Author: Nicholas

I post photos on NicholasScribner.com and articles on Jeers.com.

Categories
Out and About

Winter Lights at the Arboretum

Tonight, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, to see their Winter Lights walking tour that goes through the end of the month. I’ve never been to the Arboretum in the winter, much less seen their Winter Lights display (though I’m not sure if they’ve had it in previous years).

I took a bus in Chaska to get there, partly because the Arboretum was sold out of tickets for parking on-site. A SouthWest Transit employee at the park-and-ride facility in Chaska told me there would be 4,000 attendees tonight—with 3,000 people parking at the Arboretum and 1,000 people taking the bus.

As these photos illustrate, there is no snow on the ground. Furthermore, I recall only two days this fall and winter season when there was any measurable snow on the ground, and they were on October 30 and 31. Needless to say, there won’t be a white Christmas this year. In fact, the two main reasons I went to this event tonight was that it was warm (the high temperature in Chanhassen today was 47 degrees Fahrenheit) and that I wanted to document the brown Christmas, which happens much less frequently than a white Christmas in the Twin Cities. The high temperature for tomorrow (Christmas Eve) is 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

I took these 19 photos from 4:49 to 5:37 p.m.

Arb logo at the Oswald Visitor Center
A reindeer guiding a snowman on a sleigh
Apple
Frosted Romance
Steps leading to the carousel
The carousel
House with a star
Pollinator Path
Miscellaneous lights
Miscellaneous lights II
Winter Village
Winter Village II
Multicolored building (probably the Oswald Visitor Center)
Arb logo at the Oswald Visitor Center II
Apple II (not the computer)
Water Lily Way
Apple tree
SouthWest Transit bus
SouthWest Transit bus II
Categories
Out and About Pug Life

Indian Summer in Minnesota

Beginning today, there is an Indian summer in the Twin Cities. The next four days will be part of this Indian summer as well, with high temperatures of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit on all of these days.

I took these photos at Lake Ann Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota, from 4:02 to 4:09 p.m.

Mom and Missy
Mom and Missy II
Mom and Missy by Lake Ann
Categories
Out and About

Me, a Lake, a Sunset, and My Camera

I visited Lake Ann in Chanhassen, Minnesota, this evening. Chanhassen is now at peak fall colors according to the Fall Color Finder webpage by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

It will be rainy and snowy for the rest of the week (today is Monday), so it’s likely I won’t photograph fall colors again until next year.

I took these photos from 5:58 to 6:16 p.m.; the sunset was at 6:18 p.m.

Dock at Lake Ann (where I took the next four photos)
Lake Ann fishing pier
Sky reflection on Lake Ann
Sky reflection on Lake Ann II
Moon reflection on Lake Ann
Categories
Out and About

Panoramic Views at Sibley State Park

My mom and I ventured out with our puggle, Missy, again today to see Sibley State Park two hours away in New London, Minnesota. As the map to the right shows, the state park is at the peak time for fall colors. (Be sure to utilize the Fall Color Finder webpage with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.)

We spent most of our day driving, but it at least didn’t take long to get some spectacular scenic photos.

I took these seven photos from 3:54 to 4:23 p.m.

View from Mount Tom
View from Mount Tom II
Mount Tom observation tower (where I took the previous two photos)
Silhouette of a family at Mount Tom
Mount Tom observation tower II
Andrew Lake
Andrew Lake II
Categories
Out and About

Visiting Fort Snelling State Park

Today, my mom, my puggle (Missy), and I visited Fort Snelling State Park for the first time (though my mom says she did once visit the cemetery for a funeral). Because Fort Snelling is spread out over such a wide area and is so integral to Minnesota’s history, the photos below actually comprise three cities and three counties. That being said, the first location, Big Rivers Regional Trail, isn’t part of Fort Snelling, though the trails do connect to it.

I decided we should visit this state park because it was recommended today by the Fall Color Finder from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who, in the photo to the right, also show that this area is at the peak time for fall colors.

I took these six photos from 4:13 to 5:21 p.m.

Delta hangar across the Minnesota River, as seen from Big Rivers Regional Trail in Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Delta airplane preparing to land at the runway near the hangar in the previous photo
Down by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park in St. Paul
Fallen tree near where I took the previous photo at Fort Snelling State Park, with my mom acting as the director of photography
Commemorative marker and/or gravestone for Elizabeth R. Snelling, the daughter of Colonel Josiah Snelling and first white child born in Minnesota. It is located approximately 10 feet behind where I was standing in the next photo at Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel in Minneapolis.
Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel, with my mom acting as the director of photography again
Categories
Out and About

Correction: The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb Is Yet to Come

I regret the premise of my last article from October 11 titled, “The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb?” Minnesota’s leaves are keeping their color longer this year, so I now say the best day for fall colors is yet to come. In the picture to the right, one can see that much of the Twin Cities—including where I live in Chanhassen—is still at near-peak.

