Forgotten Flowers

What's interesting about this photo is the time of the year this photo was taken, right at the end of February, after some of the winter's snow has melted away. A survivor from the 2009 growing season has stood tall and is waiting for spring to arrive. For how much snow gets dumped on the plant during the snowy months, for it to be in this good of condition was a surprise.

The Life Of The Snow Village

This snow village was spotted by cmc and photographed by swc over the past week. I'm surprised by all of the props the snowmen have or are wearing to some degree. Though, we've made it into March and the sun's rays are starting to warm. The past two days and the next few should melt away all of the hard work that went into this snow village

Ice On A Stick

A nice ice formation collecting on a branch as the snow melted down.

High Rise

An swc contribution photo today. Having the two hot air balloons in the frame, each with iconic symbols of our country, has quite a message.

The Blue Tree

There is something I like about blue LED Christmas lighting, perhaps the uniqueness, perhaps the calming colors, perhaps it just not as busy as the multicolored lights or it's just different than the over used white bulbs. I do like this capture that was sent to me from swc, enjoy!

Theme Day: Waiting

Greetings fellow CityDailyPhoto bloggers and returning guests as you make your way through December's 'Waiting' theme day photos. A unique theme day and quite unusual from our standard take a photo of your favorite 'fill in the blank'. The theme today requires the photo to resemble an action, to tell a story, if you will.

I'm using a contribution photo today from swc as my theme day photo selection. Seeing just the apples hanging there in the bare tree, just out of reach. Gravity will get the best of these apples, but how long will they stay up there?

To see additional theme day photos around the world, stop by the portal page for a convenient thumbnail view of all participants. As the time zone changes each hour, more photos will be added.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

My first thought was, this is a 'red-headed woodpecker'. After a google search, I found out it was a 'red-bellied woodpecker'. [wiki page] There actually is red on the belly, it's just very hard to notice when they are standing. This contribution photo from swc was captured a couple weeks ago. It landed on the feeder, he ran to get the camera hoping it would still be there for photographing. Luckily the bird cooperated long enough.

What Stands Out

There is a lot to look at in this contribution photo from swc. The unique gutters, more specifically the downspouts initially caught my eye, The new paint job on the building on the right and the faded version on the building on the left. Now, one thing I can't quite figure out is the blue door. Why is it painted blue, why is the door there, what is it used for and does it look a bit on the small side? Crazy capture.

Bang On The Drum All Day

If you don't quite see what this is, click the photo for a larger view. You'll notice 5-gallon bucks, 55-gallon cans, pots, pans, and drumsticks, yes drumsticks!! This photo was captured from swc on a day I was with him, but didn't bring my camera because it was raining out. Thankfully there was a bit of a dry period and he was able to get this interesting shot. They were sitting next to bleachers at a football field. Our guess was, they part of the half time show at the High School in Prescott, Wisconsin.

To Brighten Your Day

Our weather around the Twin Cities has been a bit of a downer lately. Below average temps, lots of rain, a few inches of snow and very little sunshine. We just seam to be in a cloudy funk for the entire month of October. I'm posting some yellow color today. It's a contribution from swc of a giant sunflower.

Ghost Ads - Zenith

One more ghost ad contribution from swc for the week. This one is that I recall growing up to be quite prominent in the electronic industry. Then again, at the age I was, perhaps their best days were long gone.

Ghost Ads Up North

This wonderfully captured Ghost Ad contribution from swc can be found up north in downtown Duluth.

Flock Of Seagulls

Sorry, I couldn't resist the cliche title. If you haven't heard of the band, Flock Of Seagulls, the cliche made no sense to you.

This outstanding action shot was taken in Duluth with Lake Superior in the background. The seagulls coming right at the camera in a frightening way. Almost like a scene from a Hollywood horror film. I cannot take credit for this capture, this contribution belongs to swc. Well done!

Garden Flowers

Flowers from the garden of swc, thank you for the contribution.

Caution Livestock At Work

One of the many signs that can be found on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. The State Fair starts this week on Thursday, August 27 and runs through Labor Day, Monday September 7. Attendance throughout the fair typically runs around 1.7 Million visitors per year. Photo contribution by swc.

Panoramic Of Duluth

Today's contribution photo comes from swc from Duluth, Minnesota. It's okay to count Duluth as a suburb of the Twin Cities right? It's only 150 miles away....

