Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota’
Sun showers and forest baths
I was planning a return to Como Lake last weekend to see how our young eagle was coming along. But then I got distracted by the sunrise. As I passed the Gibbs Farm Museum I couldn’t help wondering how many spectacular sunrises Jane DeBow Gibbs had watched from this same spot some 170 years ago. […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Photography, Psychology | 125 Comments
Tags: forest bath, Gibbs Farm, Minnesota, owlet, owls, red-wing blackbird
HISTORIC WINTER STORM ONGOING
We’re used to wild weather forecasts in Minnesota. But for once, yesterday’s all-caps warning was no exaggeration. “URGENT … BLIZZARD WARNING EXPANDED THROUGH THE TWIN CITIES METRO … HISTORIC WINTER STORM ONGOING.” If the warning from the National Weather Service sounded dire, the road conditions were even worse. Once my friends and I realized we […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Psychology | 90 Comments
Tags: 2018 blizzard, Minnesota, Minnesota snowstorm
‘Snow problem
Esteban and I had excellent timing in leaving our house for a condo, it seems: This winter has been among the coldest and snowiest I remember in a long time. It’s been wonderful not to worry about shoveling, or parking restrictions, or raking snow off the roof. Still, I did feel a bit guilty this […]
Filed under: Minnesota | 44 Comments
Tags: Minneapolis, Minnesota, snow, Stone Arch Bridge
How to pass for a Minnesotan
As I type this, people from all over the country are gathering in Minneapolis for this weekend’s Superb Owl* game. For over a week I’ve been meaning to go downtown and bring you a full report of the ice sculptures and the zipline over the Mississippi river, plus an assortment of other Superb Owl* festivities. […]
Filed under: On this day in history | 75 Comments
Tags: Dress for winter, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota winter, Super Bowl, Talk Minnesotan
The moments I may have missed
October has been a full month. Friends have been ailing. My loved ones have had health scares. I’ve been busy at work. I’ve been busy at home, too, as Esteban and I have begun preparing our home for sale. But through it all I’ve tried to pause for a few minutes of stillness and reflection […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Photography | 91 Comments
Tags: fall in Minnesota, Frontenac, Halloween, Minnesota, Pam, squirrels
In spite of my loathe/hate relationship with the Minnesota State Fair, last Saturday Esteban and I fulfilled our legal obligation as residents of our fair state and attended the annual event. There are three things you need to know about this 320-acre cornucopia of farm animals, crop art, and questionable foods: 1. it’s smelly, 2. […]
Filed under: Random thoughts | 44 Comments
Tags: horse show, horses, introvert, Minnesota, Minnesota State Fair, Spam
My favorite day of the year
In Minnesota we have two seasons: Winter, and road construction. Welcome to Minnesota. Enjoy our orange cones! But sandwiched between them every year is one single, glorious day we call “summer.” Summer really does feel that fleeting here, perhaps because the winters are so memorable. Proof that Mother Nature is trying to kill you. […]
Filed under: Friends and family | 80 Comments
Tags: Carol, Jackson Meadow, Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, Minnesota weather
I have no idea how many hours I’ve spent hunting for morel mushrooms. But I do know I’ve risked my life at least once for the delicious morsels, and have scoured several square miles of Minnesota woods. My friend and favorite morel hunter Pam, somewhere near [REDACTED] in [REDACTED]. Not this year, though. This year […]
Filed under: Travel | 39 Comments
Tags: Minnesota, morel mushrooms, morels, Pam
Morel … morel … morel … SNAKE!!!
Since 2009, my friend Pam and I have wandered into the woods each spring to hunt for morel mushrooms. There are two components, I think, to our seasonal addiction: First, the mushrooms are delicious. The English language has no adjective superlative enough to describe the smell and flavor of fresh morels sautéed in butter. And […]
Filed under: Friends and family | 29 Comments
Tags: Frontenac State Park, Minnesota, morel, morel hunting, morels, Old Frontenac, timber rattlesnake
What the hail?!
“In Minnesota it’s not May 3rd today; it’s the 54th of February.” I was pretty winter-weary when I posted that on Facebook two years ago. The winter of 2013 was rough. But what a difference two years make! Today was glorious — sunny and 81 (27C) degrees — so I spent a few hours gardening. […]
Filed under: On this day in history | 13 Comments
Tags: hail, Minnesota, Minnesota weather, thunderstorm
Quiz: How Minnesotan are you?
