Say What?

It's the 25th of September and we still have hummingbirds at our feeders. I think they're juvenile offspring from the adults that returned in early May. I've read where the adults fly south in early September while the juveniles will stay around a little longer. I usually use a mixture of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water in our feeders but as of a few weeks ago (based on a recommendation I read online), I've been adding just a touch more sugar as a high octane mixture to fuel their flight south. Each day they remain seems like a bonus day especially considering how much cooler our nights have become in the past week since a cold front and an associated line of severe weather came through leaving in its wake a lot of storm damage a half-hour south of us. The squall line  spawned several tornados in addition to straight-line winds ahead of it and wreaked havoc on Northfield and nearby communities. Keith and Tracee lost several trees while many other trees on their property...

I'm sitting on the deck overlooking our backyard, enjoying the cooler temps and lack of bugs while Mandolin Orange provides background music. Charlie is keeping me company . I'm not sure it gets any nicer for deck sitting than this. To be inside right now wouldn't seem right, and no, I don't do this enough. Autumn is here and it won't be over until I've filled 60 compost bags (in addition to what gets taken away in both of our yard waste receptacles). Our leaves are still green for now but not for long. I thought I was maybe done with longish rides for the year after the Dawn to Dusk ride a little more than a week ago, but I was wrong. I decided to ride the Jesse James 💯 in Northfield last Saturday. What a fun ride! My plan was to accompany some friends on the ride at a more leisurely pace than I typically ride at but our little-peloton-that-could sorta fell apart after 20-some miles. I latched on to a fairly fast group as they passed us and hoped my legs w...

I've had a fascination with endurance sports for at least the last 30 years. I used to love to watch ABC's  Race Across America  coverage back in the '80s, making sure my VCR was set well in advance to record it. I'd sit in front of my TV and marvel at the determination of the competitors. Sure, it was as much an act of sleep deprivation on wheels as it was a race but it captured my imagination, and I admired those who put themselves in the arena to compete. The annual Ironman Triathlon coverage in Hawaii was another favorite of mine to watch. I, on the other hand, would have to be content in my personal life to make do with an occasional marathon and longish efforts on my bike. Over the past few years, I've moved away from the long rides I once loved, leaving me to wonder if I'd ever find the zest for them again. Walking 18 holes of golf was fun but hardly a replacement for the endurance athlete within me and neither were the hours spent on my fat-bike. I see...

Tammy took me out to see our first game at Target Field for my birthday last Saturday night. Neither of us follows baseball and I could only name one player on the Twins but we were there for the experience more than anything. The Twins lost but that didn't matter. We enjoyed ourselves and both commented that we'd like to do it again. We even drank beer and munched on salted peanuts the way real fans do. I golfed in the annual retirees Red Eye Memorial golf tournament on Tuesday. There were off and on rain showers the first 2 hours of the tournament but the rain let up by the time we made the turn. It's always a fun time, especially the gathering at a local pub in town where we get a chance to catch up with one another afterward. There were two older men in our foursome, Archie and Roger, age 84 and 87 respectively, and I was so impressed by them. I would not have guessed their ages based on their golf swings. They both said that staying active is the key. They didn'...

I'm sitting out on the deck with the pups, listening to Augustana while a hummingbird chirps its dissatisfaction at my presence. The cool evening air feels nice. If I never see another 90º day again in my life that's fine with me. Our city, Lakeville, has contracted with a company to get its residents a discounted price on the preventative treatment of our ash trees for the Emerald Ash Borer. It's a daunting little bug that will destroy any ash trees in its path if the trees aren't treated with a chemical. We had 2 of our 3 ash trees treated last week at a cost of around $120 each for a 2-year application. Because it stands on the boulevard, the remaining tree will hopefully be treated by the city next spring, or so they say. I'm a little late to the party but I finally signed up for Nextdoor , the neighborhood social media site where people can post about events in their neighborhood; lost animals; items for sale; reckless drivers, and whatnot. I'm not sur...

We made it to the Dakota County Fair last Thursday to continue our tradition of watching the demolition derby . Maybe it's because Rachel couldn't be there with us, or maybe the derby didn't quite live up to our expectations but it was sort of a letdown this year. We left after 3 heats. I was talking with a neighbor who was also there with her daughter that night and they too were disappointed, leaving the same time we did. We kicked around the fair for a while after exiting the derby grandstands, taking in some of the exhibits and getting our fill of fair food. It's our warm-up to the State Fair! I mentioned to Tammy how Tim used to love coming to this local fair. I was plotting out a course on my laptop last week for a bike ride the next day when I received an Etsy notification that one of my large stained glass panels had sold. A notification that should've caused a feeling of elation, caused instead my heart to sink a little because I was sorta hoping none of...

I received this message on Google Hangouts back in June: "Hi, Kevin! I am a journalist (freelance, though this piece is for Jalopnik) and I am writing about someone you know. Wanted to see about having a quick interview with you." I wasn't sure what to think so I messaged him back: "Sure." The person contacting me is named David and he was doing a story about a man who lived next to us for several years in the late '60s and early '70s: Jim Barbour. In doing his research about Jim, David came across this piece I'd written ten years earlier where I talked a little about Jim, or Mr. Barbour as I knew him. He said my blog post was about the only thing he could find online about him and he wanted to know if I had some time to share any additional memories or thoughts I may have about Jim that he could possibly use in the article he was writing. I was happy to help. We spoke on the phone for 20 minutes. I told him of my intrigue with Mr. Barbour. I...