The photo is made up of 6 separate photos stitched together using software. It turned out fabulous I must say. I'm uploading the full sized photo, 4 Megs in size and a pixel size of 12264x2072. I wanted the full sized photo so you can see all that is in this photo. One thing to note, on the far right of the photo is a thunderstorm out on Lake Superior. I didn't catch it at first, so you'll have to see the full size photo to see it.

Hawk Moth

This contribution photo from swc of a Hawk Moth taken in his flower garden in New Brighton. The wings of this moth are clear, it sips nectar from flowers and the wings beet extremely fast. Not surprisingly, it's also been called a hummingbird moth. Now to me, it looks similar to a crawdad, but with wings. Getting a clear photo was a bit difficult with the moth buzzing around as fast as it was.

Another recent photo of the Hawk Moth can be found on Abe's Brookview Daily Photo site. Abe's photo was viewed by swc and to his surprise, he found one a couple days later, otherwise, we would be guessing what kind of moth this was.

Mama And The Chicks

Contribution photo from swc, taken about a week ago in his backyard. Capturing the mother duck leading her ducklings on a journey. In the foreground, that yellow blob, a golden finch was just leaving the feeder as the shutter clicked.

Clematis

Referred to as the Queen Of The Vine, the Clematis.

Painted Dinosaurs #4

From the painted dinosaur series. This one is painted with a lot of St Paul's more well known landmarks.

Painted Dinosaurs #3

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades....have you completed your taxes?

Contribution photo from swc.

Painted Dinosaurs #2

Contribution Photo from swc. These painted dinosaurs, part of an art project from the city of St Paul. Various local artist painted similarly shaped dinos to their own tastes. This particular piece displays the Mississippi River with downtown St Paul in the background. After being on display all over the city, the artwork was then sold to the highest bidder. This crop of dinosaurs can be found off of Interstate 35E and I believe County Road E.

Warm Weather Returns

Been a bit pre-occupied the past few days with my Final Four web site, but now that the bulk of what I need to do to get it up and running is over, I can concentrate here once again.

I can't say it's as warm out and as green as it is in the photo contribution by swc, but it's getting closer as each day passes. The water falls in the photo can be found in Hastings off of Highway 61 as you cross the Vermillion River.

Mallard Ducks Part Two

Contribution photo from swc....this pair of mallard ducks made their way into the front lawn of http://www.twincitiesdailyphoto.com/labels/swc.html during the spring of 2008.

Spot The Differences

I received a contribution photo from swc over the weekend. On January 16, I posted a black and white photo of the Vermillion River while standing on a walking path bridge facing west. The contribution photo is from the exact same location, facing west, but taking during the peak of summer. One can hardly tell these are indeed the same location. The river bank on the left is fairly easy to make out in both photos. Also on the left bank, there is a crop of birch trees, those are, in my account, the easiest to make out between both season photos.

I Can't Believe Someone Threw Away A Perfectly Good Car

Has something ever caught your eye as you were driving and you had to turn around and go back and see it again? This contribution photo from swc was one of those instances. When I first saw the photos, I was a bit puzzled by it. Looking at what is printed on the side of the roll off box, it is nothing more than advertisement by the publicly funded bus system encouraging you to throw away your car and start using public transportation. Yep, that's my tax dollars paying for that odd, but very eye catching advertisement. I'm curious how much this cost for this setup and is this the only location that is advertising in this manner? Hummm....

 

Feeding Time

At first glance, I didn't catch it, did you? Who is feeding whom in the photo? This outstanding contribution photo from swc capture a mother bird feeding her young. If you have not looked closely, baby birds open their mouths to be fed. The smaller of the two birds is feeding the larger of the two birds. The mother bird is the smaller of the pair. The two birds obviously are not the same and I would have to speculate that another bird laid it's eggs in this mothers nest perhaps?

 

Robin Taking A Bath

A contribution from SWC as he captured this robin in the bird bath which sits on the rail of his deck. There are about 30 photos in this set as the robin was cleaning itself in the water for good five minutes. These five photos tell the story from the dry start to the plump finish.
   

Please, Do Not Touch Snow Blocks

What I don't get about the snow blocks is, why are they so close to the sign and the highly secure rope? They are just TEMPTING people to touch the snow blocks. Do you not want to touch those snow blocks after reading this sign?

This is the last Snow Sculpting Contest photos. This submitted photo from swc is the 3rd place creation titled 'Dream Hunt'. It was crafted by Jim Trost, Jared Trost and Jim Krueger. The cash prize for their third place finish was $300 dollars.

