Things I forgot to tell you and New Stuff

When I was down in Minneapolis for the wedding I saw my first Tesla! It was pretty. I don't see them up here because of their limited range, but I think one of the big West End (of the county) resorts has some plug in stations for electric cars.

When I went out to look at the stars I was greeted by a howling wolf pack less than a half mile away. When I went around back of the house I scared a deer away. Maybe it thought I was one of the wolves.

Tomorrow is an eclipse of the sun. These happen regularly on the planet (averaging less than one total eclipse per year), but I haven't seen one since the 70s. There were a couple I saw during that decade so I guess this one is only a big deal since it crosses the U.S. diagonally from coast to coast. I will only see about 80% here, but it will be cloudy so I won't likely see it at all.

Meanwhile, I like sunny days better. Summer is starting to wane and there are some leaves jumping the gun of autumn. I had to work a half day on Saturday and decided that since it was a nice day I would stop by the harbor and take my camera for a short walk. And this is what I saw:

Families and friends enjoying each other's company.

And then I just sat on the rocks for a bit and took some deep breaths to relax. Work has been grueling and I was tired so it felt good to just stop everything for a few long moments. I watched the waves roll in as they have done for millennia and just sat there. It was lovely.

Click to embiggen. 

Summer Activities

While I was lacking inspiration to write anything I published a bit of my father's life as it seemed more interesting. Then I made a quick trip out of town last weekend, but in looking through the stuff I had actually been doing the last few weeks I decided it wasn't so bad. Even if the only time I seem to have is on the weekends it has been a fun month. I'll mostly show it in pictures.

Earlier in July we had the local Art Festival. Over 70 local and regional artists were exhibiting their wares and there was a pretty steady crowd milling around for a couple of days. The weather was reasonably cooperative, the lake was a wonderful companion and the entertainment was first rate.

At the end of July, a couple of days after my birthday, A couple of friends invited me to go along to

5th annual Bay & Algoma Busker's Festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario which is just across the border. Thank goodness the Canadians haven't built a wall yet to keep out us undesirables from the South so all we needed was our passports. There were at least 27 acts signed up for the two day festival along with food vendors and the local businesses in this Finnish community. Most of the performers were quite good and the local food was also tasty. It was a hot day by our standards and might have gotten into the low 80s Fahrenheit for us and about 27 or 28 C for them. Some people dress for the heat and the nearby harbour has a wading pool for everyone to cool off. Here are Ann and Dan deciding if the want to wet their toes.

  People watching at these things is always fun, isn't it?

Here are a couple of buskers entertaining Dan (who is remaining anonymous) and Ann, who is obviously happy, and Ayla (who stopped by the farm last year to visit our horses)is tending to her dogs.

Last weekend I went to a friend's daughter's wedding in Minneapolis. It was a combination of the young friends of the bride and groom and those of my vintage all enjoying themselves on Nicollet Island which is in the Mississippi River. I got to see a lot of old friends and roommates from years ago. Here is the bride and the parents and brother of the bride.

The last shot is Maggie, the bride, and her father Jim who is one of my best friends for the last 48 years or so.

This weekend is the Perseid meteor shower. I went out behind the house Friday night to see what I could see. I saw a hundred satellites and several meteors and attempted to take photos of the event to see if I could capture any. I have tried this before without much success. I only had until about 11:30 when the moon would be above the trees and too bright. This time I got one! Click on it for a better visual experience.