Tag: mom

My First Visit to Stillwater, Minnesota

Post author By Nicholas
Post date October 9, 2021
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On October 9 (one day before my birthday), I visited Stillwater, Minnesota, with my mom and our puggles. This was my first trip to Stillwater, and, boy, have I been missing out! It’s a beautiful, touristy city on the St. Croix River and Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

They were also having their Stillwater Harvest Fest at Lowell Park on the river, though I did not know about this until I got there. It was crowded and, I’m sure, relatively difficult to find parking (see where we parked in the last two photos).

Here are 19 photos I took today. All but the two from the restaurant, which were taken with my Google Pixel 4a, were taken with a Canon EOS R and kit lens.

My mom and our dogs after arriving at Lowell Park

My mom and our dogs by the St. Croix River with the famous Stillwater Lift Bridge in the background

Pugsley and Missy drinking water outside a store

Chestnut Street and the Stillwater Lift Bridge

Where we found parking on hilly 2nd Street

Tags dog, food, live music, minnesota, mom, stillwater

Out and About

Road Trip to Tennessee

For Memorial Day, my parents and I traveled by car to visit the family of my brother’s fiancée. All but one of these photos were taken when we stayed at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch in Missouri, though I do have more photos that were taken with my iPhone. Unfortunately, I can’t open the photos taken with my iPhone on this Linux computer because they are .heic files, which this computer does not recognize. That being said, I am grateful the weather cooperated when we were at the Gateway Arch, since these are some of the best photos I’ve taken with my Canon EOS R.

A portrait of my mom in front of the Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch next to the St. Louis skyline

My mom walks our dogs by the Gateway Arch. (Yes, the Hyatt is dog-friendly.)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (in Tennessee)

Tags dog, missouri, mom, national park, st. louis, tennessee

Out and About Pug Life

Charles A. Lindbergh State Park at Peak Fall Colors

Post author By Nicholas
Post date October 4, 2020
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Today, my mom, my puggles, and I decided to visit Charles A. Lindbergh State Park in Little Falls, Minnesota, because it was the closest state park at peak fall colors according to the DNR’s Fall Color Finder*. It was a fine state park situated near the Mississippi River. These are the photos I got. (* Update, 12/29/2020: Because of today’s political climate, I am compelled to add that I don’t agree with the political views of the historical figure for which this state park is named.)

My mom and our puggles stand on a bridge over a creek

My mom and Pugsley smile for the camera on a bridge

Here we are back at the entrance near the parking lot

My mom sits on a bench close to the Mississippi River

Sign for Charles A. Lindbergh State Park

Tags dog, little falls, minnesota, mom, state park

Gear

Buy a Hummingbird Feeder, and the Hummingbirds Will Come

Post author By Nicholas
Post date September 18, 2020
No Comments on Buy a Hummingbird Feeder, and the Hummingbirds Will Come

A couple months ago, I read a gear review on Wired.com about hummingbird feeders. Since my mom is a huge hummingbird fan and has tons of hummingbird decorations, I told her to read the review. We bought a hummingbird feeder — and, later, a second one — and ever since we have been inundated with hummingbirds. If you like hummingbirds, it makes so much sense to have a hummingbird feeder (or two) so you can enjoy hummingbirds every day rather than waiting for perhaps one the entire summer.

Even though the high was around 60 degrees today, and I’m guessing the hummingbirds are beginning to migrate from Minnesota, it wasn’t long before I captured this hummingbird at one of our feeders this evening.

A hummingbird drinks sugar water out of a hummingbird feeder

The hummingbird feeders we use cost $30 on Amazon. The ASIN for the feeders is B00P91VK4U, so you can just copy and paste that into the Amazon search box. We followed the instructions for the sugar water that were included with the feeders, and the hummingbirds seem to love it!

My mom has a view of the hummingbird feeders from her new home office, which I assembled

My mom had previously counted about 20 days in a row seeing hummingbirds.

And that is so much better than just one sighting for the entire summer.

Tags bird, chanhassen, minnesota, mom

Pug Life

An Evening in Centennial Lakes Park

Post author By Nicholas
Post date June 13, 2020
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Centennial Lakes Park is a 24-acre park and man-made pond located in Edina, Minnesota. It’s my mom’s favorite park, so we went there with our puggles, Pugsley and Missy, this evening.

My mom and puggles by the miniature golf course

Tags dog, edina, minnesota, mom