Apples at the state fair
I love apples. I love apples in mass display, particularly when they are all raised in Minnesota.
State Fair
In all these years, I have never been to the Minnesota State Fair. There's a bus direct from downtown Minneapolis to the fairgrounds, so I took it.
Above, a crowd watches a magic show at one of the dozens of stages set up amidst the exhibits.
Just as I arrived at the fairgrounds, a semi hit a power pole and knocked out power to most of the buildings. News helicopters flew overhead investigating the accident.
The fair is overwhelming. It goes on and on and on. Unbelievable. Of course, there is the food: Pickles on a stick, deep fried twinkies, reuben pretzels and the legendary cheese curds.
Overheard, a mother to her distraught child: "The power is out. No power, no cheese curds!"
The above horizontal ski lift ride covers the north-south axis of the fairgrounds while a gondola ride goes east and west. On a late Tuesday morning, both were filled to capacity.
Twin's game fun
On a whim yesterday morning, I went on Priceline and got a hotel room in Minneapolis with the intention of seeing a Twins game or two. Lance had to work, so I am alone, but sometimes it is fun to go to a Twins game alone. It is a different experience.
On the walk over from the hotel, the weather looked a little surly to the east. I wondered if it would rain.
However, the sun soon broke through after I found my seat (which was way up in the upper deck in left field, nothing like the scalper had claimed, but a great seat nonetheless) and the reflection of the skyscrapers warmed up things a great deal.
Things warmed even more when I saw two familiar faces two rows in front of me, Jonas of Norway and Tatianna of Russia, friends of Lance from UND, a couple I met just last Saturday evening at a dinner party in Grand Forks. What are the chances?
The seating was pretty permissive in the upper deck, so I moved down a couple of rows and spent the game visiting and acting like the resident baseball expert.
All through the game, an older lady with her hair in a bun who sat right in front of us added commentary. She was a knowledgeable fan so I had to be on target with what I told my new friends.
The seats didn't fill until the game was well underway. Darkness fell in a hurry. The Twins made four fielding misplays in the first two innings and looked well on their way to losing to Detroit.
Then the Twins started a rally late in the game.
However, about the time they were knocking the ball around the park, I saw something crawling on the woman in front of me. It was some sort of animal, and it was attached to her neck.
The above picture was taken later. But I came very close to grabbing the thing by the tail and flinging it as far as I could to protect the woman from getting rabies from whatever it was.
When I yelled and said I'll get it, she grabbed the animal and stuffed it down her shirt.
That is the reverse reaction I think you would get from most people in that situation.
"Oh, don't worry," she said. "It's just a four-week-old flying squirrel. I had to bring him because he still needs feeding."
Once things settled down, I asked the woman if she minded if I took some pictures. Nobody would believe me otherwise, I said. ("Oh sure, you ran into a woman at the Twins game who had a flying squirrel in her bra. Tell me more.")
She said it needed to sleep a while first, but she promised to bring the critter out before the end of the game, which she did. Eventually, the squirrel was passed around between many of the neighboring fans.
"They make the greatest pets," the lady said.
Gardens
A few plants in the gardens are beyond their peak, but most of the rest just get better.
It was a joke
The radio station going to an "all-Christmas" format below was only joking. Yesterday, they went back to normal programming after what had to have been a very effective publicity stunt.
Perfect days
This weather is just perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, just enough sunshine.
It couldn't be better.
I have been busy outside cutting wood and cleaning around the yard. There's nothing like a pile of wood to signal accomplishment.
Chain sawing was bliss today--until I ran into a nail, likely ruining a chain. But even that couldn't ruin the day.
What was a nail doing twelve feet up a tree? An investigation is pending, but the likely culprit is a bat house that used to hang in the tree before the tree died.
About five o'clock, I went for a run. The breeze from the south kept me nice and cool for the duration.
So, I have been neglecting the blog lately. No rants to be had. Life is good.
Friend Josh brought over an entire lamb today. It is in the freezer in pieces. I better go buy some mint jelly, because lamb is going to be on the menu in many forms this winter. Lamb is comfort food.
I drove up to the house after a round of cutting wood. There sat three ladies on the back seat of the golf cart they were using to tour the gardens. Eventually I figured out that the two men with them were inside the house, getting a tour from Lance.
That was a whole lot better than the time I came downstairs in the morning to find 15 Red Hat Ladies on my porch, but it can still take one aback to be this far out in the woods and look out the window to see several people looking in!
Oh, and the Twins are ahead...