TRICK OR TREAT?

WHO CAN RESIST HALLOWEEN?!!


As a kid, there are some things you looked forward to. You looked forward to Charlie Brown during Halloween and you looked forward to Monday Night Football.
Nick Ferguson 

A Dinner Invitation

Won't you come in

and

Dine with me?

Choices

Would you like to live in this house with the fantastic landscaping

Or this one with the windows and the amazing light?

A question!

An important question for the experts out there...  How does one take a shot like this on a point and shoot camera without a reflection from the flash?  Too dark for a photo without the flash...

ABC WEDNESDAY-"O"-One of a Kind

Click here to see more ABC WEDNESDAY posts.

And, here's Luke!

Because he's such a charming lad, I think that Luke deserves a post of his own, especially since his Mother revealed that usually he doesn't like to have his picture taken.  Luke, his sister, and Mom found their very own Great Pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch.

Eat your heart out, Charlie Brown!

Dem Apples

How do you like dem apples??

The Pumpkin Patch

On our way to dinner we passed Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church on 50th St. in Minneapolis and marveled at the huge Pumpkin Patch with pumpkins of all sizes and shapes for sale.  With camera in hand, I stopped to take some pictures.  While walking around I met Kirstin who was here with her two children, Amelia 4 and Luke 3,  to pick out their Halloween pumpkins. They loaded their wagon to pull home that is just a few blocks away.

Trader Joe's

I wish more stores would have these reminder signs.  This one is right next to the elevator and is very effective.  Normally I bring my grocery bags into a store about 50% of the time.  Yesterday this sign caused me to turn around and get my bag out of the car.

Comical or Scary?

When my children were in elementary school, clowns were familiar people at many youngsters' parties.   My adult son Karl revealed recently that he had been terrified of them.  Do you think I scarred him for life?!
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Send in the Clowns

by Cath "Shandy" Carpenter (Clown)

Send in the Clowns - Quick for something is wrong
The crowd gave a gasp where it didn't belong.
Has somebody fallen - is death standing near
Are the Lion trainers hand's trembling with fear?
The band skipped a beat, there were animal roars
Quick "send for the Joey's to boost the applause"

Send for the Clowns when the Dogs won't perform
When the Tigers are restless with on-coming storm
In motley and costume their ‘entree' must last
Till the cage is assembled - then get ‘em out fast.

Send for the Clowns - what d'you say? They're all gone
Well, that's it, we're finished, the show can't go on
Who'll make ‘em all laugh - get the children involved
Till the danger is past and all problems are solved.

From when the Big Top goes up - Till the king pole comes down
That's the power and the glory of being a Clown.

Salesman

This is the young man who sells the wild rice at the Farmers' Market in downtown St. Paul.  Rain or shine he's there every Saturday and  Sunday during the season.  Because of the approaching colder weather,  the dates for vendors to display their wares is becoming far more limited. He is very knowledgeable about the "authentic" wild rice that he sells and is pleased to be able to sell a quality product.

ABC WEDNESDAY-"N"-100 % Naturally Grown Zizania Aquatica

The above packages of wild rice which are "100% Naturally Grown on Lakes and Rivers" in Minnesota are sold at the St. Paul Farmers' Market.  There are other outlets for this grain, which is a highly prized gourmet delight, sold throughout the Twin Cities.  If you're smart, you'll pass up the cultivated wild rice and get one of these packages instead.

"This water-loving grass produces a nutty-flavored seed that is eaten by humans and waterfowl. Once found throughout Minnesota, it has been an important part of the lives and culture of American Indians who have lived in the Great Lakes region long before the arrival of European immigrants. Today it is Minnesota's official state grain.


Wild rice is an annual plant, meaning that it dies in the fall. Seeds that fell in autumn take root in spring under water, and then the shoot grows to above the surface. Starting in late August, the seeds ripen gradually from the top down and fall into the water. Because it is an annual, people who harvest the plant in the wild let some seeds fall into the water so wild rice populations can survive." (Credit: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)


IMPORTANT

How To Tell The Difference Between Real Indian Wild Rice and The Fake Stuff!

Authentic northern lakes wild rice is thinner then the commercially grown paddy wild rice and can be a light gray to an almost light green in color. It is not tough but very tender and has a very natural tasty nutty like flavor and only takes about 20 minutes to cook. The real Indian Wild Lake Rice cannot be grown in paddies. True Indian Rice only thrives in these cold crystal clear northern spring fed rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes region that was home to the Chippewa Indians. Real Indian Wild rice is sensitive and will not grow in stagnant waters.

REAL HAND HARVESTEDINDIAN WILD RICE

PATTY GROWNCOMMERCIAL RIC

Credit: http://www.indianwildrice.com/

Wild Rice harvesting on reservation land is strictly controlled; to see photos of an authentic harvesting, click here.


To see more ABC Wednesday post, click here.

A foreign object?

While sitting in a room at a local hospital, I gazed outdoors at the rain drops on the window.  What did I see floating in the dark and ominous sky?  An alien? A spaceship?  Any ideas?  

It was just the reflection of the overhead lights!

The Chapel

I often wondered why this large beautiful building is called a chapel.  This is what the college website has to say about it:

"Structurally imposing and architecturally stunning, Our Lady of Victory Chapel is an integral part of St. Catherine University. Inspired by St. Trophime at Arles in Provence, France, the Chapel has a rich history, offers sacred ritual and serves as cherished space for reflection and prayer.

