4.3 miles
minnehaha park and back
47 degrees
wind: 13 mph / 32 mph gusts
Warm, but windy, which made it feel colder, but only sometimes. The rest of the time it felt warm. Warm enough for bare arms. My left knee was a bit stiff and sore. Maybe I should take a break from running tomorrow.
overheard as I ran near Minnehaha Academy: a whistle blowing, then an adult voice — Okay fourth graders! I guess recess is over.
10 Things
- at least 2 runners were wearing shorts
- all of the walkers were bundled up in coats and hats and long pants
- open water!? I think the ice has fully cracked on the surface of the river, but it could just be much thinner in parts. Looking down at it, there were blobs of white, with larger stretches of pale grayish, blueish, greenish
- the falls were gushing behind thick ice columns
- voices below — an adult with several kids — were they hiking behind the falls?
- a police vehicle parked sideways in the parking lot at 44th
- the cobblestones near the falls overlook were all ice-free, but not puddle-free! squish squish squish
- more of the walking path is clear and open — a few clumps of snow, wet and shiny pavement, grit
- an old pick-up truck was parked under the ford bridge, up on the sidewalk across the road from the trail — was it hiding — if so, why and from whom?
- the walking half of the double bridge was covered in slushy snow, the bike half was mostly clear with a deep puddle in the middle
I decided that I would listen to music for the second half of my run. Because it was windy, I put on my “It’s Windy” playlist. The first song: Sailing / Christopher Cross The last song was the sound of birds chirping. Huh? Oh — checked the title of the track: “Breeze (forest)”
Get Out Ice
When FWA got home from his errand this morning, he told me that all of the Stop signs in the neighborhood have a stenciled “ICE” under the “STOP” in a matching font. Of course I had to check and take a picture!

I’m not sure how long these signs have been this way. I hadn’t noticed, but I don’t drive, so I rarely see the stop signs. I wondered how long it took someone/someones to do this? I hope the city leaves them alone.
Love
I finished my love poems. I decided to call it, We Love, We Love, We Love, We Love. I posted it on instagram, facebook, and as the home page of my author site: sarapuotinen.com