Tuesday, August 18, 2009

How I Spent My Summer Vacation... (Part 3) Outdoor Wednesday Edition

For those of you
that have been following along,
you know that we have traveled
"up north" to the
Mississippi River Headwaters.

On our return leg of this vacation,
we stopped at the
Blanchard Dam
to search for
Cross Rocks.

Cross Rocks or Staurolites
or sometimes they are called
Fairy Stones can only be found
in a few places of the United States.
If you want to read more about it
you can click here.

It looks like Amanda is not afraid
to get her hands dirty!

Ask Jacob -
That water was pretty darn cold!

Here are some of the prisms
but not a very good cross in the bunch...
I guess we have to keep at it!

Almost....

They were not ready to give up
until they found a cross!

Way to Go
Amanda!

Jacob brought these specimens home.
He wants to chisel away at them
this summer.

I think that a few crosses are imbedded in them.
What do you think?

Outdoor Wednesday
and
Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer
is just a click away.

Robyn

Three or More!!!

Today I am joining
Tam
for

I thought that you would enjoy
a few of the Dahlia's
from my garden.

As you know, the Bunnies have done their share
of damage to my garden this year.

I've never had them munch down a Dahlia before...

So I am especially excited to see these blooms!


I originally planted about
a dozen sets of tubers.
I believe about half
actually survived.

Somebody please remind me
to use chicken wire next spring.

Robyn


Sunday, August 16, 2009

How I Spent My Summer Vacation... (Part 2) Blue Monday Edition

For those of you that have been
following along...
We traveled
"up north"
to the northwestern corner of Minnesota.
As we traveled from the Twin Cities
we stopped at many of the Antique
and Hardware stores along the way.

As you can see by this picture
Jacob may have died
and gone to heaven....

This was a future electrician's,
lamp collector & builder's
dream come true.

Jacob walked into this shop...
decided he needed a Monowatt
something of another
turnkey socket to complete
some sort of lamp...
He lost me -
but not the proprietor of this shop!
The man was giddy that
he was so knowledge-able
about such things.
He allowed Jacob to enter
the back room and the basement
of this antique lamp shop.
(I promptly followed - you never know
now-a-days...)
There were shelves everywhere
littered with every lamp part imaginable.

Inside these drawers were parts that I never
knew existed on lamps.
I was soon set straight that they are highly patented
& highly collected across the country.

I guess that lamp parts are
a hot commodity
for historical societies
that are re-furbishing
homes and buildings.

The man offered Jacob
a job if he wanted it.

I thought of Sally@Salmagundi
and her husband when I saw this chair.
If I had room in my Escape
I would have brought this home!

I could see these chairs painted
and recovered in a large
buffalo check fabric.
How about you?

Here's the blue part, Sally.
Hamm's Beer used to be brewed
around these parts.
"From the Land of Sky Blue Waters....
Comes the Beer Refreshing,
Hamm's the Beer Refreshing,
Hamm's"

This hutch was only $300!
$300!!!

I thought of Rue and her love of chairs....

and then I turned around....
because that's all I could do.
This place was a fire hazard.
Honestly. You could hardly
walk into this room.
More chairs, Rue.

And Woo Hoo....
vinyl!
This was Jacob's kind of vacation!
Everywhere he turned
he found something he HAD to HAVE!

Poor Miles.
When we returned
from our vacation
we discovered Miles had
allergies and raging ear infections.
$400 later he's feeling
as good as gold.

Stay tuned....
more vacation pix to follow!

Robyn

Friday, August 14, 2009

The How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Pink Saturday Extra!

If you're a Minnesotan,
and you travel "up north"
to the lake -
You have to make a pit stop
at

It's a tourist trap
overstuffed with
every "kitschy" item imaginable.
for great pix of the place.

As you can see,
I didn't get out of the place
without having to buy
something...

It's located
just right up Highway 10
in Royalton, MN.
About 90 miles north of the Twin Cities.
You can have free ice,
a free cookie and free water!
Who can pass that up?

Stay tuned...
more vacation pix to follow!

Robyn

PS: Don't forget to visit Beverly
for more
Pink Saturday

Monday, August 10, 2009

How I Spent My Summer Vacation... (Part 1)

Come along with us as we explore
the headwaters of
The Mississippi River.

This interpretive center is located
in
Itasca State Park,
which is located
about 225 miles
northwest of the
Twin Cities,
in Minnesota.
It is an extensive state park
with lots to offer.
Today we will just discover the
the Mississippi River.

With just a short walk...

We're just about there...
It's great to stretch your legs
after that long car ride.

Here's a bit of history....

A look at some of the fauna....
(more pix to follow - later this week)

And here we are!
We've made it!
Joining Jacob and I on our vacation
is my niece, Amanda.

This is a view of Lake Itasca.
As you can see,
we had overcast skies.
It was a cool 70 degrees.

You can cross the river this way...

Or this way!

Or what the heck,
This Way!

The water was quite chilly!

(All of that digging my toes in the sand
wrecked my pedicure.)
But look at how clean and clear
the water is at the source!

Stay tuned...
more vacation pix to follow
this week!

Robyn

Friday, July 31, 2009

Pink Saturday! & Fertilizer Friday!

It's Prime Time
in
My Garden!

The Stargazer Lily's are in full bloom!

How about a Dahlia...
this is the Cactus variety.
I had to plant it...
it was the last package
of bulbs left on the shelf.

The Bee is abuzz...
with Runner Beans.

A bit of Yarrow has survived
the Soapwort invasion.

The Cleome's are starting to bloom -
Yippee!

For more pink...
&
For Fertilizer Friday

Robyn