MINNESOTA Moments

The Days How They Fly By...

Wow, where does time go? January is over and it seems like we just got through the Christmas holiday. Amazing.

I noticed that it was still fairly light outside when I got home the other night at 5:30. That’s great. I hate the darkness. I can’t wait for June when the sun is bright and the days are long.

Speaking of January, this recent cold snap was interesting. It’s been a while since we’ve felt 50 below windchills. It’s no fun to be caught outside for any length of time in temperatures that cold. Thank God I wasn’t.

Mike

Meet Wildlife Artist Scot Storm

Speaking of gifted artists, another I met during an interview for Minnesota Moments was Scot Storm of Freeport. We featured Scot in our Jan./Feb. issue. In fact, one of his works appears on our cover.

I had heard of Scot over the years. People kept telling me that I needed to do a story on this talented wildlife artist. Well, when I finally got around to doing that, it was a great pleasure. Besides being a wonderful artist, like Bonnie Mohr, Scot is a terrific person. He’s articulate, intelligent and a very warm person to interview.

We also videotaped Scot to be our first webcast on our new and improved website. I owe Scot a great amount of thanks for being our “guinea pig” in that project. You can view that webcast by clicking on Scot’s picture on our website or use this link Scot Storm's Video Story . I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed helping make it.

Mike

Bonnie Mohr's Blog... very interesting

I’m relatively new to this blogging business. But if you want to read an interesting blog, go to artist Bonnie Mohr’s website, www.bonniemohr.com.

I met Bonnie last year when we were doing a profile on her for Minnesota Moments. Bonnie is an incredibly gifted artist. But more than that, she’s a neat person. I was amazed when I interviewed her how calm and peaceful she was, being the wife of a dairy farmer, the mother of five children and a stay-at-home mom who takes care of the family and also is an internationally known painter. Bonnie paints pictures of rural life and is especially known for her paintings of dairy cows.

Check out Bonnie’s work and her blog on her website. To read the article we did on Bonnie, get yourself a copy of the Sept./Oct. 2007 issue of Minnesota Moments. And, to see Bonnie’s wonderful painting she did for the cover of Minnesota Moments, find yourself a copy of our Nov./Dec. 2008 issue.

Bonnie was born near New Ulm and today lives on a family farm with her husband, John, near Glencoe.

Mike

A Daughter Growing Up...

I just sent my youngest daughter back to college this morning after a long holiday break for her. This will be her last semester in college for the time being. She graduates this spring and hopes to land a job soon and find a place of her own.

It was hard watching her drive away. Tears filled my eyes. I wasn’t sure why until I sat down to write this. I think it hit me so hard because this will be the last holiday break where she’ll be home as a student with a whole month to just lie around and be nearby. Chances are good (at least I’m hoping so) that she’ll get a job and begin a career somewhere (hopefully close by, but maybe not). She’s a talented writer, much more talented than her Dad was at that age and probably more creative than I’ve ever been. One of her dreams is to get a writing job in Boston. That would be great for her. And I’d love to visit her and take in a Red Sox game in the spring, see the New England fall colors or walk down Beacon Street at Christmas time.

That shouldn’t be sad, but I think it’s one of those life-changing moments. For the better part of 20 years I’ve been watching my daughters, first just little tykes, toddle off to school. At first, it was daily, holding their hands as they went to the bus stop or walking them to school. Then it was driving them when the school bus was no longer cool. For that assignment I was instructed not to sing, play the music too loud with the windows open, or try to be funny or cool in anyway. Soon, they were driving themselves to school, not an easy thing to watch, either. And then, they left for college, first as we drove them and then later, all on their own.

And now, that will soon be history.

Not the end of the world by any means, but still a little sad for this father who loves his “girls” with all his heart.

Mike

The Cold Winters Of The 1980's

The other day I was writing about garages and the weather and how life has changed over the years. I was focusing on the tools and accessories and comforts that we have to make dealing with winter easier. I got to thinking of the first house I lived in after my wife and I were married. It didn’t have a garage. On cold nights, and back in the early ’80s there were a few of them, I’d get up at night every four hours to start the cars so their batteries wouldn’t go dead. Neither of our cars had tank heaters.

Then, when we moved to our next house, the situation improved, but not by much. We had a one-car detached garage. One of our cars had to sit outside. Thankfully, we had a tank heater in it by that time.

Our next house had a two-car attached garage. Better even yet, but not ideal. It still got pretty cold in there.

Now, we have a three-car heated garage.

If we move again, I wonder what we’ll have for parking arrangements?

Mike

I got a call from a reader...

I got a call from a reader today with a complaint. His name was Al, from Rockville. Al said that he had a beef, although he sure sounded friendly. With some callers, you can tell that they’re frustrated. With Al, he more or less just wanted to talk to someone.

It turns out that someone gave Al a gift subscription to Minnesota Moments for Christmas. Trouble is, he got his January/February 2008 issue before he received is November/December 2007 issue. This concerned him a bit.

I told him that due to an error at our printer, where the magazine is mailed from, the two issues got sent out in the wrong order. Actually, the November/December issue was just delayed until after the January/February issue had been mailed.

It’s just one of those things that happens from time to time. People are human. Mistakes are made.

I explained this to Al. He seemed fine with it. Then he wanted to know if I was “one of those Nistlers from the Watkins area?” I told him I was. Actually, I said, I grew up on a farm near Pearl Lake, which is near Kimball, which is near Watkins, which is near Eden Valley, where my Dad was born.

We had a nice chat. And to think, it all started with a complaint. So, if you have a complaint, give me a call. I’d be happy to chat with you just as long as you’re as pleasant as Al was.

Mike

Brrr. There’s a nip in the air...

Brrr. There’s a nip in the air here in Central Minnesota this morning. The thermostat has been inching downward the last few days. Makes me remember the winters of years gone by.

Sometimes I wonder if winter is getting less vicious or if we just have better tools, to cope?

My latest luxury is a heated garage, which both I and my dogs, golden retrievers Buddy and Junior, love. What a treat to walk into a garage on a morning when it’s below zero outside and inside it’s somewhere in the vicinity of 50 to 60 degrees. The dogs are sleeping on an old couch in the corner and it takes a bit of coaxing to get them to go outside and do what dogs do after a night of deep sleep.

In the old days, the dogs slept outside in an unheated garage, and let me tell you, it got pretty cold in there. Why, even in the unheated garage, the car engines groaned something fierce when they were first started.

So, let the cold snap continue. I’ll stand in my garage and admire the frosty surroundings through the window.

Mike

Mike & Diane's First Online Video

Click To Play

Here's a video and Mike and Diane just completed to help launch their new website.  Take a look and let us know what you think.  See "COMMENTS" Link BELOW and CLICK ON IT to let your voice be heard.

Welcome, to our blog.

Blog, a word most of us didn’t know until not so very long ago. Now, it seems, everyone has a blog.

We decided to start one as well.

Why? Because, being in the communication business, it just made sense. While we publish a bi-monthly magazine (that’s every two months), this blog allows us to be in touch with you, our readers, on a daily basis. At least that’s the hope. We realize that some of you don’t have computers, but those who do, we hope visit us from time to time.

Diane and I will eventually alternate writing in this space. But for now, I’m taking control of our blog wheel for a time, while Diane works on other upgrades to our website.

Be sure to let us know what you think. We love feedback. E-mail us at info@minnesotamoments.com.

Mike