Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Fence Duty




Welcome to another 
GOOD FENCES



The first responsibility of any good fence is to protect something.




"Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence." 
Barbara Taylor Bradford.



Fence Guards on Duty
Outside Excelsior Museum





If you missed E.T from yesterday
here's another photo before-
E.T. Phones home.




Why not?
Stick a fence behind a 3 pronged pitchfork made from a tree branch.





Who's that talking?  Was that you tree?



I know  I heard somebody!

Bark, bark, sniff, sniff, BARK!



Oh never mind, plenty of squirrels to hunt for.


Hehehehe!


"Love your neighbor as yourself;
 but don't take down the fence." 
Carl Sandburg



Statue caught between fences.
and

Also linking to Words for Wednesday

all 12 words used in one sentence.
with a Chef stuck on a fence!




Help!


Having fled his picturesque mansion of stone and mullioned windows,

you're now viewing this dysfunctional fry-cook chef who's completely unexposed straight from his bungalow which normally without a whimper this knucklebone 
would seek cover inside under his projector, during a hurricane if, he wasn't stuck on a fence, held captive by T-Rex.





Thank you all for stopping by, and no matter where you are today, I just bet you'll catch a fence on duty!  Enjoy your day.


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Far From Home

Joining Carmi from



Welcome to our world, little one.



"Oh no. E.T. Must go home.
Too far from home."




E.T. Phone home.





The old backyard doesn't look the same-








Since E.T. stepped down-





"I'm a long way from home."  Feared E.T.






"E.T. Phone home. Now."



Up in the sky E.T. looks-
finger pointing up and his belly filled with cherries
it's time to go home.



It's good to see the bright, bright light from home.






"It's time to go home."

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Bits and Pieces

One of my favorite blogging buddies, is Gail and many of us know how funny and incredibly witty she is.  Well, she recently offered a post that really resonated with me.  Even now.  She shared engaging photos of objects but not the entire setting surrounding it.  



Bits and
PIECES
Close-up













Mr. Old Maple Tree Man watches over us.








Sweet puppy love.


"The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up. The shortcut to closing the door is to bury yourself into the details. "
Chuck Palahniuk





Lady of the Lake




Greetings from the Opera Lady


"The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched- they must be felt with the heart."
 - Helen Keller

Happy Tuesday afternoon from the garden!


A Good afternoon always consists of conversations with a jolly, Garden Gnome!


Can you catch a critter hiding in this tree stump?



There he is! 


May your Tuesday afternoon be filled with happiness and maybe a few frog kisses too!


Linking to 
Tuesday Afternoons


Monday, July 27, 2015

Randomness, Over the Weekend


"Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace." - James Gleick



It was a weekend of cloud formations nearly touching ground!

THE GOOD. THE RANDOM. THE FUN.



THE GOOD

Accomplishing Summer projects!

Gathering, collecting, scanning, researching, finishing and finally mailing off my portion to complete our Family Book

Once upon a generation there was a love so divine that wedding bells followed! 

 Ever since their union, our family tree grows deeper, expanding with generation after generation.  

Amazingly, our family tree began so many generations before this lovely couple.




My Great Grandmother Bertha and Great Grandpa Alfred Corbin


THE RANDOM

Things that Grow

Inside my greenhouse-






Friendly bike riding bugs play garnish to pretty planters!




It seems something is growing no matter where we are.




THE FUN

From the Lake-





Flying Kitty Cat
Playtime





I hope your Monday is filled with good, random fun filled thoughts! Enjoy your week.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Critter Chasing

Where, oh, where, have all the good geese gone?

I miss my favorite feathered friends, where are they? 





My mission was to find the geese.




Hooray!
There they are.






Why they've taken to the streets.
Really, this is more intriguing than the lake?




"Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success."




  
"Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends" quotes Virginia Woolf

For me, I go to nature.









So worth following.


Hello all, thanks for stopping by, enjoy everything your weekend brings.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Along the Way to Bramble Haw, Good Fences

Good morning from Old Frontenac, Minnesota.

This area was originally established as a trading post by James Wells and later would become Frontenac sometime before 1850. The name was changed to Frontenac after Frenchman, Louis de Buade de Frontenac by the Garrard brothers.

I discovered this enchantingly secluded area in 1989 and have been returning here ever since.


Welcome to Winona Cottage




GOOD FENCES

Israel Garrard built Winona Cottage as a wedding present for his son George and his wife Virginia.




This mortar less wall surrounds the property of Winona Cottage on Garrard Avenue between Sumner and Faribault Streets.  The wall was constructed by a team of Native Americans led by tribal leader Little John.




Frontenac was known as "The Newport of the Northwest" and developed a reputation as a lovely resort destination, drawing many wealthy tourists up the river to escape the blistering southern heat.



I moved in closer to catch a Monarch butterfly but of course it escaped my lens, as they most often do.




Frontenac caught the attention of Mark Twain and after seeing the village he wrote this in his 1883 novel, Life on the Mississippi. "Then Frontenac looms upon our vision, delightful resort of jaded summer tourists."

There were other well known guests vacationing here such as prominent clergyman and abolitionist, Henry Ward Beecher and his sister Harriet Beecher Stowe, along with Actress Marie Dressler and F. Scott Fitzgerald.




Winona Cottage is near Bramble Haw, which sounds much like a mythical kingdom or possibly an English country manor doesn't it?  I'll go into more detail in a future post. 

 Bramble Haw begins where a winding road disappears into the woods, with a locked gate which once led to a charming two-story New England-style cottage, home to Colonel and Mrs. James Munro.  



Today Winona Cottage is a private residence again, and while I shot these photos the family was entertaining around their swimming pool.



A most pleasant afternoon overflowing with laughter and splashes drifting across the grounds.




Thanks so much everyone for stopping in for my Good Fences post!
Enjoy your day.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Tuesday Afternoons and Words for Wednesday

Tuesday afternoons arrive in a numerous amount of situations.
(I've included 8 of them below)

  Sometimes, a person doesn't get to post about their Tuesday afternoon until late Wednesday night.  Speaking of Wednesday, the Italic words are for Words for Wednesdays.






"Trace your fingers
along the lull
of the afternoons."
Sanober Khan




On this Tuesday afternoon shadows sharpen a photographer's view on an antiseptic scorcher of a hot July day!


After reading the old sagas of yesteryear, I gamble to say I have a good feeling about catching the not so hideous bugs on this glorious day.




This particular Tuesday afternoon Sparkle ignores her sandbox for the opulent  comfort of something warm as, Cat on a Hot-Tin-Crock-Pot!





If you find yourself  speaking up to quell any panic among the network of vintage car owners, never fear the Masked Superheroes are at the ready.




Did you notice the inset (or rather reflection) of the vintage car in the window?
I adore that color!




Could Misty be looking for a jug of water on this hot Tuesday afternoon?



One of my secret pleasures is to visit Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills on a Tuesday afternoon and browse my favorite Happenings Column in the local paper without interruption! 




While the grand-delights are off at swimming lessons-




or playing at the park with their sweet auntie!