Trip to Bemidji, Minnesota

Last week was Alycia's spring break, but rather than head for Cancun or South Padre Island, Texas we stayed nearby.  Alycia had a bunch of work to do the whole week, so a protracted trip of vacation was out of the question.  We did though manage to get away for a nice day trip to Bemidji, Minnesota, about 100 miles east of Grand Forks.

We stopped at the local Bemidji landmark, the giant statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.  Babe hadn't been fed in quite some time and Alycia was nice enough to offer him some hay.

A passerby was nice kind enough to take our picture.

Throughout Bemidji they have beaver statues that have been painted by local artists.  Alycia posed near one such beaver.

And then acted like a beaver for another photo. 

We stopped for lunch at The Wild Hare Bistro and had a delicious lunch, I had a fantastic chicken salad sandwich and Alycia some very tasty vegetarian chili.  If you're ever in Bemidji, Minnesota, I'd highly recommend this establishment for lunch.  We also made a stop at the Bemidji Woolen Mills (a 90 year old woolen goods manufacturer), where I picked up this awesome Railroad Cap and Alycia a new pair of woolen mittens.

After perusing the downtown area bit more and purchasing some local chocolates, we made our way back home.  It wasn't an intense, action packed Spring Break trip, but a very relaxing outing that we both thoroughly enjoyed. 

The approaching storm is just about here, and the most recent forecast is for 10-15 inches of wet, heavy snow.  The wind has grown boisterous and angry, the trees are quaking and the house is beginning to groan and rumble from the strong gusts.  I must go and make sure all the snow shovels are strategically placed, the dog poop is scooped, and the house and yard are ready for the latest (and hopefully last) snow event.

Major Winter Storm on the Way

It's a gray, chilly, soggy day today in North Dakota.  Last night the temperatures never got below freezing so the mush and muck in the yard didn't re-solidify overnight, meaning extra sogginess today.  There has been a decent amount of draining though and some of the muddier parts of the dog yard were beginning to dry out a tad. 

We put some mulch down on the muddier areas and there's a decent mulch path through most of the yard, but sadly the dogs don't stay on the path.  With the mulch and a bit of draining we had hopes that the worst was over and the yard was starting to turn the corner.

But just when we thought the worst may have been over, the weather report is predicting a significant winter storm for Tuesday/Wednesday.  The exact storm track and nature of the precipitation (rain or snow) is still up in the air, but early indications are mostly snow and several inches worth.  I can't count the number of times I've wiped down and de-muddified the dogs (especially puppy) over the last few days and more snow will only prolong the mud issue.  Bummer. 

Muddy Dogs

I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves.  The backyard is a mess with melting snow and ice and mud, it's just a soggy soup everywhere.  The dogs picked today to have an epic tear around session out there.

Shaak Ti had to look away from the camera, she was so ashamed at how muddy she got.

It was harder to capture how muddy the puppy was, I had to wrangle her while shooting the pictures, otherwise she licks the camera.  This doesn't make for good pictures.

Then as I was wrestling with her to dry her off and clean her up, she rolled over and showed off her muddy, filthy tummy and undercarriage. 

My Nephew at 2 Months

My nephew at 2 months.  I kinda think he looks like a garden gnome, but it's probably just his rosy cheeks.

Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Fallout in Japan

The tragedy in Japan, a devastating earthquake and tsunami, is proving to have a catastrophic human toll.  Even in a compulsively natural disaster prepared populace like Japan, it's still reported that the number of casualties could exceed 10,000.  You can donate to the American Red Cross here.

Natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunami's are always going to occur, and as tragic as the staggering loss of life is, it pales in comparison to the potential man made disaster of nuclear fallout from self destructing power plants.  There are currently 6 nuclear reactors in Japan that are concerning to Japanese and global authorities.  Contradicting reports have stated there has been radioactive fallout, that there is impending nuclear fallout, and that everything is fine. 

