It would be safe to say that the birds have enjoyed more of our blackberries than our family this year. I must make a point of visiting the backyard more frequently to harvest these tasty little treats. Jeanine planted these bushes several years ago and they have been quite productive, evidenced by the number of happy birds in our neighborhood. My initial post incorrectly identified these as raspberries. Jeanine pointed out the error immediately.
Our boys have followed in the footsteps of their mother who enjoys socializing with friends while sharing food. This summer our kitchen has hosted dozens of meals prepared by one son or the other for their friends. We enjoy having them over and I am thrilled that our boys have turned into admirable cooks who share this gift with Jeanine.
Having been on vacation for a week, my first day back in the office was a busy one. Before I could blink twice the day was over and I was on my way home. Absent a picture for the day, I decided to explore the garden to see what I could find. This tiny moth was a cooperative subject as I moved in very close for this shot. I am already missing Maya who was dropped off at her summer camp in Vermont this weekend by her Aunt Susan. This is her third year at the Farm and Wilderness Camp which she has come to love.
The fastest human footspeed on record is 27.79 mph, seen during a 100-meter sprint (average speed between the 60th and the 80th meter) by Usain Bolt. During last week’s Schwan’s Soccer Tournament, Nicolai entered the speed tunnel to measure his sprint speed. He insists that his 24 mph speed reading was not properly calibrated and while he may be right, he was only 1 mph slower than the fastest able-bodied runners using the same measuring system. He may not be able to sustain his speed over great distances but he can certainly close a short gap as fast as most of his peers.
This photograph cost me $42 and was worth every penny. It was taken yesterday in downtown Minneapolis and is one of my favorites from the entire vacation. Nico had the idea to do the handstand on the fish shaped bike rack. I decided on the low angle, flash lit composition with the open sky and power plant towers in the background. The fee was the result of a parking ticket which I earned while preoccupied with photography.
Our last day in Minneapolis was spent touring the campuses of Macalester College and the University of Minnesota. The former is likely too small and the later most definitely too large for Nico. Maya tagged along and seemed very interested in the whole process. Carleton appears to be a serious possibility in Nico’s mind so our college visits and interviews were not without a positive outcome. With a few hours to kill before our flight we enjoyed a superb lunch at a cheese shop just off campus (Jeanine would have loved this place and despite initial resistance from the kids both admitted that I had made a good dining choice – not something I have a great aptitude for). Later we visited the Stone Arch Bridge which offers great views of the city and I took time for photography while Nico and Maya hiked one of the river trails. Positioned between the 3rd Avenue Bridge and the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, the Stone Arch Bridge was built in 1883 by railroad tycoon James J. Hill for his Great Northern Railway, and accessed the former passenger station located about a mile to the west, on the west bank of the river. The structure is now used as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
Nicolai bid his fellow teammates farewell after wrapping up their final clinic by mid afternoon. We spent the remainder of the day with the Calabrias. I helped Mark reconfigure his home theater wiring and installed a new AV Receiver. The new system was up and running in time to catch local news coverage of the amputee soccer clinics and the US National Team which is embedded below.
A second day of demonstrations and a clinic was covered by the local media today. The team gave several interviews and Nico was one of the featured players. Free clinics are offered to amputees who would like to learn how to play soccer. They are open to able bodied participants who would like to appreciate the challenges of competing on crutches. Kicking and dribbling skills are covered and participants also have an opportunity to play against members of the US National team. The event was a great success and hopefully the media coverage will lead to additional financial contributions to the AASA (American Amputee Soccer Association). Mark, Marie, Sophia, Rose and Rory arrived late in the afternoon to observe the tail end of the clinic, join us for dinner, and attend the NASL Minnesota Stars soccer match at the NSC Stadium. During halftime the US National Amputee Soccer team had an exhibition match against a local able bodied team (they were only allowed to play the ball with one leg). Nicolai was the first to score with a shot that careened through the legs of the keeper. The opponents responded with a nice goal of their own. With seconds remaining in the 12 minute match, Nico recognized that the goalie was far off his line and launched a full field shot that went over his head and secured the 2-1 win for team USA. Maya who was with us for the entire day was extremely helpful as the team videographer and the footage she captured will no doubt be used in the videos we are producing for the team.
