Enjoying Winter in Minnesota...

If you live in Minnesota and have never visited the "Art Shanty Projects" then you must.

 My Niece Jensen and I checked out this quaint little village of artistic ice houses

 located on frozen Lake Harriet in south west Minneapolis.

With temps  barely reaching 20 degrees and a brisk wind on our backs we trudged across the lake to where all the action was

I was a little leary when I saw this sign as we approached the lake, 

possibly planted there as part of the  event

Big cracks in the ice didn't deter us as I'm sure the ice is at least 10" think.... I hoped

One of the events taking place that Sunday afternoon was 

 "SNOWGA"

Folks brought their own snowga yoga mats and many participated.

 Jensen had her own style

 A fire on the ice 

This Art Shanty was named "The Tomb of the unknown Minnow"

"The Tomb of the Unknown Minnow is a mausoleum honoring the sacrifices made by minnows throughout the year as bait for Minnesotans fishing for food and sport. By bestowing rituals reserved for our most honored dead onto a part of nature commonly viewed as insignificant, we hope to engage participants in a deeper understanding of what the natural world sacrifices for our survival and comfort".

 Jensen's dad Darin works with Sarah who is one of the artist that created this Shanty

Here Sarah is giving us a tour of the minnows story. 

This shanty is called "Why not knit"

If you look close you can see the balls of yard at the top. 

Needles are attached to the started projects, you can even knit a few rows yourself. 

Here Jensen threw a scarf around her neck. 

Fun to watch these bikes with winged insects buzzing around the lake 

 Jensen on her monarch bike

 "The Thwing" 

Jensen checked out this wooden swing.

You can read about all the shanty's  Here

 Just a neat looking ice sculpture

Jensen and I 

 I love spending time with this one. 

All kinds of fun for the little ones 

 This was perhaps the most colorful Shanty

The "Monarch Butterfly Migration Shanty"

 "Butterflies are Welcome"

 These monarchs are all made of paper

Someone was creative and made a wheelchair for this elderly gentleman

equipped with skis on the bottom to make gliding along the snow and ice very easy.  

This boat allow for several people to board all at once. 

The captain (and helpers) then rocked it to give the occupants the feel of being on a boat at sea. 

The shanty's are new each year. This is definitely something I plan to revisit in the future.
Have you ever ventured out to see the Art Shanty's? I would love to hear what you think of the event.
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Remember Alfred Hitchcocks movie "The Birds"?

The  CROWS are back...

But you didn't need to tell me that!

For about the last 5 years Downtown Rochester has become a place for the crows to congregate when the day is done. 

As I walk to work from the parking lot in the early mornings, I among others who work in downtown Rochester  become audience to the choir of Crow-Kawking

 Not the best photo taken with my cell phone, the birds are everywhere, the sound is eerie!

Photo courtesy of Google images 

Remember Alfred Hitchcocks movie "The Birds"?  Need I say more.

 These are just a few of the trees that the birds inhabit starting at dusk and remain until dawn.

This photo was taken just before dusk BEFORE the influx of crows

 they also line the parking ramps and hotels roofs.

 We also must keep our eyes to the sidewalk as it is sprayed overnight 

with crow-poop, a nauseating smell that is appalling.

The sidewalk mess has been referred to a Sh*t Storm by residents in Rochester.

Over the years there have been many costly attempts to rid that city 

of these messy, loud and homely birds.

They just keep coming back, some reports have claimed the crows have moved a bit further from the center of downtown, but even so they are still too near in my opinion.

Anyone else have an overpopulation of crows?