summer

Patio Nightmare

The building I live in contracted to have all the balconies painted this summer. About six weeks ago a team of guys showed up on my deck. They started moving around my patio furniture, they made themselves at home. Not a word to me. Just there. Day after day. The window in my office looks out onto my deck so there they were in front of me wandering around day after day. They were not painting my deck. They were painting the balconies above me. Everybody was told to be sure everything was removed from their balconies. Made sense. But I didn’t think that referred to me because I don’t have a balcony. 

They trashed my patio and broke my table. They propped it up and leaned it against my sliding glass door. Thank god they haven’t broken my windows…. yet. Still not a peep out of them. When I complained to the Board of the building, I was told they had sent out several notices to remove everything from all balconies. Ahhh. A sticking point. Too bad for me. I didn’t haul my furniture into my bedroom for the indefinite future in order to save it from destruction. Now I have to pay to have it removed. Icing on the cake. 

Well, the summer was ruined anyway. I haven’t been able to use my patio at all. Between the rain and the construction site, it has been pretty sad. 

I think I mentioned I found a publisher for my book so I have been spending most of my time re-writing and tweaking, and writing. I think I am mostly done with my part for now. It is time to get back to doing some art. Neglected for way too long. 

Moving on to happy thoughts…

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Eloise Butler was born on a farm in Maine in 1851. In 1874, she moved to Minneapolis to teach botany and took her students on field trips “botanizing”. In 1907, she persuaded the Minneapolis Park Board to set aside three acres for a wild botanical garden. After 36 years of teaching she retired and became the curator of the garden. In 1924, she spent $700 of her own money to expand the garden to a five acre fenced off area. The garden was re-named the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden in her honor in 1927. She died at 81 tending the garden.

A mushroom the size of a volleyball!

Berlin: Soviet War Memorial

Entrance to Memorial from Treptower Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of Berlin marked the end of World War II.  It took place April to May 1945 and claimed about 80,000 Soviet lives.  Stalin was in a hurry to take Berlin because he wanted to get to their Nuclear research facility before the Americans arrived in order to find out what the Germans had discovered.  The Soviet Nuclear program needed a boost.  Because Stalin was in such a hurry, mistakes were made and an enormous amount of Soviet lives were lost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are three memorials to the Soviet Troops in Berlin.  One is the Tiergarten Memorial near the Brandenberg Gate.  It is relatively small and compact and was built in 1945.  Another is the Schonholzer Heide in the Pankow district.  It was finished in 1949 and covers 30,000 square meters (98,500 sq ft).  The third is in the Treptower Park.  It opened in 1949 as well and was the main war memorial for East Germany.  Five thousand Soviet soldiers are buried there.

We visited on a warm summer day arriving after walking for miles and miles not knowing how far it was.  The park was lovely and the memorial was impressive, built to a grand scale.

 

 

 

Mother Russia weeping over her dead children