Misplaced In The Midwest: Weekend Wanderings

The only thing that makes this edition of Weekend Wanderings "special" is the fact that it's been quite awhile since I've done one. As a result, I expect this to make little or no sense, and be all over the place at the same time. Also, as I sit here at my laptop, Hennepin County (along with most of the rest of Minnesota) is under a tornado watch for what I think is the 10th day in a row... I kid you not, we haven't gone a week since June without at least one day of watches and warnings, and we've had sirens go off here in the city twice in the last month.

Nothing like trying to get your creativity back with the constant threat of weather-related death hanging over one's head.

Anyway...

The above photo was taken a few weeks (!) ago during one of my forays to Lake Harriet which is about six blocks from my house. I still find it somewhat surreal that I live in a large city, with a total metropolitan population in excess of 3.5 million, yet I can walk to not one but two lakes that are clean enough to swim and fish in, not to mention that they are deep enough for sailboats as evidenced below:

There are indeed benefits to life in the Twin Cities... if only we could banish the more stereotypical Minnesotans to "outstate" (read: The Sticks), you'd never know you were in the Upper Midwest... until you witnessed the absolute idiocy that occurs when driving in a roundabout.

Of course there have been many trips to the MAC Dog Park over the past few weeks. Below Sidda watches as Victor lumbers past in the background:

Perhaps the best part about living here right now is the house I live in, and the people I have met in the last year. The house has a huge elevated deck with both charcoal and gas grills, and the yard itself is quite doggy friendly, so I'm actually using the yard this summer. Victor, Roxie, and Sidda obviously approve:

Of course, Roxie is happy to be just about anywhere I am these days...

I'm guessing that the neighbors are starting to wonder if I'm trying to run an animal shelter some days, as from time to time, there can be as many as six dogs running loose in the backyard... Below (clockwise from center) are: My friend Tara's dog Sidda, Roxie, and my friend Sam's dogs Inca and Caines. Victor and Gus were present, but not interested in water at the moment.

Did I mention that Lake Harriet is one of the best places in all of Minnesota to watch sunsets? If I didn't, I should have. The photo below is a nearly nightly occurrence.

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a gathering of healers and other good hippie types across the river in St. Paul. Below is a photo of (from left) Rochelle (A fellow Census Worker) playing a Native American Flute accompanied by D on Djembe, and Tara in the foreground, trying her hardest to resist picking up the rain stick on the ground in front of her.

There were several other quite talented musicians in attendance, including the gentleman in the center who is a self-taught guitarist. Listening to him play, I noticed he had an interesting mix of styles that I can only describe as Garage meets Flamenco. It was WAY cool:

The evening ended for us with a shared healing ceremony utilizing Tibetan Singing bowls. They are often used as part of the Tantric Buddhist Sadhana. Sound samples can be found here and here.