Our neighbourhood coyote goes to Church

Because I have not been out on a photo shoot for months, I awakened this morning with a sense of purpose and drove to the corner of Summit Avenue and East River Blvd in St Paul to take photos before the sun got too bright. The Seminary with its church, dorms and office buildings has a beautiful piece of property there. Much to my delight at 7 a.m. on the dot "our Highland Park coyote' appeared. She must have gone to early Mass and was loping across the lawn to cross Summit to take care of her babies along the Mississippi River.  I was thrilled to see her.

Saturday Market

I haven't gone to the St. Paul downtown week-end market this summer as often as I have in the past.  To remedy that, I got up this morning with that goal in mind. Because the day is both sunny and somewhat cool, a sizeable crowd had arrived before I did by 9 a.m. The flowers and vegetables never cease to delight me with the variety of colours. Often I meet people I know while shopping and today was no different. I met a man whom I taught when he was in the 9th grade. He is now the proud father of a college sophomore and recent high school graduate. After a brief conversation we both went our way, shopping among the floral, vegetable, meat and various plants and herbs displayed beautifully in the stalls. The vendors are as culturally diverse as the market inventory, which is also another reason why I love to shop there while the season lasts. I returned home with my bounty: 6 ears of corn, beets (with lovely leaves for sautéing), fingerling potatoes, cauliflower, scallions, cherry tomatoes, garden lettuce, and sweet carrots.  We will eat healthy this week and next!!

License Plate

It is interesting what one discovers about neighbours, sometimes quite my accident while taking a morning walk with Wild Wendy. Who knew?!

Wild Wendy, the Patient Patient

After the initial shock of seeing Wild Wendy with a closed right eye and a visit to the veterinarian, I am impressed with her cooperative behaviour and stoic nature. We do not know for certain how she got a scratch on her cornea, but she has weathered the treatment and in recovering nicely. After a few quiet days, she seems to enjoy the attention and doesn't mind her temporary inflatable collar.  Sure beats one of those dreadful plastic cones!

Wild Wendy!

Wild Wendy found a new groomer!

Linking to Camera Critters & Saturday's Critters

WPA Sign

It is interesting to take a walk with Wild Wendy that goes along a different route.  Today I found this plaque on a stone wall at Horace Mann Elementary school on the corner of Wilder and Eleanor streets. I have lived in the neighbourhood for 43 years and never noticed this waist-high historical wall at the main entrance.  In the midst of the current remodelling of the school, it offers a nice contrast between the modern expansion of the school and history of the property.
Linking to Signs, signs

"My" World Tuesday

Taken from any point-of-view or perspective, the dome of the Cathedral in St. Paul is impressive!

Linking to Our World Tuesday

Summer floral images

I appreciate these morning-walk images more and more as the summer days are slipping by and getting shorter and shorter!

Granddog, Lexi

Our grand dog Lexi is getting older and seems to need to rest more, but still likes to chase a rabbit or squirrel that dare to venture in our backyard. She has always been a little shy, and she is getting sweeter as she ages. Her behaviour has changed in other ways, too.  She no longer likes to take walks at night.  Our vet explained that dogs lose some visual acuity as they get older, especially when it is dark. Although she is healthy, alert, and lively, I hate to see her ageing process, and often wonder why we-animal-lovers repeatedly put ourselves through this life process over and over again? I guess that Anatole France's quote says it all, "Until one has loved an animal. part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Linking to Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters

Another Sidewalk Floral Decoration

I posted a similar image on June 9 at a different neighbourhood business.  It is wonderful when shop keepers make efforts to beautify the environment, especially when our summer season is so short. I am afraid that I am not being a very creative blogger because I have been occupied with lots of different personal activities that occupies my available time.  Perhaps I will soon be able to adjust my time to enable me to do more photo shoots, which I really, really miss!!

Ouch!

For the past month I was certain that the pain in my left hand was arthritis, which is not uncommon for many people my age, and younger.  I've read that millions of people are walking around with undiagnosed arthritis. Recently I have also noticed that my wrist had what appeared to be a slowly spreading bruise that looked like pooling blood. Yesterday I became alarmed so I went to Urgent Care where I had blood tests and an x-ray.  I was told that "you are one tough lady." I was diagnosed with a fractured wrist and am scheduled with a follow-up with an orthopaedic surgical specialist.  How on earth did this injury occur, you ask?

Well, again like most people my age, I have discarded throw rugs to avoid slips and falls, but I still have large area rugs over my hardwood floors in several rooms.  About 6 weeks ago when getting up out of bed, my foot caught under the edge of a rug and with lightening speed I fell forward, without hitting my head, but landing flat on my stomach. Immediately my chest pained, which lasted for several weeks, but gradually went away. During that entire time I didn't feel any extraordinary pain in my arms and wrist that had helped me break a total fall that protected my face and head. Only within the last 4 weeks has my self-diagnosed "arthritis" given me pain.

Moral of the story?  Don't ignore pain--see a doctor!

Spirit: Theme Day, July, 2018

LAKE SUPERIOR

The "harmony of my body and soul" is made visible by my spiritual feelings of awe, contentment and love when in the presence of a large body of water, especially one of the Great Lakes: Michigan and Superior.  Each one of them has been part of life since the moment I was born in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and my adult life in Minnesota. Water is part of my DNA!

LAKE MICHIGAN

Our City Daily Pages bloggers have the theme of spirit for the month of July. To see other photos that illustrate images of "spirit," click here.