As of Monday morning, it has been reported that 200,000 people have been evacuated from the areas surrounding the nuclear power plants until they can be safely brought under control.  Let's hope that any damage to the affected people is minimal and the situation does not worsen. 

Photo credit: Jared Rodriguez via Flickr

Regardless of what the truth is surrounding the amount of radioactive exposure, this should be a wake-up call for American policy makers and the general populace.  Yes, we should not be politicizing a tragedy, and no we shouldn't immediately take every nuclear power plant in the US offline.  But it is time to seriously reconsider nuclear power as an option in the future.  

Every other alternative energy source has drawbacks and an environmental impact: wind, solar, geothermal, etc all have some pros and cons.  But none of these other energy sources have the inherent potential devastating capabilities of a nuclear power plant disaster.  Even without considering the disposal of nuclear waste that occurs when the power plant is operating correctly, there is just too much risk in nuclear power.  Let's stop considering this as energy option. 

As safe as nuclear power has been advertised to be, there will always be earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, and acts of terrorism that can undermine the efforts of even the best and well intentioned power plants.   Please encourage your elected representatives that you don't want to see any more nuclear power plants built in the US. 

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Fun With Racquetballs

Puppy loves to chew on her toys, and yeah that's a given for most puppies.  She loves to de-stuff, eviscerate, and then consume the soft toys, but also really enjoys the hard rubber toys that bounce.  We had given her a tennis ball to play with, but after playing with it for a bit, she just sat there with the tennis ball in her mouth and chewed and chewed and chewed on it.  My sisters large black labs often did the same thing with tennis balls and apparently have developed some long term dental problems because of their habit.

It turns out that long term chewing on tennis balls (as opposed to just having them in their mouth for fetch) can wear down the enamel on dogs teeth, so a racquetball is a better option.  Since puppy loves, loves to chew and also enjoys a bouncing bounding toy, we decided to see if she'd like a racquetball instead.  Did she ever.

We bought a tube of racquetballs (about $6 for three of them which makes them among the cheapest dog toys) and it was puppy love from there.

Animal Shot Near Hillsboro, N.D., Confirmed As Gray Wolf

This article came from the Grand Forks Herald.

It's a little spooky to think that there are wolves so close, but I really don't think they'd venture into a highly populated area like Grand Forks and make a snack out of our pooches.  Here's a map of where Hillsboro is:

Photo Credit - Hillsboro Website

Animal Shot Near Hillsboro, N.D., Confirmed As Gray Wolf

A large canine taken by a coyote hunter early in January east of Hillsboro, N.D., in Traill County has been confirmed as a gray wolf.

The hunter apparently shot the gray wolf, a protected species rarely seen in North Dakota, thinking it was a coyote.

More Snow Today, More on the Way, And The Thermodynamics of Dog Poop in Winter

Just when I thought spring might be putting on its pants and shoes and thinking about strolling over to knock on the door, Old Man Winter decided that he needed to give us a coating of light snow. We got an inch or so last night and should get another inch or two today.  It's light fluffy snow that doesn't amount to a whole lot and sure looks purty coming down.

There's a threat of more snow on Tuesday when a big storm should stay south of us (sorry Iowa, it looks like you're in for it) and the end of next week when a possible significant snowfall will come our way.  March is usually pretty stormy here in North Dakota as weather patterns and the jet stream start shifting and slightly warmer air (which holds more moisture) can bring larger storms.  I'm jumping the gun in wishing for spring already.  It'll be at least another month before everything melts, and the conversation changes to flooding issues, and at least another two months before I can get anything planted in the garden.

Yesterday before the snow arrived and obscured all the backyard treasures that the dogs left for us, Alycia (it was her turn to scoop) scooped up all prizes she could find.  We try to stay on top of outdoor poop management, and usually scoop every week, and definitely the day before a storm is due.  Our yard isn't big enough to ignore the poop and if not properly managed, when things melt in spring it turns into an ugly, sticky slurry of poop nastiness that can't be scooped away.