Last Thursday I was able to take my family to the Friends and Family Day at the Northern Great Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory south of Mandan. As a kid growing up south of Mandan, I remember occasionally riding my bike toward town and visiting the facility. The people we talked to were cool, and gracious in explaining what they were doing to a curious kid. They showed the same sort of hospitality to kids and adults alike last Thursday.

Ever play Garden Jeopardy? Me neither. This was just one of several breakout sessions that were held throughout the day. They focused on subjects from soils to gardening to trees, and looked really interesting and informative. I watched one guy talk about “rain gardens” and how one can collect rain water and retain moisture in soil by how it’s landscaped and the type of soil used. I didn’t get to stay for much of it, though…

…because my wife and boys were waiting for me at the horse and buggy. I kept our infant and stroller with me, while little PJ and mommy went for a ride. He’s 18 months old now and talking up a storm, and said “horses” a lot after this ride.

This was his other favorite stop. Daddy took him up into the cabs of a lot of these big tractors, but wouldn’t let him touch any of the buttons. One of them even had the key in the ignition, as PJ pointed out, but I was a party pooper and wouldn’t let him touch it. I don’t think I’m insured for that kind of damage.

I’ll admit it: this was Daddy’s favorite stop. I absolutely LOVE those Cloverdale brats. I was able to keep from getting mustard on my camera, too. Thanks for the free lunch!

This was one of the activities for the kids. There was face painting and other fun going on, but this tunnel seemed especially cool. It’s to show kids about what goes on in the soil underneath their garden or field. Note the roots and carrots sticking down. The kids got to wear a headband light too, so it wasn’t too scary.

Not a lot of takers on the “greenhouse gas emmission” information. I’m not surprised; the farmers finally have a couple of good years, and now they’re supposed to get uptight about the greenhouse gas emissions of their operation? The whole “greenhouse gas” nonsense is a political issue, anyway…not a scientific one. Too bad research grant money is given out by a political process.

These folks got a really cool ride! Rolling bleachers…I never thought I’d live to see the day. I wish I’d had time to hang around and take this ride, but I don’t think the little boys would like it much and we had the stroller & stuff to worry about. Too bad, it’s been a couple of decades since I really poked around out here. Perhaps next year I can take PJ on the ride. I’m sure he’ll remind me about the horses and the tractors! Thanks again to the NGPRL folks for their hospitality in putting on a great event for the community.

I forgot to mention that I had a pleasant result from the MAA show at the Community Center. Last year I won the People’s Choice in photography with a large metallic print of the bridge photo you see above in this blog’s header. I also won a gift certificate from a frame shop, for which photo I have already forgotten. Of course I was hoping to repeat this year. This year’s results didn’t equal last year’s, but I didn’t walk away empty handed.

The photo you see above won the Governor’s Selection award, which was awarded by a representative of the Governor’s office. Who that ended up being, I don’t know…maybe it was in the program. It was still a cool distinction, especially for such a novice. I realized early on when I picked up this hobby in 2005 that being in the right place at the right time is a requirement of any good photo, and this photo is the result of such timing. I’m just blessed in that I happen to end up at the right place at the right time a LOT these days, and never go anywhere without my camera!

I had a little extra time tonight despite working late, so I thought I’d stroll through the Earth Day festival at the National Guard armory in northeast Bismarck. I drove my gas guzzling truck up there, of course…I’ve been meaning to ride to work on one of my motorcycles that gets 50 miles per gallon, but so far haven’t done so.

As you can see from the photo above, the event was well attended. I was dreading whether this would be some sort of ridiculous global warming convention, and I was pleasantly surprised to say that it was not. Instead I found lots of folks who want to be good stewards of North Dakota’s resources. There were a few mentions of climate change, but these days I think it’s hard to get funding without pandering to the lunatics a bit. For the most part this festival was all about displays from folks who, in true North Dakota fashion, like to take a sensible approach to safeguarding North Dakota’s treasure of clean land, water, and air.

I will cry foul on one thing before I go on praising this event: they were handing out compact flourescent light bulbs at the front. I didn’t take any pictures of the folks handing them out, and I didn’t walk up and challenge them on handing out those stupid, expensive mercury bombs. These bulbs are an environmental hazard, made in China by factories that couldn’t care less about their impact on the environment. My GE light bulbs in the cupboard say “Assembled in the USA” on the box, by the way. But if you think you’re having a positive impact on the environment by having these weak, headache-inducing compact flourescent bulbs in your house, you’re fooling yourself. Their manufacture is putting mercury into the environment, either by their Chinese manufacturing or when one of them breaks. No thanks, I’ll stay incandescent. Whew…glad I got that off my chest!

Back to the good parts of the festival. There were booths from agencies whose missions are to take care of North Dakota’s natural resources, such as the USDA, Game and Fish, NRCS, Fish & Wildlife Service, and others. I’ve worked with some of these agencies so I can attest to the good that they’re doing.

