Rose Garden's Good Fence

The gate and fence is part of the landscape at the Rose Garden in Minneapolis

These beauties are just two of the many exquisite blossoms in the garden.  What visual pleasures!!

Linking to Good Fences

Today's College/University Campuses

The college campuses are much more civilized and inclusive in the 21st Century than they were in the past.  It is heartening to see that students with families have play areas provided for their children.


Link to Signs, Signs

Bird on Rocks-ABC Wednesday "B"

When our grandson was little we spent many happy hours in cottages on Lake Michigan.  Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, was our favorite hangout, and a child's picture book about a seagull was a favorite read.  I recently got reacquainted with Shelly, the seagull when we stayed in a cabin on Lake Superior.  Too bad our grandson no longer joins us on our lake outings because I know that he, too, would recognize Shelly.

Linking to ABC Wednesday and Tuesday Afternoon and Our World Tuesday

1899 Ernest Hemingway

Monday Mellow Yellows

Unusual yellow new growth on this pine tree.

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellow

Simple pleasures

Admiring the simple gifts of nature is my humble Sunday prayer.

And, a very Happy Natal Day to my favorite New Zealander!!

Kayak Instructions

Kayaks were available in the cabin/resort where we recently stayed.  I watched the man give instructions to the female in the orange kayak.  Water on Lake Superior is a tough place to learn,  and she didn't last long.  By the time I finished watching and taking a few photos she had fled and returned to terra firma.

Boy in a Tree

Swinging in hammock

In tree high above ground 

Happy as a bird!

The Road Not Taken

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Patrick's Bakery

If you can't be in Paris, celebrate Bastille Day at Patrick's French Bakery and Cafe!!

 The owner Patrick Benet is from France and knows good food and bakery items.  Go here to read City Pages review of this great place.  Yesterday I had an asparagus and tomato quiche but forgot to photograph it until I was half through, but you get the picture!!


1805 Rembrandt
Linking to signs, signs

A Bad Accident-ABC Wednesday "A"

A 35-year-old skateboarder died after colliding with a truck in St. Paul.

Police say Soren Hallberg, of St. Paul, was “going pretty fast” when he exited an alleyway by Whole Foods, and broadsided a truck that was passing by. The incident happened on Fairview Avenue, near the busy Grand Avenue intersection, around 8:40 p.m. He died at Regions Hospital.The truck driver, 35-year-old Trevor Skalsky, of Coon Rapids, was moving at or below the speed limit at the time of the accident and stopped immediately.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Rosebuds

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Robert Herrick, 1591 - 1674

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
   Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
   Tomorrow will be dying.

Scenic Cafe

The Scenic Cafe located about 24 miles north of Duluth on Old North Shore Rd is the place to eat if your happen to be anywhere in the area.  The garden and landscape in front of the building invites you in for a gourmet meal.

We started with an asparagus flan and unusual salad with a beet dressing before we ordered an entree.

1817 Henry Thoreau

A Beauty-Camera Critters

How lucky can I be?! In a short period of time one afternoon recently I found a Minnesota state flower, the rare pink and white lady's slipper, and then I saw this lovely swallowtail butterfly.

1899 E.B. White

Linking to Camera Critters & Saturday's Critters

Sweet Little Cabin Up North

 This is the sweet little cabin on Lake Superior Up North in which we stayed for a few days.  I want to return soon since it is a place of great tranquility.

And, this is the home of the owner of the sweet little cabin and other cabins  on the Lake Superior property.

1871 Marcel Proust

Minnesota State Flower

Fast Facts

• Adopted as the State flower in 1902
• Botanical Name: Cypripedium reginae
• Also known as: the Queen’s lady slipper and the showy lady’s slipper
• The lady’s slipper is uncommon in Minnesota
• Fun Fact: Some people can get a rash from touching the leaves of this pretty orchid
• In its first year, the orchid grows only about as tall as a pencil point!
• Each year the lady’s slipper may produce a half-million seeds, which are as fine as flour dust.
• With the pink and white lady slipper’s longer than average life span – some species may grow be 100 years old!
• 
  
• Thank you Susan for showing me where to find this beauty!!