After months of wading through hip-deep snow — and enduring a mind-numbing 50 days below zero (Fahrenheit!) — I’m happy to report the start of The Great Thaw of 2014. For once, I don’t mind slogging though the sloppy slush. And because it’s warmed up enough that I’m no longer worried about my nostrils freezing […]
Filed under: Attempted humor | 12 Comments
Tags: Are you a Minnesotan, Minnesota, Minnesota springtime, Minnesota winter
A Minnesota winter wonderland
Winter in Minnesota really got to me last year. But something in me has shifted this year, and I’ve moved from trying to make the best of it to acceptance. No, not just acceptance — actually embracing my life here. I thought about that in the wee hours last night, when I awoke to the […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology | 20 Comments
Tags: blizzard, Minnesota, snowfall
Driving to Stockholm
For almost one year, a friend has been inviting me to visit the house he bought last October in Stockholm, Wisconsin (population: 66). It’s only about 75 miles from my home, but — because of everything from winter snowstorms to indoor rainstorms — the timing was never quite right. Until yesterday. I was behind the […]
Filed under: Photography, Travel | 2 Comments
Tags: architecture, Jackson Meadow, Minnesota, Stockholm, Stockholm WI, Ther, Wisconsin
My dear friend Pam and I have an annual tradition of heading into the woods in late May to hunt for morels. Here’s the highlight reel of our spectacular success in 2011: But this spring has been strange in Minnesota, with heavy snow in late April and a cool, monsoon-like May. Everything has been out […]
Filed under: Friends and family | 15 Comments
Tags: classic car show, Hastings bridge, Hastings car show, Minnesota, morel hunting, morels, mushrooms, Pam
A winter most fowl
One of the things I most love about blogging is “meeting” other bloggers around the world. It’s wonderful to see that the flowers are blooming in Scotland, or to momentarily mistake Paris for Marrakesh. But this far-flung news can also be depressing. I live in Minnesota, you see. Tucked up against Canada — in the […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology | 33 Comments
Tags: Lake Wobegon, Minnesnowta, Minnesota, winter
2012 in 14 frames
In some ways, 2012 has been one of my worst years yet. But in many others it’s also been one of my best. Here are a few of my happy photographic memories — along with my wishes for a very happy, very healthy year ahead. Cheers! In January, we rang in the new year with […]
Filed under: Paris, Photography, Travel | 6 Comments
Tags: 2012 in pictures, Freiburg, Minnesota, new year, Paris, travel photography, Venice
A winter’s first snow
Exactly one week after I forced myself to go for a photo stroll in thick fog, this morning I forced myself to get out of bed, put on three layers, and slog through a mile of snow to take some more pictures. “WHY??” you might ask, as my husband did. “Because otherwise I’ll get depressed,” […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology | 21 Comments
Tags: Minnesota, Minnesota winter, outdoor photography, Photography, seasonal affective disorder, snowstorm, winter depression
Dear universe: Thank you.
Most people who look at this photo will see a sunrise. But to me, this photo is a miracle. It’s a miracle that I was in this place at this precise moment. It’s a miracle that I could still see it, in spite of the doctors’ grim predictions. It’s a miracle that I had a […]
Filed under: On this day in history, Photography, Psychology, Technology | 7 Comments
Tags: Minnesota, Photography, sunrise, Thanksgiving
The perfect stranger
On July 4 I gave myself a simple assignment: photograph 50 random strangers. The idea was to document what an ordinary American looks like. But then it got really hot — and I got really lazy — so I didn’t shoot a single frame. Independence Day has long since passed, but the idea has continued […]
Filed under: Photography, Psychology | 19 Comments
Tags: Micah Scott, Minnesota, street photography, travel photography
Como Conservatory photo safari
I’ve been in a bit of a photographic slump lately. So when my friend Jane asked for help with her new camera, I felt like an utter fraud in suggesting a photo safari. I didn’t expect to shoot much when we met up at the Como Conservatory in St. Paul last Saturday: My purpose was […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Photography | 27 Comments
Tags: Como Conservatory, Como Park, Minnesota, orchids, Photography, St. Paul
