The Kodak Bear

Like Kodak, the Kodak Bear is an endangered species.

Last year, this time. Deephaven Beach.

If you look closely

I scared away 2 geese as I walked down to take this shot. A beaver, more irritated than fearful, slowy swam away.

A Sonny Day- at Cub

"The Lincoln Continental was one of Sonny Corleone's favorite cars during the 1940s. At the day of his assassination, Sonny drove a 1941 Lincoln Continental when he was about to go after Carlo Rizzi. When he arrived at the Jones Beach Causeway toll booth on Long Island he was brutally murdered by Barzini hit men using tommy guns which also severly damaged his car."





The classic car collector. Are they vanishing like the cars they loving preserve and cherish? I watched as a group of auto-philes assembled in a lot across from Target. Each driver waited in anticipation as another old flame cruised into the lot. They peered under the hoods, assuring other drivers that the hoses and seals were still strong and plyable enough to be pumping fluids.

The deadball era.

Paraphrased from "The History of Baseball"

The baseball changed in composition several times during the late 1890s and early 1900s. It did not carry well or take high hops like today's version. This less responsive ball contributed to a style of play that emphasized speed and strategy rather than the home run. It gave its name to the period of baseball between 1901 and 1920: The dead ball era.

The first day of Spring

Currier & Ives circa 1870

At Thorpe Park Sunday I heard the familiar "PING!" of a baseball hitting an aluminum bat. It was nice to hear, but lacked the poetic crack of wood on leather.

Down, but not out. Ice on Tonka report.

St. Louis Bay, Sunday afternoon.
I borrowed this from "USGS", A science blog, so that we (read I) can better understand ice. It is not actually sinking,but simply becoming water, another of its 3 naturally occurring states.

"Water freezes at 32° Fahrenheit (F) and boils at 212°F (at sea level, but 186.4° at 14,000 feet). Water is unusual in that the solid form, ice, is less dense than the liquid form. Thus, ice floats.

Water is called the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. This means that wherever water goes, either through the ground or through our bodies, it takes along valuable chemicals, minerals, and nutrients."

Finally, I am reposting this from an older post of mine:

Freshwater Society Website, "Freshwater Society" Lake Minnetonka Ice-Out Dates:

NEAT FACTS
Average Ice-Out: April 15
Earliest Ice-Out: March 11, 1878
Latest Ice-Out:May 8, 1856
Most Common Ice-Out: April 17 & 18 (9 times)

A final note: "Ice went out", slipped out in the dark of night March 19th as the result of a sustained warm spell.

A Spork in the Road - so much promise

What is a Spork?

The name "Spork" is a blend of the words (sp)oon and f(ork) and has also been called the runcible spoon (mentioned by Edward Lear in his 1871 poem "The Owl and the Pussycat"). A spork is a eating utensil that can be used as both a spoon or a fork.



Patent Information:
1970 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 11 Aug. tm 65 Van Brode Milling Co., Inc., Clinton, Mass... Spork for Combination Plastic Spoon, Fork and Knife.

My Minnetonka Ice-Out 2012

It is going to be in the 70s (fahrenheit) this weekend. I am taking inventory of the situation,and again I will be posting my own "ice out" declaration. Oh, I know the official method. It involvesa small boat traveling unencumbered from Excelsior to Wayzata, and that is fine. My method is a simple ground level observation, and noting the altitude of local television station heliocopters. If I can see the whites of their eyes....

A Stoic Burwell

Walking around the Burwell House, during the early thaw. The ground is brown and scruffy but the warm sun was welcoming. I was alone. A police car passed by, reassured by my photographic activities. The draught is evidenced by the gently moving Minnehaha Creek.

Dakota Trail usage estimates by SRF Consulting

A recent article about the Dakota Trail states: "The average daily traffic volume of the trail is 14,000" - According to Craig Vaugn of SRF Consulting - a design and planning firm with a location in the Twin Cities. Define an average day. Does this include the full year, or only peak months? I still doubt the trail sees 1000 riders on a peak day. I have ridden the trail many times. Does anyone check verify these claims?

Later note: I think, in all probability, it is a typo and it should read 1400 per day.

Even further note:
If you check the comments this was posted: "I believe the 14,000 is the number of vehicles traveling daily on county road 15. That number is cited in an article addressing improvements to the intersection of the Dakota Trail and County Road 15 in Mound."

Carson's Bay construction

The ice auger plunged down into the ice, which was still quite thick along this part of the bay....perhaps 8in. At 56 degrees one thinks that the crane might be in some peril, but then I am a novice. I am sure sinking pilons is much easier on a frozen surface than it would be a on chilly spring day with the lake in liquid form.

A Crane on the Lake

Setting just of Minnetonka Boulevard on Carson's Bay is a crane. They are installing new pilons to rebuild the Deephaven dock. Temperatures are predicted to reach the mid 50s tomorrow, so they wont be there long.

A fox I met.

He was ambling unaware and indifferent, I must say. Deephaven foxes can be that way. I drew this illustration, - I can only assume it was a he. He didn't leave a calling card, he was thoughtful as can be.
OK it's crummy poetry, but I gave it a shot.

I have seen foxes around Deephaven quite commonly, but lately they look so healthy I mistake them for pets. So I looked up a bit of general information about foxes from the MN DNR site:

The red fox is common across Minnesota, even in the Twin Cities and suburbs. This reddish-colored animal is a cousin to the dog. Foxes live in ground dens or brush piles and are particularly active at night.
Identification

General description: This is a medium-sized predator (meat eater) often seen running quickly across fields or through woods.

Size: The average size of an adult fox is 15 to 16 inches tall at the shoulder. It is about 3 feet in length, with a 13-inch tail.

Weight: Between 8 and 15 pounds.

Color: Well-known for its rusty-red coat, white-tipped bushy tail, and black legs, ears and nose. In Minnesota, there are several different color variations including nearly solid black, silver-black and red bisected by dark bands across the back and shoulders (called a cross fox).

2 for 333

The Wayzata McDonalds Golden arches beccons to the practicing Catholic. Fillet of Fish sandwiches and fries for $3.33. It is an interesting price point, and I am not sure McDonalds marketers have the Holy Trinity in mind with the number 3.



Raised as a very strictly practicing Catholic, my family observed the ‘no meat during lent’ rule with care. To eat meat during lent was, after all, a Mortal Sin. Pretty stiff sentence for practicing a carnivorous lifestyle.
Today vegetarians occupy the moral high ground, the social deification of vegans is near complete. For most vegans even fish should be considered foul.