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We went to the Lugnuts baseball game last night. They are the minor league team here in lansing. Bee brought her mitt to try to catch a foul ball. Doesn’t she look cute?

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For sale by owner. East Lansing Schools, that is. Seriously. OK maybe its just a few buildings and not the whole district. But when a district like East Lansing can’t make ends meet, you know there is something serious going on with education funding. The cuts to funding might be more stomach-able if they were fair. But, with the debt-ceiling deal struck over the weekend that cuts spending without raising revenues, one has to question how fair it really is.

I read in the New York Times on Thursday that “If a designer shoe goes up from $800 to $860, who notices?” This was a quote in an article about sales of luxury goods that further stated: “Even with the economy in a funk and many Americans pulling back on spending, the rich are again buying designer clothing, luxury cars and about anything that catches their fancy. Many high-end businesses are even able to mark up, rather than discount, items to attract customers who equate quality with price…”

Seriously, who notices? How many pairs of designer shoes does it take to support a child in public school? If the expenditure per pupil in East Lansing schools is $5,749, then 6.7 pairs of shoes.

>We went for Pony rides at the zoo last friday! We also saw three American Bald Eagles at the zoo. These were the first we had ever seen in real life. They are at the zoo because they cannot fly due to wing injuries.

>One of the great things about working at a land grant institution are the animals! We love to go feed the horses and to visit the cows! And, of course, there is nothing like Dairy Day! On Dairy Day you get the chance to milk the cows, pet the calfs, ride the big tractors, and stick your hand inside a cow’s stomach. The poor cow – it actually did not seem to mind. It kept on eating its hay. But still i felt kind of bad. Frankie said it “felt grosser than it looked”!

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So we have been pathetic in keeping up here and will try better this month! In any case, we will kick off the month by reporting our progress on route to Spokane. We got in another 227 miles in July (1392 miles on the year), allowing us to cross over from North Dakota into Montana! Our current stop is Hysham, MT.

July running was pretty fun, and we even got some hills in. While not as big as the hills in Montana, we ran all around Norwood Michigan during our vacation, giving new meaning to gently rolling hills. But any run followed by a dip in the cool waters of Lake Michigan is worth it (at least says Cho Cho would took several dips in the lake en route!).

Hysham, MT is a pretty small town – only 91 families according to the town’s website, so i think we will keep running! Actually it would be nice to visit one day. Here are some pictures of Hysham:

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I used to think that the crossroads of America was Indiana, but our running for June has landed us in Belfield, ND. According to their Chamber of Commerce, Belfield, North Dakota is “the crossroads of the North American continent.” I guess there is a difference between the crossroads of America and the crossroads of the American continent! Belfield is situated on the banks of the Heart River, and it is halfway between New York City and Seattle, Washington. It is also on US 85, “the only intercontinental highway that extends from Alaska to Mexico City, Mexico.” As they say, “You are truly at the crossroads of America. The Gateway City to the West.“

We are still about 45 miles shy of the Montana border! Montana will be a looooooong state! North Dakota has been pretty long – about 352 miles or so. Montana looks to be about 650 miles. Hope to get there in mid October!

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How you are celebrating the first day of summer? Cho Cho wants to know!

>Ready, set, flap your wings! We were for sure these birdies were going to fledge today! Instead they just kept teasing us by practicing flapping their wings and pecking at insects on the deck awning!

>We were watching the blue jays this morning and two of the babies were stretching their wings, flapping them at the edge of the nest. Their wings were blue and white. The other three babies are still more gray and fuzzy so they look to be a few days behind. Here they are awake with Mama. The one of the right is gray and fuzzy, but the tall one in the back is one of the two that look ready to fledge (in my complete nonexpert opinion)! And, also here Ms. Cho standing guard (the nest is on top of the light near the wind chimes). Also, a few more views of the brood!