Remembering, honoring, saluting

The Fort Snelling National Cemetery Memorial Day celebration began this morning at 10 am. Thousands of people gathered to remember, honor and salute the 190,000 fallen soldiers buried there and the many other American service people who gave their lives fighting for freedom in wars in Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Colonel John Morris served as a chaplain with the U.S. Army 34th "Red Bull" Division in Iraq. In his Memorial Day address, "For Those Who Wait," he also told how Americans soldiers freed his mother's village in France during WWII.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and United States Senator Amy Klobuchar were among the VIP guests gathered.

Three tikes in a pool

During the Memorial Day weekend, we relaxed as a family. The girls played on the slip & slide and in our patio swimming pool. Fun memories!

Lift bridge in Stillwater

This old lift bridge reaches from one side of the St. Croix River to the other side in Stillwater, a town just a 25 minute drive northeast of Eagan. This photo shows the earlier Spring flooding and the sandbags lining the riverbanks. Five Eaganites enjoyed a family time visit to this historic town filled with antique stores and craft shops.

This is the BRIDGE meme created and continued by "Louis la Vache" in San Francisco. Click on the blog link below and see other bridges from around the globe!

http://bayphoto.blogspot.com Sunday Bridges

Back to 1st Grade

I joined our 1st grade daughter for school lunch on Friday. The menu included: milk, cheese omelet, frosted cinnamon roll, oranges and a wild cherry freezie. She didn't take the tomatoes - neither did I.

Got milk man?

On my way to a 6:30 morning meeting, I stopped Brad, the Kemps milk man, for a photo of his milk truck. It's no coincidence that his truck looks like a cow! Call Brad if you want home delivery of ice cream or milk!

Tel: 763-434-9041

Green with envy

When I spotted this VW wagon in April, I quick snapped a photo with my Lingonberry phone camera.

What would it have been like to drive it around California in the 1960s or 1970s with long hair, a funky shirt, sandals and a peace necklace around my neck? Hmm

Lakes of Eagan series #4

Thomas Lake is one of Eagan's best known lakes. Bordered by busy Cliff Road, Pilot Knob Road and Thomas Lake Road, it's the name of a local elementary school and apartment complex. I took this photo in early May and was surprised to already see lots of green aquatic lake plants clumping atop the water! At a different point, one finds a parking lot, canoe launch and fishing pier.

Lake statistics:

Size: 38.8 acres

Maximum depth: 6.5 feet

Fish species: Bluegills, Bullheads, Crappies, Large mouth bass, and Perch.

Once upon a time, there was a tree...

Kay Brown Gustafson, a local author in Eagan, was signing her book at the Holz Farm Spring Festival. The true story tells how the big oak tree was moved to its current spot in front of the Eagan Community Center. That oak tree is the symbol of Eagan and stands tall as the header photo of my blog.

Don't drink & drive!

Last Thursday, Eagan High School's "SADD" (Students against destructive decisions) and "MADD" (Mothers against drunk driving) in cooperation with the Eagan Police and Eagan Fire departments conducted a Mock Crash caused by a drunk driver. The Bergstrom family of Eagan told the students how they lost three of their five children on October 10, 2004 because of a drunk driver. After that gathering in the high school gymnasium, the students exited the school to the parking lot to observe the pretend car accident. Several students played the parts of the passengers in the two cars. The police arrived first, then the fire fighters and paramedics and even a state trooper.

Eventually, an emergency evacuation helicopter arrived from North Memorial Hospital to airlift a "critically injured" victim to their trauma center hospital in Minneapolis. The sober ending to the mock crash was the arrival of the hearse to pick up a dead victim. The more than 1,000 Juniors and Seniors witnessed a very serious issue which claims over 18,000 lives annually in the United States.

Don't drink and then drive!

Weed watch

Are you tired of watching dandelions and other lawn weeds ruin your grass? Call friendly Chad the Weed Man to come and treat your lawn with organic fertilizer and weed control.

