Micro.blog just added a new feature to comment directly on a blog post on a hosted blog, instead of having to do it in the timeline on micro.blog. This also allows you to authenticate a comment using Mastadon or Blue Sky, in addition to micro.blog itself. Easier commenting now available!

While we were at Theodore Wirth we also stopped by the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary and walked through the loop. It was really pretty. We’ll be back for sure.

Two white trillium flowers bloom amid ferns and leafy woodland undergrowth on a forest floor covered in dry leaves.Dense woodland floor blanketed in heart-shaped green leaves with small white wildflowers, tall trees visible in the background.Family of four smiling at the entrance gate to Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden under a pergola reading Let Nature Be Your Teacher

We visited the Quaking Bog at Theodore Wirth today. We’d never been there and I was lucky enough to have wore my Chaco sandals. If you go, be prepared for your feet to get wet. It is a cool spot.y

Girl in blue romper standing barefoot on a wooden boardwalk trail through a sunny green forest bog, with three others visible behind her.Wooden plank boardwalk crosses a small stream through a lush green forest with tall thin trees

With just one final left next week Mazie is wrapping up her Freshman year at St. Olaf. She did an amazing job in her classes and made a ton of new friends. We packed up her dorm room and moved her stuff home today. It is great to have her back home for the summer.

Young woman in a pink shirt and white shorts poses hands-on-hips, leaps in the air, then flexes in front of a stone college buildingYoung woman in a pink shirt and white shorts posing and leaning against the Hoyme Hall sign at St. Olaf College

Tyler and I went to see the Minnesota Orchestra Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Concert tonight. Having never been to something like this we weren’t sure what to expect and were instantly blown away. What a fabulous experience!

Minnesota Orchestra performing Star Wars The Last Jedi in Concert at a packed concert hall with a large welcome screen on stage.

Happy Vyshyvanka Day!

We have celebrated Vyshyvanka Day in our Kyiv office for years now, but this year we also decided to take part in Vyshyvanka Day in Minneapolis as well. Alexander Ivakhnenko and Valentin Kornukh led the event with delicious Ukrainian snacks and treats including: Pierogi (including Potato, Meat, and Cherry), Modovik cake, Kyiv cake, Napoleon Cake, and Kvas to drink. We also had a Ukrainian trivia challenge to learn more about different aspects of Ukraine. It was a great time! 🇺🇦

Four men wearing white Ukrainian vyshyvanka embroidered shirts pose together smiling in an office kitchen with red accents. Trays of pierogi and Ukrainian cakes including Medovik and Kyiv cake on a red counter with sour cream and caramelized onion dips Large group of coworkers posing together in a modern office cafeteria, several wearing traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka embroidered shirts, food on table in foreground. Paper plate holding three Ukrainian cake slices including Napoleon cake with powdered sugar, layered Medovik, and chocolate Kyiv cake, with fresh strawberries Large bottle of Ukrainian Monastyrsky white kvas on a red counter beside partly eaten cakes and trays of food, with people serving themselves in the background.

First soccer game for Summer 2024 season! Go Cobras! 🐍

Youth soccer game in progress on a bright green grass field, players in red and purple jerseys running toward the ball under a blue sky.

First Dairy Queen bike ride of the year! 🍦

Family of four holding DQ Blizzards and ice cream cones outside a Dairy Queen on a sunny day

Seeing Purple Lilacs in bloom always reminds me of my Grandma Rose. They were her favorite. They smell lovely too. 💜

Long hedge of blooming purple lilac shrubs stretching into the distance along a mowed grass path under a clear blue sky. Clusters of light purple lilac blossoms in full bloom on a large shrub in a sunny garden with green grass nearby.