Backyard Finale

 Thank you to everyone who gathered today to celebrate the end of a long tradition. Now looking forward to new beginnings.

One last project?

 These were really "get ready to sell" projects.

The window molding in the main bedroom was looking very dingy though I liked the yellow...not that the rest of the moldings in the room were in any better shape. They just didn't stick out...at least not to me.

Can I tell you how long it takes to prep then paint 3 windows that have multiple panes?! Yikers.

It does look cleaner and neater and I should have taken photo with the custom roman shades but you'll get to see those photos soon enough.

Main bedroom window trim repainted a "neutral" color

I like to call the upstairs bathroom door my "magic" door. It is the original door for the bathroom but had been removed because the toilet and the door did not get along.

When I had the bathroom remodeled in 2007, I convinced the contractor to saw the door in half. I found the bi-fold hinges that would fit. He was very nervous. He said we only get one chance to do this.

The door had to be cut exactly precisely or it wouldn't hang, swing and close properly. It ended up perfect! But I never painted the hall-facing side. Well, now it finally is and looks fantastic.

The door does close like a normal door and hinges out of the way of the toilet. It is truly magic. :-)

What I call the magic door finally painted

Kitchen Project - Home Repair - sell prep

My kitchen has needed a new paint job for a while. Nothing like selling my house to push me to do it.

There were a few places to repair like the ceiling where the paint had peeled off due to a freeze. And around the radiators where I removed the quarter round which pulls plaster off with it.

The paint was a gallon of very dark green exterior that I bought when I thought I was going with a tri-color job on the house. I toned down the green with left over white paint. I think it came out pretty good. Totally by accident the color matches the dark green tiles in the backsplash.

Plaster repair in progress

Ceiling and spackling patched

Custom mix

Custom paint color

Matching tile

St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park

It was a balmy day for December in the low 20's so I visited a new park for me, St. Croix Bluffs. If there had been more snow on the trails, my regular hiking boots would not have been adequate. I was glad I packed the handwarmers, too. Taking photos meant removing my gloves and my hands (fingers) really cannot handle the cold.

Here are a few of the photos. To get to the St. Croix River meant going down-down-down which the park's name would have given you a clue. And hiking down means you have to hike back up. It was a good workout.

Lots of deer tracks and as you will see, beaver action. There were also lots of birds including song birds, woodpeckers and mallard ducks.

I got to walk on the frozen river. It is always exciting and a bit un-nerving walking out on a large body of frozen water.

This tree wasn't in the park. It was in a field but was so beautiful I had to stop to photo.

Hoarfrost on everything.

More hoarfrost.

Some serious beaver action.

The view down on the river.

I love symmetry and I love trees.

"THE LOOKOUT" I found this on my hike up from the river.

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

It was such a beautiful November day on Saturday that I had to take advantage. So I drove north to visit and walk the paths of the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.

Known for the flocks of Sandhill cranes that migrate through in the Fall, the refuge also has Trumpeter swans, other migratory birds and more beavers than I have ever seen. Also oak savannahs, acres of prairie grasses and ponds and lakes with cattail and other marsh plants.

I easily saw a dozen beavers on three different ponds or lakes. Not just beaver activity but actual beavers. The beaver pond had 7-8 beavers with 5 small pups hanging out together and what could have been the biggest beaver I've ever seen.

Sunset selfie

Sunset colors

Moon rise over the beaver pond

2020 Ginko Tree Leaf Drop

 The annual leaf drop has occurred. Temperatures were in the range to start the drop...usually 24-26. If you listen carefully to the video, you can hear the leaves dropping. It is kind of peaceful.

The short video is available here.

Previous leaf drops:

In 2016 there wasn't a leaf drop.

Last year the leaf drop was a week later.

In 2018 the first leaf drop was 5 days earlier than this year.

In 2017 the leaf drop was dramatic.

Roadtrippin' to Southwest Minnesota

I needed to get away for a bit. First let me say that I am fortunate to have work through all this weirdness and that work has been from home. However, I needed a break from the routine of getting up, having breakfast, taking a shower, then sitting in front of my laptop for hours.

I have been wanting to visit Blue Mounds State Park in southwest Minnesota for a long while. It sounded like an interesting site for three reasons: one - it has natural, undistributed prairie; two - a herd of bison; and three - it could be done safely as an outdoor event.  It did not fail on all counts.

I also got the chance to share this with my friend, Bud. We drove down through miles and miles and rows and rows of corn being harvested. It was astounding just how much corn is grown in Minnesota. There really was no other crop and very few animal farms of any kind. I would say horses out numbered cattle.

Blue Mounds State Park is the site of a geological wonder. Out of the extremely flat prairie is this palisade of red quartzite rock! And on top of all that rock is a pristine prairie. We parked at the State Park entrance and rode our bikes around the palisade to an incline up to the top. To say it was windy does not begin to describe the conditions. It was insane wind!

Once on top of the mound we hiked/walked to where we were told we could see the bison. The bison are kept within a fenced area of the prairie. It took a bit of imagination and binoculars but we did find them. We also got to see the quartzite up close.

I used the new teleconverter attachment for my Olympus Tough camera to get this shot of the bison which were very far away.

Those dark dots are bison

Selfie in front of Eagle Rock on top of Blue Mounds

Click here for a bike ride along Blue Mounds

quartzite

After getting blown off Blue Mounds, we found a corral where it looks like some bison are kept or segregated so we did get to see some of them closer. The grey barn and silo in the photo above is where the bison corral is.

We then drove to Pipestone, Minnesota about half hour north of Blue Mounds. When researching Blue Mounds State Park I came across Pipestone National Monument where there is more of the red quartzite but also pipestone stone.

Pipestone, the town, has many buildings made using the red quartzite. Here are examples...

A beautiful inn that is currently condemned

Three facades built in the late 1800's

Pipestone stone is only here in Pipestone and a small amount in Iowa and South Dakota. It is a very rare vein of stone that is used by Native Americans to make...you guessed it...pipes. It is a soft stone that is quarried from a limited vein between the very hard quartzite. Pipestone National Monument highlights the history of this stone and provides for Native Americans to maintain this in their heritage.

We were definitely past leaf peak but there was an occasional flash of color

Pipestone Creek leaving the Park

"The Oracle"

Bittersweet

Gazing at the quartzite palisades

It is a beautiful park with prairie, quartzite walls, a waterfall and historic quarries.

Click here to see the waterfall

The pipestone vein is where the gap is. This has been quarried out between the layers of quartzite

We headed back to Minneapolis through more miles and rows of corn. We could no longer tell one set of grain elevators from another. These sites along rail corridors are really big. 

We stopped in Redwood Falls to see one set of falls...apparently there are more but we didn't find them.

It was a great roadtrip and a break from work. It was also great to spend time with my friend, Bud, and to see more of Minnesota.