Sunday was an absolute great day, except for the wind. Looking up I even saw a few flocks of geese headed north. Think of how confusing it is for them. Snow before Halloween and 50 degree temps around Thanksgiving. Who would have thunk? (thunk is one of those slang words that works in cases like this).

There are still a few piles on the ground where folks piled up the over 12 inches that arrived the week before Halloween, but for the most part North Dakota has returned to more a fall-like weather pattern. Sunday’s 50 degree temps gave us another opportunity to clean up those recently fallen leaves. Now we’ll go into winter with lawns mostly clear of leaves and when the snow melts next spring we’ll be back to green grass. Now without reservation we can change over from rakes to shovels and from lawn mowers to snow blowers. It’s always a coin flip, isn’t it? I always laugh and say the sure way to guarantee snow is to have your snowblower in the storage unit (or tucked way back in the garage). It’s kind of like tempting fate to bet on the weather, especially in North Dakota.

A Chance To Say Goodbye!
A couple of years ago Roosevelt Park zoo was teaming with joy when our pair of Amur Tigers, Viktor and Zoya, gave birth to 3 little tiger cubs. Recently the zoo staff has announced that Viktor is headed to a new home in Denver, and the 3 cubs are also headed for new homes. Viktoria, the only female, to one home and the two male cubs, Dmitri and Luka to another.
But don’t be discouraged folks, because through all of this the Roosevelt Park Zoo has gained national recognition and will soon receive a new male to replace Viktor and hopefully breed with Zoya to create new offspring. All of this is a carefully orchestrated plan to manage the Amur Tiger population.

So if you are like me, you’ll make one last trip to Roosevelt Park Zoo and see the now almost full sized tiger cubs before they leave Minot and head to new homes. Watching them grow has been a joy.

Dakota Flea Market
To say that a flea market is kind of like a rummage sale on steroids does not do justice to either. This past weekend the Dakota Flea Market was stacked with tables and tables of interesting collectibles. For me, it’s kind of a trip through my lifetime as familiar items like oil filled lamps and telephones bring back memories from my childhood. My dad was a telephone guy, working for Northwestern Bell. In our home in Maddock was the manual switchboard that my Mom ran in between changing diapers and cooking and canning. I remember her telling me to pick up the receiver and tell whomever was on the other end that “My Mom will be right with you, is this an emergency?”

I walked past a table of insulators, those greenish glass things that used to sit on top of telephone poles. We used to gather them up and haul them to the local landfill (called a dump ground back then) and use them for target practice with our .22 caliber rifles. Now they are $10.00 each. Gosh, I could have been a millionaire if I had saved them and sold them today.

Gun Show
I know that gun shows are not for everyone, but Minot has one of the best for those of you gun enthusiasts out there. November 25th & 26th the Annual Minot Rifle & Pistol Club gun show has a lot of interesting old, and new, guns on display. Mark your calendars and take a couple of hours to walk through the exhibits.

Best Kept Secrets
This is a bit of a secret, but on November 24th the Downtown Christmas Tree will be lit at 6 PM. Col’s Hoadley and McGee will once be on stage to push the big button that lights the tree for the Christmas season. However, there is more…I won’t quite spill the beans right now, but there is another special event that will take place just prior to the lighting of the Christmas tree. More clues coming later.

Today’s Chuckle
A kiss is a pleasant reminder that…
…two heads are better than one.