Today, my mom, puggles, and I made it to Carver Park Reserve Off-Leash Dog Park (that’s a mouthful) in Victoria, Minnesota. This dog park is actually the only dog park we knew about after getting Pugsley, and it wasn’t for quite some time that we found out about all the other wonderful dog parks in the area.
According to the Minnesota DNR’s Fall Color Finder, now is the perfect time for fall colors in Victoria. However, fall colors this year are not as spectacular as other years because of the drought we had this summer. Nevertheless, it was a nice day to visit a dog park and get some photos.
Missy and Pugsley by a fencePugsley being stubborn (not uncommon for him)Pugsley by a fence and entrance to the area for small dogs. Ours were the biggest dogs there.Missy and Pugsley take a break off the path to enjoy the smell of grass (probably urine)Pugsley smelling more grass with my mom and Missy walking toward Lake Zumbra in the backgroundA nice portrait of Pugsley in the grassMissy walking over some fallen leaves on the path
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 ParkPumpkin sculptureBoy on a bungee trampolineLine for amusement park attractionsMissy getting petted by childrenMy mom and our dogs by the St. Croix River with the famous Stillwater Lift Bridge in the backgroundBoat on the St. Croix RiverFiddler performing a solo songBand performing “Rocky Top”Black Letter BooksPugsley and Missy drinking water outside a storeLeo’s Grill & Malt ShopA much bigger dog next to MissyFestive display next to outdoor diningChestnut Street and the Stillwater Lift BridgePatio for Domaćin Restaurant & Wine BarRoasted vegetables. Delicious!Where we found parking on hilly 2nd StreetView from 2nd Street
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 ArchThe Gateway Arch next to the St. Louis skylineMy mom walks our dogs by the Gateway Arch. (Yes, the Hyatt is dog-friendly.)Missy and Pugsley near the Gateway ArchThe Gateway ArchGreat Smoky Mountains National Park (in Tennessee)
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 creekMaple leaves in full flameMy mom and our puggles in the woodsMissy smiles amid a bed of pine needlesMy mom and Pugsley smile for the camera on a bridgeHere we are back at the entrance near the parking lotMy mom sits on a bench close to the Mississippi RiverSign for Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
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.
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.
Missy and Pugsley pose for the cameraMy mom and puggles by the pondMy mom and puggles by the miniature golf course
