Easter in Minneapolis

As I sit indoors on this cold, stormy day, watching the rain pelt the windows and hearing the occasional rumble of thunder, it's hard to believe that it was so lovely last week on Easter Sunday. But it was indeed. In fact, last Sunday was probably the nicest day we've had this spring - 70 degrees and sunshine all day long.

I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and walk through Loring Park on the way to Westminster Presbyterian Church, a large church in downtown Minneapolis. On the way to the Easter service, I did a little bird watching in Loring Park. I got a pair of binoculars with a lovely leather case from a family friend who was a great lover of birds, and I jumped at the chance to use them.

               I walked past the Episcopal church just as the Easter service ended.

This is a marsh in Loring Park with St. Mary's Basilica in the background. My office is also
located here!

 I spotted several male red-winged blackbirds, but their brightly colored wings unfortunately
aren't visible in this photo.


The Westminster Church had a very large choir that sang beautifully. For the Easter service there were trumpets, trombones, and timpani drums accompanying the choir. I've decided that timpani drums should be my next musical endeavor.

                            Westminster Church emptying after the Easter service.

                         The church against the backdrop of downtown Minneapolis.


Back at home, we enjoyed an Easter dinner of ham and asparagus, minus the hollandaise sauce. Here are a few more pictures of our dining room decorated for Easter:

Hope you all had an equally lovely Easter!

Snowed-in Bike Project

Greetings from a much warmer Minneapolis! We have survived another brutal winter, and we even have had some days in the 60s this spring. To entertain myself during the long winter and to keep myself from going crazy from the repeated snowstorms, I decided to take pictures of the snowed-in bikes in my neighborhood. I discovered a number of bikes were chained up along the street all winter, and because of repeated snowfall and the snowplows pushing snow onto the curb across a period of several months, some bikes were buried in snow up to the handlebars. I had never seen anything like this before, so I decided to turn it into a project.

Now that the snow has melted, I have taken pictures of the same bicycles without snow to show what happens to bikes when they sit under a pile of snow for several months.

 I walk past this bike every day on my way to work. This picture was taken on January 31.

                                        This picture was taken on March 30.

             This picture was taken today, April 26. Look at the rust on that poor bike!

                                       This picture was taken in early February.

                                             This picture was taken today.

                                      This picture was taken in early February.

                                             This picture was taken today.

                                      This was taken today. Notice the green plants!

                                          This picture was taken in early March.

                                               This was taken today.


Here are a few more bonus pictures of the huge snow piles in my neighborhood:

                                So much for taking a seat while waiting for the bus!

                                Have I mentioned that spring is my favorite season?