She opens her doors and invites St. Kate’s students, faculty, staff and neighbors to share in the Liturgy of the Mass every Sunday morning. She opens her arms to those who wish to celebrate in ways both secular and religious — as well as to those who need to grieve, to weep and to heal."

Check here to see Our Lady of Victory's open arms.

Camera Critters-Meet Gina and Teddy

Gina who is from Omaha, Nebraska was born in Scotland, her mother's home.  Her father, a US naval man,  met her mother and the rest is history. Growing up in Nebraska, Gina has made many trips to Scotland over the years to see friends and relatives. 9-month-old Teddy lives with her in Minnesota because Gina is earning her Masters at the University of Minnesota.  With only two more courses to complete Gina will soon graduate. I wonder if she will continue to live here in St. Paul?

To see more camera critters, go here.

Our Lady of Victory

This statue is in front of the chapel on St. Kate's college campus.  Different from some of the newer, more modern sculptures, it blends in nicely because of its simplicity.

Peavey Fountain

As a typical St. Paulite, I don't often venture to Mineapolis, but when I do, I make some delightful discoveries. Who would guess that there is a momument dedicated to military horses?

Monster-Loch Ness? ABC WEDNESDAY "M"

To see more ABC WEDNESDAY posts, click here.

ABC WEDNESDAY-M-The Dancers' Musicians

These are the musicians that accompanied the dancers from Sweden that I posted here and here.

To see more ABC WEDNESDAY posts, click here.

Playing Around

This is the result when a child plays around with my iMac!  Cute, isn't she?

My environment!

 I would have a very hard time living anywhere permanently which is not close to water.  I love the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. It's both primal and part of my genetic code!

Camera Critters- Hitching a Ride

T

The horse drawn wagons have been very popular at the Farmers' Market this past summer.  Interesting that most of the riders are adults, rather than children!

Added later: Originally I had posted these photos on October 1, forgetting  about Theme Day, but I soon switched the post to today.  Sorry if you already saw this last week when it was briefly posted.  But the horses certainly are worth viewing again...beautiful animals!

Click here to see more critters.

More Swedish Dancers

A few more of the 30 Swedish dancers that performed  in Stockholm, Wi last Saturday night.

Swedish Dancers

On our sunny Saturday road trip down the Mississippi we discovered these dancers in Stockholm, WI. The Nivren Folkdansgille are from Sundsvall, Sweden and the  30 musicians and dancers were scheduled to perform Swedish folkdances and sing, as well as discuss their costumes. They even were going to teach some of the dances! At the outdoor square they gave us a sample of what was in store that evening.  I wanted to join them at their free potluck performance but we were on our way back to St. Paul.  I felt a bit cheated that we missed it.  

ABC Wednesday-L-: Louise Erdrich's Birchbark Bookstore

Susan is the manager of the Birchbark Bookstore, which is owned by writer Louise Erdrich (pronounced: errd-rick). Close to Lake Calhoun,  it is nestled in a neighborhood next door to a cafe. Very convenient for book and coffee lovers. If you are a Twin Cities resident, take yourself over there to meet Susan who is an animated booklover who wants to help customers make connections to books they might love. If you're lucky, Louise might be there. The necklace Susan is wearing and which I admired comes from Santo Domingo Pueblo midway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM. Another "small world" experience since I just attended the Pueblo's Annual Arts and Craft Fair in September. The earrings I bought at that very same Pueblo are not quite as spectacular as Susan's necklace. Alas!  But I walked out of the bookstore with books!  To see more ABC Wednesday photographs, go here!

Lovely to Look At...ABC WEDNESDAY "L"

Marge Lindemann from Cumberland, WI taught emotionally disturbed teen-agers for 25 years but had no time to do art. After she retired she has been making originally designed garments, scarves and wall pieces from hand painted and dyed silk for the past 9 years. I met her in an art store in Stockholm, Wi where she was demonstrating her art-in-progress on a silk scarf with an autumn leaf motif. She has outlets for her work in several Wisconsin towns, including Algoma, a Lake Michigan hamlet in Kewaunee County which happened also to be the small town where I was born. Small world! 


To see more "L's" at ABC WEDNESDAY, go here.

Seamus Heaney

On Sunday afternoon, October 2, I was more than delighted to hear my favorite poet, Irishman Seamus Heaney, read to a full auditorium at St. Benedict's College in St. Joseph, MN. I had heard him before at the original Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in 1996 and knew that it was an event not to be missed. Currently the new Guthrie Theatre is performing The Burial at Thebes, Heaney's poetic adaptation of Antigone. Internationally known and honored with multiple awards, including the Nobel Prize for Literature,  Heaney is probably the most important living poet in the world.

Mystery Object identified!

While waiting on the third floor of St. Joseph's hospital in downtown St. Paul, I leaned over the open balcony and saw the information desk on the first floor and a visitor ascending the staircase to the second floor. Eureka!  I found the mystery object I posted yesterday.  Because of the distance from the stairs to the camera, you really couldn't see the risers on each step, David was the first to think they could be stairs but clever Jacob figured it out for sure.

OOPS! Almost forgot about THEME DAY-MYSTERY OBJECT!

This is really too easy!  Tomorrow I'll show you the object in its original location!  Have some fun and go over to the other blogs with mystery objects. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.