My nephew Rory is a rising tennis star in Minnesota. With his long and powerful body he is an intimidating presence on the court. He plays with a great deal of intensity and hustle which only adds to the threat. Maya, Nico and I attended the last portion of a three hour training session and got to see him play in person for the first time. The mid ninety temperatures did not seem to diminish the level of play. Click on the photos for a higher resolution image.
In addition to visiting with family and working in a couple of college visits, Nico is here to represent the USA National Amputee Soccer team at the Schwan’s USA Cup. Billed as the greatest international youth soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere, the week long event attracts more than 900 teams and 14,000 athletes from 22 countries to the National Sports Center, certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest soccer complex on earth. The team conducted demonstrations throughout the afternoon playing against able bodied players many of whom attempted to play using forearm crutches. There is no better way to introduce and build support for the sport of amputee soccer than inclusive events such as this. The evening featured an Olympic style opening ceremony with athletes entering the stadium by team and being treated to a fireworks display and live concert. The USA National Amputee Soccer team (only half the team was able to afford the travel and time off to attend) and coach were the last to enter before the Minnesota Stars (the state’s North American Soccer League team). They received a standing ovation from the estimated crowd of 30,000.
While in Minnesota, Nicolai is scheduled to make two college tours. Today we made the one hour drive to Northfield where Carleton College is located. After the info session and tour, Nico had his first college interview which he felt went extremely well. Carleton is a small undergraduate only school of 2000 students with a 9:1 ratio to teachers located on a 1000 acre campus surrounded by farmland. I would describe the defining characteristics as diversity, true liberal arts orientation, and intimacy (despite the size of the campus compared to the student body). The focus is centered on languages, the media arts, chemistry, and mathematics. We returned to the Calabria clan by 6pm and enjoyed a diner out where I captured my nieces being themselves.
Nicolai, Maya and I started our day at 4:15am as we departed for the airport and our flight to Minneapolis. Upon arrival, shortly before noon, we made our way the Minnehaha Park which drew my interest because of the 53 foot high water falls. The 193 acre park is just 5 minutes from the airport and well worth the visit if not for the falls then for the ambiance which on this day included native American dancers. (I recently made some technical changes to the blog which again allow visitors to click on photos to see a larger version)
We reached the home of my brother Mark, his wife Marie and four children Mario, Rory, Sophia, and Rose by 1:30pm where we were greeted with hugs and food. It took little time for the group to agree on an outing to nearby Long Lake as an antidote to the heat wave gripping the area. A rope swing over the lake was a major source of acrobatic amusement as each cousin in turn attempted to out do the other without sustaining injury in the shallow water below.
Although the girls all tried the Tarzan rope they were more comfortable using the dock as a platform for their antics.
Maya performed as a fairy in the Concord Player’s presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the steps of the Concord Library this afternoon. She was pleased that both Kyle and Johnie stopped in to see her dance. Later we indulged in ice cream to counteract the affects of the intense midday heat and reward our earlier family work day project of cleaning out the garage.
A prettier fairy and group of fairies I have never seen.
Nicolai, Maya and I packed for our trip to Minnesota. We depart tomorrow morning at 6am and will spend the week in Minneapolis with my brother and his family. Nico will be representing the US National Amputee Soccer team at clinics and exhibitions being held throughout the week. We will also work in a couple of college visits while we are in the area.
For his birthday, Nicolai received a GoPro Hero2 video camera which just arrived today. This tiny ruggedized HD camcorder can be mounted to just about anything and is typically used to record extreme sports. He has been very interested in this bit of technology for quite some time and has been planning a number of shots he would like to create with it. Despite its diminutive size the unit is capable of producing very high quality video and I am looking forward to the results he is able to achieve.
I fail to understand what would motivate an otherwise extremely intelligent child to place paper clips through the holes in both her ears. Frequent visitors may recall that I also wondered about the wisdom of perforating perfectly good earlobes in the first place. All said, the fashion experiment did yield a request from said child to be photographed and this is always music to my unadorned ears. It goes without saying that any future notions of adding more unnecessary holes to the body of this child for the purpose of storing office supplies will be highly discouraged.