This squirrel was kind enough to stop and pose for a picture before scampering away.
A few weeks ago, we could only dream of weather this cool. And a few months from now, weather this *warm* will feel like a dream.
I normally dress for our walks the night before, so in warm weather I go to bed in comfy shorts and a tank top, and in cold weather, it’s sweats. Last night, I donned my Pioneer sweats and a BSU hockey T-shirt. When Bethany called just before noon today, my bedroom felt warm, so I happily changed into shorts. Then I went outside and changed my mind, but opted for worn-thin cotton drawstring pants, thinking it wasn’t cold enough for sweats quite yet. Then Bethany showed up.
“Sweats? And a hoodie?”
I went back inside and threw on my Pioneer sweatshirt (I try not to wear both the sweats and sweatshirt together as I look like a walking advertisement).
Brrrr!
At the Bemidji Fire Hall, we ran into firefighter Kelly Skime, who took a couple of minutes away from whatever he was doing in those work clothes to chat with us a bit. Kelly is not into the blog thing, so we tried to explain it.
I like the landscaping in this corner of garden nestled against a house.
When I first heard of blogs in 2002 (back when some still called them weblogs), most of what was out there were like personal diaries, but now I would say they tend to be closer to essays (maybe similar to short newspaper columns?), that focus on myriad subjects, like health, the economy, politics, human rights, the outdoors, family, humor (as well as personal journals). Bloggers even come from government offices.
And, of course, your friendly neighborhood walkers. 
I’ve been writing this blog on and off for the past two hours. In between, I’ve been fielding IMs (instant messages on Windows Live Messenger) and formatting/editing stories from Bethany as she covers a complicated set of meetings at City Hall. She was able to just sneak in a final vote under the deadline as the Bemidji City Council voted to proceed with negotiations for sale of land on which a Holiday Inn Resort would be built that would be connected to the Bemidji Regional Event Center. We’d never have been able to do any of that without laptops.
Creative planting of hostas!
As today’s walk progressed, we did warm up a little. Not so much that we noticed warmth, but more that we stopped noticing cold.
And as always, we saw beauty around Bemidji. It’s so impressive to see the interesting things people do with their surroundings.
Even nature finds a way to grow things creatively, like this mushroom growing in a hole in a tree:
Speaking of nature, we both found this really sweet:
This tree was planted in honor of little Keaton Rhys, who was born Aug. 29. He weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces and was 22 inches long. Congratulations to the happy parents!
We’re very familiar with this house, having walked by it over and over last year when they were working on it. The windows are fabulous.
Other assorted sightings:
Our favorite cat along our route
An interesting way to play basketball. At 5 feet 4 inches, I might even be able to dunk with this setup!
Leaves are already more red than green in this tree at the Bemidji Public Library.
If you look at the bottom corner of the tree above, you will see a bit of Bethany!
Even on the most innocuous of days, we always end up with more photos than we need. And since I have no will power to speak of, I end up using more photos than I should. I’d like to set us up with an online photo account, and I’m hoping to update our albums on the Facebook page. (www.facebook.com/bemidjitrailmix)
Here’s a toothbrush on the ground to go with the tube of toothpaste we saw not too long ago. It looks like it still has lots of life left, too!
I didn’t think to take a mystery photo, but we stocked up a couple of weeks ago, so we have extras.
Our last puzzler was bricks along the First National Bank building downtown:
The puzzler before that, I forgot to take a full version of, so here is a wider view of the scene of the butterfly cutout, which is part of the fence outside the playground at the Beltrami County
Such pretty decorations!
