Ice Racing

Ice racing is an interesting sport. You put a car, usually a little banged up, on a track of ice and see how fast it can get to the finish. If you have ever driven on ice then you know that it is not a matter of just hitting the gas pedal. That could just send you into a spin. You also have to take into account that the other cars could be sliding your way and to get out of the way is a tricky business. All in all the cars were not moving very fast and often they were going slow forwards and faster sideways! There was a lot of ice vs. car finessing going on. I was also impressed that there seemed to be a very diverse set of drivers. Women, men, boy, girls, old, young. I didn't get a picture but I thought it quite amusing to see a man with a long beard, farmer overalls, and John Deer cap as one of the drivers :)

Out of place?

When you are in the snow country there are certain things that you come to expect. Snow in the trees, on the ground, on the road, and under your feet. And when you see something that seems to not make sense, such as a chair out side and tilted in the snow, there is an uncontrollable urge to just stand and stare at it. As if somehow that will bring more order to the world. But no, this green chair tilted in the snow made no sense to me. It just sat there as if it had something to say that was a mystery and I could not hear it. I was tempted to sit in the chair and view the world from that perspective. Alas, I didn't. This green chair has maintained a spot in the corner of my mind. As if to remind me that there are positions in the (my) world that don't make sense. At least it wasn't clear to me why this chair had this position in this climate. Actually it was rather amusing in it's non-ubiquitousness.

Where the colors change

The weather is confusing these days. It ranges between sunny, cold, foggy, warm and rainy. I guess we call that spring. Is spring in the air? The picture above is where I would love to build a straw bale environmentally sound house. It is a 9 acre parcel that my mom owns overlooking West lost lake and looking toward Tingvold church in Minnesota. I would love to wake up to this view and watch the seasons change, the maples change color and the fish jump right into the Ice house fry pan .... ha ha, April fools. Well, maybe?