I am CuTRis

I saw theis Redtail yesterday near downtown St. Paul. I was walking on the Wabasha bridge across the Mississippi River.

Yesterday as I came home from work, someone in a parked car swung a door into the mirror of my car as I drove past. It was just bad luck, but at least the child who swung the rear door of the SUV open was not injured. Our vehicles, however, were damaged. It adds to the many things that have been on my mind lately. I'm contemplating a job change, as a life-changing experience is on the horizon. I've been fixing and painting things--and there just seems to be more waiting when I finish. Still, life is grand most of the time.

Here are More Pictures at Harriet Island and Raspberry Island in St. Paul. I took these pictures yesterday.

Tuesday in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area it was 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The dew point was 83 and the heat index was 119. Today it is beautiful!

With temperatures in the 90's (Fharenheit) and dew point s in the 80's, it is pretty hot here in the "Great White North." Hot in the City

Photos taken from Harriet Island .

The Minnesota budget disagreement was settled. Thank god the rich were spared from more taxes! $700 million was diverted away from K-12 education (like what happened last year when Tim Pawlenty, who was then Governor, said he "balanced" the budget) to end the government shutdown.

Minnesota Politicians... we the people of Minnesota think you suck and we want our state back. Your party (i.e. GOP vs. DFL) battles are not more important than the people.

I'm supposed to be enjoying my summer off and last week I did. I've enclosed pictures from Como Zoo and the Dragon Festival . Lately, More recently I've been working a lot... Lily Giraffe Bonsai Polar bear Dragon Festival

My wife and I went hiking at the Tamarack Nature Center on July 4th. Aside from the Deer flies , it was great!

The 4th of July!

My wife and I had to fix a rotten window frame on the garage. Of course it took way too long since we hadn't done it before, but I think our custom made frame looks good! After demolishing old frame After cutting, fitting & sealing new frame Completed!

This excersize place went out of business in 2010. Could it have been for false advertising ?

The city lakes seem to have more fish than the ones up north!

June 12, 2011 We left St. Paul at 8:30 AM. We stopped for lunch in Two Harbors , and saw a moose along the road near the Cascade River. We stopped at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais to buy minnows for bait. Then we drove 48 miles up the Gunflint Trail to Heston's Lodge where we checked into the White Pine cabin at about 3:30 PM. We went canoeing on Gunflint Lake , which is divided down the center and half is in Minnesota and half is in Canada. I think we were slightly over into Canada when the wind came up, and we had to paddle hard to get back. After dinner we went fishing off the dock. We found the same radio station we listened to last year ; 105.3FM, the Giant . June 13, 20100 At 5:00 AM we went fishing from the dock. It was 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After we stopped to make breakfast burritos, we rented a boat and motor for four hours. Besides fishing until Noon, we also stopped at “Campers Island.” Our early and busy day, caused us to nap after we got...

Duluth , Minnesota is a Traffic Nightmare. There has been construction on I-35 for about three years and it is down to a single lane with no shoulder through town. I’ve been caught in this every year lately, as I go through this otherwise interesting town. This past Saturday, Duluth hosted Grandma’s Marathon . For some reason when we came through about 1:30 PM (returning from our trip up the Gunflint Trail), Someone who is apparently an idiot had decided to close the ramps onto south I-35, and route traffic through downtown Duluth into the aftermath of the Grandma’s Marathon. There were no signs to direct us through, and half of the streets in the downtown were closed. We were stuck in traffic, being funneled deeper into the mass of traffic generated by the race. After an hour, I finally managed to find my way out and unto the single-lane of the freeway that seems to be forever under construction. So who’s “bright idea” was it to funnel all of the traffic into downtown instead of allev...

My wife and I spent the last four days up the Gunflint Trail. We're back in Grand Marais now. Watch for photos soon.

The buck bus stops here!

Yesterday the Minneapolis/St. Paul area hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit and was the hottest place in the nation!

Cutris strolled up to the microphone, tapped it, and then began to speak. "His name is 'Representative Weiner,' did he ever really have a chance? "People are now analyzing Mr. Weiner ..." Someone walked up to the podium and beckoned to Cutris . The man whispered something to Cutris . "What?" said Cutris irritatedly. "His name is Anthony??? Are you sure?" The person whispered something else to Cutris , and then sat back down. Cutris cleared his throat and continued. "Based on recent information I have no further comment." Cutris exited the stage.