Onward Green and Saturday Critters

"Laughter is wine for the soul
laughter soft,
or loud and deep,
tinged through with seriousness
the hilarious declaration
made by man that life is worth living."
Sean O'Casey


Playing catch up with last Monday's

THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC

 Our theme is Green

Green is the prime color of the world,

and that which loveliness arises.

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

You'll see green throughout every photo.

The many shades of green is one of those colors 
ever finding
 and continues flowing
through our everyday lives.

The future will either be green
or not at all.
Bob Brown

Also playing catch up with
SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

Sometimes I hear

"Being a person is getting too complicated.

Time to be a unicorn.

What do you think Miss Unicorn?

If you ask me, any Renaissance Fair is a place you 

wish to revisit again and again.

Once again she rides a pony
where every ride's another gift 
both for giver and recipient 
and both 
are transformed 
by their encounter.

You can be a rooster one day 
and a feather duster the next.
So be happy for 
what you are now.


Clink, clink, clink...

Clink, clink, cliNK!
"What's this falling from your arm?"
asked the Wacky Chicken.

Around every bend we wander,
Nature wraps its soft tenderness,
 generosity and wonder
around us. 

"Be the positive light that the crowd follows;
instead of allowing them to block your light
to your true purpose on earth."
Edmond Mbiaka



Note to fair goers, be very careful what you put inside 
your purse, you just never know when a Wacky Chicken
might pull things out!

"Your mental attitudes are the parents of your life's outcome.
Edmond Mbiaka

"Look deep into nature,
and then you will understand everything better."

"I am not everything I want to be,
but I'm more than I was,
and I'm still learning."
Charlotte Eriksson


Thanks for stopping in
 enjoy your week ahead
and take good care of you.

Castles and Other Things Along the Way

So many castles so little time.

"Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers

within the castle of one's own self."

Franz Kafka

"Rocks in my path? I keep them all.

With them I shall build my castle."

Nemo Nox

The old versus new theory is highly overrated,

it's all a matter of perspective.

The ideal happiness has always taken material

form in the house

whether cottage or castle. - 

Simone de Beauvoir

(or mighty sea)

The world is good-natured to people 
who are good-natured.
William Makepeace Thackeray

You find what you seek. 

Lailah Gifty Akita

Someone was beyond excited to become a safety patrol!

The best way to find yourself 
is to lose yourself in
the service of others.
Mahatma Gandhi

The touch of love is lit in the kitchen.

Below faces and shadows can you find them?

You want the sweetness of our beginning

without the bitterness of our struggle

what are you asking

do you want light without shadow?

John Geddes

Become the person you want to see all over your world.

Doe Zantamata

Two very priceless gifts that should be shared often

are the beauty of a sunset 

and the company of a friend.

Doe Zantamata

Even rusty horses have purpose.

Castles come in many sizes

it's not their appearance that matters.

Much like everything else in life.

Have you visited the capital in your home lately?

Maybe you should.

and

if you aren't registered to vote, why not?

GET OUT there and make your vote count.

Did you know six skylights were uncovered

 in Minnesota's State Capital

to bring 

in more natural light?

The new renovation is amazing.

Thank you for your visits,

you matter to me.

Take good care of you.

Horses Riding Into Critters Saturday

Good morning to
 SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

All critters are welcome.

"Our perfect companions

never have fewer than four feet."

Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

I was so incredibly happy to see our sweet moose returned to us again.
I wrote about him months ago when it had been removed due to vandals.

You'll see a few photos from
 this weekend's Lakeville Art Festival.

"A piece of art that speaks to you can open windows 
in a room you hadn't even known was dark."
Lilah Pace

"All art is but dirtying the paper delicately."
John Ruskin

"You can not get before you give.
Wood cannot give you warmth
before you start the fire."
Debasish Mridha

Rusty just before he gets his treat.

He offers his paw.

A bit of cowboy wisdom. From a book written by a dear family friend
 which has much about my grandfather's life as an Arizona Cowboy,
 and ironically blends  with life today.

History repeats until the lesson is learned.

Our urgent duty is "Let's not return to days of the old west."

Although let's keep riding horses.

Opportunity calls to the man who
 is strong enough to make his stand.

Sometimes where man carries the law on his hip

where justice turns on the coin's flip,

Where the best and the worst live side by side,

and the good and bad ride together,

This is where we make our rightful stand.

Our hardest ride of all,
 unless we ride together 
so we shall prosper. 

Live like a tree, (or a critter) 
giving, forgiving and free."
Debasish Mridha

"You will do foolish things,
 but do them with enthusiasm."

Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

Thank you for your visits, enjoy the rest of your weekend
and take good care of you.

Tuesday

All across America we remembered
and held tributes to the lives that were lost.

 Our Community Remembers

We Will Never Forget

"America was not built on fear.
America was built on courage, on imagination
 and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."
Harry Truman

Rehearsal- some flags still wrapped.

Every year I always share the memory of this day to someone in the dark.

Especially youngsters. Inform and inspire whenever we can.

We all remember where we were the moment 

we first learned of this tragic event in America.

All the branches of armed forces join for this occasion.
On days where we spend it in remembrance of that fateful day
we open our hearts to meeting and kindness to others.
Me

While the 9/11 team are setting up for the evening we're blessed with about two hours of entertainment. 
This year I only brought my grand-daughter Karina and earlier her third grade class discussed what occurred that day 17 years ago.  

Many of the children attending enjoy conversing with the entertainment along with dancing and waving our American flag.

"You can always catch stars dancing

in the open moonlight.

They twinkle your away 
to the rhythm of your joyful heart.

Sometimes they dance with little movement 

as they may embrace one's heartache
 before melting away 
any frozen sculptures
of ones sadness."

"Oceans separate lands, not souls."
Munia Khan

"Music gives a soul to the universe 

wings to the mind 

and flight to the imagination

and life to everything."

Plato

America The Beautiful here.

"You should not honor men more than you do truth."
Plato

Best life possible

is always lived forward.

Of course there was dinner at the Bread and Pickle

right on Lake Harriet before the concert began.

"A cheerful mind can always see better 

than mindless eyes."

Munia Khan


"If we learn nothing more from this tragedy
we learn that life is short
and there is no time for hate."

"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."
George Smith Patton

"The wind plays its own music."
Bert McCoy

It's been incredibly windy this week and it was hard to catch a photo without someone wearing a flag.

I had to share a couple of these windy captures.

"Peace if it ever exists,

will not be based on the fear of war,

but on the love of peace."

Herman Wouk

"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking."
George Patton

"Better to fight for something
than to live for nothing."
George S. Patton


To all who serve
thanks for walking the walk.
Thank you for your service.