Yesterdays photo walk was a challenge for my aches and pains as well as subject matter. The good news (for me) was that it was relatively pain free and I think I have some interesting photos... let me know.First of all I stopped over the zoo pond and looked down at last years leaves drifting around. Unbeknownst to me the camera was set to movie mode so I hope you enjoy this 4 second video. 😎Here are some other shots from yesterday.I like this one because of the "layers" involved with the leaves on top of the water, the water, and the stuff on the bottom of the pond.And then there were these love birds on the bridge over the river. You can see the love the female has for here mate just in the way she is looking at him.This final picture was something that provoked the question of why.The... 05/03/2022

Nina Hollander, Broker posts about it every year as do many other bloggers and it always makes my mouth water. Now it's finally Minot's turn to have a restaurant week.I may try all eight listed above just to see how they stack up to my two current favorites which are:A special note about my featured picture at the top of the post.I once did a 15 minute radio interview with Christine Daily who started Magic City Hoagies a few years back. Christine is a joy to visit with. In the interview she said she and her husband moved here to get away from the heat of FL. She has been a FANTASTIC supporter of Minot. Last year she opened a new place next door to my office that serves great ice-cream.  Business has been great and just this week she has announced that she is adding to that shop Magic Ci... 04/30/2022

First of all you may be asking "Why would you be driving in a blizzard?". It was Easter Sunday. We just received 36" of snow with a reprieve on Saturday (no snow) and round two had just started. In the end the official snowfall total by Sunday afternoon was 48".With many of the responses to earlier posts on my blog activerain.com I realized that a lot of people have never driven on snow much less have drove during a blizzard. Here is a little snippet of what it is like. This video is from my dashcam while driving West on Business loop 52 (the main E to W arterial) and then North on Hwy 83. Hwy 83  is also known as Broadway and is the largest/busiest street in Minot. The section this is filmed in is 4 lanes with an additional  middle lane so in effect there is supposed to be 5 lanes of t... 04/19/2022

Mothers Day is coming up May 8th this year. Why not get Mom a book or art work from a local artist. May I suggest stopping by The Titus & Philemon art gallery at 201 Main Street South, Suite 100 (just inside the front door) Downtown Minot North Dakota.Timmothy's books will give mom 50 pages of laughs... and who doesn't want to hear Mom laugh?    04/18/2022

While waiting for The Dollar Tree to open we noticed this  little robin sitting on the parking lot looking as to say "what am I to do? We have seen many spring/summer birds over the past month and they have been building nests to start thier families. BAM! 32" of snow in a record setting spring storm and now we are being told to expect 5" to 8" of snow on Easter Sunday (tomorrow). Like the little robin, many of us are saying "What am I to do?". 04/16/2022

Grace Lutheran Church will joyfully recall the victory of Jesus' resurrection with our Easter Sunday service at 10am on Sunday, April 17th.  (We will also have our annual Easter brunch and egg hunt after our Easter Sunday service.  If you're able to stay, consider bringing a brunch dish to share!)There is no better time during the church year to invite friends and family to church, so consider who in your life needs the good news of Jesus, and invite them to come celebrate this "holy week holiday" with us! 04/07/2022

Last week, Mar. 22, 2022 Zoya, an endangered Amur Tiger at the Roosevelt Park Zoo  gave birth to three cubs over the weekend.The zoo said Zoya began giving birth early Saturday morning, with the first cub arriving shortly before 6:30 a.m., and the last shortly after 10:30 a.m.The zoo said Zoya is taking good care of the cubs, and they will leave her to care for them for a few weeks before the zoo’s vets perform physicals and provide vaccinations. After that, the zoo said they will reintroduce Zoya to the cubs.I literally see Zoya and the male tiger every day as I live less than 1,000 feet away from their zoo enclosure. It's really fun to see them and I'm sure I could easily did up a dozen pictures I have taken of them just in the last year.  04/05/2022

From inside The Titus & Philemon Art Gallery, an artist/cartoonists' perspective of sleep and drink. These are two recent strips from the Minot Daily News and more importantly they are creations from the mind of Timmothy Nathaniel Timm. I had a little trouble with the lighting (and holding on to the material) but I'm sure you will enjoy the antics of Titus and Philemon in these two strips. 03/31/2022

I have no desire to cover all the things going on in Minot the first two days of April (Friday and Saturday) 2022 but there are a couple of things I may take in myself. My 2nd podcast of the year, and week, will fill you in. One involves the arts and the other sports even though sports is not my thing I may be up to this one.I just realized I put up the Sabre Dogs logo BUT this is a MSU Beavers game. The good news is that the Sabre Dogs will be back for another season... just a little later. 03/29/2022

I appreciate (and am thankful for) the suggestion to keep our on line signature fresh. It makes sense. My "re-fresh" appears above.My old signature (below) was informative and straight to the point BUT it lacked any color at all. Not that anyone wants to see my picture but at least they know what to expect when they come in and won't scream the first time they meet me. The added map of the downtown business area lets them know exactly where to find me in relationship to familiar landmarks. I am hoping the added color draws them to the signature. Below is my bland, yet informative, old signature.The suggestion to refresh our signature comes from Craig Daniels in the form of the Active Rain challenge Refresh Your Blog Signature - March 2022 Challenge 03/24/2022

