'For Auntie'

Emerson said, “The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul.” So stands this gate attached to a shop full of architectural pieces in Minneapolis called Art & Architecture, Inc. It shares its space with Cupcake, the shop I posted about on Monday. My fondness for gates prompts me to photograph them whenever I see one that touches me on some level. Speaking of antiquity, I collect old photos, especially from this area. However, I found this little gem and had to take her home because 2 year old Wenonah was captured by a photographer in Montana. Being from Idaho, that's nearly home.

Both G's eligible for today's letter du jour at ABC Wednesday. Stop by for a good time.

Today's Flowers, cupcakes and coffee

More summer dreaming on the last day of February. . .I took this photo at the end of August from the little 'wall' garden next to my favorite cupcake bakery & coffee shop in St. Paul just called Cupcake. I've posted about this place before; besides their colorful cupcakes this garden was a riot of color in an otherwise semi-industrial main street linking St. Paul and Minneapolis through the University area.

More colorful flowers here.

Alliterated St. Paul

Sunday's snowy sky at the Cathedral of St. Paul in, you guessed it, St. Paul. See more skies at Skywatch Friday.

always watch for pedestrians

Frogs, be they ever so pedestrian, are my pick for ABC Wednesday's letter du jour, F. Above is a photo of now Dr. Erica on a vacation in Maine when she was in third grade. Already a budding scientist, she was amazed & a bit nonplussed, at finding this little guy in our hosts' front yard.

Fast forward to the present when Dave and I were visiting our favorite pie spot, the Norske Nook in Wisconsin, where we were momentarily distracted from our rhubarb pie to watch this intrepid frog scale the window with its two beady eyes on the hanging geraniums above.

More F-u-n here.

Who knew!

Dave and I found this great barbecue place in downtown Minneapolis after the bike show earlier this month. Its small but has a big history of celebrity visitors, and repeat customers for ribs and brisket. I personally loved the vintage neon sign and was cheered by how its multi-bulbed redness laughed in the face of that buttermilk sky.

Watch the Food Network's Neeleys when they visited this restaurant, and as an added bonus, you'll get to hear the true Minnesotan accent from the owner. See more red at Mary's Meme Ruby Tuesday that celebrates all things red. Enjoy!

What's a mother to do?

As we hunker down for a 11-17 inch snowstorm I thought it might lighten the forecast by remembering a kinder and warmer time last summer, when a mother duck tried to send her ducklings on the straight and narrow. Metaphors, all.
See more @ Camera Critters.

its always something

Our sky today you could cut with a knife. We're having a heat wave of sorts, in the 40's and 50's but today when I was walking home from the coffee shop, this is all I could see of Owasso Lake. Note the ghost trees to the right. Between the black ice on the sidewalk, dirty snow, unearthed things and the pewter sky, an eerie walk indeed.

My new friend--someone who sat down across from me this a.m. and regaled me for 30 minutes with the whys and wherefores she had found herself in a Caribou Coffee, driving an hour in the fog to take her dad to his chemo session--said it is important to sing every morning as well as listen to the birds singing. So I did, all the way home.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more skies to sing about!