It was snowing in Inver Grove Heights . . . but: “There were no clouds above. The sky was clear.”

Our theater of seasons
And: Hmmmmmmmm

IGHGrampa reports: “When I opened the garage door to leave this morning, it was snowing.

“But it was an odd phenomenon. There were no clouds above. The sky was clear. Apparently conditions were right for snow to form right out of the air. It was cold enough and the humidity was high enough that water just condensed into snowflakes right there only a hundred feet or so above the ground.

“Fluffy snowflakes had collected to about a quarter-inch depth. I got my wide pusher snow shovel out. The snow was light enough that I could easily clear it off the driveway in minutes. The air was cold and crisp, without a breeze. It was really quite refreshing to be out there.

“While I was working, the lady who has the dog with artificial back legs walked by. They seemed to be enjoying their walk, although the dog seemed a little puzzled by the light snow. He had a little doggie jacket on and looked comfortable.

“I went on to the Mall of America after getting the driveway cleared. The mall was busier than I expected for the morning hours. I wanted to find that little shop and see if they had straightened out the North Dakota shape [BB, 11/25/2016], but I couldn’t find it. I should have written down the name and location of it. I’ll look again next time I’m mall-walking.”

Our theater of seasons
5/7/5 Division

This week’s haiku from WriteWoman of Shoreview:

“clouds cover the sky

“snow saunters through the air now

“too quiet to hear”

Fellow travelers
Or: Cheesehead World — and welcome to it!

The Bitter and Disgruntled Guy from Andover: “I have been lucky enough to have visited Lambeau Field twice this year — the first time on opening day, and then again on December 4th, when the Packers played Houston. Both times, the Packers won, and I like to think I had something to do with that!

“Both times, I went without tickets.

“On opening day, I assured my buddy Mike that we would find tickets and we would not pay full price. We paid $5 less than face value and had a great time.

“My wife said she wanted to go to a game, as well, and Mike wanted to go again. He is an ardent Vikings fan, but had had such a great time in Packerland that he needed more. Once again, since the Packers were not playing the Vikings or the Bears, I assured them we would find tickets for less than face value. It was a snowy and wet day on Sunday, and I found tickets on the 50-yard line for $45 less than face value, each.

“Sunday was the best day I have ever had at Lambeau. It was a snow-globe day. The temperature was around 33 degrees, so it was warm enough, and the snow was wet, fat and consistent, which made the entire thing look like a movie set. We paid $40 to park next to the stadium this time, and we tailgated. (Mike was suffering from a ruptured Achilles, so we needed to be close.) Our grill would not light, so the wonderful people next to us carried their small Weber charcoal grill to us. They told us to empty the coals and leave it behind their car when we were done. They also offered us food all day, and dessert. Everyone we met there was wonderful.

“It was fun seeing the car full of Houston fans pull up next to us. They were excited about the snow (some had never seen it before), and we had fun watching them dress with what seemed like 10 layers of clothes. We chided them on overdressing, and we talked to them awhile. One of the guys had never heard of or tried sauerkraut, and he was able to experience both at one of the tailgaters’ cars. He asked Mike what it was and was given an explanation. I watched some other people trying to decide which gloves to buy. I took pictures for about five different couples with Lambeau in the background. One guy was dressed like a Ninja, and you could see only his eyes.

“I was driving, so I had a couple beers early in the morning. For some reason (please hold all Wisconsin comments!), drinking seems to be OK at 9 in the morning in Green Bay. More likely than not, it is a tailgate thing. I was sober in the stands and watched Mike and his friend talk and give crap to another Wisconsin person who was as drunk as they were, if not more. Man, she was a tiny little thing, but she could pound down the beers.

“The absolute best was a dad and son sitting next to us. This guy should get the Best Dad in the World award. They were from Australia, and Green Bay was his son’s favorite team. They left a warm summertime in Australia to hop on a plane, take a long flight to Milwaukee, and then go to a Packer game. They also went to Chicago for a couple of days. After the game, they went back to Milwaukee and then back home. The kid (OK, a teenager) was in heaven. They were a lot of fun to talk to, and I was amazed they came from so far away. I was also amazed the NFL has fans in Australia.”

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: Then you must have missed the Bulletin Board of December 1st.

See world
Photography Division

Wild Bill of River Falls, Wisconsin: “Since so many readers are sending in great critter pictures, I’ll send in my favorite. Here’s a raccoon ‘selfie’ taken by a trail camera in my woodlands in western Wisconsin.

“Don’t these two look like they are having fun?”

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?

Lady Vol: “Today I was Googling the movie ‘Jackie.’ The first thing that came back was the full name of an old friend by that name (let’s say ‘Jackie Jones’). I had tried to find her on Facebook earlier this year, without success. When I saw the name on my screen, I wondered again how she’s getting along these days.

“Not an hour later, I opened my mailbox and pulled out a Christmas card from my old friend Jackie!

“A genuine B-M? I await your verdict.”

