bluenewt
Damage Report

The lake ate big chunks of shoreline yesterday. The fort on Park Point survived the storm, just barely, but the huge white pine that stood next to it didn’t make it.
Where to have a bonfire in the Duluth area
If a family wanted to have an outdoor memorial service that included a bonfire somewhere in the Cloquet-Duluth-North Shore region, where might they go?
Paved Trails at Hartley
I was out at Hartley Park this morning and saw that someone had posted signs letting visitors know that the city is considering paving a bunch of trails there. I looked up the mini master plan for Hartley that SRF Consulting Group prepared, and it does indeed call for paved trails running through the park to provide access for bikers, wheelchairs, and parents with strollers. I’m curious about what other PDDers think of this proposal.
Voter’s Cheese
For years, I’ve noticed this sign when I go to vote at Pilgrim Congregational Church.
I assumed Voter’s Cheese was some sort of event, like an ice cream social, only with cheese, so I always just turned left and went to vote. Today I turned right and found a small room with tables displaying nuts, rosette cookies, felted hats, houseplants, frozen meatloaves, and several kinds of cheese.
The story I got from the nice church lady who was presiding was that the church holds its annual bazaar the weekend before Election Day and then sells whatever’s left over to voters. She said they sell more cheese on Election Day than they do at the bazaar.
Lost Car Key at Hawk Ridge
My friend lost a Subaru key while she was running the trails behind Hawk Ridge – snowmobile trail, Amity Trail, Superior Hiking Trail. Replacing it will cost her $260. Have you seen it?
Help me stop, please
Where should I take my 2005 Prius to see if the funny noise it’s making is something wrong with the brakes?
Greenhouse Advice
I’m trying to make my yard and garden more inviting to pollinators, and I’m having trouble finding greenhouses in the Duluth area that don’t treat their flowers with long-lasting systemic insecticides that get into the pollen and nectar. I don’t want to bring flowers and shrubs home that will poison the bees and butterflies I’m trying to attract. Any recommendations for where to get untreated plants locally? I’ve gotten some at Burchfiel’s and some at Boreal Natives, but they don’t have everything I’d like to plant.
Awning Edit
When did this happen? The riot of apostrophe errors on the Sir Ben’s awnings is gone. Here’s how they look now. (more…)
What do Duluthians want?
The DNT article about Rod Raymond and Tim Nelson’s purchase of Endion Station said this:
Raymond said he will take advice from anyone wanting to chime in on the finer points of his business plan.
“What do Duluthians want?” he said. “What do tourists want?”
So, what do you want?
Tops on my list would be a bakery that sells artisan bread and really good coffee. With outdoor seating.
What do you want?
Lake Skating?
Can anyone point me to good places to ice skate or cross-country ski on lakes around Duluth this week? Looking for lakes with a sheet of smooth-ish ice or with an inch or two of snow to ski on.
Small Visitors
Some pals are visiting from Seattle next week. Their kids are 3 and 6, I think. We don’t have kids, so we’re not sure what amuses them. What are some cool Duluth things we could do that would be interesting to both kids and grownups? I’m thinking Hartley Nature Center, throwing rocks into the lake, maybe the harbor tour. What else might delight them?
Play Irish Music Thursdays at Carmody
Every Thursday from 5:00-7:00 people who like to play traditional Irish and Scottish music gather at Carmody. It’s an open session, which means anyone who plays an acoustic instrument is welcome to come and join in. New people are welcome. If you want to learn some of the tunes the group plays before venturing out with your fiddle or concertina or whistle or whatever, many are on this website. The session is set early to make it possible for musicians to go to the jam at Sir Ben’s too. On Thursdays Sir Ben’s hosts old time and Celtic players, starting around 7:00 or 8:00.
Green greenery
Learn how to make your yard better looking, and do good for the environment at the same time.
Duluth Deer Parts
Has anyone else noticed deer parts along Seven Bridges Road? You know where they close the road in the winter, and people walk and ski and snowmobile and run dogs? Near the barrier at the bottom, and in the woods next to Smiley’s, my dog is always coming up with a spine or a leg or a hunk of pelvis. What’s up with that? Do poachers dump the parts they don’t want there? Do old deer go there to die?









