Backyard patio update

Finally got all the grass removed. Sure are a lot of weeds in with the grass. You can see in the pics that I've been trying to get the concrete walk out. It is just too big and heavy. I'm going to rent a jack hammer to get it broken up. I'm still not sure if I'm going to reuse it in pieces or take to recyclers.

There is tons of dirt to move to get the patio level and somewhat sloping away from the house for drainage purposes.

Update on the umbrella...still no more squirrel damage. The moth balls seem to be working.

Roxi reported another hawk sighting but I think it was the falcon that I just saw this evening. Frankie and I were out when I heard a commotion. Looked up and saw the falcon right over where Frankie was. I picked him up and took him inside. The falcon flew off to the power lines.

There is also another baby bunny in the backyard. Some him yesterday eating grass and playing in the flower garden.

Yellow Finch

Don't know if you can really see it but there is a beautiful yellow finch sitting on the sunflower. He was really enjoying eating the seeds.

Also, the "wall-o-morning glories" on my back fence is a joy to see each morning pulling out of the driveway or walking to get coffee.

Asha Birthday

Lisa, Asha, and I celebrating Asha's birthday at Cool River, restaurant/bar in Irving.

Auto review update

It has been a while for an automobile review. The reason I haven't been doing them is because I've run out of new models for the most part. What is available at National or I get at Hertz have been repeats.

A worthy repeat is the Ford Edge. This crossover is fun to drive and very powerful. It does not get great gas mileage, however.

The Edge is roomy roomy and the vista sunroof that covers pretty much the entire roof is way cool. Though in hot Dallas there aren't many times it is worth opening.

I did finally get a Ford Focus when I was in Michigan. I have a fondness for the Focus because it is the successor to the Escort which was my very first car to own. The new Ford Focus is tons of fun to drive. The interior is sweet with easy to use controls and easy to read gauges.

The version I had was equipped with an interior ambient light system that let you change the color of the lighting. Not sure what purpose it really serves but was neat. The Focus gets good gas mileage. According to the MPG gauge the vehicle as getting around 31 mpg. You gotta figure that rental cars are not driven with gas mileage in mind...I know I don't.

Also, the Focus has a feature that I've seen on Hondas. When you use the windshield washer, the spray goes and the wipers go for a few swipes. Then, on their own, the wipers make another swipe a few seconds later to get rid of the inevitable drips. Nice!

This week I have a Pontiac Vibe. Since Pontiac is going away it might not be of any use to review this one...except...when I parked it at the hotel, next to it was a Toyota Matrix. Obviously the Vibe is the Matrix with a Pontiac name. The two are identical except for tail lamps.

The Vibe is fun to drive. It is small and zippy but it is also probably the noisiest for wind and road intrusion that I've ever driven. You have to manually crank the radio to continue to hear because the road and wind just howl through this puppy.

The speedometer doesn't have enough lines or gradations so it is kind of tricky to see what speed you are traveling at. The A/C works well to cool the interior down quickly.

Backyard project

No real progress this weekend. It was still some what wet from all the week's rain.

I moved the pile of grass from the apple tree area back into the yard. It has mostly composted into dirt. Taking the slight decline in the yard and flattening it out...or at least that's the idea. There is going to be a lot of dirt to move to get the patio area to slope away from the house.

The Mount Fuji tall garden phlox is about at its end. The Royal hostas have started to bloom. They seem to like their new location near the garage.


Update on the squirrels taking the umbrella apart... I sewed the top and bottom back together. There were only about 2 or 3 connections left. And trying moth balls as deterrent. The side of the moth ball box states that they are not to be used as squirrel deterrent. Seems to me that means it is definitely worth a try.

The umbrella tie is completely gone now. I'll have to come up with another tie.

Bald-eagle sparrow update

She's back but more white than last year.

All the sparrows at Isle's Bun and Coffee have pretty much lost their fear of people and even dogs. Just throw out some bun crumbs and you've got a whole flock of new friends....including bald-eagle sparrow.

Tornado

I missed the tornado in Minneapolis. It sounds like it was fairly close to the house. So far I haven't heard of anyone I know having damage. Thank goodness.