BULLETIN BOARD RULES: Yes. Not a B-M classic, but . . . after all, the originator of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, Gigetto on Lincoln, did invite us to let the B-M P “explain the inexplicable.” This is eerie enough to qualify!

Highfalutin pleasures
And: Every picture tells a story (responsorial)

KQ: “The Best Bluegrass Clog Dancing Video Ever Made [BB, 12/2/2016] brought back memories of my own experiences with clogging.

“My 8-year-old daughter Holly and I learned to clog 25 years ago and had SO MUCH FUN! Every Sunday night, we’d travel from Ann Arbor to Hartland to the Square Dance Hall to learn new dances taught by Duane and Berdella Root. Pretty soon, we got good enough to be invited to join the adults-and-kids clogging teams, and we traveled to clogging conventions where we did demonstrations of the dances we learned. Duane and Berdella clogged square-dance style (like in the video) to country and bluegrass music, and the kids did their own demos to the pop music of the day.

“We clogged for about three years. I’ve never had so much fun. The memories still make me smile all these 25 years later, and I have CDs full of the music. When I play them, my feet can’t help clogging along to it. I could go on and on about the fun we had. Great memories. I’ll never forget those times.

“Oh, and did I mention it was SUCH FUN!”

There’s nothin’ like a simile!

The Retired Pedagogue of Arden Hills: “In his Wednesday monologue, Trevor Noah explained why he thinks it’s a bad idea to have the Electoral College make the final decision in the presidential election.

“Some excerpts: ‘It’s still hard to get used to the fact that Donald Trump will be president, especially because he lost by two-and-a-half million votes. But then he won the Electoral College, which is all that matters. … If you’re like me, you probably thought that on election day, Americans were going to the polls to elect the president. But if you did vote, your vote didn’t go to Clinton or Trump.… When people voted, they were actually voting for electors, who are basically a bunch of locally appointed representatives, who then vote on your behalf.… In big states, even if a second-place candidate gets millions of votes, the electoral college don’t give a ****. So the nearly four million people who voted for Hillary in Texas, or the two-and-a-half million who voted for Trump in New York, they just don’t count. They’re like lines of dialogue in a “Fast and Furious” movie: they’re there, but they have no real value.’ ”

Oopp’s! (responsorial)

Zippy Magoo: “Subject: Apostrophe Redistribution Center.

“Punctuation is so important! I no longer remember where I first read this, but it has stuck in my brain:

” ‘Let’s eat, Grandpa!’

” ‘Let’s eat Grandpa!’

” ‘Save a life. Use proper punctuation.’ ”

‘Tis the season!

Old Doc G: “This time of year always brings this story to mind.

“My grandfather was, at least to me, an amazing man. He came from the the Old Country and worked as a metal craftsman in the ’30s and ’40s, creating beautiful railings, gates, and so forth when buildings still sported such things. Many of his creations were later scrapped from buildings to contribute to the war effort, but I still have wonderful photos of his work. He had an easy laugh and a great smile and spoke a good six or seven languages from his travels.

“Sadly, in his later years, dementia started to eat away at him, and he started to decline mentally. I, on the the other, hand was a young lad just starting to figure out the world; as such, we kind of met in the middle, and my parents would put us together to keep us both out of trouble.

“Christmas, with all its easily breakable ornaments and whatnot, was definitely one of these times. When the tree was being decorated, we were put together in the dining room to safely create a paper chain of green and red construction-paper rings, which was then put up as our contribution to the decorating effort. He passed away not long after that Christmas season.

“That chain was used for years and years and repaired many times. When I left home to go out on my own, I took it with me and put it up in my own home. Eventually, the red and green colors faded to a mutual brown, and I stopped using it. However, every year when I get out the holiday decorations, I pop the box open that holds that now-fragile chain, and I look at it and smile with the memories.

“Rest in peace, Grandpa Gustave. With grandkids of my own, I still miss you after all these years.”

Could be verse!

Tim Torkildson: “The Christmas tree fell over, and the eggnog curdled bad.

“The holly wreath has aphids, and it smells like rotten shad.

“The scented candles sputter, giving off an oily haze

“That impersonates the smog that blankets L.A. nowadays.

“The fruitcake is a concrete block; the marzipan is worse.

“The Santa on the corner mutters nothing but a curse.

“The windows down at Macy’s are so fogged you cannot see

“All the stuff you’re buying for a Happy Bankruptcy.

“The Yule log, it is soggy, and the candelabra bent;

“The chestnuts, roasted over something like a subway vent.

“The tinsel has corroded, and Bing Crosby’s out of tune

“While the punch remains untasted, since we lost the ladle spoon.

“May holiday disasters steer a course far from your door.

“May Christmas stockings yield at least a tasty apple core!”

‘Tis the season!
Or: The Permanent Grandchildrenly Record

Vertically Challenged: “The Christmas season is upon us. and I just love these two ‘classic-looking’ little gems we just got of grandkiddies Kaitlyn, Luke and Adriana.”