Eyesore or Crystal Cascade: It's in the Eye of the Beholder

Wednesday, February 28, 2010. We'd better enjoy the snow while we can: It's been melting.


If we wait, spring will take care of that snow. February 24, 2010.

It'll take a while for that (two feet or so?) to go, though. Particularly where it's been piled up.


Eyesore, or sound barrier? Depends on your point of view. February 24, 2010.


That's barely a snowman. Snowkid, maybe?. February 24, 2010.

Springtime in Minnesota isn't that picture-postcard-lovely season of chirping birds and brightly-colored flowers you read about. The only bird song I heard today was a crow's caw.

Not that all we have around of an avian nature are crows. There are sparrows too: and chickadees. Speaking of which, I saw a chickadee after church this morning, in the alley west of Our Lady of the Angels church. The alley is covered in compacted snow, some of which has melted and flowed into wheel tracks. A chickadee was taking a bath in one of those little pools.

As I was saying, springtime in Minnesota isn't green grass, blooming flowers and all that. Not until rather late in the process, at least. Mostly it's winter, melting.

This year's snow is really rather clean. Even so, sunlight on the south face of snow banks melt away the snow, leaving whatever dust, dirt and debris got scooped up with the snow. As I wrote a few years ago, introducing a half-dozen photos, "it combines the more unpleasant aspects of winter and summer."

True enough, but a person doesn't have to see things that way. Take what you'll see on the north side of quite a few streets, for example.

I can see it as a mess that'd be a headache for someone who's particular about the appearance of the front lawn.

Or, I could see it as a sort of sculpture: a frozen cascade of crystal.


Frozen cascade. February 26, 2010.

However you decide to see them, those melting snow banks are ephemeral phenomena: they'll be gone, replaced in many places with grass that'll need to be trimmed.

I mentioned, Wednesday, how the chain link fence on the Lake Wobegon Trail bridge over Main is a sort of community bulletin board. Sauk Centre has quite a few places where folks can read about events that are coming up.


Last week this pillar in Jitters Java, downtown, had mostly commercial posts on it. February 24, 2010.

And you'll see the occasional ad for some product. Like Dr. Julian Dubiois, Jr.'s DVD, "A Walk to Remember." (I mentioned it in January.) You can't see the poster for that recording too well in the photo: it's that tannish bit toward the upper right.

Nobody Wants a Rapist Next Door: and More, Mostly About Snow

Wednesday, February 24, 2010. First, the unpleasant news. I've got some nice photos, so stick around. Or skip over the next few paragraphs.

If Minnesota Department of Corrections (MN DOC) information is correct, Dustin Gene Ayres was released on Monday, and has probably moved into town by now. I can't say that I envy him. He's a Level 3 predatory offender: the sort of rapist who'd most likely to re-offend. He's also served his sentence, including whatever extra time he earned by violating parole the last time he was released.

Don't get me wrong. I think that second (third?) chances are a good idea. I also hope that nobody in town gives him a hard time because of what he's done in the past. It's possible that he'll change.

The Sauk Centre Herald had another couple of articles on Mr. Ayres, and related topics, this week. I wasn't pleased to learn that Stearns County is the #1 county for (relocated?) sex offenders, outside the metro area: but there's not much to do about that.

Something I read in the print edition of this week's Herald matches other information I've dug up. The recidivism rate for sex offenders is fairly low. On average. Mr. Ayres is in the category of people who are most likely to re-offend.

But there isn't much, given the way the law works today, that can be done. Apart from what MN DOC is doing: keeping a rather close eye on Mr. Ayres for the next decade, and limiting what he can do. Unless he breaks parole again, he won't just be wandering around town. As I said, I can't say that I envy him.

And - what I think is a very important point - we're allowed to know about him now. I can remember when that wouldn't have been the case. The American judicial system has started to realize that protecting people who don't break the law is important, too: and I think that's a good thing.

More, in "Level 3 Predatory Offender Coming: Photos and Links," Sauk Centre Journal Blog (February 19, 2010).


That Haiti fundraiser's banner is a little dated. It's about something that was scheduled Monday. And yes, that's a snowmobiler. February 24, 2010.

The chain link fence on the Lake Wobegon Trail bridge over Main Street ("Original Main Street" the signs say) is a sort of community bulletin board. Quite a few events get announced there.

Snow. We've had snow this winter. Lots of snow. A drift in my back yard just about covers two lawn chairs - and even after excavations, I have to bend over to reach the grill when I'm fixing burgers on the weekend. I figure I'm standing on at least a half-foot of compacted snow and ice.


The band shell by Sauk Lake. February 24, 2010.

Finding a place to put snow from the driveway and sidewalk wasn't a problem for us. We've got more yard than pavement, so it's just a matter of throwing - or blowing - it onto something that can stay covered until spring.


Snow piled behind Jitters Java, downtown. And two guys on the other side of the street, probably discussing the utility system. February 24, 2010.

The city street department, and many (most?) businesses aren't in that position. There's been a whole lot of snow cleared off streets and parking lots this year: and it all has to go somewhere. In residential areas, at least some of it goes onto that rampart that grows at the edge of the street. Some parking lots have a few spaces piled high with snow. And, since nobody's using the band shell this time of year, a little is piled up on the edge of the parking lot there.

Finding a place to put snow from the driveway and sidewalk wasn't a problem for us. We've got more yard than pavement, so it's just a matter of throwing - or blowing - it onto something that can stay covered until spring.


A Christmas angel, half-buried in snow. This photo is almost crying for a caption, but I can't think of one. February 24, 2010.

I've heard people say that we're always talking about the weather, here in Minnesota. I don't want to disappoint out-of-staters, so: It's been a beautiful day today. Clear blue sky, sunlight sparkling on the snow, and not much wind. A little nippy: 11° below this morning. Fahrenheit. But hey: this is Minnesota!