2008 MN State Fair

For lack of anything better to do, we went to the State Fair yesterday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I think it is one of the few times I've gone to the fair where the outside temperature was better than the air-conditioned buildings. Cool and breezy.

Of course, it was mandatory to go see the piggies. Piggies are the cutest things. These piglets had only one thing on their minds....FOOD.












I feel sorry for this cowboy! I guess ol' Bessie didn't want to be milked today.












We took one of the sky rides back from the far end of the fairgrounds, which gave me a great opportunity for an overhead shot of the antique tractors.











I also got a nice view of the ferris wheel from the sky ride.












We finished our day at the fair by buying our first-ever bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies. There was a bigger crowd in front of that building than anywhere else in the whole fairgrounds! Maybe it's because she winks at you as you go by. Who can resist a cookie that winks at you?


Techie Corner
I took three shots of the Midway ride. Out of the three, I liked this one best. I like the fact that the Cuckoo Haus is still in focus in the background. I also like the silhouettes of the people.
Shot at 1/10 Sec @ F5.6, ISO 200

Busy Bee

It's almost 90 degrees today, and boy, does it feel hot in the sun! This little buzzer doesn't seem to mind, though.

Techie Corner
I used my +4 close-up filter and my 50mm lens. Manual focus, hand-held, and the bee was moving, so I'm amazed that the bee is in focus!
Shot at 1/500 Sec @ F2.8, ISO 200

Fireball Hibiscus

This is the second year for my Fireball Hibiscus plant. Unlike the tropical variety, this hibiscus can survive a Minnesota winter. And the flowers are HUGE! This flower is almost 10 inches across!





The plant has gotten a lot bigger this year. Which is remarkable because it gets cut back to the ground each year. All this is new growth for the season. I love the pretty flowers. Each flower opens for one day and then it dies. But there are plenty of buds on each stalk, so there is at least one open flower every day.







Here is what it looked like last year. It looks positively puny in comparison! This year it has pretty much engulfed that whole corner. I wonder how big it will get next year? Hmmmmm.

Duluth Tall Ship Trip

We rode the motorcycle up to Duluth yesterday to see the Tall Ships on display in the harbor. These were two of the three ships on display. They look big in the picture, but they didn't really look big at all when we stood next to them. Maybe they seemed smaller because their sails weren't out. The one on the left is the Pride of Baltimore II . The one on the right is the US Brig Niagara. They are replicas of 1812-era topsail schooners.

Notice the truly authentic 1812-era radar near the top of the right mast.

I want to know how they keep all those lines from getting tangled up. If only the cords behind my computer desk were this neatly organized!

Here's a close-up of some of that rigging.

Being a port city, Duluth has numerous water-themed flotsam and jetsam strewn around town. This young female creature looks like she is about to get soaked.

We saw these nifty little Whizzer motorbikes while we were there. You can find out more about them at their website: http://www.whizzermotorbike.com/index.html


We also met up with a nice Ventureriders.org couple while we were there and had lunch together. (I should have gotten a picture of them too!) All in all, it was a very enjoyable day away.