Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Sunday, July 13, 2025

The Lizard and Colorful Critters


Advice from a lizard. Before he turned to stone.

"Soak up some sun, snap up opportunities.

Be a colorful character, appreciate stillness.

Shed your old ways.

Be dashing."




Central Park Fountain in Central Park, Owatonna, Minnesota
1873-1875
Original centerpiece installed in 1893 Drinking fountains added 1909
Fountain restored in 1977.




Welcome to 

SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

and my post for City Daily Photo




Owatonna, Minnesota

"I'm not very keen for doves or hawks.
 I think we need more owls."
George Aiken




"In the oddity or maybe the miracle of life, the roots of something new frequently lie in the decaying husks of something old."

Craig D. Lounsbrough






"Let them play! The more they play, the more resilient and socially adept they will become."
Jessica Joelle Alexander 




"Try to discover who I am from my choice of words and colors, as attentive people like yourselves might examine footprints to catch a thief."
Orhan Pamuk



"I don't interrupt because I don't care. I interrupt because I feel everything at once. I don't want to lose it." 



"The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion. Open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony,"

Orhan Pamuk



Put some color into your life.

Be perfectly imperfect and love yourself.



"When you avoid something, 

you're meant to do, life loses clarity."



"There's always a hidden owl in knowledge."


Think about this. 

"When I'm at the bottom looking up, the main question may not be 'how do I get out of this hole?' In reality, the main question might be 'how do I get rid of the shovel that I used to dig it?"

Craig D. Lounsbrough

Be rough with yourself.




"Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight."

Orhan Pamuk




Thank you for your visit and gifting me with your thoughts.

Enjoy your week ahead and take good care of you.




I hope you've all had a rejuvenating weekend!


Saturday, July 5, 2025

Baci for Critters and Lake Time

 



The special pup I'm honoring today lives 3,050 miles away in El Salvador and he looks a bit lean to me. My granddaughter Karina took this photo on a Missionary trip through her church.

"A hungry dog hunts best. A hungrier dog hunts even better."

Norman Ralph Augustine 




Window shopping in Afton, Minnesota


Welcome to 

SATURDAY'S CRITTERS 

and I'm also posting to City Daily Photo

Baci (from the title) is Italian for kisses 

which I give to all the critters here today.




Sparkle is my daughter's kitty.

"When a cat flatters he is not insincere: you may safely take it for real kindness."

Walter Savage Landor 





Be gentle with yourself. 
You're doing your best.







"You cannot do a kindness too soon
for you never know how soon 
it will be too late."
Ralph Waldo Emerson







For all our furry friends with us still
 and those that have crossed over the rainbow bridge -

"You kissed my soul
 not my lips."
Baci is Italian for kisses.




There's never anything wrong about having silent conversations.

"I've begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own. "
Chaim Potok






You have the power to save lives.




"Motivation will almost always beat mere talent."

Norman Ralph Augustine




"You may think that grown-ups create children. The reality is that children create grown-ups. They become their own person, and so do you. Children give so much more than they take."
John Medina



"It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to animals."

Joaquin Phoenix





"Search for contentment in each person you meet."

Steve Maraboli





"Go to where you are kindest."

Jaron Lanier quotes





"Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind.

Be led by the dreams in your heart."

Roy T. Bennett



1913 Oldest Ice Cream Shop

Selma's Ice Cream Parlor in Afton Minnesota

More to come in another post about this fabulous shop.





Everything in life -
"It's not about what it is 

it's about what it can become."

Dr. Seuss



From a favorite childhood show of mine,

"A horse of course."

Of course, of course and this one'll talk 'til his voice is hoarse. You've never heard of a "talking" horse? Well listen to this. I am Mister Ed!"



"Empathy works so well because

it does not require a solution.

It requires only understanding." 






"One word of encouragement can be enough 
to spark someone's motivation to continue with a difficult challenge."

Roy T. Bennett



My very own flower.


"Until all of us are free, none of us are free."

Abhijit Naska




Celebrate you!


I hope everyone had a marvelous and fire-rocking 4th of July!




Red Wing, Minnesota


Be happy for this moment.

This moment is your life, and I thank you

for stopping in and gifting me with your thoughts.

Take good care of you.