Anticipation

They lined the streets in good numbers waiting for the Saint Paul Winter Carnival Grand Day parade to arrive. The temps during the parade was around 23-25 F degrees. The parade lasted almost two hours. The crowd was very into the festivities and enjoying what was on display. Speaking with my mother about the past parades, she told me the winter carnival parades used to run three or more hours long. You gotta love Minnesotians for standing outside, in freezing temps for hours, watching a parade pass by.

Winter Carnival Ice Carvings

Last time I took photos of the ice carvings from the Saint Paul Winter Carnival the temperatures had risen above freezing temperatures. Thankfully today, the weather has been normal and the ice carvings are still intact. Back in 2008, a day after the carnival started, the temps had gotten so high, the sculptures were partly melted and made for strange looking photos, a sample from my 2008 melted set can be seen here. 2011 is the 125th year of the Winter Carnival and the celebration has just begun.

  

Replacement In Progress

The Hastings Bridge crossing the Mississippi River is currently under construction. The project is to replace the aging bridge with two separate bridges, which will keep the traffic flowing throughout the construction phases. You can follow the bridge progress on the MNDot website: Highway 61 Hasting Bridge

Statue Across The River

I couldn't get too close to this statue as there was a river between myself and the statue. The river is just a short walk from the Minnehaha Falls. If I zoom in on the inscription by the feet of the statue it reads "Over wide and gushing rivers in his arms he bore the maiden" by Longfellow.

Budget Shortfall

Sounds like the majority of states now have a budget shortfall. This is where the elected body will attempt to fix our woes.

Minnesot-ah

I've always liked this sign. It's a store at the Mall Of America that sells Minnesota related items. The majority of the items for sale are made locally by the people of the state.

Missing Summer

I'm sticking with the warmer weather theme because, as of this writing, outside air temps are at -11F (-24C). It's suppose to drop to somewhere between -15F to -18F in the Twin Cities. Head four hours north into Minnesota border and you'll find temps in the -30F to -40F range.

Storms Over St Paul

I took this capture over the past summer as the storm clouds were rolling into downtown St Paul. Ahhh, I wish it was this warm out around the Twin Cities right now. It's currently pretty darn cold and getting colder by weeks end.

Smiling Polar Bears

Is it obvious that the name of this dealership is 'White Bear Chevrolet'? It is now, right? Why is the polar bear smiling?

White Bear Lake Athletic Complex

A easy to follow and well drawn map of the White Bear Lake High School ball fields.

Go Bears!!

No, not the Chicago Bears, these lamp signs are for the White Bear Lake High School Bears.

The Green Hallway

Out at the Mall of America, I've always liked the green hallway the best. I believe it's because of how open the floor is. They've actually added some lighting to the hallway as well. Before the new lighting, it was a very dark area, now it's nice and bright for photo taking.

Down Below

Yesterday was the ceiling of the Mall Of America today is the floor.

Neon Ceiling

A ceiling shot in one of the hallways at the Mall Of America.

Neglected

If I were to guess, I believe the sign reads "Freight House". That makes sense right? It's at a train yard, freight is brought in via rail cars, so it make sense the missing part of the sign reads Freight, right?

Downtown Redwing

Don't blink, or you'll miss it....though the city has grown, the historic part of downtown Redwing is rather small. I've often been distracted by the large cliff ahead to notice much in the part of city.

One From The Fall

Captured at the right time....

Blue Herring

If you've ever seen a blue herring before, they are usually standing high in a tree. They always look out of place to me, a very large bird standing so high in a tree. While this bird is not where one would expect, it's a very unusual location, but quite common for this bird.

Looking Up

Spotting these pine cones growing atop of a tree in the yard of swc. It seamed unusually to see that many, way up near the top, while very few were seen in the middle and lower half of the tree.

Theme Day: Photo Of The Year 2010

Welcome City Daily Photo Theme Day followers. Thanks for stopping by to view my favorite photo of the year. The photo I selected was taken during the summer on a very hot and humid day. I was outside doing something and heading back into my house when I spotted this, at the time, unidentified bug. I ran into the house, grabbed my camera and prayed the bug would still be there when I returned. Thankfully he was right where I left him. It turns out, this bug is a adolescent kadydid. I took about a dozen macro shots to get the one that I really liked.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the 2010 Photo Of The Year.