Gardening Update

I want to report on the ups and downs of gardening. First lets get the "downs" out of the way. Some type of green, worm-like creature has invaded the broccoli (thanks to Julie for pointing this out). Jon and I have been diligently removing worms and eggs and it now appears that they have become tired of our efforts and moved on to another garden. Secondly, we headed to Grand Rapids for the weekend and returned to find that the broccoli had flowered! Help! Is this normal? Should I have harvested it last week? If I whack off the flowering heads will more grow back or is that it for this year? (Julie and Alison, I need you to weigh in on this). Finally, Aspen has discovered that the garden is a short-cut to other interesting parts of the backyard and has created a nice little trail through the onions. Arghhh!
On to the "ups". I made my first lettuce salad from my garden complete with the first strawberries I was able to harvest. That was really cool and rewarding. The tomato plants are huge...I can't wait until I have ripe tomatoes. It looks like one zucchini plant came up from the dozen or so seeds I planted. If I do it right, it should produce Jon's favorite vegetable. Finally, a couple of spinach plants seemed to have survived (I thought they were all dead). I should be able to mix a few leaves in with the lettuce for variety. That's all for now...

Re-shaping

My niece is about 1/2 way through a skeletal reconstructive program (hence the helmet). Because she was born a little early, her head was a bit softer than normal. Sleeping on her back led to the back of her head being flattened. The helmet is meant to reshape her head while her bones are still malleable. It hasn't changed her happy-go-lucky attitude or made her any less cute. If all goes well, the helmet will be gone by the end of August. Hooray!

Summertime

We've finally been in Red Wing long enough to have some decent plants and a garden going. I'm proud of the work Jon and I have put into the yard, which was quite neglected when we moved in. Sometimes I wish it was summer year-round. Oh wait, then I would miss the -20 degree weather and snowshoveling ;)

The Red Wing Happy Hour Meetup Group

Jon and I have found a great group of friends through the Red Wing Happy Hour Meetup Group. The group was started about a year ago as a way for friendly folks to find other cool people in Red Wing. Our group uses the networking website www.meetup.com. For those of you not familiar with this website, I encourage you to check it out. Basically, our group gets together once a week after work to drink beer, tell jokes, act smart, etc. This week I convinced my Dad to let me take the group out on his boat on Lake Pepin. We had a blast! Here's the group minus Eliza, who was taking the picture. You guys are great...thanks for making Red Wing a more welcoming place!

Tour de Pepin 2008

Jan Ulrich



Lance Armstrong



Jere, Abra, Leah, and Beth


This weekend was the first ever Tour de Pepin. Leah and Jere from Duluth, my high school pal Beth, and I felt like professional bike racers as we rode 72 miles around Lake Pepin. We even survived a wicked thunderstorm complete with lightening, high winds, and driving rain. A couple of times we formed an inefficient draft line. Except for a few sore butts and cramped necks, we thoroughly enjoyed the event. Although, Lance Armstrong and Jan Ulrich didn't join us, they were an inspiration. I kept thinking about how they do that for 21 days through the mountains of France. Our recovery involved naps, followed by beer, pizza, and pool at a local Red Wing bar. We are awaiting Trek sponsorship for next year.
Photos courtesy of Outside Magazine and Jon Loye Photography.