I'm Telling Mom

This "Tree House" created by Jim Baller, Bob Baller and Judy Grufman was the second place finisher in the 2008 Snow Sculpting Competition. This competition was part of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival daily events. The cash prize for second place was $600 dollars. Photo submitted by swc.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Chicago, Illinois | Grenoble, France | San Diego, California

I'm A Rocket Man

This was the first place snow sculpture from the 2008 Saint Paul Winter Carnival held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. I didn't catch it at first, but there is a mechanical dog looking up at the Rocket Man. This creation by Jon Baller, Curt Cook and Joseph Hauwiller Jr won them a cool $1200 cash prize. Not bad for playing in the snow eh?

My Daily Photo Favorites: Denver, Colorado | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Mexico, Mexico

Check Your Head

You warm climate, southern/coastal states can build your castles, shapes, and amazing things out of beach sand. But us cold climate, northern snow states can do something you cannot, we can create those very same things using snow! Today's contribution photo from swc was taken at the State Fair Grounds. The snow sculpting competition pits teams from around the region creating incredible shapes from blocks of snow. This event is part of St Paul's 122nd Winter Carnival celebration.

More Colorful Photos From The State Fair Grounds

One more contribution photo from swc. These flowers can be seen as you enter the main entrance to the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. It's now been almost four months now since my garden of flowers and vegetables has been dormant from the cold climate. This colorful scene can only be found indoors during the long cold winter months. That's just how it is around here.

Wild Flower

I hate to do this, but I need to take a break from all of these cold, wintery photos and post a colorful photo taken back in August 2007 from the Minnesota State Fair grounds by contributor swc. These very large, hand grown flowers can be found at the main entrance to the grounds.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Portland, Maine | Torino, Italy | Riga, Latvia | Mumbai, India

Interesting Links Of the Day: St Paul Winter Carnival Treasure Clues | I Will Knot | Solar Hot Air Balloon | 50 Most Bizarre City Names Around The World | de-noted

Near Perfection

One of the neat parts of Minnesota winters is waking up the next morning to see the trees, lightly covered with freshly fallen snow. It has to be a light fluffy snow, there has to be little wind to get this "collection" of snow on every tree branch exposed to the above elements, and it has to be cold of course. Today's photo is a contribution from SWC, thank you once again.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Guelph, Canada | Mazatlan, Mexico | Shanghai, China | Cleveland, Ohio | South Shields, UK | St Kilda, Australia

The Beauty Of Minnesota Winters

Not sure of which park this is, but I believe it's a park in New Brighton taken as the sun was setting from a couple of weeks ago shortly after a snow storm pass through a New Brighton park. This a contribution photo from SWC who has passed along a couple of great photos from this area of the Twin Cities.

My Daily Photo Favorites: Melbourne, Australia | New Orleans, Louisianan | American Folk, Utah | South Shields, UK | Haninge, Sweden

Interesting Links Of the Day:

Continuing To The Other Side Of The Lake

Another contribution photo from SWC. Yesterday I mentioned there was a small lake and a small pond that make of Pike Lake. This I believe is the small lake portion. I know your asking, how can one tell the difference between a lake and a pond? To find the answer, head over to Minnetonkascenes and answer six questions, add your total and you'll have your answer. Looking closely at the photo, I see docks and boats. This has to be a lake. enjoy!

My 5 Daily Photo Favorites:
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Moscon, Russia
San Diego, California
Chicago, Illinois
Joplin, Missouri

Walk Around The Pond

Today I have a photo contribution from SWC. This is from a walk around Pike Lake in New Brighton. There is a small lake with a small pond attached. A very still evening this was to get the mirror like reflection.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Torino, Italy
Villigen, Switzerland
Monte Carlo
North Bay, Canada
St Paul, Minnesota

Can A Bird Fly Up A Nose?

I had posted about these bird houses last summer on June 25, 2006. Very creative idea having a hand carved face created into a bird house. The entrance for the bird is to fly up the nose. It's quick comical. This photo was submitted to me some time ago by SWC and I put it aside. I recently discovered it again and had to post it. This is Carl, he is a first cousin to me or a first cousin, once removed, and he is posing with a likeness of himself with a hand carved birdhouse. I found a site that carves the unique bird homes, Carvings By Monte. I can't say for sure if this one came from the artist. There is a short video with the birds in action to get a better visual of what it looks like, I'd recommend watching it.

My 3 Daily Photo Favorites:
Paris, France
Ioannina, Greece
Delta, Colorado