I bet you didn't know...

... US dollar bills can be ground up and made into a table top!!! We have one in a conference room at work and almost everytime I'm in a meeting I find myself staring at it. I've liked trivia and facts about US money for a long-time, and this one is very unique.

You can see all the bits of a dollar bill in this pic:

University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Hedge Maze

What kind of person, young or old, wouldn't like to run a hedge maze?! A crazy person that's who... ok, maybe someone using a walker too... or afraid of bushes... or little kids running around them. Anyways, the arboretum has a really well done maze, which I'd like to highlight here. The pics below should help, but don't take my word for it - check it out for yourself, Sucka!

The late afternoon sun provided a great backdrop to the hedge maze, and right away you have to choose left or right? I don't know which one!!!

At many of the dead-ends / turn-arounds, the creators placed these clever signs, with different slogans of encouragement. While I suspect they work well on children, they had the same effect on me

The end of the maze is a nice, two story lookout over the entire site. It was a great place for a triumphant end, and well used by all participants. The colored walls in the pic can be opened or closed to provide a different maze depending on the ones chosen 

University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Sculptures

It was clear that a relatively new feature of the arboretum was the addiiton of dozens of sculptures and art pieces by amazing artists. They have created something of an exhibit of its own for these items, but they're basically incorporated in the rolling hills of the park itself. It was very cool to come across this kind of art in the wide open spaces of an arboretum and we really enjoyed it. It's like an open air museum you can intereact with in very unique ways (but no climbing on the artwork!).

Here are some of the best pics, imho:

This was about 20' high, multiple sided, had a native American feel to it, but was made by an Italian artist... which comes out in some of the masks on the piece

Rusted steel pinwheels

A Mondrain feel to it, no? The pop of color was great against the natural landscape

This is the artist for the next piece... we could have stared at it for hours as it kept moving... just with the wind or balance of the piece, we guessed

All stainless steel, using simple rectangle shapes

I mean, we could have watched it for hours

At first glance this looked like a lollipop. But it had so much more to offer. The texture of the piece was very interesting (ground stone work) and if you used the "window" to frame a picture of the landcape, it was even better

You can see the texture of the material close-up

And here it frames a great late afternoon sky

Another piece by the same artist, with more great texture and visual interest

I don't think you could miss the sculpture garden here... but make sure you don't.

University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Intro & Landscape

 

This past weekend I was invited out to the Twin Cities' western suburbs, Chanhassen to be exact, to check out the University of Minnesota's Landscape Arboretum. Now, being a man of the world, I have been to arboretums before, namely one of the world's best, the Chicago Botanic Gardens located in Glencoe, IL. So, I'm no slouch when it comes to looking at trees and I know a good arboretum when I see one.

Let me tell you, this UofM version is nothing to sneeze at. They have all kinds of neat stuff, for people of all ages, including: main building/learning center with restaurant, wedding accommodations (at least two were underway the day we went), live turkeys (that's no joke, Turkey!), 3 mile car-route, pedestrian walkways galore, hedge maze, kids stuff and even a seemingly recent addition of sculptures/artworks incorporated into the grounds.

Here's a look at some of the better landscape shots I snapped:

Really wonderful rolling hills and pathways are main features of the grounds

Lots of movement and sounds from the water features on the property too

This is a great shot framed by artwork on the grounds... which I will showcase in a subsequent post

Now you maybe thinking, "What about the trees?!" Don't be alarmed, they have tons of those too... and flowers as well. It's all well-marked and labeled to your hearts content. You could learn a lot about the natural world at this place, no problemo.

Don't forget to come back for two more posts on the arboretum too.

Excelsior Brewing Company, Excelsior, MN

Like the brewery tour of the Northeast neighborhood here, Excelsior Brewing has a very popular tasting room at their beerworks. It's modest, but full of kitsch, merchandise, and most importantly, beer.

The beers were excellent and the staff very friendly. Though we only had time for a quick pint and to grab a couple growlers, I could easily staying longer or making it a long day for a beer event.

 (L) A brew they call "NuNMorblak", great for fall. (R) some hoppy, bitter IPS thing... I don't like them, can you tell?

Reasonable prices for local brews

Paul Bunyan's 6-pack...er, case

If you love the city of Chicago, like I do...

... you have to listen to this radio taping.

Goto: http://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=27695211&refid=asa

Von Hanson's Meats, Bloomington, MN

There really aren't many butcher shops anymore, at least that I notice. I know a few in MN and one happens to be near my office, Von Hanson's Meats. Going into this place (located in a gas station) reminds me of childhood trips to Schmeiser's Butcher Shop in IL, though without the Alpine cowbells hanging above the counter.

Von Hanson's has some differences too, mostly because it's in MN. For one, they have a whole menu board of meat packages. Pick your favorite, like "Trim & Lean", "Any Day Grill", or "The Hundred Pounder", and buy a package. Also, at least two of their locations will process your hunted game, make an appointment during deer season though. They put this expertise to use with a large offering of game sausages  too. Finally, they have some of the best jerky I've ever eaten. I picked turkey jerky, but get what you like...I don't think you'll be disappointed.