Found living in open fens, bogs, swamps, and damp woods where there is an abundance of natural light, the feminine-looking pink and white lady’s slipper grows slowly, taking up to 16 years to produce the first flowers! Blooming in late June or early July, the plants may live, on average, about 50 years and can grow to be over four feet tall.

A century ago, the ostentatious pink and white lady’s slipper was a favorite adornment in rural church altars during the summer. 

Since 1925, this rare wildflower has been protected by Minnesota state law; it is illegal to pick the flowers or to uproot or unearth them.

Other-worldly Bakery

Before we left Lindstrom we had to stop and sample the bakery items.  On the left are some old tools that graced one of the walls inside.  Impossible to take photos of the baked goods because too many people were in the store to get any good shots plus I ate the donuts before I got out my camera!

1898 Alex Waugh
Linking to signs, signs

Sven's

If you are in the market for a pair of clogs, travel to Lindstrom, Minnesota in the Chicago Lakes region and visit Sven's.  This Scandinavian Troll will greet you at the entrance to the store where you will find plenty of clogs to fit your personality.

1940 Ringo Starr

How Swede It Is !!

The Minneapolis Tribune recently published "How Swede It Is" an article that described the small town of Lindstrom, MN, which according to some visitors from Sweden, is more Swedish than they!  Naturally I had to visit,  and found the unique water tower and one of the barn quilt designs.  About 4o miles from St. Paul, it's a sweet little Swedish-influenced town with a wonderful bakery and a store that carries hundreds of clogs.  Read the article in the link above for more information.

1907 Frida Kahlo

Linked to Monday Murals

Disrsuption

What the city considered "necessary" reconstruction of Randolph Avenue in Highland Park in St. Paul, many of the businesses, customers, and home owners label it as a disruption. One owner of an independent coffee shop said that despite the continued attendance of loyal patrons he estimates that he has lost more than $7,000 in sales since the work started a month and a half ago.  He also figures that he has lost 60 percent of drive-by customers since the start of the construction, and, as a result,he has had to cut hours and lay off staff.

I am disrupting my normal routine and going Up North for a few, too-short mini vacation days  to a housekeeping cabin with no wifi, tv, phones and a limited kitchen.  I'll spend my time reading on the porch overlooking Lake Superior and eating at the wonderful Scenic Cafe! (Check the menu-Num)

1889 Jean Cocteau

Happy Birthday, Maggi

Forgive me for posting Maggi again, but it is, after all, her 15th birthday!  A perky and energetic
1-year-old, she came to us from a rescue shelter.  Despite being close to death several times during these past few years, she rallied (after considerable vet bills at the University of Minnesota's Small Animal Hospital), but we dread losing her.  Hard of hearing and arthritic, Maggi is still with us.  She and I have a lot in common: both of us need hearing aids (unlike me, Maggi doesn't have one). Maggi actually developed vertigo about a year before I did…honest.  After these two parallel maladies, I told DH "no more dogs" because I don't need any more uncanny similarities brought on by a canine, which I felt compelled to follow!  Next time a cat?  Don't worry, Maggi. . .you're still number one!!

Happy Independence Day!!

The day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress

1826 Stephen Foster

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS BOOK CLUB

Each month the public is invited to read a book that is selected by the museum.  Throughout the month docents conduct an one hour tour that are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays to review art works that in someway reflect an aspect of the book: theme, setting, characters, or quotes.  In June I reread Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and attended one of the Tuesday morning tours.  Of the many pieces of art chosen for the novel, I was delighted and amused to see the top painting  that aptly illustrated the character of the evil Mrs. Danver.  Great choice! The Veiled Lady, a sculpture by Raffaelo Monti, c. 1860 represented the narrator/protagonist, a shy non-assertive young woman who remained nameless throughout the book. I intend to reread the July selection, To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel that I taught numerous times to adolescents and am anxious to see what objects will be selected for that book.  What fun!!

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." 

1883 Franz Kafka

Upside Down #2

I was originally going to use this photo for my July, Upside Down, theme until I came up with the "brilliant" idea for yesterday's post.  I've been living with it for so long now that I think it affected my judgment.  Perhaps I really am unbalanced!!

1877 Herman Hesse

July 1, 2015 Theme Day-UpsideDown: Vertigo

 Small approximation of how Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) feels like!

Click here to see more Upside Down photos.