Remembering the Sun

I am posting a photo I took a while ago... before the snowfalls, when the sun was cold but radiant. These are the shortest days of the year and when there is no sun....well it can get a bit gloomy. Photography can be challenging.
I stepped out onto my back porch to shoot some of my December stalagtites and soon found myself crashing to the icy deck. Motivtion diminished, I hobbled back indoors.
I need some sun.

The Cottagewood General Store as written by Carl Soelberg

What a wonderful little booklet carl wrote. It is the definited history of the general store, and a gathering of other facts about Cottage Wood.
I refer to it often.
What brought this to mind? A letter in a local paper about the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society, and their Halloween event in Excelsior. There was a mention of Carl's wife - Laura Soelberg- and the "Notorious woman of Cottagewoood". A whole variety of images arose including this event late this summme:
In a power sweep of crime, an actual Minnetonka Police Department swat team descended on Mrs. Soelberg's annual garage sale at her mother's home in Minnetonka (not in Deephaven,her residence) to shut it down. Minnetonka. The event was convered by the Minneapolis Tribune (incompletely).

Cottagewood Children's Park - with an Oliver Twist

This lovely bronze sculpture is located in Cottagewood's Childrens Park. It took on a "Dickenslike tone" with the crisp little blizzard that swept into Minnesota on Sunday. These children, when cleaned up, are simply happy siblings huddled over a stream, with a very nice turtle (snow covered) also sculpted into the base. Corney, but I like the turtle... however it is very difficult to photograph, even in Summer. Sunday, one couldn't help seeing them as poor children hudddled against a snowstorm.
This very popular little park was re-dedicated in 1997.

A Mini Blizzrd / the General Store-Cottagewood

In Memory of John Ludwig

River Road... Mississippi Boulevard.

Snowy Dock at Carson's Bay

Reindeer in Cottagewood

Photo from 2006
Looking at a reindeer one wonders how they obtained their name. As a child I thought their name involved rain. As a youth I wondered what type of games these dear antlered animals would play, and not allow Rudolf to participate. "Pretty crummy" I thought.
Well, the name has nothing to do with rain, but comes from the German word "rennen" (to run) and "dyre" which is an old germanic word for animal.
As far as games they played, it is all open to speculation. After all, Rudolf got his start in a Mongomery Wards Catalog.

Waconia, Coney Island - circa 1907

To the West - Waconia! Carver County’s largest lake.
The old advertisement states quite clearly: A Family resort - No bar, No picnics.

This commentary from FlickR friend Jenny P. about Waconia:
"Paradise Island, later changed to Coney Island in 1884 by Lambert Naegele was considered the paradise of the northwest. Development on the island started after Naegele’s purchase with the first full season at the resort in 1885. This was a successful season and sparked further growth on the island. After the ice melted on the lake, construction of another resort started along with a boarding house, several cottages, and a boathouse. Two large steamships traveled back and forth to the island. Many of the residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul were frequent visitors to the resorts."

JP: "Legend also has it that the Minnesota Gophers football team practiced there in the early 1900's...though I have never seen the football field myself. The island is now deserted and fun to explore, but full of poison ivy, so visitors beware! If you are boating around it in the summertime you will hear and see a crazy amount of birds - we always joke that it's Jurassic Park as there are many exotic large birds circling it all summer. The island is privately owned by 2 families, I believe (one is my mom and dad's neighbor)."

A Hopins Mystery -Tchaikovsky beware!

I peered into a Hopkins shop window that was decorated with a Christmas display. The ubiquitous antique nutcrackers exhibited their toothy growls. I instinctively felt myself protect my zipper fly. The military nutcrackers surrounded a little yellow book ominously - “The Mystery of the Toy Drummer”. On the cover two Patty Duke look alike detectives were examining a tiny Toy Drummer. Hmmmmm. What could this mystery be?
Had the family jewels had been stolen? Was his drum defective? Would they turn him upside down, and inside out, in their investigation?
The underlying theme was too painful. I rushed away, mystery unanswered. Tchaikovsky that!

The Sign Says: Summer Rules!

Dark Winter Barn

Excelsior Boulevard.

Never Cry Blizzard

Toonie wants me to come out. This is her weather.
This is not "YourFox"Channel9's weather. I sat dumbfounded as KMSP treated it as a superblizzard: They ran special updates, half hour specials, and on-the-spot reporting of this 5-6 inches of lovely snow...on a Saturday. What would they do, how would they report the Halloween Blizzard? 28.4 inches in 3 days?
The female "on the scene" reporter, whose name escapes me, reported numerous times that she was wearing long underwear, two pair of wool lined pants, a down jacket and she was still pretty cold. The temperature was 19 degrees fahrenheit.

Bring it On!

This is Minnesota!
More pictures to come later today.