Latest resident

Ever since we had seven skunks living under our shed four summers ago, I always like to know who moved in during the winter before I start frequenting our backyard. I wasn't ready for this surprise. The fox was sunning himself on the deck before I disrupted his reverie with my photo-taking. He's kind of cute, though I'm glad we don't keep chickens.

One last first for 2012

Our son skied in his first-ever Junior Alpine Ski Race today at Chester Bowl. He did quite well, posting a time of 29.51 seconds. The highlights for him: skiing with his buddy Blayn before the race and getting his fingers warm after it. The highlights for me: watching him race and thawing my toes. Today's high temperature was 8, with a "real feel" of -11.

Dose of reality

In a heated election year, it's important to have a credible source. I appreciate this organization: www.factcheck.org and the work it does!

One down, two to go

My husband live-trapped one of three raccoon bandits who have been raiding our fish pond at night.

I heard the trap's door snap close around 10 p.m. The night before we had caught a skunk, so we were anxious to see what we had captured.

His buddies tried to help him escape sometime during the night, digging two holes in the yard on either side of the trap. But they couldn't spring him free.

Tom released the varmint early this morning near Island Lake.

Remembering Grandpa Frank

Backyard marshamallow roast  2011

Our next-door neighbor, Frank Barnaby, died yesterday. He was a convenient "grandpa" to our son, who in this photo from last summer is showing him one of his characters in the Lord of the Rings Online game.

We never will forget Frank's unique method of keeping the raccoons out of our fish pond while we were on vacation or the time he inspected my husband's plumb fenceposts that were just setting in the concrete.

Halloween 2011

Most of all, we will remember him for being a warm host, a sharp card player, a wonderful storyteller, a helpful neighbor and a good friend.

We already miss you dearly.

Duluth's great flood of 2012

Chester Creek rushes over a pedestrian bridge in the park.

My family hunkered indoors Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, listening to the thunder and downpours of rain, counting seconds after lightning strikes. We continually monitored the radar, as well as news and community blog postings of the havoc and destruction the storm was wreaking. Once in a while we checked on the small trickles or streams, depending on the severity of the rainfall at the moment, running in from various points in our basement.

My son was engrossed by the images of high water rushing over rocks we had rested upon during a hike last week in Chester Park, water surrounding the Target store, cars in sinkholes, and the tales of seals and a polar bear escaping from their enclosures at the zoo. (One seal was found on Grand Avenue.) He was saddened by reports of the barnyard animals' drowning.

By 1 p.m., I put on my rain boots (Sam's are too small, again), and we headed out into our neighborhood to view the storm damage. "He's going to be telling stories about this one to his children," our mailwoman predicted, as we encountered her on the street.

We witnessed the raging brown waters of Chester Creek from atop the Ninth Street Bridge (after road workers had checked its structural integrity and reopened it). We walked along Chester Park Drive, observing from above the road washouts and mudslides that carried large trees from the upper woods, across the hiking trail and almost down to the creek. We washed the bottoms of our muddy boots and tennis shoes in the small but steady runoff coming down our alley.

Today, in honor of Duluth's great flood of 2012, my son and I read the chapter from Winnie the Pooh, "In Which Piglet is Entirely Surrounded by Water."

Congdon cougar left behind in the dust

My son ran his second 1K race, the 2012 Congdon Cougar Chase, on Saturday. This year, he not only caught the cougar, his physical education teacher disguised as the school mascot, but passed her.

Out of the crowd of kindergarten, first- and second-graders from his school, he ran quickly enough to net a blue ribbon.

He also was one of the race's top seven pledge-getters in collecting money for the school's foundation, which earned him a limousine ride to Subway and around town.