Round and Round - Where the cookie

Meet Mr. Cookie-thief. He'll never miss a cookie, even tucked away and wrapped up for his dad's birthday!  Oh so delicious.


THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC - 2

Round and round where the round cookie lands is always in some one's tummy!

Busting into dad's birthday cookies!

Pass them, round and round!

Homemade Snicker-doodles!  You better hurry!

Good Fences - 30 October 2014

Important, behind the scene fences!

Some folks might call them, working fences.  

Not me!

GOOD FENCES

They're, Good (great) fences with purpose.  No glitz, or bling. Not even purr-fect fences, see here.  Simply functional, not just pretty.

Pictured EV (Electric Vehicle) Pumps

Fences show up where you'd expect them, like construction sites.  These charging pumps are popping up all over the city, for those electric-Hybrid (plug-in-car) automobiles.  

The closer one shoots objects, fences have a tendency to be squeezed out of pictures!

You aren't going to hear somebody say, "Oh look at that darling fence!" - (except for those of US shooting for Theresa's Good Fences!) 

Of course the first thing to greet me here was this creative man-made iron work of art!

Hugs are so important.

In the background, very important fence, keeping Mini-Golfers on the green!

"Hello, can you hear me?"

One more closer view of that iron work, and the forever important fence performing!

Round and Round - Thematically Photographic

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

Carmi's offered Round and Round 

for our theme this round!

Round and Round we go

Where the ball lands no 

One knows!

Round and Round

Football fans sittin' round

Watching their TV sets

I'd rather be walkin' the hound. 

Round and round go their bets

No matter which side wins

There will be debts from bets

Going round and round.

Not for me

I'll be

walkin' my hound

Round and Round!

The Mag - Dive Into Seeing-

We are all more similar 

than we are different.

THE MAG

Magpie Tales

"The first step, shall be to lose the way." - Galway Kinnell

Dive

(Dive into the sea of thought, and find there pearls beyond price." - Moses Ibn Ezra)

She moves through breakfast tales

on slippery floors

 in old Capri, 

as the Tyrrhenian Sea

quickened, in mournful cries, 

and sea gulls flee.

From caffeine high to orange bliss

retracing last night's kiss

and marmalade dreams

spread across the length of his

back, thick as a molasses kiss,

now lit by morning's glean.

Thickened angry clouds

seen chasing evermore above this

gale's wretchedness 

stretched across the sea 

she'd surely miss

if not for curtains drawn.

Those lost stubborn pals

throughout her single years.

She'd long said her good-byes-

to spread her dreams

and never lose her way.

"That's the way it is with poetry: when it is incomprehensible it seems profound, and when you understand it, it is only ridiculous." - Galway Kinnell 

Six Word Saturday - 25 October 2014

SOMETIMES YOU'RE AHEAD, 

SOMETIMES YOU'RE BEHIND.

SIX WORD SATURDAY

BOOKED WEEKENDS 

MAKE ME FEEL EMPTY

Why is that?

No one handed me a "Rule Book" on how to be me, and if they had, I probably would have tossed it.

Live simply, laugh much, love deep, be yourself, stop being so serious.

Mostly, enjoy your weekend.

In just a blink - TP2

- When night falls

"The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night." -  Haruki Murakami

"How did it get so late so soon?" - Dr. Seuss

"When the autumn meets the tranquility, there you can see the King of the Sceneries." - Mehmet Murat ildan


THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

In just a blink of an eye, 

when night falls

 it's easy to miss the exact moment, 

that night enters.

Last evening, stopped at the corner by my house about 6:57 pm.

Our sunset was 6:13 pm.

Two minutes later from my driveway!

Night has fallen again.

Good Fences #31 - A Roaring Summerlike Autumn

Good fences (in so many places) make good neighbors.  Especially at the Minnesota Zoo.  What an incredible day it was for the middle of October. Everyone experiencing the outside in Minnesota would've sworn it was July.


Except for -

Photo by Carol Highsmith

Those Minnesotans living up north!  Ha! Ha! Just kidding.  We don't have a flake of snow anywhere here in Minnesota, yet!