Tel: 952-826-9696

Wood splitting break

Driving home from our daughter's dance class, I noticed this pile of split wood and logs. I jumped out of my car and snapped a photo with my camera phone of the red wood splitting machine and wood pile in the rain. I guess the lumberjack was inside drinking coffee?

Future leaders

Cubmaster Ted Daley and his co-pack leader, Scott, lead Den 4 of Pack 446 in Eagan. These cub scouts and boys from three other dens of their pack built and raced this Soapbox Derby car. Scouting builds future kids of character and community leaders.

Ted, holding up the pack flag, is an Eaganite running for a District 38 seat of the Minnesota Senate. A retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and self-employed CPA, he's a big-hearted, community minded leader.

www.DaleyforSenate.com

Eagan Foundation Scholarship Breakfast

Over 400 parents, student scholarship recipients and donor representatives gathered at Eagan High School for the 2010 Scholarship Award Recipients breakfast. Mayor Mike Maguire and Foundation board member Juli Seydell Johnson emceed the event.

Since the Eagan Foundation's incorporation in 1991, it has awarded over $750,000 in college scholarships. In 2010, over 75 students received more than $60,000 in merit based scholarships for Eagan residents. Congratulations, high school seniors!

Eagan Foundation:

Vision: To make Eagan the best place to live, learn, work & play.

Mission: To build a legacy for Eagan one gift at a time.
www.eaganfoundation.org

Safety Officer recognition

Eagan Rotarian and Eagan Police Chief Jim McDonald presented Detective Paul Maier with a Rotary "Safety Officer Award" at a recent Eagan Rotary lunch meeting. Paul has been with the Eagan Police Department since December 1999 where he worked as a patrol officer until 2004. In 2004, he was assigned to investigation and currently works as a detective. Congratulations, Detective Maier!

Eagan Rotarian and Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott presented Firefighter Lieutenant Roy Prudencio's widow, Carol, with a Rotary "Safety Officer Award" honoring Roy's service. He served as a volunteer Eagan firefighter from December 2000 until he passed away in February 2010. Congratulations to Roy's family!

Holz Farm Spring Festival

"Friends of the Farm" and the Eagan Parks & Recreation presented the 24th annual Arbor Day Celebration and Holz Farm Spring Festival on Sunday, May 16. Crowds gathered for the ceremonial tree planting, pony rides, hay(wagon) rides, barnyard animal viewing, rope making and hot dog lunch. Eagan's "Women of Note" choir and "Men's Chorus" both sang on a beautiful, sunny, early Summer day. In honor of Eagan's 150th Anniversary, they also collected food donations for the Eagan Resource Center (foodshelf).

Dinner on the patio

Saturday night we enjoyed dinner in our backyard on the patio. The mosquitos aren't out yet so it was a pleasant time with my parents, twin brother and his family. The kids sat at their own table. Left to right: my wife, sister-in-law, Mom, twin brother and Dad

A golfers' bridge

Here's a small bridge at the Parkview Golf Club. It seems a bit smaller than the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. This is another Sunday bridge series started by Louis La Vache in San Francisco.

http://bayphoto.blogspot.com Sunday Bridges

Saturday sales of Spring

When Spring arrives, garage sales start up again. It's a good way to clean out your unused stuff or find a good deal if you need some new "used stuff." The Deerwood neighborhood has an annual sale in which many neighbors participate.

A girls' fort only!

Two sisters & a neighbor girl played undistracted and uninterrupted on our backyard playset without the problem of boys. Click here to see how it looked there this past winter!

Cruisin' through Eagan

Patrick was happy to pose with his red 1930 Ford two seater. This converted Hotrod car has white leather seats and a rumble fold out seat in the back!

Lakes of Eagan series #3

Holland Lake is one of several lakes found within the 2,000 acre Lebanon Hills Regional Park and is located off Cliff Road just east of Lexington Avenue. It has among the best water quality of any lake in the Twin Cities metro area with good transparency most of the summer. Great for fishing! Amenities include: parking, restrooms, grills, a large fishing pier, picnic tables & shelter.

