Heroes

Journey, challenge, good, bad, and even ugly are all words we use to describe life.  Like everyone else, I have experienced my share of things that can be described using those words.  And, sometimes, those life experiences can make a person feel a little ungrounded.  Fortunately, there are numerous people in my life who have made an impression on me. Some are fighters, some are survivors.  They are people I look up to.  Some are people who, during their lives, went to far away places and fought for our country. Some are people who have survived cancer.  They have faced challenges and fears most of us cannot imagine.  And yet, their spirits shine brightly.  Here are just a few of the people who have inspired me during my journey.

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Sometimes, she is one of the only people standing in my corner, supporting me no matter the challenge.  She is one of the most compassionate and hard working people I know.  She's also a breast cancer survivor, and she's walked 360 miles (so far) in the fight to end this terrible disease.  I am blessed that she is my beautiful Wife.

My friend, Lloyd, served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot.  He has several interesting stories from his experiences during the war, including the day he found himself submerged, upside down, after his helicopter crashed into a river.  Thanks for your service Lloyd. 

My friend, Laura, is a two-time breast cancer survivor.  She is a bright lamp of hope in a darkness too many women face when they are told they have breast cancer.  Her spirit, her strength, and her family have been an inspiration to me and to many. 

My friend, Vern, is depicted here in the reflection of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in St. Paul.  In 1967, Vern fought alongside some of these men, and he saw firsthand the horrors of that war.  Thank you for your service, Vern, and Welcome Home.

And finally, my Dad.  Though he did not fight in war or beat breast cancer, he is the man who played a major part in who I have become.  He taught me right from wrong, and he gave me the tools I needed to be who I am.  Thanks Dad.

Grey Cloud Island

Recently, I found myself driving around Grey Cloud Island looking for interesting things to photograph.  Here's a sample of what I found.  Click on the image for a larger version.

 Abandoned tennis court/basketball court near the town hall

 Small tree struggling for space with the chain link fence

 Gate leading towards what used to be a house and yard

Celt Fest 2013

Last summer, we were invited to a really cool gathering fondly known as Celt Fest.  This was a very neat experience on many levels.  Even though only a small handful of people knew us, we felt like we were amongst a barnful of friends.  Oh yeah, this Celt Fest took place in a very cool, very old, barn.  There was Scotch, Celtic music, Scotch, great conversation, and Scotch.  Here are some photos I took whilst I was there.

The Barn

 Pretty Red Head

Good Music

Fire Poi.  Very entertaining to watch.

There was the Awesome gun show contest

Winner of the Awesome gun show contest!

Little Miss Red Boots when she had a ton of energy

Little Miss Red Boots as the night wore on and she napped on a barn couch

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Quiet time after the Great Minnesota Get Together.

Recently, my friend Steve invited me to tag along with him while he wandered the deserted fairgrounds at night.  With the exception of a red Jeep and an older white BMW sedan that constantly circled the area (security guards?), the fairgrounds were void of people.  There were no lines at the food building either...  Here's a few shots I got.

Looking north on Cosgrove

One large blade in front of the Eco-Experience Minnesota building.  Note my friend, Steve, laying on his back at the base of the blade, gaining a different perspective of the blades's massive size.

No lines at the Information Booth either.  A really cool spaceship flew into the frame just as I took this picture.  I wish I could have got another shot but, um.....  Okay, it's just a street light.

Yes, there is a Caterpillar Kingdom.

This happy, blue-eyed fellow is the king of Caterpillar Kingdom.  A blue-eyed caterpillar...  Alrighty then.

Despite the lack of lines, there was still quite a wait time at the Sky Ride.

Another "Stranger in the Night".  The appearance of shady characters meant it was time to leave.

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Mushroom Hunt

Saturday, when our A/C decided to cause some time-consuming problems, we spent some time with our A/C repair guy instead of going to a baseball game and a beer festival.  Fortunately, this changed our itinerary enough that it afforded us the opportunity to participate in an early evening mushroom hunt at a super secret location in Dakota County.  You see, mushroom hunters are pretty competitive folks, and they protect their hunting grounds something like those guys on the show Moonshiners, so I've been sworn to secrecy as to where we were hunting.

This is "Awesome-A"; home remodeler, two-time caber toss champion, and mushroom hunter.  He is our guide today, with plenty of knowledge about mushrooms - very good to have, considering one mushroom can be delicious while another will kill you.  I don't worry about it too much - I even pick them off of pizza.

Here's Chris.  Chris has a couple of nicknames too, but for now we'll just call him Chris.  Chris is our assistant guide today, and though he has much more hunting under his belt than we do, he is still learning the mushroom ropes by Awesome-A.

At first I thought Awesome-A had the big stick to encourage us to keep the location a secret, but he eventually used it as a tool to dig for the ever elusive chanterelle mushrooms hidden under the grass.

My Little Red Haired Girl.  While I lost nearly a quart of platelet-enriched fluid to the ravenous mosquitoes, my LRHG suffered nary a nibble. Too sweet for them, me thinks.

LRHG searching high and low

Baby chanterelle mushrooms.

I'm guessing this isn't edible. 

This mushroom turned bluish in the area where it was scratched.  Also probably not edible.

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