GOOD FENCES

Here- Behind glassed area.....  Free to roam the open behind fences too!

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger's cub?" -  Ban Chao

Nature teaches us sense and purpose, but mostly that owning a sense of humor is vital to our survival.

What did Greta the camel say to Josephine the camel?  "Should we stand up and show off our legs?"

A Zoo is one of those places where fences are not just for holding things captive, but more importantly for holding things back!  

But- when it comes to holding back in life-

"You never lose by loving.  You always lose by holding back." - Barbara De Angelis

I was reminded on this day of something my mother said years ago.  She couldn't understand how they called this a zoo, when we barely caught sight of animals!  Yet, I was able to grab a few fence photos right?

As a matter of fact, after shooting this photo, I noticed someone trying to see what in the world I was shooting here. 

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you." - Frank Lloyd Wright

"Study people, love people, stay close to people.  They will seldom ever fail you." - Me

Thanks for sharing fences with me again, good neighbor.

When Night Falls - A Thematic Photographic De-lighting!

Delighting indeed.  I am so excited that Daylight Savings this year won't happen until 2:00 am on Sunday November 2nd!

Hooray!


THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

Just a hint of dusk tugged tightly

as daylight slipped slowly

toward night fall.

Daylight fades quickly

before a gentle wind intent on littering 

the walkway with fallen leaves under a shimmering

twilight sky only briefly, 

just when night falls.

Just beware, when night falls, anything is possible.

"Night is a world lit by itself." - Antonio Porchia

Look under your bed.  Check inside your closets.  You just never know what you may uncover even inside your own tent!

"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." - Vincent Van Gogh

Mantorville Along the Zumbro River

Greetings from a picturesque hamlet where architectural heritage is preserved. Mantorville, Minnesota where the Zumbro River runs through it.

It's never about our voice it's about our song.  

The same holds true for places, as well as people.  

Today, I present for you Mantorville, from our visit last Sunday and a few photos from three years ago.  You'll recognize the summer photos immediately.

Greetings, and welcome from a town named after the Mantor brothers, Peter and Riley, who arrived here in 1853.  It's listed on and known as "National Register of Historical Places Mantorville Limestone" a unique experience for all.

"Pull up a chair.  Take a taste.  Come join us.  Life is so endlessly delicious." - Ruth Reichl

Restoration House, Built in 1856 once the first court house, and offers from the basement the jail cell that was used at that time.  The house is restored as a late 1880's residence, complete with tours.

Opera House, Built in 1918 also served as City Hall, a bingo parlor, movie theater (for silent films) a dance hall, and a roller rink.  Today it's once again a thriving theatrical experience offering live performances and concerts throughout the year.  Melodramas are featured during the summer and folks arrive to boo and hiss villains or cheer for their hero.

The Post Office, built in 1896 and once Blummer's Saloon, the post office is the only brick building in Mantorville.  Since Mantorville never offered residential mail delivery for many years, the post office was quite busy.

Hello Zumbro river running through town.  This Dam of Mantorville, was originally built in 1855.  The  dam provided water for a flour mill that was situated on the west side of the dam.  The effect of the dam on the flow of the river created "Goat Island" (the point of land to the west.)

How it was in the summer three years ago.

This was taken last Sunday at the Old Log Cabin, aka Cooper's Log House, built in the 1850's, was the home of the barrel maker (Cooper) who made barrels and kegs for the original Mantorville Brewery.  A collection of those items are stored in the basement and can be seen during tours.

I hope they put our flag back up!

The next two photos were taken three years ago.   I'm not sure if it was new paint, but seeing it Sunday we knew it had been restored since these photos.  

I just adore Minnesota in the summer.

History connects us in tangible ways.

Below are some not so talkative town folk we happened to see Sunday.

Some of you may have seen this photo on Facebook (twice in fact) it was a favorite spot for Hollyhocks to grow.  But now they have restored the area in front of what once was, St. John's Episcopal Church, which now houses the Dodge County Historical Society Museum.   Good-bye Hollyhocks.

You can bet next summer, I'll check for hearty old Hollyhocks that made it out of the ground and shot through the new limestone display.

