Sunday, August 30, 2015

School, Labor Day, and a Mural

Sunday, August 30, 2015. The school year starts Tuesday, September 1. Then, a few days later: Labor Day weekend; and school starts again on the 7th.

I took a closer look at the downtown mural this week: and noticed that the Sauk Centre in the mural has a steam engine at the depot, and a building that's not there any more, across the street. The railway depot building is still around: housing Depot Feeds.


Downtown Sauk Centre's mural: complete, apparently. (August 26, 2015)


A closer look at downtown Sauk Centre: as it was. (August 26, 2015)


A well-tended garden on Sauk Centre's south side. (August 26, 2015)

That's it for now. I'll see you next week.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Last Photos from the Stearns County Fair, School Year Coming

 Sunday, August 23, 2015. The school year will be starting soon. I've seen a few recreational vehicles go by outside, probably being driven home after the summer's: recreating?

It's been overcast and raining about half the time this week, including Friday and Saturday: when I made an unexpected delivery to North Dakota. I was filling in for my son, who wasn't able to go: and so spent a few hours visiting with the kids and granddaughter up there.

These are the last photos from the Stearns County Fair.


In the 4-H building, mostly photography displays. (August 1, 2015)


I always stop by the model rocket table, remembering when I made that sort of thing. (August 1, 2015)


Nicely-framed clouds, seen through the 4-H building's west door. (August 1, 2015)


And walking back through the midway, on my way home. (August 1, 2015)


A patch of blue sky, branches being blown about: today felt like autumn. (August 23, 2015)

After spending much of Friday and Saturday either getting as much as what I'd planned to do finished, or driving to and from North Dakota, I'm fresh out of stuff to say. For me, that's an odd sensation.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

More Photos From the Fair

Sunday, August 16, 2015. Another week has gone by, we've had sunshine and rain, the school year is lurking on the calendar, and I didn't take any photos.

There are, however, a few from the Stearns County Fair that I haven't shown yet.


The two smaller critters are leopard tortoises. The big fellow, imitating a rock, is an African spurred tortoise. (August 1, 2015)


Deer are fairly common here in Minnesota. Patagonian cavys, not so much. (August 1, 2015)

Those pictures were taken in the Conservation Club building. The critters are from the Hemker Park and Zoo, north of Freeport, about 15 minutes down the road: a family-run outfit that's been around since 1977. I've never been there, but members of my family have: and say it's a nice place.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Pride of Main Street Dairy Closes; Photos from the Parade

Sunday, August 9, 2015. Last month I talked about the Ding Dong Cafe's owner getting ready to retire. The Ding Dong will, I'm confident, still be around when a new owner's found.

Pride of Main Street Dairy, not so much. This week's Sauk Centre Herald top story, after Jeff Otte's deep fried cheese curds and other Stearns County Fair fare, was "Pride of Main Street Dairy closed indefinitely."


The headline says it all: "Pride of Main Street Dairy closed...." (August 6, 2015)

Sounds like Lifeway Foods, an Illinois-based company, is moving the production processes Main Street Dairy handled to Wisconsin or Illinois. That's put 11 of the 13 folks who worked at Main Street Dairy: out of work.

Someone's working in the office, and another doing building maintenance; the building's up for sale, and the small retail dairy store that was in the building is gone. I remember seeing Pride of Main Street Dairy's skim, 1%, 2%, whole and chocolate milk; and a few ice cream flavors; in Coborn's.

It was nice having locally-made dairy products, and looking for work is anything but fun: my experience, anyway. But I understand that change happens.

On a happier note, I don't think I shared these photos from the Sinclair Lewis Day parade, week before last.


Someone noted that kids scooting out to pick up goodies thrown from Sinclair Lewis Days Parade units reminded him of chickens going after corn. (July 18, 2015)


Sauk Centre's fire/emergency response department: new equipment - - - (July 18, 2015)


- - - and anything-but-new equipment. (July 18, 2015)

I've probably got photos from the Stearns County Fair, too: but those will wait until next week. Or the week after that, or whenever. That depends partly on whether I get any nifty pictures.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Stearns County Fair: Midway and Beyond

Monday, August 3, 2015. Stearns County Fair ended yesterday. I was feeling very relaxed yesterday, which is why Sunday's entry is showing up on Monday. It's a beautiful day, by the way.


The midway: it's noisy, fun, and maybe the most colorful end of the fair. (August 1, 2015)

Oddly enough, Stearns County Fair's midway is at the west end of the fairgrounds. (August 1, 2015)


I like Saturday afternoon and early evening at the fair. It's when you'll see the most families. (August 1, 2015)


The north lane - I don't know if that it's name, or if it has one - where the 'real' fair starts. Vendors and exhibitors are in booths by the lane, and in the buildings. The white roof, at the end of the lane, is one of the livestock buildings. I didn't get that far this year. (August 1, 2015)

There's more, but I'm saving those photos for next week.