beauty this day

Day 46 • July 16, 2017. Fountains provide a real sense of #peace. #beautythisday #fountain #sculpture #gardens #beaty

Day 44 • July 14, 2017. I love poppies! The delicate, crepe-papery petals. The wobbly, curvy stem. And here, the "dipped in white paint" border. So summery and cheery. #beautythisday #poppies #flowers #flowerpower #flowersofinstagram #summer

Day 44 • July 14, 2017. Shadow. #beautythisday #shadows #city #1990

Day 43 • July 13, 2017. If you get a chance to attend a performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, jump at it. Those gentlemen put on one fantastic show in St. Paul, Minnesota, tonight. #beautythisday #jazz #preservationhall #jazzband #music #concert #tuba

Day 42 • July 12, 2017. Work in progress. #beautythisday #flowers #flowerpower #blackeyedsusan #nature #summer

Day 41 • July 11, 2017. Everyone's just lookin' for love. #beautythisday #graffiti #murals #love #art #minneapolis

Day 40 • July 10, 2017. "Mostly Happy" by Mary Bergherr. From the artist: "Whimsy with a touch of cynicism. Pretty, yet crude. Trained versus unschooled. Adult content executed in the uninhibited manner of a child. 'Serious' paintings with the ability to make the viewer chuckle. These are a few of my favorite things. Contrasts and duality get my blood flowing. / Not everything is pretty. Not everything is beautiful. What is beauty? It's the six million dollar question. It's what I try to answer in my work. I am a woman living in a society where beauty is skin deep. Painting is my way of fighting back. If something looks too perfect, I get in and change it." (at Bloomington Center For The Arts, Inez Greenburg Gallery)

Day 39 • July 9, 2017. Pansy faces. Once you notice it, you can't not see it!

Day 38 • July 8, 2017. What's more idyllic than this? It was a perfectly beautiful day on this blueberry farm in Wisconsin.

Catch ‘em while you can.

Day 19 • June 19, 2017 The beautiful and peaceful St. Croix River, forming the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, at St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park.

So the next time you want an effortless, tasty dessert, just channel Julia.

Today there was dancing at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. And singing, and wreath-crafting (and -wearing), and general frivolity-making. Gathered around the Midsommarstång (Midsummer-pole), revelers celebrated the beginning of summer. P.S. There was also Swedish strawberry cake—must not forget the strawberry cake.

Chula was here. And Lulu, Bella, Luci, Mais, and Willow. This Dog Wall of Fame is a charming feature at the open-air City House in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the time I was there today, no pooches were making use of it, but surely, on a beautiful day like this, with sun streaming in, there’d be some takers soon.

A wild prairie rose, batting its lashes.  A June flower with a season too fleeting Delicate petals evoking the past. The symbol of a home state; a child’s memories. We’ll enjoy your beauty while you’re here And look forward to seeing you again in a year.

These are the waters of Minnehaha Creek about to tumble over and become Minnehaha Falls. Imagine the roar. 

‘Tis the season. Can’t you just smell them?