Didn't even make the local NBC news here. The TV weather forecasters don't go much beyond North Texas in their broadcasts. You're lucky if you see the border with Oklahoma. I guess they don't care where the weather comes from just what the weather is.

Heading home today. I hear there are supposed to be storms in Minneapolis but not severe like yesterday. Here's hoping...

Folks along my route

There are many people I see and interact with on my route from Minneapolis to Dallas every week. The Monday route is such a routine. I know some names but not all.

Ms. Wong is the TSA boarding pass and identification checker. It is unusual to get the same person at the same time but Ms. Wong and I have quite the patter going. She apparently knows another Alspaugh in Indiana or Ohio.

There's the gals at the Caribou coffee in terminal E. This group changes up every few weeks but I always stop to get my morning coffee. On Mondays you can get a medium Caribou blend for only $1.

My flight to Dallas wouldn't start off right without Tom at the American gate...usually E14 or E16. Tom will almost always give me free upgrade to first class if there's room. He deals with all kinds of issues at the gate and runs a tight ship.

The flight attendants are always changing but I usually at least recognize some from previous flights. Rachel (aka Shelly) and I go way back and I'm always on the lookout for her.

Don't interact with anyone really when picking up rental car. Hertz and National just let you go directly to the vehicle. The people in the checkout kiosks are difficult to see and talk with because the whole thing is to move you through as fast as possible.

I go to a GNC in Irving to pickup protein drinks for the week. Darryl is always there on Monday. We chat about the weather mostly and he always greets me with big "hello."

Then over to Quiznos. I get a chicken salad there since I started cutting back on carbs for my contest. The three workers at Quiznos are so pleasant. Each one says "hello" and the proprieter greets the regulars so warmly. I can tell I'm not the only one who likes to go to this Quiznos.

It is real nice to see and be greeted by the same people each week. It helps with the travel and being away from home.

Quick trip to Petoskey, Michigan

Last Saturday, caught the 6am flight to Chicago for connecting flight to Traverse City, Michigan. All went smoothly. The Traverse City airport is called the Cherry Capital airport.

Rented a great Ford Focus to make the 1 hour 15 minute drive to Petoskey along Lake Michigan. Lots of cherries for sale along the road. Passed cherry and apple orchards, raspberries, sun flowers and beautiful views of the lake.

My friend Kathy Bardins and her family moved to Petoskey a view years ago. Kathy continues to do event management and was working the Petoskey Festival By The Bay, a music festival right next to Lake Michigan in northern Michigan.

I arrived about 1:30pm and met her at her house which has an incredible view of the town and the bay. We drove down to the festival and wandered around while she checked in with vendors and volunteers.

Kathy is new grandma. Her grandson was born in January. He is a cutie and always happy. Kathy, her daughter Sarah and the baby, Declan, and I attended the evening's music of jazz and blues. We sat out on a blanket on a little hill. It was so nice.

I took Sarah and Declan home and returned to the Festival for the night's rock and roll band. Lots of people and a decent band. I helped Kathy and the volunteers to break down the tables and move the chairs for Sunday morning's multi-denomenational church service.

I was tired and slept pretty well Saturday night. We had breakfast at the house on Sunday morning. I headed back to Traverse City at 11am. My flight left on time but an unexpected storm hit Chicago O'Hare and our flight was diverted to Milwaukee.

The pilot announced that we wouldn't know for an hour what our status was going to be. I called American Airlines and had them book me on a flight from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. I thought my chances of getting home would be better if I didn't go to Chicago. The agent got me on a 5:55pm flight so I hung out at the Milwaukee airport for about 4 hours.

I made it home about 7:30pm. My patio umbrella is barely hanging on...the squirrels have destroyed even more of it!

Home - briefly

Home for a day. I'm going to Petoskey, Michigan tomorrow and Sunday to visit my friend Kathy Bardins.

Kathy moved to Petoskey which is way up in Michigan just below the Upper Peninsula. There is big music and arts fair going on this weekend and she is event organizer for it.

