"Spring is here!" - More Photos

I had some photos left over at the end of today's post, and thought you might enjoy seeing them:


Minnesota: Spring is drifting in? March 23, 2011.


More springtime, Minnesota style. March 23, 2011.


I couldn't decide which angle was best. March 25, 2011.


It a way, this is my favorite of the set, but you can't see the lawn chair snowman very well. March 25, 2011.


And here's where I cut off the top of the chimney. March 25, 2011.


Back where I started. March 25, 2011.


It was fun, watching people react to that trio as they passed the house. March 25, 2011.

"Spring is here!"

Sunday, March 27, 2011. Oops. I didn't make an entry last week. Sorry about that! I plan to remember that flu shot, next winter.

Wednesday was a fine day: provided you could stay inside. Wind blew the snow into artistically-sculpted drifts. The snow itself was warm and wet enough to be a tad resistant to anyone trying to shovel it, though. Still, it looked nice.


Ah, to be in Minnesota in the spring. March 23, 2011.

It may have been there for some time, but I noticed a ding in the First State Bank's doorway trim on Friday. How it got there is a good question. Someone going too fast, coming in to park, maybe?


Ding in the First State Bank doorway trim. March 25, 2011.

My wife and #3 daughter got inspired on Friday, and celebrated spring with a snowman trio. One of which is in a lawn chair.


"Spring is here!" That's the spirit! March 25, 2011.

You may find a photo of that in Tuesday's Sauk Centre Herald. We'll see how that goes.

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More photos.

Snow's Fallen, Steve Ray's in Sauk Centre, and St. Patrick's Day is Thursday

Sunday, March 13, 2011. St. Patrick's Day is coming up this week, and last night we went through the 'spring forward' part of Daylight Saving Time. Which Ben Franklin apparently thought would be a great way to save on candle wax:

• "Ben Franklin and Daylight Saving Time: Even Homer Nods"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 7, 2010)

I experienced something like 'jet lag' this afternoon, but went to the Steve Ray Lenten kickoff this evening. That's not what it's called, though. "Lenten Parish Mission 'Contemplating the Passion & What Christ Has Done for Us' " is what's on one of the fliers.


Sauk Centre High School auditorium this evening, a few minutes before Steve Ray got started. March 13, 2011.

There's something about the Stations of the Cross tomorrow at 3:00 in the afternoon, at Our Lady of the Angels, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 4:00 to 7:00, and something about St. John the apostle from 7:00 to 9:00. It's going to be a different sort of Monday for me.

I've been sharing a cold, or something, with some of the family last week: and am duly grateful that it cleared up by the weekend. For me, anyway. Let's see, what else? We had a winter weather advisory Friday night and Saturday morning, which left an inch or so of heavy, wet snow on the ground.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good night, and see you again - probably next Sunday.

Burning Last Easter's Palms

Sunday, March 6, 2011. Ash Wednesday comes next week, the beginning of Lent. We get ashes for that day from last year's Easter palms: and today was the day the palms were burned. Our Lady of the Angels church has been using a wire-mesh burner for a few years now: a big improvement over what we had before.

This year the weather cooperated, with just enough breeze to blow smoke - reliably - in one direction. Last year's 35-mile-an-hour winds, I'm told, made burning the palms something of a track-and-field event: what with chasing down wind-blown palm bits.


Some of last year's palms reduced to ash, loading more in. March 6, 2011.


Those bits on the ground got gathered and burned a few minutes after I took this picture. March 6, 2011.

We got re-introduced to Scrip today, again at Our Lady of the Angels. I've written about it before. (February 17, 2008) Quite a few businesses in town have agreed to pay a percentage of what's bought with a Scrip card to Holy Family School. Sounds like a good idea.


Really brightly-colored poster, illustrating how Scrip works: at Our Lady of the Angels church. The kids at far right had been singing. March 6, 2011.

We've had quite a bit of snow this winter: more came down today. It's picturesque, and easier on the lungs than open winters where wind-blown dust turns the sky a tannish brown.

On the other hand, all that snow can be an inconvenience. Or worse. The roof of Wagner Hardware, over in Glenwood, collapsed back on February 1, if I'm getting the date right. 4:00 p.m., according to the Pope County Press. They've got an article about the collapse that starts with:

"It's a miracle of God that Dave (Guindon) and Sam (Martin) weren't skewered by broken wood timbers," said Garrett Wagner, who owns and operates Wagner Hardware in Glenwood.

"There were five Wagner Hardware employees in the building when the west side of the store's roof came crashing down at about 4 p.m. last Tuesday...."
(Tim Douglass, pctribune.com (February
7, 2011))

The Wagner Hardware roof collapse reminded me of when the Pamida store roof caved in, quite a few years ago now. Nobody hurt then, either. I've heard that Wagner plans to rebuild, starting this summer.

Like I said, we got more snow today: a nice, gentle, steady snowfall throughout most of the day. Nice to look at, from inside: and enough to keep me away from the grill. I've been out grilling burgers in much worse: but I'm getting over some sort of bug, and decided to be smart. Actually, my wife pointed out the prudent choice.

Finally, Our Lady of the Angels' Lenten Parish Mission with Steve Ray: starts a week from today, March 13th. The Sunday thing starts 6:45 p.m. at the Sauk Centre High School auditorium, I understand - then there's another session Monday at Our Lady of the Angels Church. I wrote about the mission and Steve Ray last week. Well, I mentioned it anyway.