Mar 10 (70/365) Blizzard!!!

Well, it's storming in Fargo again! We are shoulder deep in snow and it's still snowing! Everything is closed down around here now. The interstate, schools, businesses and even the postal service are all closed for the day due to the weather. You can see here how hard the snow is blowing!




This photo shows how hard the snow is blowing! The screen door got slid open somehow this past week. I still don't know how - it seems 'not me' did it! LOL Anyway, the wind is blowing so hard it has actually tucked the snow inside the screen and patio door!




This is what it looks like when I open my front door! The snow has built up against the door. See the lines in the snow from the molding on the door? The photo looks a little blurry, it's not. That is the snow blowing INTO the house!!






Here you go, this photo is taken of the townhouses just across the road from us!! Now that's a lot of snow!

Mar 9 (69/365) Carnation

This carnation caught my eye today. My oldest son gave me a beautiful boquet of royal purple carnations for Valentines Day. This is them going strong! They are still just gorgeous. Such a cheerful ray of color on such a drab, gray day.

Mar 8 (68/356) Farmland

We are expecting a huge snow storm later this week. The snow was finally starting to leave! One thing that still amazes me in this area is how much land is used for farms. This corn field is between where I live and where I work! There are little plots like this all around. Slowly though, they are being eaten up by the city.

Mar 7 (67/365) Fargo Force Fight

Well, it seems it's true. Hockey players ARE a rough lot and love to fight! It also seems it's true that as long as the fight is fair and no one falls to the ice, the refs will let it continue.

Off went the gloves and the sticks went flying. Team mates stood just out of range, ready to step in if needed.

Many in the stand yelled and egged it on as Fargo Force, Tom McCarthy and Chicago Steel, Brett Beebe threw down on the ice.

This fight was brief and not a lot of action, and ended with Beebe hitting his head on the ice. Once down, McCarthy (Force) quickly backed off. We could see Beebe (Chicago) moving his hands as he talked to the ref from the ice so all knew he was still conscious.

The paramedics were quick to respond. Beebe must have laid out there a good 12 minutes before they got him up on the gurney and wrapped him in layers of blankets.


They safely took Beebe out of the rink and the game resumed. Later we learned that Beebe was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons and that he was fine. There were not any more fights after this and the Fargo Force went on to win the game 8-1. I can't wait to go to the next game! We had to leave early as we took Skyler and a couple of his friends and he doesn't do well when he has to stay up very much past his bedtime. It just messes with him. Sometimes being a responsible parent is a pain! LOL That was a great game and I really wanted to stay. Next time, and there will be a next time, I'm staying til the very end! :)

Mar 6 (66/365) Fargo Force Hockey Team

I went to my first hockey game and just LOVED it!!! This is the first goal of the night! Score! 1-0.

The Fargo Force, our brand new hockey team, did a great job! The game was full of action and really cleaned up. Final score was 8-1, taking the Force into a tie for second. I don't know much about hockey, but I'm going to learn and I plan to get to as many games as I can. Hockey is way more fun to watch than football or basketball lol There was a lot of falling, a lot of body slamming, one out right fist fight, and a whole lot of action!
Here you can actually see the spray of ice as they fight over the puck. That puck goes slamming off the wall and across the rink and these guys follow it! I can barely see it and I'm sitting up in a suite! It's very impressive that they can keep track of that tiny thing! The Force played the Chicago Steel team.

Mar 5 (65/365) Bikes

The trouble with the large chain stores is that they all run on the same schedule and we all don't. When corporate WalMart says put out the bikes and get ready for spring, the little stores have to follow. So out came the spring clothes and away wen the sweaters. At our WalMart you will find pretty little swimsuits and sandals starting to fill the shelves. The bikes all come out and are put outside in anticipation of warmer weather. However, Mother Nature has other ideas in mind! It's is still very much winter here, but not according to the WalMart (and other chains) shelves!!

Mar 4 (64/365) Moose

We have several sporting good stores in town. I posted a photo of Scheels last week. We also have a Sportsmans Warehouse. There are two large sculptures out front. One is an moose and the other a bison. This one always makes me do a double take. It looks very realistic from across the parking lot, like it is going to take a step and walk away. The store is located just west of Walmart & Sams Club.

Mar 3 (63/365) Pine Cones

I don't know why, it is a little odd, but I love the look of pine cones! All kinds of pine cones. I also like the green trees against the blue sky, so this photo just begged to be taken.

There is a small family of turkeys that wander free near my house. I've gone out several times to look for them, but I only ever see them when I don't have my camera on me. Today was no different. I'm going to keep trying though.

Mar 2 (62/365) Bird

Winter still seems to have a good hold on us here in Fargo. It always amazes me that we have such an abundance of small wildlife when our winter temps frequently hit below zero for days at a time!

These little guys are so small, I always marvel at them and how they make it through the long, cold season.

Mar 1 (61/365) Scheels

I know while we watched them building this massive space, we were all very impressed with it's size!! It is HUGE! The front of the building has two beautiful pieces built into the brick. I'll include a better photo of the one side. One day I'll get back over and take more time to capture them better as they are exquisite in detail. This is a Scheels store.

