Sharyn Shoots

Periods of Sunshine
Winters in Minnesota can feel like they are dragging on and on endlessly. Residents here are faced with a choice. Hide and hibernate indoors until the Spring thaw, or face the elements and triumphantly overcome them. Sometimes with the element of surprise. Who expects such a riot of color and creativity on a frozen lake? But that’s what the Art Shanty Projects are all about. Well, that’s my take on it. Their mission statement is:

Art Shanty Projects is an artist driven temporary community exploring the ways in which the relatively unregulated public space of the frozen lake can be used as a new and challenging artistic environment to expand notions of what art can be.

Over the last several years the ASP has helped me look forward to January and February rather than dreading these cold, dead months. Admittedly we did luck out with extremely mild weather for this year’s opening weekend, but we would have made the trek anyhow. And you should too. Head to Plymouth’s Medicine Lake, weekends from January 16th – February 7th.

The Stars Come Right
Despite seriously foul weather over the holidays my son and I still enjoyed some fine festivities. And, even better, we had plenty of downtime at home (with our Wii and new Wii accessories). Which is where we’ll be ringing in the new year together. Hope all has been well for you and yours!

The Accidental Tourist
It had been years since I’d taken part in such an epic cross country road trip, but last week a friend and I traveled from Minnesota to California in her truck. We had four main stopping points along the way, in: 1) Lincoln, NE 2) Denver, CO 3) Flagstaff, AZ and 4) Palm Springs, CA. Each spot offered something unique and interesting. After arriving at our destination, in Los Angeles, I spent the weekend there before flying home to the Twin Cities. A few of my favorite photos are below.

Falling Forward
Weather in the Upper Midwest is always unusual. This year we enjoyed a particularly mild summer, followed by a somewhat intense Indian Summer but then it jumped straight to snow, like a record skipping a groove. Last week my son and I took our annual trek to Duluth, MN for his October school break. We left prepared for anything, with clothing to layer according to the temperatures. Our walks along the shores of Lake Superior were brisk, yes, but not uncomfortably so. And we encountered some simply stunning Fall leaves.

Sunday Afternoon Adventuring
It is officially Fall now and Fall in Minnesota is my favorite of all seasons. Today my son and I took a daytrip out to the lovely Big Stone Mini Golf in Mound, MN, before heading to the nearby Minnetonka Apple Orchards in Minnetrista. The weather was predictably unpredictable. Winds so strong our golf balls were thrown off course and at the apple orchard we were nearly knocked out of the hay ride. And when we returned home from adventuring we discovered the winds had broken our boulevard tree in two! Even so, I will always adore Fall.

Adorable Furballs
I’ve mentioned pizza farm in the past, as one of my favorite happy places in the Upper Midwest. But lately friends have been adopting kittens from the farm. Two recent transplants are the wee Rex and Moz. Their cuteness is killing me! More here.

The Great Minnesota Get Together
It’s MN State Fair time and local bloggers are abuzz about all the new offerings and old standards. I have my own personal favorites, food and attraction-wise. My son and I spent a solid seven hours there Friday and yet I still missed a few things. We skipped the Midway entirely, I forgot about the photo booth in the Grandstand, and I never did locate the potato tornado. A return visit may be required this week.

The Flowers and the Trees
Over the weekend I had the honor of documenting (and participating in) the marriage of two lovely individuals. I have loads of photos to sort through for the happy couple and their fantastic families, but plan to post a few favorites here over the next couple of weeks.

Stoking the Wanderlust
Like a lot of people I love to travel, but have limited resources. Last weekend I finally ventured back to Los Angeles, for the first time in eleven years. In 1998 I’d gone to see the Bauhaus reunion show, at the Hollywood Palladium. This trip wasn’t so much about a specific event, but rather just the need for a change of scenery. Many more photos from the weekend on flickr here.

Community Supported Agriculture
So many of my Minnesotan friends have migrated to warmer climes. Some tell me of how their CSA shares are delivered year round. Back home we are not so lucky. Our growing season starts later and is shorter, but perhaps that makes our shares seem that much more precious. That’s what I’m telling myself, at least. At any rate, this week will see our third delivery from Jackson Hollow and I couldn’t be happier with them. The farmers send our email newsletters telling us what to expect before each delivery. And I am most excited to sample this wild spinach, also known as Lamb’s Quarters. Photos of that to come.