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Out and About

46 Morning Photos From the Minnesota State Fair

Today, I made my first post-Covid visit to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. The Minnesota State Fair is the second-largest state fair in the United States. I took these photos from 8:52 to 10:22 a.m. and used my Canon EOS R with kit lens.

Minnesota State Fair entrance
Pizza Wagon
Tickets for the Midway
The Strawberry Patch
Sheep entrance
Caged sheep
Butcher Boys
Cows standing outside
Art on a stick
All You Can Drink Milk for $2
Fish pond
KARE 11 building
KARE 11 broadcasting live
Fresh French Fries
The Original Minneapple Pie
Haunted House
Minnesota Twins sculpture
Propal Fresh Oranges cart
American Red Cross blood donation bus
Hennepin County Sheriff truck
Oof-Da Tacos
Minnesota State Fair information booth
Deputies
Doing pull-ups at a Marines stand
Bus that looks like a vintage-style tram
Giant Ferris wheel at the Midway
Pronto Pups
John Deere riding lawn mowers on display
92 KQRS live broadcasting booth
Gizmo, “The Italian Beef Burger!”
Carnival game prizes
Sculpture of a woman with hotdish
Sky Glider above crowd
Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar
Woman taking photos with smartphones
National Guard Humvee
National Guard Humvee II
Army Humvee
Army remote-controlled tank
Army remote-controlled tank II
Kids controlling remote-controlled tanks
Man lifting heavy weights at the Army stand
TPT Twin Cities PBS stand
Fox 9 stand
Star Tribune building
Ride at the Midway
Categories
Out and About

Chanhassen’s 40th Annual Fourth of July Celebration

My mom and I went to the first day of Chanhassen’s 40th annual Fourth of July celebration this evening. We’ve gone for the last three years now. I posted photos I took last year with my Google Pixel smartphone, which obviously limited image quality. This year, I made sure to bring my Canon EOS R. I also coordinated our time so I was able to take photos at the golden hour and the blue hour. The golden hour is the hour before sunset, and the blue hour is the hour after sunset (as an aside, it works the opposite way for sunrises). The sunset was at 9:04 p.m. tonight; these photos were taken between 7:58 and 9:25 p.m.

Fan at one of the carnival games (according to Alexa, the high was 89 degrees Fahrenheit today)
My mom by a snow cone stand
Ferris wheel at the golden hour
Beach Buggies sign
There was mostly empty seating. This could be because it was late in the day on family night.
Carnival food
Mini Donuts
Pick-a-Duck
Bam Bam
Ferris wheel after sunset
Carnival food and Ferris wheel
My mom looking at carnival food and the Ferris wheel
Another photo of my mom by carnival food and the Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
My mom by a carousel
Ferris wheel II
Categories
Out and About

Another Evening at the Arb

Less than a week ago, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota. Unlike this prior visit, it was overcast today, which is actually a good time to photograph anything with vibrant colors.

I took these photos from 5:59 to 6:20 p.m.

Campanula glomerata, ‘Allgentibl’ Genti Blue, Clustered Bellflower
Rabbit statue with: Geranium, ‘Jolly Bee,’ Cranesbill
Street light
Allium, ‘Globemaster,’ Onion
Categories
Out and About

An Evening at the Arb

My mom and I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this evening. I took these photos from 6:24 to 6:39 p.m.

Acer palmatum, ‘Bloodgood,’ Japanese Maple
Fountain, Donated by Dr. Virgil T. Fallon, 2001
Philadelphus lewisii, ‘Blizzard,’ Mockorange
Bumblebee
Placard that reads “Plants Used for Making Dyes”
Placard that reads “Plants Used for Making Tools”
Unknown red flower
Categories
Out and About Personal Life

My New Job at a National Park

Last week, I took an Amtrak train from St. Paul to Glacier National Park to begin my seasonal job working in a kitchen at one of the lodges. I am living and working in St. Mary, Montana, in northwestern Montana, close to the Canadian border.

After getting off the train in the blackness of night last week, the first thing I noticed was the smell of pine permeating the air. I likened it to fictional F.B.I. special agent Dale Cooper from “Twin Peaks” asking about the smell after arriving in Washington State (the smell is Douglas fir, an evergreen tree). I foresee the pine smell becoming a Proustian madeleine for me. And I wouldn’t mind living in the Pacific Northwest long-term (it is simply breathtaking); I just wouldn’t want to be around bears or moose!