There was plenty of information on hand, and some demonstrations were given at certain booths. The Dakota Zoo had snakes and bugs on hand, and there were other opportunities for the kids.

This kid did NOT want to get his picture taken with a weed or three. Awwwwww!

This booth came complete with a fiddler. I wonder if it’s a bluegrass thing…get it? *nudge* *nudge* Okay, maybe my wife’s right…I’m not funny.

The Proclamation. It was covered with signatures. Although I had a good time at the festival, I don’t subscribe to the Earth Day thing. I think being responsible is a personal decision, one that is made every day. For instance, I recycle things like batteries, but not every piece of trash that comes from our household. I like to conserve water, buy half-sized paper towels, and turn off unnecessary lights. I do these things because they make sense, not because I’m “saving the planet.” It’s that type of rational sensibility that North Dakotans display in their care for the environment in our state, and I think this festival celebrated that nicely.

I can’t believe I went to the Walrus and didn’t order a huge plate of pasta! Not only did my wife feed me a hearty meal before I left, but I was also there on a mission: to record Luke Graner’s set during the “Suchy & Friends” night. I brought my MD recorder and decided to take a few photos while rolling.

Obviously I enjoyed the show, even though Luke didn’t play any of my favorites (hint, hint) and the start of a nasty cold that made me want to flop down on a couch somewhere. One of the coolest things I saw through the whole evening (aside from my friend Ellen) was that the drummer was playing a big yellow Samsonite. It worked great as a bass drum, I would have never expected that!

Once Luke’s show was done, I grabbed my gear and went home to that couch and a nice hot Theraflu. I’ll never look at luggage the same way again.

I don’t know how many of you folks have looked far back enough to see me post about the Veteran’s Memorial at the state capitol grounds, but this year marks the first time I actually made it to the memorial on Veteran’s Day. As noted in my original post, this monument has a unique feature that displays itself on Veteran’s Day.

On Veteran’s Day at 11:00am, the sun sweeps a path across the metal globe in the middle of the monument. Judging by the number of people waiting to catch a glimpse of this once-a-year happening, I can see it’s no secret.

North Dakota is raised on this globe, and polished. When the sun comes across the globe, the great state of North Dakota shines. It was dull when I inspected the site on Saturday, so I rubbed it furiously to try to shine it up. You’d think someone would have thought of that already, but I guess not.

This is the base upon which the globe sits. Note that the inscription says “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day.” That’s important…

…because I got there late. I mistakenly thought it would be at 11:11. The significance of all those elevens, by the way? World War I ended at 11:00 on 11/11/1918. I mistakenly thought there would be a fourth eleven in the time that the sun was centered on North Dakota. That’s why it’s off-center in the photo above.

Here’s the tube through which the sun shines to reach the globe in the middle of the memorial. It casts about a four-inch circle of light on the globe when fully aligned at 11:00. It appears to have some sort of reflective inside, although I don’t know if that’s true. While the sun is coming through it, it’s hard to look at.

I’d like to pass along a belated thanks to all veterans. Closest to me are my friends Reed and Tony, although I’ve met many others and owe my freedom to millions of ’em. Military service is not something to be taken lightly. The memorial at the state capitol bears the names of North Dakota soldiers who lost their lives in service to their country. If you haven’t inspected this memorial, which has a new parking lot and is just south of the State Library building, please pay it a visit.

Today marks the start of the Fall Art show at the BAGA gallery in downtown Bismarck. The event kicks off with an artists’ reception at 5. The show will take place from today, October 2nd, through the 27th. I don’t know what day that is, because I just looked up at the catalog in my office and saw that it’s on July. Time flies, doesn’t it?

Tonight I took my boy and strolled him around the downtown area, as it was Urban Harvest night and our pal Luke Graner was performing. We met up with some other friends and enjoyed the evening’s show. In addition to some of our old favorites, we got to hear a new tune or two as well. There’s a ton of stuff for a seven month old boy to see, too. I snarfed some A&B pizza, he had some grape Pedialyte, and we brought home a bag of popcorn from the Walrus.

While at the line at the Walrus counter, I had the opportunity to thank Randy. I had the opportunity to tell Randy and his folks how the Walrus is special to my wife and me. Our first date was at the Walrus; I got food from the Walrus for our picnic when I proposed to my wife at Pioneer Park; on our wedding day, we went straight from the church to the Walrus in our wedding garb; and the Walrus has been our anniversary spot as well! They serve all kinda of good stuff at Urban Harvest as well.

Luke and friends (and sister) played for a while, then handed things off to Fat Dad. A fun time was had by all, and little PJ and I decided to walk the downtown area for a while before going home. Urban Harvest is quaint but not my cup of tea, since it’s a little too hippie-ish for my tastes. It’s interesting to get a glimpse of the fantasy world of the peaceniks though, and it’s a harmless little weekly festival. There’s good food and live music, and it was great to be out on a night like tonight. My boy saw a lot of friends and a lot of new things, and I try to never miss a chance to see Luke perform.