I encourage everyone to utilize the Fall Color Finder from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In years past, I’ve visited some of the state parks, which are denoted by circles on the map. I’m not sure if I will visit any state parks this year, but I certainly would be up to it if my mom is interested in another excursion in the woods.

I took these six photos today from 10:33 to 11:22 a.m. at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota.

Grace B. Dayton Wildflower Garden sign at the beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Colorful trees near the beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Ginkgo biloba leaves
Acer rubrum, ‘Autumn Spire,’ Red Maple
Maze Garden
Tilia cordata, ‘Glenleven,’ Littleleaf Linden
Categories
Out and About

The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb?

It’s possible today is the last nice autumn day of the year at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota. I say this because, (1) according to the Fall Color Finder by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, my area is at near-peak (orange):

Minnesota D.N.R.’s Fall Color Finder map for 2023-10-11

and (2) the next three days will be rainy and breezy, which will likely cause many of the leaves to fall.

Here are seven photos I took today between 10:19 and 11:03 a.m.

Sunstar in the forest
Fish sculpture in a pond
Crane sculpture and its reflection in the same pond
Lake with fall colors
Ginkgo biloba, ‘Autumn Gold,’ Maidenhair Tree
Malus, ‘Indian Magic,’ Crabapple
Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple
Categories
Out and About

The Arb in Early October

I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this morning. I took these photos from 9:00 to 10:10 a.m.

Koi in the Japanese Garden
Waterfall in the Japanese Garden
Gazebo in the Japanese Garden
Monarch butterfly in one of the gardens
Impatiens, ‘SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange,’ Hybrid Impatiens
Salvia, ‘Mystic Spires,’ Hybrid Sage
Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch
White Ash, Fraxinus americana
Green maple leaves
Various pine trees
Sunstar in a bronze sculpture titled “Sud II” by Mimmo Paladino (b. 1948, Italian)
Unidentified shrub rose
Sculpture titled “Family” by Douglas Olmsted Freeman
Three-Mile Walk sign
Categories
Out and About

46 Morning Photos From the Minnesota State Fair

Today, I made my first post-Covid visit to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. The Minnesota State Fair is the largest state fair by daily attendance in the United States. I took these photos from 8:52 to 10:22 a.m. and used my Canon EOS R with kit lens.

Minnesota State Fair entrance
Pizza Wagon
Tickets for the Midway
The Strawberry Patch
Sheep entrance
Caged sheep
Butcher Boys
Cows standing outside
Art on a stick
All You Can Drink Milk for $2
Fish pond
KARE 11 building
KARE 11 broadcasting live
Fresh French Fries
The Original Minneapple Pie
Haunted House
Minnesota Twins sculpture
Propal Fresh Oranges cart
American Red Cross blood donation bus
Hennepin County Sheriff truck
Oof-Da Tacos
Minnesota State Fair information booth
Deputies
Doing pull-ups at a Marines stand
Bus that looks like a vintage-style tram
Giant Ferris wheel at the Midway
Pronto Pups
John Deere riding lawn mowers on display
92 KQRS live broadcasting booth
Gizmo, “The Italian Beef Burger!”
Carnival game prizes
Sculpture of a woman with hotdish
Sky Glider above crowd
Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar
Woman taking photos with smartphones
National Guard Humvee
National Guard Humvee II
Army Humvee
Army remote-controlled tank
Army remote-controlled tank II
Kids controlling remote-controlled tanks
Man lifting heavy weights at the Army stand
TPT Twin Cities PBS stand
Fox 9 stand
Star Tribune building
Ride at the Midway
Categories
Out and About

Chanhassen’s 40th Annual Fourth of July Celebration

My mom and I went to the first day of Chanhassen’s 40th annual Fourth of July celebration this evening. We’ve gone for the last three years now. I posted photos I took last year with my Google Pixel smartphone, which obviously limited image quality. This year, I made sure to bring my Canon EOS R. I also coordinated our time so I was able to take photos at the golden hour and the blue hour. The golden hour is the hour before sunset, and the blue hour is the hour after sunset (as an aside, it works the opposite way for sunrises). The sunset was at 9:04 p.m. tonight; these photos were taken between 7:58 and 9:25 p.m.

Fan at one of the carnival games (according to Alexa, the high was 89 degrees Fahrenheit today)
My mom by a snow cone stand
Ferris wheel at the golden hour
Beach Buggies sign
There was mostly empty seating. This could be because it was late in the day on family night.
Carnival food
Mini Donuts
Pick-a-Duck
Bam Bam
Ferris wheel after sunset
Carnival food and Ferris wheel
My mom looking at carnival food and the Ferris wheel
Another photo of my mom by carnival food and the Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel II