Carnival Lights

The magic of lights in motion out in the Midway at the Minnesota State Fair. I believe the ride is called 'Cliff Hanger'. You lay on a metal frame, similar to superman flying .

Minnesota State Fair

The great Minnesota get together runs from August 26 through Labor Day, September 6. Took the family there on Sunday for the sites, sounds and people watching. My feet are very tired. In 2009, the MN State Fair set an attendance record with 1,790,497 people visiting the grounds.

http://www.mnstatefair.org/

Fantasy Football 2010

Friday evening was the 5th annual, Fantasy Football draft night for 'The League To Be Named Later', held in my garage. You're getting an exclusive look into the best run, fantasy league held in the Twin Cities. Now I must pay homage to the commish of the now defunct, Apple Valley Football League, as my league is based upon the previously best run fantasy football league in the Twin Cites. If my old commish were to see these photos, he would certainly see the similarities from just the photos alone. Now I've tweaked a few things to my liking, like the draft board, plus it's now an auction league, but the basic format of the AVFL lives on. Thank you Terry for all you hard work!!

  

They're Sending A Message

It appears to be the current trend of the upcoming elections in November....

Texas Rueben

Sandwich, soup and a free shuttle ride to the Twins ballpark on the corner of Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue.

James And The Giant Mushroom

The sequel to the book 'James and the Giant Peach'. Okay, I made that up. I did find this mushroom on a recent camping trip. It was the size of a grapefruit and the setting sun gave it the perfect lighting.

A Perfect Location

From the sixth floor window of the Northland Inn, located in Maple Grove, my wife spotted this birds in the "A" of their sign. It was a surprise find indeed and something you would be able to see from the ground level. We never saw any birds fly to the nest, but some bird will have a great location for next spring.

Danger, Keep Out!

Really now? See that 'danger keep out' sign with the fence, the wall as high as your knee, plus the heavily traveled walking path....could you keep out? Or would you, like I did, venture fourth down the trail?

Little Buttons

I'm not sure what these are, but they reminded me of yellow buttons.

Refresh

The ground crew at Target Field smooths out the infield dirt between innings at the Minnesota Twins game.

Memory Plaque

I spotted this 'in memory' plaque sitting under a park bench at Minnehaha Falls. Was it a favorite sitting bench? Who added the in memory plaque? Does the person who added the dedication still come to visit the bench?

It reads:

In Loving Memory Of
Isle Beaufoy
Feb 1923 - Apr 2007

Raining Fire

Caught this incredible sunset on Saturday up in Maple Grove. The colors were so vibrant, like I'd never seen before. There was a touch of rain in the sky, the weather pattern was changing and dryer air was out west headed our way. We were just leaving the restaurant and I snapped a couple of photos from this location. I wanted to get a couple shots without the building, so I jumped into the car. After roughly 30 seconds, the colorful sky was completely gone with just a dark blue and grey night sky remained. I am thankful for the shots I was able to get.

Into The Fire

I actually had two attempts at this photo. The first one turned out badly as the sail was pointed directly at me during the first pass through the sun. Whomever was out there on the sailboat, did an about face and sailed back across the lake, this time with the sail exactly how I had hoped the shot would turn out.

A Small Find

I found this small grouping of mushrooms growing in the woods. Their height was about an inch high. Very small, but very brightly orange colored. I'd never seen mushrooms like this before, so they were a surprise when I found them.

Blue Waters

Primary Elections 2010

Today is Minnesota's Primary Election day. If you'd like to vote in the primary elections today, you can find your polling place on the official Polling Place Finder website. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. across the state. Voters will be picking candidates for state and local office.

The Peer

The sunset from Lake Nielsen.

The Message

It reads....

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by

Can anyone fill me in on the rest of the phrase? I didn't have a chance to ask her what the remainder said.

End Of Days

As the sun set on another day, downtown St Paul darkens.

More Cowbell

An unexpected find in the heart of St Paul while traveling along Randolph Avenue. I spotted what looked like a cow standing in the front yard, so I had to make a u-turn for a closer inspection. This artwork is an old oil drum from the home of a St Paul home, painted to look like a cow. The head is a large milk jug, with a bowl for the mouth. Interesting idea....

Harriot Island Peer

The peer is a hidden treasure at Harriot Island, across from downtown St Paul. One can find lots of boats of all sizes, friendly faces, place to watch sunsets, a place for romantic walks, a restaurant and a bed and breakfast.

Friendly Company

Yesterday I mentioned having dinner at the River Boat Grill on the Harriot Island peer. During our dinner date, another couple sat down at the table next too us. They happened to be on a walk with the dog, which joined them at their table. The restaurant owners were kind enough to bring water out for the collie as the heat and humidity levels that evening were very high that evening.

Spectacular Sunset

While having dinner at the River Boat Grill restaurant on the Harriot Island peer, we were treated to this spectacular sunset. We had good food, great company and the sunset was the icing on the cake.

Theme Day: Bright Colors

For the August 2010 Theme Day in the Daily Photo community, the them of 'Bright Colors' was selected. All week I've been posting photos from the Flugtag 2010 from St Paul at Harriot Island. One particular craft was so bright in colors, it was perfect for today's theme day photo. The craft was from Team S.W.A.T., essentially it resembles a great big florescent yellow mosquito.

Learn more about Flugtag 2010 Twin Cities by reading my earlier posts.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of the August Theme Day: Bright Colors