Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Critter Bash

Welcome to 


Three things cannot long be hidden:
 the sun, the moon, and the truth."
Buddha

Three things can be long enjoyed:
humans, animals and kindness.
Me



Once upon an evening in Saint Paul, Minnesota, 



Look closely you'll see white stuff.

A wee bit of winter entered
not so much in the metro area
thank goodness!
 I have a rule about snow falling before Halloween!
Old Man Winter knows it too!



The sweetest most adorable pups waiting patiently at home.



They didn't see Mom 
until quite late.





Pumpkins were at their spectacular and Boo-riffic-ness!


"The way we spend our time defines who we are."
Jonathan Estrin


Outside
The James J. Hill House
you could view a bit more of that white stuff.


This is looking up inside the art gallery of the Hill house,
I'll have more to follow in another post.


We are still ecstatic over the
Victorian Ghost Stories and Tour
my friend Debbie and I attended last night.


Everyone thinks they have the best dog,
 but we all know there are "Best dog wonders"
 all over the world, if you take the time to meet them!


This week played with my best pup-pal-Rusty!




Once my visit is over
Rusty always sits at the front window watching me as I leave.
He knows I always roll down the window and wave to him!
Another Best Dog Ever!


My own pups waiting at home always can smell who my recent playmate was!



Really Mom, again?!

On a curious note, if any of you are dressing up for Halloween this year, please share who or what you'll be.

I'm rethinking my own costume this year 
(something I do over and over until the last minute)
after seeing Lyra's costume for this affair!



Play and dressing-up Halloween feeds our brains well!


Here are a couple of worthy thoughts,


The trouble is, you think you have time. 
Buddha


Either you plan your day, or your day plans you.
Self made success/happiness
is waiting for you!

Enjoy your weekend
next week is coming quickly,
and take good care of you!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A Scarecrow Escapade

A Scarecrow Escapade



These may be rags we wear
but it's love we kindly flap
for you
from our Scarecrow community.


On this day,
Besides wandering through a southern woods thick with,
 well some trees I'm not familiar with, leading me to a grassy hill that rises 
beyond where the clover grows, I discover a field of sunflowers.




A sunflower maze.
Not one bit scary.



Okay metal sunflowers, where children run wild through the maze
in hopes that surely a few of these Scarecrows will come to life.




Welcome to where we often shed our souls in human forms!
Discouraging birds, and casting seeds of joy for you.

Or not!

I overheard one child say,

"Are you sure there isn't some kind of magic at play here?
I feel an awful chill and it's running right through me."



Not all Scarecrows are creepy by any means.

I had to look twice, were those lace ribbons running through the trees

or real cobwebs hanging low from the branches?


These bones were made to shake-rattle-and-roll!




Oh my,
I think this skeleton man is following me.

Here he is again!



I don't need No Body!


"Dreams are the skeleton of all reality!"
James Slater


An eerie sense of fate persisted in my mind 

as something unexplainable unraveled before us.

Scarecrows with such depth and richness 

of their own personal perceptions and events 
of all things about Huntsville!





Here come the Scarecrows



A yes, the taste of fright and fearful squawking commonly expressed by incoming crows has settled not upon us today but elsewhere!

These Scarecrows are proud straw citizens
and they protect and serve at all costs.



Ah, a bit of Egyptian Proverbs along this path.

"People bring about their own undoing by their tongues."

"Experience will show you, 
A Master can only point the way."



Hello. If you hug me as tightly as you can, I'll tell you a secret!

The art of planting is so much more than seeds.



Bad Credit is indeed a scary subject, but this straw man seems ecstatically happy that he owns only friendly spiders!

Unlike the beastly straw man below!




Yikes. Our eyes are wide with fear, at the sight 
of those spiders!

No worries, meet Lady Cheerfulness, while the inexplicable mummies and gooky spiders enshrouded our walk with an icy chill in the air,


Lady Cheerfulness will give you a flower and a kind thought!
"Never judge, respect others and always be kind."





Not scary by any means. 
This temporary equipoise of power.
However, unlike many of these scarecrows,
 she owns a brain and has an agenda.

"We all can do better.
In life, neighborhoods, corn fields and environments
 everywhere enhanced."

Should I mention she may run for president?

"Reality might be 
described as the eternal
equipoise of positive
and negative."
Rachel Cusk





Unlike some individuals these straw people are fully aware of others, 
both young and old that walk along this Scarecrow path,
and the power they hold over all of us.

