Neighborhoods, Vegetation and Vision

My friends wonder why I like living in Minnesota so much. I fully admit that in the middle of sub-zero temperatures with snow swirling outside and ice on the roads, it's a really good question. It's also a really good question when we're in the middle of summer with temperatures in the 90's and humidity in the 70's - hot, sticky, and very uncomfortable. But spring and autumn make up for it and it's been a really nice spring.

MplsStPaul Magazine is pretty broad and might be of
assistance to anyone looking to move to the Twin Cities. 

First of all, I have a friend in another state thinking about moving here who had asked about neighborhoods, etc. I noticed, as I was at the grocery store last week, that the current issue of Mpls-St Paul Magazine might be a good one for my friend to pick up to help answer that question. I'm putting the cover above and I'm sure they mail order and ship. I don't know how long the issue will be available. Usually they're on sale for a month, but I don't know when this was actually put out on the stands.

A view of my upper back yard from my side steps. The
fence in the back is six feet tall and the ferns are
stretching to over five feet. 

A second view shows my crabapple tree to the right and the ferns
progressing to the back again. They grow so fast! 

A month ago the back yard was just turning green, the ground flowers were starting to come into bloom and the fruit trees were flowering. Now look at the growth! These two pictures are of my upper yard. DH loves his ferns. I had never seen ferns growing in the wild before I moved up here, you don't get wild ferns growing in the desert. I think they are amazing, and they grow so quickly you can almost hear them. My back fence is six feet tall and the ferns are standing a good five feet. Any child would be in heaven hiding in our ferns.

The cottonwood trees are mainly across the street on the
college campus, but they also are along the banks of the little creek
that borders my property. They are wonderful trees, tall and
with deep tap roots. Their fluff looks like flowers, but
it's fluffy, not petals, closer to dandelion fluff. 

We're in the middle of our spring snow - not the cold variety ... the cottonwood tree fluff version. There are times when it is drifting down so heavily you would think you're in the middle of a winter storm, and it builds up along the sidewalks and curbs, actually making small drifts until they wilt and blow away.

I know they aren't inexpensive, but they may be covered by your
health insurance if you need them, and they are of interest
in any case. How they work to allow the interpretation of a
larger range of wavelengths is fascinating. 

Finally, regarding colorblindness. I was discussing colorblindness a few weeks ago and recently became aware of a product called EnChroma Glasses. (I'm embedding two separate links here - link number 1, link number 2 -  for those who may be interested in reviews and specifics.) The glasses aren't the be-all and end-all for resolving colorblindness, of course; everyone's specific case is different. But it looks like an alternative that might be worth examining by those who are affected with colorblindness or who know someone who is.

On that note, I'm off to the pool. I have to get in as much swimming as I can this week since I'll be at my convention next week and won't have a pool available. Have a wonderful Tuesday, and welcome back to the work week for my USA friends.