I posted earlier this week, Tuesday, that the Boys of Summer were returning on Wednesday to Historic Corbett Field in Minot and then a day later I noticed a single goose fly by as I stood in my front yard.It's not uncommon for geese to stick around all winter but that was not the case this past winter so the lone goose I saw yesterday caught my attention. Since then I've seen quite a few and this pair was just outside my yard on the other side of the alley.Those of you who have been reading my posts for years know one of my favorite  questions: You now that geese fly in a V formation, why is it that one side of the V is longer than the other?Answer: Because there are more geese on that side. 03/18/2022

There is still plenty of snow on the ground BUT thanks to artificial turf and a dedicated snow removal team The Boys of Summer will be returning to Corbett Field in Minot tomorrow, March 16th, for the first time in 2022.This will just be a Minot State University (Beavers) practice but for all the baseball junkies in the community it will be a celebration of the new season.Living across the street from Corbett Field I am looking forward to seeing this scene once again.While the thought of a crowd right across the street from your house, the cheers, the crack of a bat, and crowded street parking, I love it! It means Winter has been banished.Sure, Old Man Winter won't give up easily but for the next 7 months or so I am going to enjoy the company of The Boys of Summer. 03/15/2022

Today Timmothy suggested we do a photo walk through the Woodland Trail, a walk we take frequently in the Summer and Fall of the year. This was our first Winter walk through the Woodland Trail. The biggest difference of course is while it is the same wooded area there is/was no leaves to be found and the lack of those leaves reveled what seemed to be an endless woods to actually be a fairly small area. It was a wonderful walk but one thing did bother me as we walked along... dog owners who failed to clean up after their pets. Our parks are clearly marked that pet owners must clean up after their pets and every park is well equipped with stations that provide bags and waste disposal. There is no excuse for this kind of laziness. 02/27/2022

My morning started out great and it stayed that way all long despite at $350.00 trip to the mechanic to get my starter replaced on the Yukon. The price was good and I knew it was coming so it didn't dampen my spirits a bit. Next stop The Ground Round.An excellent choice for our Valentines Day dinner.We had a great meal and the price was very reasonable as well. It got me thinking... how big of a chain is Ground Round? I was surprised to see that it once was a chain of over 200 and now it's 14 restaurants. I'm glad Minot still has one. 02/15/2022

The Shrine Circus is Coming to TownIt's been announced that the Northwest Shrine Circus is set to show May 5 - 7th in Minot ND for 2022.The circus is always a big thing in Minot North Dakota due in large part to Minot's own Dizzy the Clown. Pictured above is Minot's own Dizzy the Clown. Dizzy is one of the most famous clowns alive today... really, Google him. Here is just a little bit of what you will find: From World Renowned Dizzy the Clown   "Professional entertainer for over 16 years Awarded “All Around Clown” & 1st Place in Skit Competition at World Clown Convention 2014 Children’s minister for over 20 years Face-Painter & Balloon Artist for Royal Caribbean cruise lines Over 1,000 performances Provides weekly “Humor Therapy” at a Hospital & Cancer Center Seen daily on television’s ... 02/10/2022

Today was warm enough for a photo walk so Timmothy and I decided to hit the alleys of downtown Minot ND. Here is my best.Timmothy and I enjoyed our little walk today. Total it was about eight blocks long through the downtown area. Being our office is downtown we are quite familiar with the area although we usually view it from the street side.  02/06/2022

One of our favorite guest artists at the Titus & Philemon Art Gallery is Len Haabak. Len's painting are often mistaken for photographs. He is also our Best Selling Guest Artist.These are prints we have currently in our gallery. Len aso does custom work. His contact information is:  01/27/2022

The Sertoma Christmas in the Park is their best show yet. I am not sure when the tradition of light displays through Oak Park in Minot North Dakota started but I know it was well before I moved here twenty years ago. Over the years it has been pretty static as who (what businesses) participated in it with the exception of a good boost during the "oil boom" years.HOWEVER this year it's seemed to have boomed once again. The little clip below is from my dash-cam and is of low quality but it gives you a little idea of all the action going on this year. There are 58 businesses involved this year.The show goes on through January 1st 2022. 12/24/2021

This is very last minute and there is NO WAY a purchase today is going to be shipped before Christmas but Timmothy Timm and The Titus & Philemon Art Gallery is having it's first ever 11" X 17" Originals art sale. Original 11" X 17" Titus and Philemon art work will be sold at half price ($50.00) from now until Christmas Eve.50% OFF Timmothy Timm's TITUS & PHILEMON 11" by 17" hand drawn original panels. Can you imagine what a similar drawing of Charles Schultz's PEANUTS or Jim Davis's GARFIELD would be worth today? Timmothy Timm's comic strip has been running for over a year in the Minot Daily News and is poised to take off just like Schultz's and Davis's comics did years ago. It's not hard to imagine today's purchase being worth thousands of dollars later on in Timmothy Timm's career whe... 12/17/2021

We have been very lucky this Fall of 2021 that this is our first real snowfall of the season. We were predicted to get 5" to 8" of snow but I think this was more like 3". Because the temperature was close to freezing the snow has pretty much stayed put and not blown around.One of the members of our church drives past the Minot Air Force Base to get to worship said she only saw one Airman in the ditch on her way to worship... that's pretty good. There are times that the first snowfall will cause a dozen or more cars from the base to be in the ditch. Keep in mind that many of these Airmen/women have never even seen snow before today much less driven in it.   12/05/2021