Whenever you visit a Scarecrow village,
It's up to you to be wowed or boo, boo, scared out of your wits!
Trust me that I have many, many more finely crafted Scarecrows but that's all for now.

The art of doing stuff for others is always a gift from yourself that keeps on giving. I put much thought in my posts because it's goodness I wish for all of you.  You make my days brighter with every visit, 
and I wish the very same for you.
Take good care of you.


Saturday, October 21, 2017

Fearless Critters




First say meow to my daughter's persnickety kitty cats
(well one anyway, LuLu is much sweeter)

Lost in the shadows of this shelf is one kitty in hiding, 



but front and center sits Miss Sparkle.
She's proudly taking ownership of a visitor's bag.





Hat-day for Miss Sparkle.
She loves when you hiss, spooky, spooky kitty.



Her life began in Minnesota
such a delightful, sweet kitten!
Now in Alabama not so much!
Oh my!
On this day it's like I'm a stranger in a strange land, 
or rather an intruder in her Cat Kingdom!


I'm holding on for dear life to my snack in one hand and the other my glass of wine.  Yes, she will devour (or just tip over) whatever you're drinking.
Yes, even whiskey! 





Adorably sweet Lulu!




....and then there was a bunny.....
until the owl came by.....
(seriously no bunnies were harmed in the making of this post)
 We didn't get permission to purchase this sweet bunny.
Somebunny was indeed very sad.




As a matter of fact I am owlsome!

This most curious all seeing creature lurks deep into the dark of night,
patiently waiting on guard.
Always stays wide awake while we sleep, 
but on occasion I've heard it's 
hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo while walking my dogs.



Happiness is seeing all my friend's captures of butterflies.
Mine not so much.


They were everywhere inside this butterfly house. 
A few even caught a free ride with me, while inside.





Tell me what's growing in your garden?

A very dear friend taught me that those divine little surprises
 you find growing where you never planted them, are
simply volunteers! 
Don't you just love that?


Greetings not so scary scarecrow.
The fine art of soul to soil awaits in the garden.




Meet Mr. Mike Hovel the friendly shovel-man
digging his tunes in the garden.
You're one smooth folk singer
Oh won't you
play me some more of your bluesy tunes?

Are you getting ready for the big day?
Eat, drink, be hairy or scary! 
Gather around the Jack-O-Lanterns.
If you dare!

Mysterious and spooky awaits, somewhere, everywhere!

I can see it now, all the cats in town are floating on air.
Dogs howling at the moon like wolves.
Tombstones suddenly appearing on so many front lawns!

Ah sweet black-kitty-cat your coyness is our joy, 
it's your persnicketiness
that sometimes keeps us purr-fectly worried!


Thanks for stopping by
enjoy your weekend and take good care of you!

Friday, October 20, 2017

Offering a Better View

Offering a better view is in deed exactly what a vacation does!

"If you want to be happy, be."



Just so you know,  I've included the wisdom of Leo Tolstoy
 through his quotes here today.


This one quote by
Henry Ward Beecher explains his thoughts on books, yet it makes
 perfect sense for trips, even day trips.

"A book/trip is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, 
a party, a company by the way, a counselor,
 a multitude of counselors."

A few highlights from my Nashville and Alabama trip.



Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."




Nope, I didn't cut my hair, it's just up, as the day went from 52 in the morning to a humid 80 something by afternoon!



"Everyone thinks of changing the world.
but no one thinks of changing himself."
I disagree with this Tolstoy quote.

I believe a good many of us are constantly changing,
for the better 
with each new day
and showing ourselves to those around us.

Trust me children are always watching us too!


Incredible Kinetic Sculptures by George Shorewood
at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.
You only capture his true work by seeing it for yourself, 
as this video shows.







"If you look for perfection,
you'll never be content." 
Something my mother never learned.








"Respect was invented to cover the empty place
 where love should be."





"Spring is the time for plans and projects."
Leo Tolstoy
But also every single day you wake. Me


"The best stories don't come from good vs. bad 
but good vs. good."





"It's much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it."

If you ever get the chance be sure to make this event on Thursdays.
Stein and Dine
Biergarten
at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center!
It began in March and runs through October, so you still have one more this year!











Thanks for stopping by!
Seize all the moments of happiness that you possibly can.