Lake statistics:

Size: 32.5 acres

Max depth: 75 feet

Fish species: Bluegills, brown trout, bullheads, crappies, large-mouth bass, northern pike and rainbow trout.

Teacher Recognition Day

On Wednesday, May 5, principals and teachers from Eagan High School, the two Eagan middle schools and eight elementary schools joined the Eagan Rotary club for the annual "Teacher Recognition Day." A principal from each school introduced their school's selected teacher and told why that teacher was chosen. Eagan Rotary awarded each school and each teacher with a gift certificate.

Congratulations, teachers!

Photos by Eagan Rotarian Michael Proebstle

Eagan Garden Club plant sale

Avid gardeners showed up by 8:30 on Saturday morning for the Eagan Garden Club's plant sale at Holz Farm. Annuals and perennials stood on several picnic tables across from the barn and chicken coop.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here's wishing my wife, my mother and my mother-in-law a very Happy Mother's Day! And hoping that all the other mothers out there will enjoy a special day with their families, too!

Open House @ 1516 Covington Lane

This house opened its doors last Sunday for anyone to visit. When you see an "Open House" sign out front, you can just walk in and look around at that home. This beauty has a $425,000 price tag and boasts the following in just over 3,000 finished square feet: master suite with fireplace, hardwood floors, master bath with jacuzzi tub, 3 car attached garage, main floor laundry with tub, 3 fireplaces, 3 season porch off master bedroom, 2 decks, new roof, formal dining room, newer appliances, granite kitchen countertops and more in the finished lower level! (Total of 4 bedrooms & 2.75 bathrooms)

Call Connie Vanderzanden at 952-270-8834 if you're interested!

Eagan Daily Photo - 1st anniversary

On May 7, 2009, I began a fun journey as the Eagan Daily Photo blogger among the hundreds of other City Daily Photo bloggers around the world. Thank you everyone for your support, humor, comments, suggestions and photographic ideas. It's amazing to communicate with many friends, family and new CDP blogger friends in Berlin, Jaipur, Aurora, Drammen, Barcelona, St. Paul, Tallahassee, Athens, Roskilde, San Francisco, Mainz, Haninge, Paris, Verona, Monte Carlo, New York City, London, Manila, Lisbon, Rome , Moscow, Stuttgart, Melbourne, Bangalore, Belgrade, Stavanger, Jeddah, Livorno, Jerusalem, Montpelier and several other places! I posted every single day without missing a day.

Here are some of my blog statistics after one year:

3 blog awards

124 foreign visitor flags

163 followers

371 total postings in 1 year

2,860 = most visits in a month > January 2010

25,875 total visits

My family and I celebrated with a chocolate, rasberry, chocolate chip ice cream pie!

59th Annual National Day of Prayer

From 6:30 to 7:00 this morning, nearly 20 people gathered at Woodcrest Church in Eagan to observe the 2010 National Day of Prayer. Pastor Jerry Schommer and Pastor Pete Parker led the prayer gathering in the prayer room of their church. This year's national theme is "Prayer - for such a time as this."

www.NationalDayofPrayer.org

Scoops for Troops

On Sunday afternoon, after the "Tribute to the Troops 5K Run," throngs of people met at Ring Mountain Creamery for ice cream scooped up by local celebrities: an Olympic medalist, Vikings Cheerleaders, a University of Minnesota mascot and others. Live bands played and another successful event happened to support our troops and their local families!

www.scoopsfortroops.net

Tent practice

During a girl scout meeting, 19 girls gathered to learn or review how to pitch a camping tent. Summer camping is approaching!

Tribute to the Troops 5K

The second annual "Tribute to the Troops 5K Run" took place on Sunday afternoon at the Lexington/Difley fields in Eagan. Over 150 runners/walkers participated in the event to raise awareness, fellowship and funds to support the troops and their local families.

Before the race, the Pizzazzjazz Band played; clowns entertained; people laughed and cried; a Color Guard presented the Colors and a short program was presented.

The race began after 12:00 PM and the top 2 runners both crossed the 5K finish line under 18 minutes! A great day was enjoyed by all!

www.tributetothetroops.org