Another snow has blanketed Saint Paul, hushing the gentle breath of the city that sounds around us. It is Christmas Eve and we are all bedded down in the still of a lazy lingering sleep. The problems of the world are all far away, past streets that sleep and houses buried in tight. The isolation is complete and splendid.
Smart Birds
Though we live in a very human-made world, we still have animals around as pets. Some are kept for their cuteness or friendliness, a few intrigue us because they seem smart. But how smart are animals compared to humans? Recent research suggests that some, in particular birds, may be a lot closer to our intelligence than we might like to think.
Winter Solstice
Tomorrow is, for my family and me, the big Winter holiday. The Solstice is precisely at 23:38 GMT (5:38 PM CST) on 21 December, always right on schedule. At this moment, the northern hemisphere will be at its darkest, but also starts turning back towards the sun. We celebrate it by blowing out the many candles that are lit and enjoying a few moments without light or sound – just the music of the spheres to contemplate for a moment. This is our holiday for the season.
Urban Renewal
Workers started removing the fountain in Irvine Park, Saint Paul, today. It is being shipped off to Robinson Iron Works in Alabama, where it was made, for a general refurbishment that they hope to have done by May.
This tiny tidbit of very local news may not seem important to the rest of the world, but the story of the little neighborhood of Irvine Park is rarely told the way it needs to be. It’s just one story of urban activism among thousands but it is important because this is repeated constantly throughout the world. The lesson is simple – if you want the really good things in life you have to make it happen.
Boreas Rex
King Boreas. The name doesn’t strike fear into the hearts and minds of Minnesotans because we’ve learned to live with his terrible reign. He is the king of Winter, the tyrant we overthrow every year in the little festival we call Winter Carnival, at least in Saint Paul. But this year he got to have his own fun over in Minneapolis. It’s good to be King.
You may think this is all legend and fun but it’s serious business. Who else but King Boreas could reach out and tear a new hole in Minneapolis right on schedule?
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 