Outdoors Posts

Obligatory first tick(s) of the season post

It’s official, yesterday was the Perfect Duluth Day. The ticks are out today. I plucked off my first one at 4:35 p.m. and the second at 4:37 p.m.

And yes, I do post on PDD about ticks pretty much every  spring. It’s what I do.

June 8, 2008
May 11, 2007
June 6, 2005

Weather report

hail1

About 4:30 Tuesday in the Kenwood neighborhood.

$25 for priceless

Jay Cooke Park 5.03.09

Jay Cooke Park 5.03.09

Took the kiddies out to Jay Cooke Park yesterday. Including the newest gosling on his first ever trip to nature.

Arrowhead Journey – Erik Simula – 1000 mile canoe journey

Arrowhead Journey 1000 Mile Canoe Journey

Arrowhead Journey 1000 Mile Canoe Journey

While on a hike this afternoon with my dog near Grand Marais I met Erik Simula on a unique canoeing journey.  Erik is a Duluth native and he is in the midst of a 1000 mile Minnesota canoe journey spread of the next 3 months. The journey started in Grand Portage on earth day April 22nd and Erik will paddle and portage his way from Grand Portage to Duluth to Grand Rapids to International Falls and back to Grand Portage in time for the 2009 annual rendezvous on August 7th. O’yea….BTW…  All in a canoe he made by hand and with his paddling partner dog Kitigan.  Click Here for the details of his trip on Erik Simua’s blog. Good Luck Erik!

See a couple more pictures I took during my brief conversation with him on the shores of Lake Superior as he landed on shore to camp due to the poor wind conditions and rough seas for paddling. Hopefully he will be in Duluth within the next week or so!! Here is the url to his web site: http://arrowheadjourney.wordpress.com/

Spring Migration Celebration in St. Louis County

Exciting birding activities, engaging presentations, and friendly Birdathon competitions geared for all levels of birders will be held throughout the week.

May 12-17, 2009 | Duluth, MN

No no no

OK OK OK

I am feeling bad for repeating the rumor that Two Harbors High School students cut down the “honking tree” as a senior prank.

Other Signs of Spring …

Homegrown Week, I know.

My Lilac Bush 4.28.09

My Lilac Bush 4.28.09


Homegrown Festival is a sign of spring for many PDDers, no doubt. But for me one of my favorite signs that Spring is underway is when my lilacs bloom. Or appear to be near blooming, as is the case here.

Chester Creek Park Sweep

cccp1

Dan Proctor will be leading the Citizens for Chester Creek Park in a spring clean up of the park this coming Saturday, May 1 at 9 a.m.
all volunteers are welcome and will get 1/2 off their breakfast burrito and drink and a CCCP Tshirt.

Spring Sustainability Fair

Energy, Campus, and Communitygood-tree

April 21 at the UMD Kirby Student Center

10 am-4 pm

Call: 722-SAVE for bus schedules

Informational booths, demonstrations and panel discussions on many topics, with a focus on energy.

Call 722-SAVE for Bus Schedules.

*Panels and Presenters* (Kirby Lounge)
11:00 a.m. Wind Power! Community wind projects in NE Minnesota, and results from wind resource research on the UMD campus: Mike Mageau, UMD Geography and Center for Sustainable Community Development

12:00 p.m. Campus Energy Research – Malosky Solar Array: Andrew Bentley, Brandon Eberle, and Scott Norr, UMD Electrical and Computer Engineering

12:30 p.m. Campus Energy Research – Multiple-Energy Source Integration: Jeron Smith, Tom Soldner, Drew Jensen, David Buszmann, and Paul Weber, UMD Electrical and Computer Engineering

1:00 p.m. Energy: Choices, Issues, and UMD’s Role: Tom Ferguson, 3M McKnight Professor, UMD Elect & Comp Engr

2:00 p.m. Go lean before going green: The role of energy conservation and why it should always come first: Dean Talbott, Residential Program Specialist, Minnesota Power

3:00 p.m. Twin Ports Campus Sustainability Panel: How are Twin Ports universities and colleges addressing sustainability? (UMD, CSS, LSC, UWS)

4:00 p.m. Hartley Nature Center’s Electron-Search for Smart Energy (Near UMD Bus Stop)

*Booths and Presentations*

David Syring’s Anthropology Seminar Class Sustainability Projects
NE Minnesota CERTs
Conservation Technologies
UMD Office of Sustainability
UMD Office of Civic Engagement
True North AmeriCorps
Western Lake Superior Sanitary District
Minnesota Power
Jes Durfee Glass Blowing
Outdoor EdVentures
Duluth Community Supported Herbalism
Sustainable Twin Ports
UMD Sustainability Coalition
Cut Loose Creations

MORE???

Perfect Duluth Dye

My girlies dyeing eggs this year OUTDOORS!

My girlies dyeing eggs this year OUTDOORS!

We’ve been having an annual Easter Eve Egg Dyeing Party every year since I decided to participate more in my family rather than just attempt to finance it by working every Saturday.

Dining Al Fresco …

That ever expanding city within a city, or as I like to call it, SMDC-opolis played host to a shockingly pleasant dining experience today …

After the first dr visit of her 10th month of pregnancy my partner and I were both famished and agreed to visit that behemoth’s  hearthstone grill (I refuse to put the extra “e” on grill cause that just grates on me, they are trying way too hard to be something they are not).

Anyway, the food was really good. Nice variety, well prepared, and yeah, it’s cafeteria style, but the service was still really good and quick, and it’s nice to pick out your own serving sizes sometimes, especially when you’re rushed or have a big appetite.

And as my impromptu photo will attest, the view and ambiance were very very pleasant. Although, if you are a neat freak keep your food on the tray as the outdoor tables had a thin, barely noticeable layer of grime on them.

The cost for this very gastronomically and aesthetically pleasing lunch for two cost (that’s one giant and one very pregnant lady so we are talking appetites here folks.) Well, it came in well under $20.

So I’m wondering to myself, am I crazy, or did I just stumble upon a fantastic new lunch place? And even more shocking to me … did I just find the new best place to dine outdoors in the Twin Ports?

1st outdoor lunch of 2009 at the new(ish) SMDC clinic building

Our 1st outdoor lunch of 2009 at the new(ish) SMDC clinic building

Your thoughtful thoughts?

Ice Pack

t1_09088_1623_lakesuperior_143_250m

Lutsen Mountains: King of the Midwest Hills

Airbourne - New York Times

New York Times story here.

Earth Hour March 28th

Earth Hour flier 2

Earth Hour is something that is going on March 28th. They just ask you to turn off the lights to your house from 8:30-9:30 p.m. as a way to ‘Vote Earth.’

I think this is  a really cool initiative because last year about 50 million households/businesses participated in Earth Hour by shutting off their lights, and this year they hope to have 1 billion people participate!

I hope you all will join me for Earth Hour on 3/28/2009.

Do you all have any ideas on how to bring Earth Hour to Duluth. Sarah’s table is already serving candlelit dinners for the hour, so if you would like a romantic dinner. 😉 But if you all have any other ideas let me know!

Thrills, Spills and Chills: Chester Bowl Wipeouts

I shot this on Sunday, the last day at Chester Bowl for skiing/snowboarding. I’m still trying to dry out my kid’s snowboard boots.

This is mostly the crashing and burning, and to be fair, most of the skiers made it across just fine. But really, who wants to watch that? Success is boring.

Summer or winter, Chester Bowl is the best.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!