Memorial Day

I found these flags at a tiny unnamed cemetery northeast of St Cloud, and the near perfect light only reminded me of the purpose of the day. We are blessed as a nation.

The big lake...

I sneaked/snuck away for a day or so to go to Lake Superior and my land near Port Wing. The weather was suspect, but the break was great, even if I didn't take some of the pictures I wanted. One reason is that the weather and the seasons are easily three or more weeks behind us "down south." That was a bit surprising--I was hoping for apple blossoms and found mostly bare trees.

It's May

In between (a lot) of rain showers, I found these photos.

Baseball

I have a friend who is going to be going to a ton of baseball games this year. I remember the days when I would go to several a week, hoping for at least one decent photo per game. I had the chance to go to a few games for my college team, who recently won second place in their league. One day I froze and was more than soggy, but I enjoyed another game on a sunny warm day. I shot nothing great, but it was fun to spend time at a field shooting baseball.

I'm just saying...

Or, I am just kidding...

Tulips

Just goofing around with some tulips. It was more or less an exercise in learning depth of field all over again. The color was good, though.

Just because I thought it was cool

Spring, continued...

Yesterday was part work day, part goof off day. I saw the movie "Thor," the one where I served as a body double. Then I had a picnic dinner at Lake George, this cute little lake right near downtown St. Cloud. They recently rehabilitated the lake front, and this tiny 3 acre lake is a really a perfect picnic spot at sunset. It also was a great spot to take pictures. It became a venue for prom-goers, and not just for pictures. They were, well, promenading! It was a nice evening. I even had my first ice cream cone of the season at the famous Mr. Twisty's, an emporium with great ice cream.

Spring. Finally

Just a few spring flowers. Let's hope there is more to come...

Spring, maybe...

I worked until almost dusk tonight, which is something different than saying you worked til dusk in January. So at 8:15 when I put my paper work aside, I had to get out in the nice spring evening to walk and to take a few pictures. My neighborhood, again, and nothing great. But the technique was fun, and makes me want to do more pinhole photography. But most of all, it was a nice evening walk in nice spring weather. It didn't even snow today!

A spring trip

I made the trip to Madison this weekend and it was a very nice break. The weather was much better than it has been of late, and I love Madison. I spent lots of time there in the 1980s and 1990s and it still is home of sorts. I got to eat in Osseo, home of the famous Norske Nook, and there I got to meet Winston, a charming fellow closer in size to a Shetland pony than a dog. Once in Madison, I saw the capital in several different lights, if you can follow that. It really is one of the prettiest capitals in the world, and it is no less striking on a nice spring day. The whole town was filled with good light on Saturday. My hotel was on one of the lakes, and it at least looked warm.

Today, I was on a somewhat unsuccessful search for a decent cup of coffee. I was hoping for a small coffee shop that could make a mocha, but some were closed. I blame Jesus and that Easter thing for that. My search led me to Lake Delton and then through Wisconsin Dells while on the lookout for a Starbucks. Trust me when I say that the trip along Highway 12 between those two towns is one of the layers of hell, and there weren't even the summer crowds clogging the parkway. I had to laugh, though, at a sign on one the many fine eating establishments. The sign touted their famous cinnamon rolls and their "Homemade Toast." It left me thinking of the alternatives, and made me congratulate myself on being able to make toast (at home) that was just like a place that had famous other things on its menu.