Mertle the Turtle

There's this disgusting little pond/wetland near my house in Champlin that's filled with turtles.  They are a bit more sensitive than I thought they'd be -- wouldn't let me get closer than 10 yards before they dove back into the water and eventually stuck their little heads up to see if I was still around.  Might have been the dog though - I'll have to leave her at home next time!  

But doesn't this water look disgusting?  There was an article in the StarTrib the other day about how full of chemicals neighborhood ponds are.  I'm thinking this is one of them!  Yuck.

The Mighty Mallard

Gorgeous bird.  Love seeing these guys around the neighborhood.  Seems I see more here than I do out in West Central MN these days though.  In the past 2 years, I think I went duck hunting twice.  There just aren't many around out there anymore.  Dad says they've changed their flight patterns.  Hopefully they'll change back soon.  I miss sitting in a duck blind with my dad, brother and the dog.  I miss laying in a corn field with 1,000s of ducks overhead making the sweetest sound on earth -- that whistley sound they make.  

On a funnier note... a girl riding her bike down my street the other day was chasing a duck and was yelling "AFLAC, AFLAC" in the duck's voice.  Too funny.  Thinking she might watch too much TV though?!

April Flowers

E

Everything's a bit early this year, but no one's complaining.

Moooo

Saving some of that for later?

Saving that grass for later?

  Sure am.

High Heights

Silo on the McKigney farm.  You'd never get me up there.

Laundry Day

Full View

Rusted Out Chevy

Partial View

f

Ready for hauling

Wiper

Hard to imagine those windshield wipers would do much good in a down pour.

Ol' Chevy

My father in-law has an old chevy pickup out back behind the barns.  I'm thinking it's from the '60s since I found license plates from the mid-60s in the back.  It was last licensed in '76 - I guess it's been sitting in this same spot for the past 34 years waiting for me to come along and photograph it.  I'll have a mini-series on this beauty for the next few days.

Stick eater

Up the river

The view up the river from my office in City Center taken on the Twins home opener.  Notice all the people on the roof on the left pretending like they can see the game (there's no way they can - they're way too low).    

This is my favorite view from my building.  Feels more like old school Minneapolis.

Reflecting on the past

There's a plaque (is that what you would call this?) that features all of the Twins stadiums since their inception right outside the stadium.  Here I caught some officers going back through time... and yes, that other guy is Eric Perkins from Kare 11!

TARGET field

 Bullseye, the dog, being interviewed by Fox Sport North's Laura Schara

The Target bullseye was everywhere the opening day of Target Field!  Pedicabs up and down Nicollet Mall covered in bullseyes, team members handing out sunflower seeds, peanuts, cracker jacks, etc dressed in red & khaki baseball-esque gear, and Peavey Plaza completely decked out with Bullseye the dog, red seating in front of a big screen, more and more bullseyes!  No mistaking -- Target is the sponsor for Target Field!

We're gonna win Twins...

What a great day to be a Twins fan!  Had a blast downtown yesterday.  Peavey Plaza over lunch to check out the festivities, Kieran's at 3 to watch the game and two trips to check out the stadium.  I'm thinking this is going to be a fun summer downtown!

 

view from my floor in city center

 inside the stadium during the 6th.  shot this from the plaza

TWINS WIN!!  scene at Kieran's 2 blocks from the stadium

Play Ball!

Outdoor baseball begins today at Target Field!!  As a Target team member, I got a preview a few weeks ago.  Can't wait to check out a game this summer. 

That ugly brown building in the background is my office.  I'm on the 22nd floor so we plan to book the corner conference rooms for some noon games this summer!

Pollen

Stray

Authentic Mexican Beaches

Wouldn't be Mexico without these lovely beach vendors...

Almost free for you

You wanna fly?

Para-sail dude

Personal Time

This guy was great!  Harassed me to buy something for days - once I finally broke down and bought a pendant, he'd stop by just to ask how my day was going. 

Discovered!

She kind of looks like she knows I'm taking a picture of her, doesn't she?  I didn't realize that until just now.  I tried to be discreet...

The vendors of Puerto Vallarta

I brought my camera down to the beach a few days (most days I just wanted my book, the sun, and a drink).  I had a lot of fun photographing the beach vendors.  I was there for 2 weeks and saw the same people walk by day after day asking me to buy the same merchandise.  It was crazy to see them every day of my trip, but they're there literally every day of the year!  I did buy quite a few things and tried to spread out my purchases - never bought 2 things from the same person.  So the next few posts will feature the beach vendors of PV. 

Dripping Sun

decoration on a fence in Bucerias, Mexico

Pink

Salsa!