Inside the glass over the door you see a sailboat. What you don't see is just inside there is a ferris wheel! LOL Yep, inside those doors is a carnival ride. The building looks massive, but the store space is quite tiny in comparison. They also have a candy shop in there. The kids like the escalator lol I understand when they built it, it was the largest Scheels store. I think the built another in Wisconsin last year though and it's bigger. I'm not sure.


I just love my Nikon! I am shooting this from clear out on the road! I cropped this from the original photos so you could see it better! So, not only were we driving by it at the time, on a cloudy day, we are almost a block away from the building!

Impressive :)

29 (60/365) West Fargo

Once upon a time, West Fargo, ND and Fargo, ND were two completely different cities. Not anymore. The only way to tell when you leave Fargo and enter West Fargo is this little sign.

If you haven't been to Fargo in the last five or six years, you probably won't recognize it! A very well known phrase around her is that we have three seasons alright; flooding, construction and winter! Even with the economy like it is, Fargo/ West Fargo and the surrounding area are still building and growing. I think it has a lot to do with the people here. It is a very conservative area.

Feb 28 (59/365) The Shrew

You asked for it! LOL This is the little shrew making tunnels in my yard. I've only seen him one other time before. I was sitting at the table talking with my mom when something caught my eye out the window. I had to shoot through the sliding glass door and screen to get him, so it's a terrible photo! He is VERY fast. I'll try to get better photos another day. He is super skittish.

He has several more holes/tunnels in the snow and is much more active lately. I might be able to get a better photo.

Feb 27 (58/356) Ristreto Coffee & Tea (Beer, Wine, & Sandwiches too!)

If you are ever in Fargo, you've just GOT to stop here! Ristreto Coffee & Tea is an amazing little shop! I discovered this place shortly after it opened several years ago.

I found the owner, Jerry Stromberg, to be a very warm and charming host. He takes the time to know his patrons and make each and every one feel welcome.

I introduced my husband to the place. These are our cups here, see how Jerry took the time to write my name on mine so we didn't mix them up?! Notice, he even learned how to spell my name correctly!
Now that's personal service!

I didn't drink much coffee when I started going there. I was looking for a small space for a few of my friends to sit and scrapbook a couple of times a month. Jerry welcomed us without hesitation!

Jerry took the time to talk to me and find out what I liked and disliked, then he made me a latte. I didn't know what I wanted! He did though. He made a delicious, hot, smooth and delightful mint-raspberry-white chocolate latte. Yumm!!! Fabulous. Fantastic. Delicious.

All these years later and it is still my favorite! My oldest daughter and I went in there today. She is not a coffee drinker. She told Jerry she was in the mood for coconut. He made her a blended drink that tasted a lot like a mounds candy bar and she absolutely loved it!

As if all of that wasn't enough, you should see what else he offers! As you can see by the last photo, he encourages local artists to display their work in his shop! Not all of it is in my taste, but all of it is interesting and he welcomes them. I've seen some very creative pieces there.

Recently he added beer and root beer on tap and some wonderful wines. He also has an amazing lunch selection!

So, why am I posting all of this for a Friday post? One of my favorite things to do on a Friday is for my husband and I to sneak away to Ristreto's and have a coffee and one of his amazing panini sandwiches hot off the grill!!! (I don't know who to give credit to for this gorgeous piece, I'll find out though and add it here)

The next time you're in the Fargo area, be sure to visit Ristreto's! He offers coffee, lattes, mochas, beer, wine, hot home made soup and sandwiches, cookies, sweet rolls and more! So worth a visit and let him know Tammey sent you! ;) He has the best coffee in Fargo!

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Feb 26 (57/365) - Fire Hydrant... I think

What is wrong with this picture? Although it isn't an exciting photo and everything tips in a different direction, I just had to stop and take it! That is a buried fire hydrant you see there!

Do you see it? The bright red top is just peeking out of the snow, right next to the pole with a pic of a hydrant on it. I realize we've had a lot of snow this year, but really lol isn't there some city job for digging out the fire hydrants! Fire hydrants are a bit important in my opinion. This one is right by my house and in front of a little mall.

Now that's a lot of snow!

Feb 25 (56/365) Runaway Ralph?

I live on a huge expanse of prairie, which is why this makes such great farm land. What do you get with a whole lot of prairie? Critters.

I noticed coming in after work tonight that we had tiny little paw prints in the snow and a hole right under the house. You can see they've been busy little things. I did notice a shrew under the patio last summer, I'm thinking that is what left these tracks. He/she goes out across the yard (do you see the tiny little prints heading out to the tree?). I followed the tracks right up to the tree and as you can see, the tree is in the middle of my yard! I thought that was odd. When I got closer I could see that he'd dug a hole in the snow; he burrowed right in there just like he does in the dirt! From plowing the road and driveway there is a pretty good mound of snow just to the left of that little tree and that is exactly where I found another hole! He has his own little playground out there in my yard.

Fargo fact for today: even when you can't see them, they are playing Disneyland in your yard!