The Irish Music Festival ( or Celebration) is held annually at Harriet Island on the Mississippi just across from downtown St. Paul, a very scenic spot. We were lucky enough to be in the area during it’s three day run. We arrived at the site about 10am and so the crowd was just starting to increase. It was a no-charge event so lots of families were showing up. Security was checking incoming bags as no coolers were allowed on site. No outside beer, pop, and unfortunately, even bottled water was allowed. I asked the security person about the ban on water, especially when it was going to be a warm, sunny day, and was told the water was available free inside. However, that was not the case.

As we approached the gate, there was a pleasant surprise awaiting. M&M now has ice cream treats and they were being handed out to passing attendees. They are like Dilly bars but colored the shades of the M&M guys. Pretty good, but needed to be eaten fast due to the warm temps. We found that easy to do.
Once inside we were greeted with sights and sounds from many different directions. Here there was an area with activities for kids, face painting, making a brightly colored snake, etc. Another tent had Irish music and dancing performed by various clubs and dance schools. The dancers’ costumes were amazing. I heard that $800 is not unusual for a child’s outfit, shoes, and wig included. The music and dancing was infectious

Fort Snelling was constructed in 1821 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was built more for political than defensive purposes. It was constructed out of stone from the surrounding cliffs to let the French and English know that the Americans were here to stay.

Today the fort looks much like it did then. Four of the original buildings were restored and the walls and other buildings were carefully rebuilt to original specifications. The fort is roughly the size of three football fields side-by-side. There is a ten foot high wall that surrounds it. To enter through the gate, you walk past the stone tower, with gun slots on both of the levels. Other buildings in the fort include barracks, hospital, school, stables, and even commander’s quarters.

On the day we arrived the fort it was “Civil War Days” The fort was alive with folks dressed in period clothing of 1862. Soldiers marched in the parade ground. Men in tall hats, women in hoop skirts strolled about the grounds. There were demonstrations of some of the weapons that were used during the time, mussle-loading rifles, and breech loading rifles, and even a cannon. They all produced noise and lots of smoke

Fire Flies

Have you ever been in the Midwest or South on a summer night? If so, you will remember fireflies or, as we called them, lightening bugs. I have included a link to tell you all about them, but the best way to experience them to walk outside after dark. It has been a long time since I have been back to the midwest in the summer and seeing them once again was a warm greeting. They remind me of watching an active campfire and having an ember occasionally drift up from the flames. They are all around you and yet you only see them when they glow. The other night we were driving in the country and lightning bugs filled the ditches on both sides of the road. I hated to do it, but I did hit some as we drove along. The glow would stay on the windshield for a few seconds after the bug became a smear. They are a summer evening.
www.backyardnature.net/lightbug.htm

Impressions of Minnesota

Minnesota is where I am from. I was born here and lived in the same house through college until I went off to Marine Corp OCS. Memories are all over the place. Streets, buildings, schools, rivers, hills. It’s still the same, but yet it’s very different. What was once the area that we kids in the neighborhood called the “War Path”, a vacant half block with a sand path through it, is now has modern houses sporting grassy back yards with swing sets and wading pools.

My house is still there. It is different. The current owner has remodeled, changed the roofline and made the second floor larger. What was once a fairly decent sized backyard with a tall swing is now small due to the new large double garage that sits behind the house.[ The backyard next door that once had two apple trees, one for eating and a crabapple for throwing, also has a double car garage that has replaced them. The spruce tree on the north side of my house that was six feet tall when I was a kid now towers over it. I would like to drive by and stop and see if I can go inside.

The neighborhood looks much the same; an addition here, a garage there but otherwise just a modest, but well kept place to live. In walking and driving around Mankato and also Fairmont, MN I have found the houses to be well kept with moderately landscaped but neat and well mowed yards. One thing that is noticeable about this area, and I think the Midwest in general, is the lack of fenced back yards. In the west it seems like the first thing that is built when a house goes up is the six foot backyard fence. I wonder if it is to keep “others” out or “ours” in. Perhaps people here are less worried about marking their territory.

What are the things that I have noticed now that we’ve been here for more than a week? Lots of grass, lawns are mostly grass with few flowers and bushes. Even many farms have huge lawns that all seem to be well-mown. There are more mini-vans and not as many SUVs. You will see rust on older cars, but the percentage of infected ones is less now than twenty years ago. Bike lanes do not exist. Most residential areas lack sidewalks requiring you to walk on boulevards or on the street.

So as I walk the girls or drive to and fro, I am enjoying the area. If I were to come here for the first time right now, I would think, “Not a bad place to live.” But I know that this is not normal summer weather. Where’s the 90 degree temps? Where’s the humidity? And, I know that from at least November to February, winter has its grip on this area and you are just happy if your car will start.

So am I happy to be here? You bet! Would I move back? No way. Probably not even if you gave me a house, but I have seen some colonial and Tudor style two story places in Fairmont and Mankato that would be tempting.