The City of Lakes Loppet is a week away. Soon cross-country skiers will be shuffling up the hill right by my home in Uptown. A loppet, as you may have guessed, is a cross-country ski race which requires snow. You’d think we’d be set, but the last few years have been a bust when it comes to snow. So here’s the solution. They set up snow machines like the ones they have at downhill skiing places, right on the shore of Lake of the Isles. In the land of winter fun, we have to make our own backup snow in case the real stuff doesn’t hold up.

The beautiful golden light in this shot is brought to you by the big city lights illuminating the cloudy sky. The icy haze of the winter nights scatters light instead of absorbing it like wet clouds do, so it’s frequently quite bright here at night.

Now for the entertainment portion of the program. While avoiding responsibilities last night, I found a video made by a couple in West Saint Paul. It funny, has a catchy tune and shows what this place looks like when the snow starts to melt. I go to great lengths to tart up my snow shots, but they went the other way. Oh dear…

On their website they say that it’s for a video competition at the Walker Art Center. They have a link to a higher-quality version too, so if you liked it, get over and see that one and learn more about them. Say hi for me while you are there.So there you go, a video about the convenience of an inner-ring suburb and the Northernest biggest city in the world making snow in case of emergency.Why live in paradise when you can light a good buzz just watching the cabin-fevered Minnesotans just trying to entertain themselves ’til the spring thaw.Oh yeah, I still need to get some new mittens…