This Civil War Recruiting Station is located a few miles from downtown Mantorville.

I don't visit Mantorville often, but I never fail to take photos of it.  I've toured the historical points like the old Brewery ruins and such, but it seems I have a list of other important locations to view as well.

Note, if you ever get to Mantorville there are many historical buildings and locations not shown in this post.

Not to miss on your visit is the famous Hubbell House.  As a matter of fact we dined there Sunday with our friends from out of town.

Most importantly (worthy of seeing) is the Covered Bridge/Goat Island where each spring during the 1850's the local dog catcher would ferry 6 - 8 goats to this island by rowboat!  The goats were pastured there for the summer months to keep the weeds and tall grass under control.  

The covered bridge connecting the island and the park is 1 of 2 in the state to be logged by the National Covered Bridge Society.  

This concludes our tour for today.

Always remember-

You'll regret the things you didn't take time to see.

The Mag - When Bark Sinks

"As far we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being." - Carl G. Jung

THE MAG

Things will be different, the day bark sinks.

PAYABLE FOREVER

Can you tell me where

 it was that I saw that name before?

On a cliff.

There it is.

The drawing not on the marker speaks louder.

Inward life?

To love and work and teach

 and toil that's what she did.

Life is an ecstasy.

Photos by Carol Highsmith- Library of Congress

How can one be so wholly wise

and willfully blind at the 

same time?

Our remembrance of mother, lives long after the dust and willows are at rest.

As well as love.

"The sun shines on their successes, and the earth hides their failures."

 - Montaigne

"If my bark sinks, 'tis to another sea." - William Ellery Channing

Paying Attention - 6WS - 18 October 2014

In elementary school teachers were always saying, "Pay More Attention" and "don't stare out the window."  Apparently, they never noticed that I really was paying a lot of attention, on everything but schoolwork.  As children, most of us never missed a beat on anything around us.


SIX WORD SATURDAY

A SIMPLE ACT OF PAYING ATTENTION

TAKES YOU A LONG, LONG WAY

"For the senses wander, and when one lets the mind follow them, it carries wisdom away like a windblown ship on the waters." - Bhagavad Gita

Secretly, (don't tell anyone) I want this horse.  It's been at this antique shop since the beginning of time nearly, (a bit overpriced) hence the reason no one has purchased it yet.

I completely caught this little one following close behind me.  Then I followed along and met the rest of the flock.  Did you know that chickens with reddish brown feathers lay brown eggs and white feathered chickens lay white eggs?

See, I do pay attention.

"To pay attention this is our endless and proper work." -  Mary Oliver

Enjoy your weekend! 

Good Fences - Antediluvian, perhaps

"Priceless things matter not for their value-

 but because they offer us an 

enduring reminder of stability and permanence."

 -  Barbara Taylor Bradford

GOOD FENCES


If you're in my neck of the woods, you could see this roadside art from the freeway.

Greetings from a piece of property with two dirt roads surrounded by a field of incredible antiques and artwork, hoping to dazzle your soul.

I'm lucky it's only a few miles away from my house.  Down this dirt path I see things I've never seen before.

Some folks may label this, junk in the woods.  

Random paths invite me to wander between and around objects put to pasture, so to speak.

Please do follow me into the very land of the unknowns.

Hello peace-out hippie-van parked on a beach in Minnesota land.

Welcome to a lost, but not forbidden, coastal place caught in Minnesota.

Someone has been quite busy putting scenes to the many things out here.  

Spoiler Alert  -  I'll only show sights with fences in or near them.

This is one gigantic Harley Davidson Motorcycle.

"Fancies are like shadows, you can't cage them, they're such wayward dancing things." - L.M. Montgomery

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, by Robert Frost  'He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors' hope you enjoyed reading it.

So many flights of fancy, and reminders of yesterday, that you pause at the sight of them.

A place with a sound gate keeps the honest folks honest.

The almighty gate that keeps everything safe throughout the late hours of the night, yet is rarely closed.

Every piece I met is marked by some form of woe, or plea to be anywhere but here.  Well, except for may a few things that are enjoying the splendid life out here.

Y'all come back now, okay?