for lunch, back to the park, or maybe to the beach, home for supper, and out to play some more.  We didn't mind if the sun started setting a little sooner.  It was more fun to play ditch or other games with all the neighborhood kids if it was a little dark out.   We knew that school would be starting again at some point,  but I don't think it really sank in until State Fair Week.  Even then, it still seemed like we had plenty of time to just have fun.  Sure, we had gone shopping for a couple of new outfits, maybe a few notebooks and pencils, and yes we looked at the Wards/Sears/Penney's fall catalogs, but those clothes were for when it got cold!  It was still 80 or 90 degrees out.   Summer was going to last forever.


May

I'm noticing changes around the lake now too.  The spring ducklings are the same size as the momma ducks. Can't tell one from the other.   The water is green.  South High was having soccer practice on the ball fields today.  All the trees and plants are looking different.  They look tired.  That's how I always seem them.  Sure, the hot, dry summer hasn't helped, but no matter what the weather is like, come August they start their change.   The leaves are a much darker green now, not that lovely bright green from May.  It looks like it's hard for them to hold their limbs up. All the leaves have just gotten too heavy.   It's still very beautiful, just different.

August

I'm still digging all the boats out on the lake though. 

Friday afternoon I noticed this pretty yellow boat anchored just a few feet from the south shore, but I didn't seen anyone around.  Thought maybe they lived nearby and ran home for awhile, or, maybe they were spending some time below decks? 

I was surprised when it was still here on Saturday morning, when I went for an early walk with Jody.   We were almost back to our starting point when we noticed it was being towed back to the boat harbor.  

Now it was obvious that this was a run-away.  It really had grounded itself good, because it hadn't moved at all from Friday afternoon until Saturday morning. I don't think there was any damage because it was moored and afloat today.

 I saw these Double Crested Cormorants Friday afternoon.  I don't think I've ever noticed any around here before. 

We can see you!   I'm thinking this used to be the Partridge Family Bus. 

BUNNY! 

Cleocatra enjoying a morning "catnap" in a sunny window.  She always does that with her foot - hooks one toenail into the screen.

I'm going to try and enjoy the rest of our summer, and hopefully a very, very long fall, and not think about what comes after that!  I will seize the day.

Birds Do It, Bees Do It..........

Even Butterflies do it..............

I went to check out the butterfly garden in front of the beach house where I had smudgy pictures of the Monarchs on my last walk.  I only saw two there today, and they were a bit, ummm, busy.   I got a little too close at first, and she took off  flying while her mate kept doing his business.  She landed again moments later and I was able to get quite a few good shots. 

Was it wrong of me to intrude? 

This isn't the first time I've caught insects doing the dirty deed.  A couple of summers ago I was weeding my garden,  looked up at my dahlias and saw these two.....

They didn't seen thrilled with me.  Bet they never thought they'd end up on the Internet.  Of course, I never thought I'd be posting insect porn.

I love the large butterfly garden by Little Beach.  It's a busy place with all the bees buzzing and Goldfinches chirping, and a lot of other bugs flying around.  There's a bit of a path through it, but I really didn't feel like getting in with all those bees, so I walked around the edges. 

It wasn't all flora and fauna though. 

I saw this ball caught up in some branches.  I really don't need a new ball, so I didn't bother to try and retrieve it.

I'm a little distracted tonight with the Olympic opening ceremonies, and they're getting ready to light the torch, so I'm closing up shop for now.

For Jenny, Because She Misses My Posts

My friend Jenny got after me last night at our weekly Knit Night, because I haven't posted anything since the first of the month.  I haven't been out for a walk since then because it's been way too hot and humid for me.  My asthma flares when I exert myself in this kind of weather.  It's better if I just stay in the air conditioning and do yoga or knit.  I have very shapely wrists from all the knitting I do.  It's great exercise for the hands and forearms. 

Temps were back down to the low 80's today, though still pretty humid, but I grabbed my inhaler and headed to the lake. 

I don't know what to call this crater in a tree root.  There's probably a name for it.  I thought it was pretty with the water that collected in it from the rain we had yesterday.

I've been meaning to to take a picture of this for a long time.   WPA 1939.  There are many, many slabs of sidewalk that are stamped with this date, and many more that aren't stamped, but were obviously poured at the same time.  Hard to believe they've held up for 73 years.

 These coneflowers are in a butterfly garden by the Little Beach.

Here's another type of coneflower.  These are some wild growing highway cones.  Most of you probably thought these were made in a factory somewhere, but actually we grow them here in Minnesota.  Up North you'll see field after field of the cultivated variety, but it's rare to see them growing wild in the city like this. 

Motivational graffiti.

 Obviously, another favorite spot of mine.  Water level is down quite a bit.

I spent 15 minutes watching three Monarch butterflies fluttering around a garden in front of the beach house at the Big Beach, and shot about 30 pictures, only to discover when I got home that I had smudged my lens, so none of them turned out well.  I'm posting one anyway.  They were really fun to watch, chasing each other, coming together as a group and then separating, one flying off here, another landing there.  Hopefully, my luck with second chances will continue, and I'll get some better butterfly pictures.

Jenny, I hope you enjoyed today's post, and I'll try to post more often, just for you!

Reflections

Wow, I've been writing this blog for six months now.  When I first started, I really didn't know if I'd last for six months, let alone a full year, but here I am at the halfway point.  Will I continue?  Yes, I will.  I have gained so much from this experience, and am so glad that I started it. 

I am overcoming my shyness, though it's still a work in progress.  This writing part is still hard, but not as bad as it was in January.  I'm a little bolder now,  more apt to start a conversation with a stranger.

I'm getting outside and walking more.  Some days I'll walk with a friend, other days by myself.  It's lovely either way. 

I'm much more aware of my surroundings, and know that I am very lucky to live here with all the wonderful lakes and parks we have.  This beautiful lake has been in my backyard my whole life, and I have never really appreciated it like I should have.  

I'm making progress with the camera.  I can't wait to get home and plug my card into the computer and see what I've captured.  I have a few favorites that bring a smile to my face whenever I look at them, and sometimes I'm pretty amazed to realize that I was the one who took the picture!

Six more months of discovery awaits me.

It was so peaceful at 7:00 this morning, though it was already very humid.

 I think sailboats have replaced trees for now as my favorite things to photograph.

Yup, definitely the boats.

These ducks aren't afraid at all when someone stops to take a peek at them.

 

These make me smile.

I forgot to post this last week.  There was a run sponsored by Delta last Saturday morning.  It made our walk pretty difficult, but the car was interesting.