When I got home last night, I noticed that my outdoor table's umbrella was messed up. I think I mentioned that the squirrels had chewed the tie. Well now they are chewing on more of it!

The squirrels are detaching the top section from the bottom section!!! I don't know what to do to keep them away. I don't want to discolor or damage the fabric and I don't want to have to take it indoors all the time. Ugh! I hate squirrels!!!

More media for turning 50

Bruce Cochran who wrote the article in Uptown News also wrote a companion article in Twin Cities Daily Planet.

No surprise - Dallas

On the way to Dallas again this week.

Went to tie up the patio umbrella last night. I thought I'd forgotten to tie it before which was odd. I reached around and could only find one end. Turns out the cloth tie had been eaten through!

I can only figure that the destructive squirrels ate the strap?! Don't know why. They had eaten where the bow tie was so the two sides of the strap were still there and the knot was hanging loose.

Hate the squirrels.

Much needed rain

Finally got some rain here in Minneapolis. Sucked for the folks setting up the Uptown Art Fair today...which they seem to start earlier and earlier in the day.

Hennepin Avenue wasn't even closed yet and vendors were setting up their shelters. And blocking the sidewalk.

Supposed to be hot and humid this weekend with showers. Finally summer.

In flight internet service

I am flying from Dallas to Minneapolis and my plane has internet service.

I should be home in about an hour. Is this in-flight internet a blessing or a curse?

Boundary Waters - the true story

I realized I left out some of the funny stuff.

Brian, Jenny, Julie and I had such a fun time. Stories of families and work and books and movies.

Brian started the laughter off with "Shiny thing!" Jenny was telling a story while we were driving up and she was distracted by something. Brian shouts out "Shiny thing!" which became one of repeats all weekend and we laughed every time.

Julie has an awesome husband, Bob, and three amazing kids, Sylvia, Henry and Oliver. Julie just recently got back from a trip to China to visit her father who works over there. When she got back, her kids were all catching her up on what they had done while she was gone. They didn't really care about her stories.

Turns out Bob (Dad) let the kids burp at the dinner table as long as it was followed by, "Thanks for cooking!". For some reason being outdoors and eating good food does make you burp. So there were lots of "Thanks for cooking!" going on.

You'll have to ask Jenny about the two flies sitting on a turd. Ask Brian or Julie about "Brown chicken. Brown cow" -- they thought that was funny. Brian even made up a joke about a pregnant woman, a woman in a cast and blond woman. Impressive.

Dallas for a few days

Going back to Dallas today through Thursday. Looks like it is back in the 100's in North Texas.

Will be home this weekend for Uptown Art Fair crowds.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) trip - warning several photos

Our trip started on Wednesday before noon when Brian Crow and I met at Jenny Batten's to load my Ford Escape Hybrid (FEH) with all our camping gear. We drove to Shoreview to pick up Julie Elias, our fourth. We headed up north to Tofte on the North Shore. We stayed at Chateau LeVeaux right on Lake Superior.

Our BWCA entry point was on the Isabella River. It took a little over an hour's drive to get there. The river is very slow flowing but there are rapids - some of which we could paddle through and others that required portages.

Rain into rain about half way to our campsite. It stopped in time for us to set up all the gear in the dry.

Jenny and Brian had great fishing success. Brian caught a northern pike right from our campsite. He and Jenny jumped in a canoe and got several small-mouthed bass just off the best campsite ever.

We ate really well that first night.

Julie and Jenny on our sunny day, Friday.

Some serious paddling.

We went on a day trip down the Little Isabella River up to a set of rapids where we sat on the rocks to eat lunch.

We saw this turtle going up the Little Isabella. He jumped in when we got to close. He was back again when we came back by.

Lots of different plants.

Before the storms of Saturday arrived, a fantastic sunset.

Incredible winds Friday night and all day on Saturday. It rained some but it was the wind that kept us off the lake.

If your browser is video capable. Here is short video of our campsite. Turn up the volume and you'll hear the wind howling.

Jenny and Julie think this is a good picture of me.

Fields of wild rice filled the river. There was no other way but to paddle through. The front of the canoes accumulated a lot of it.

The end of our paddle out.