The first two photos were taken with my iPhone, while the last three were taken with my Canon EOS R.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and the weather is looking up. I will need to get used to this rainy biome, but so far I cherish it (just not the bears and moose!).

The view from my temporary neighborhood near sunset. May 26, 2023, at 9:19 p.m.
Sign for St. Mary Village. My employer is the large building on the right. May 27, 2023, at 6:43 p.m.
The view from my temporary neighborhood near sunrise. May 28, 2023, at 6:30 a.m.
Cellular tower near my temporary home. May 28, 2023, at 6:32 a.m.
A moose appeared on the road shortly after beginning my journey with my professional camera this morning, forcing me to turn around and prematurely start this post. May 28, 2023, at 6:33 a.m.
Crop of the moose in the previous photo.
Categories
Out and About

Historic Downtown Chaska in Winter

For one reason or another, I haven’t taken many photos in downtown Chaska over the years. But this says more about me than it does their historic downtown area–because it is charming.

I took these five photos today from 11:34 to 11:50 a.m.

Carver County Justice Center
Formerly known as the “Co-Op,” this is SouthWest Metro High School. I had basketball practice here when I was in middle school and took a film photography course here–which I loved–when I was in high school.
St. John’s Lutheran Church & School
Pine garland in a gazebo, which is at the center of Chaska City Square Park
Chaska City Square Park
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Out and About Pug Life

Centennial Lakes Park in Late October

This afternoon, my mom, my puggles, and I visited Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, Minnesota. These photos were taken from 3:13 to 4:10 p.m.

Walking labyrinth/meditation maze
Prairie grass
Pugsley
Missy
Pugsley and Missy
Missy
My mom and our puggles next to a Rotary International clock at the entrance
Categories
Out and About Pug Life

Leaf Peeping 2022: Excelsior, Minnesota

For my third outing leaf peeping this year, I visited Excelsior, Minnesota, with my mom and our two puggles. I took these photos today from 11:42 a.m. to 12:11 p.m.

Small plane that started flying over the Excelsior Commons as soon we got there
Scarecrow in someone’s yard
Licks Unlimited
Port of Excelsior
Tommy’s Tonka Trolley
Staircase to a pier
Pier Four
Missy, Pugsley, and my mom
Categories
Out and About

Leaf Peeping 2022: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

For the second installment of “Leaf Peeping 2022,” I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum today in Chaska, Minnesota. I took these photos from 8:19 to 9:35 a.m.

Main road
Rose Walk sign
Main road (again)
Red flowers
House with picnic tables
The beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Pond with green algae
Brick path
Signpost
Purple flowers
Crabapple tree
The Canada goose on the right is eating a crabapple
Paul Granlund; American, 1925-2003; Swimmers, 1990; Bronze
Acer saccharum, the sugar maple
Acer platanoides, the Norway maple
Acer saccharum nigrum, the black maple
Rosa ‘BUCbi’ (Carefree Beauty)
Pine Tree Exhibit land art
Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine
Maze Garden
Douglas Freeman; American, born 1952; Family, 1989; Bronze
Sunlight on an oak tree
Vista over Green Heron Pond
Categories
Out and About

Leaf Peeping 2022: Lake Ann Park

I am starting a series this autumn titled “Leaf Peeping 2022.” I plan to document various stages of fall colors and the eventual falling of leaves (phenology). For this inaugural post, I went to Lake Ann Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota, from about 11:20 a.m. to noon today.

Trees by a fence for a tennis court
Trees behind a fence, which is the bokeh
The same fence in the above photo, but this time the trees are the bokeh
Ambulance bay
Mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees by a parking lot
Tall conifer growing by a parking lot
Metal halide lights (or are they LEDs?) above trees by a baseball field
Yellow tree growing by a baseball field
Birch trees (left) growing on a hill
Conifer that somehow has red leaves inside
Conifer with cones
Lodge overlooking Lake Ann
Watercraft Rental next to Lake Ann
Dock for Watercraft Rental on Lake Ann
Fall colors are well underway on Lake Ann