An Ode to the Late Bloomers

Photo 52, Week 36:  Fresh Start

I love September.  In fact, I have been known to say September is my paycheck.

In my earlier days, September was the month I got lost in my work.

Now it is the month I emerge from my work.

There are so many things that get a fresh start in September,

but I typically get a fresh start on some of my own exploring.

Gotta bask in summer's last hurrah, you know.

So I went to the arboretum, and photographed these fish

(in honor of back to school, of course).

Along with a whole lot of late bloomers.

Here is my ode to them:

Dear Late Bloomers,

I am always enticed by the sweet beauty 

of your counterparts in early spring.

One has to admire their boldness, after all,

to appear sometimes even before the snow has gone

to announce the arrival of a new season.

But Late Bloomers,

how easily I forget that you wait patiently

for summer's dwindling days to stun us,

just when we thought all of the better things had passed.

You are like the finest wine at the wedding feast

when the empty vessels had already signified

that it was time for the guests to leave,

until Jesus came on the scene to announce

that the party, in fact, had only just begun.

Thank you, Late Bloomers,

for meeting me in the quiet of summer's end.

It is you who know me best.

Ballpark Trivia

So I told you we drove to St. Louis to see the Braves play the Cardinals.  

What I didn't tell you was that while we were at it, we also drove to Kansas City.

(What's four more hours anyway?)

You got it.  More baseball.  We didn't even have a team in this game.

But hey, when amid a sea of blue, just go ahead and cheer for the Royals.

I guess it's no secret that someone (or maybe a couple of someones) has

"seeing games at as many major league stadiums as humanly possible"on their bucket list.
Not in writing.  But still.

I never would have believed I'd be a part of such a thing,
but I guess I've kind of gotten sucked in.
Ball parks are pretty cool and unique places.

I mean what's not to love about sitting in dead center field in a million degrees,
surrounded by water features?  The sound of that splashing water reminded me of...
well it might have been the sweat running off my neck.

As connoisseurs of the ballpark experience, we've become experts on just a couple things.

1.  Helmet sundaes.

They are not all created equal.  Sometimes it's soft serve.  Sometimes, Ben and Jerry's.
Yes to Ben and Jerry's.  That would be St. Louis.

Have you noticed that when I try to get pictures of Ben at the ball park,
he looks annoyed, or at least, preoccupied?

"MOM!  I'm trying to keep score here!"
(Yup, that's pretty much the worst one ever.)

Which leads to our other area of expertise,

2.  The scorecard.  

Best buck we ever spend.  Except in St. Louis.  $2.50 there, for a sub-standard product, I'm told.

This, according to Ben, is what a great scorecard looks like. (Kudos to the Rockies!)

Extra lines for substitutions, room for the pitchers, and even spaces to mark balls and strikes

(and therefore keep track of the pitch count).

Sweet.

In St. Louis, your overpriced model is stripped down to bare bones.
Ben had to add in a bunch of data in the margins.

Here's our very own ballpark scorecard...

Best helmet sundae:  

St. Louis Cardinals (Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  SOOO good!!)

Best scorecard:  

Colorado Rockies

Best skyline view from behind the plate:  

Tough one--St. Louis is a strong contender with the arch and all, 

but the Twins have the Minneapolis skyline.  There's no place like home.

Best kid-friendly park:

This is an important feature.  I'll go with Kansas City on this one, though Miller Park in Milwaukee
(hmm, that never actually made a blog post) and Comerica Park in Detroit are also really good.
Nine innings is a long time.  'Nuff said.

Best Between Innings Crowd Entertainment:
Miller Park.  Racing sausages.  What's not to love?

Three awards are reserved for
Comerica Park in Detroit:

Best Mascot  (Paws--although we LOVE T.C. the bear right here at home,
Paws helps Mom get the best photo.  WIN!)

Coolest Jumbotron (The one with the tigers!)

Best Night of Baseball Ever  (The night Clete Thomas hit a walkoff homer!)


So there you have it.  Everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about baseball parks.

One more thing?

Always take a walk behind home plate with your camera.  It's the shot with the best view.
Every.  Time.

Fourteen

I can hardly believe

it's been fourteen years.

Where once he looked for baseball cakes,
tiger cakes,
football cakes,
and race car cakes,

this year, he requested chocolate peanut butter.
Much tastier, trust me.

Thank you Pinterest.

Who knew ganache is really not too difficult after all?

The perfect complement to a BBQ bacon burger.
With Fritos on top.  That's how he rolls.

Made to order!

Love. This. Boy.

Farmers Market

I love living in the Twin Cities.

Two totally distinct downtown areas.

One with the sprawling business district and abundant skyscrapers.

The other with more of the government, history and nostalgia.

This was a weekend to hang out in St. Paul.

Specifically, the farmers market.

Beautiful colors and enticing scents.

The sound of local folk musicians.

Happy and appreciative crowds.

Bee man.

Balloon Man.

Corn girls.

Selling.

Eating.

Quick stops at the fountain,

with the Peanuts gang relaxing nearby.

Perfect way to spend a gorgeous Saturday!