Grilled Burgers and Fire-works

4th of July. My favorite holiday hands down. As a kid, Dad always cooked the best burgers on the back yard grill. We'd have chips, B & M baked beans, and Mom would make the best potato salad. It was a family tradition and family reunion, with my brothers and I, well into our 20's. Then little by little, while we weren't paying attention, we parted. But until then, we'd come home and later, "filled up to here", we'd walk down to Lakeview Terrace Park for fireworks and run into many old neighborhood friends.

And so we try to recreate those days with our own traditions, it's wonderful, but it's not quite the same. Sometimes daughters come home, sometimes not. One brother is far away, another not so far but neither made it this year. However brother Bear who moved to Turtle Lake, along with his California bride and his Alaskan son made it. Very nice. To round out the family feel, we invited our friends the Bixby Bunch who brought along their two youngest children, the two older...well, getting too old I guess, perhaps beginning to search for their own traditions.

We walked together hand in hand

'cross miles and miles of golden sand

But now it's over and done

'cause that was yesterday and yesterday's gone

We had such happiness together

I can't believe it's gone forever ~(David Stuart / Wendy Kidd) Chad & Jeremy

It starts with a parade at noon. I'm disappointed they don't have as many marching bands as they used to.

I love a parade,the tramping of feet,

I love every beat I hear of a drum.

I love a parade, when I hear a band

I just want to stand and cheer as they come. ~Arden & Ohman

Rachelle and Derrick baring their soles.
Ashley and Ethan playing some kind of electronic game, we played Jarts in Robbinsdale. Remember Jarts?
Oops, forgot about Connie, but here she is. Connie gave birth to Rachelle more than two score and two years ago.
Barbara quit wearing her wig about this time. Coming in curly and thick and not all that gray.
And if your order this $50 spatula within ten minutes for only a dollar two eighty-nine, we will double the offer, you only pay shipping. (Small print: S & H $137)
Look Derrick, I can hold my hands over the coals for over a minu....aaack, yeeeowwww
Some would think this guy winking, but actually he's sleeping while craftily keeping one eye open. "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer DOS EQUIS".
Derrick looking smug because he got me to burn all the hair off my left hand.
Burgers beans and some other stuff. No I don't know why we need other stuff.
Ashley's game gets the best of her.
Walking single file on a long bridge to the boat. Believe it or not, the Bear is not the least bit embarrassed by those trousers. Thank goodness it will be dark soon. John Philip Sousa would love this guy.
Four Meuers' and a Hanson who has turned into quite a Benson aficionado. Hanson and Benson. Gotta love it. We only have one lantern because we come by sea, or is it supposed to be two if by sea? Let's see. Well, while we brush up on our American history, lets hope the bloody Brits ain't comin'.
The Houle's, that's who. Were you paying attention? Can you name them without cheating?
I wonder if that big flashlight on the deck could count as a lantern.
Alex still hungry, slurps on a spaghetti string ala Lady and the Tramp. "Boom, boom, boom. Gruff."

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! ~Rudyard Kipling

A school of Loch Bemidji Monsters. Oh my.

You can see it in their eyes,

in tender hugs and long good-byes,

a love that only moms and daughters know.

You can see it in their smiles,

through passing years and changing styles,

a friendship that continually seems to grow.

You can see it in their lives,

the joy each one of them derives,

in just knowing that the other one is there...

To care and to understand,

lend an ear or hold a hand,

and to celebrate the memories they share. ~Anonymous

Fires and fireworks get our full attention.
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

Sunset at Turtle Lake

July 2nd happened on a Friday in 2010 and was the beginning of my favorite holiday. So late afternoon we headed up to Turtle Lake with our friends Tonya, Dustin and Daughters for a picnic supper at Brother Bear and Seazettie's.

Softly the evening came with the sunset. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

While waiting for the coals, the Bear sights out a potential croquet course.
Maya assists the Bear in laying out the 3D Croquet court.
The women study the court having at one time been courted themselves.
Maya and the Bear leave the court to play a little Beach Boce Ball.

I can see her lookin' fast in her faded jeans

She's a hard lovin' woman, got me feelin' mean

Sometimes I think it's a shame

When I get feelin' better when I'm feelin' no pain

Sundown ya better take care

If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs ~Gordon Lightfoot

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile ~Words by John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons. Music by Charlie Chaplin

Tell me story, tell me story

Tell me story, remember what you said

You promised me you said you would

You got to give in so I'll be good

Tell me a story, then I'll go to bed ~Jimmy Boyd & Frankie Laine

I'm just not gettin' that part of the story...and that croquet court...hmmm.
The B's knees, and a very nice smile by...(it must be) a Teddy Bear.

Peace... is seeing a sunset, and knowing who to thank. ~Unknown

Natural and artificial floaters, note loons.

I just can't believe it's so,

and though it seems strange to say

I never been laid so low

In such a mysterious way

And the course of a lifetime runs

Over and over again

But I would not give you false hope

On this strange and mournful day

When the mother and child reu-nion

Is only a motion away, ~Paul Simon

Papa Dustin, very proud of his girls secure in his capable arms.

The sunrise is Gods greeting - the sunset, his signature. ~Unknown

`Get to your places!' shouted the Queen in a voice of thunder, and people began running about in all directions, tumbling up against each other; however, they got settled down in a minute or two, and the game began. Alice thought she had never seen such a curious croquet-ground in her life; it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches.

The players all played at once without waiting for turns, quarrelling all the while, and fighting for the hedgehogs; and in a very short time the Queen was in a furious passion, and went stamping about, and shouting `Off with his head!' or `Off with her head!' about once in a minute. ~Lewis Carroll

The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo: she succeeded in getting its body tucked away, comfortably enough, under her arm, with its legs hanging down, but generally, just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, it WOULD twist itself round and look up in her face, with such a puzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing: and when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again, it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself, and was in the act of crawling away: besides all this, there was generally a ridge or furrow in the way wherever she wanted to send the hedgehog to, and, as the doubled-up soldiers were always getting up and walking off to other parts of the ground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed. ~Lewis Carroll
And one of the mallets-heads for the lake bringing the game to an end.

I love to be here at the beach to watch the sunset - the greatest performance of Nature. Like in a theater, but it’s free. ~Gina De Gorna

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” ~Crowfoot

The sacred lamp of day

Now dipt in western clouds his parting day. ~William Falconer,

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire."“~Pamela Hansford Johnson

It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream. ~Bern Williams

Give me the splendid silent sun at sunset. ~Walt Whitman

Gaea

“When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator” ~

Mahatma Gandhi

Today I saw a red and yellow sunset and thought, how insignificant I am! Of course, I thought that yesterday too, and it rained. ~

Woody Allen

Servin' Leftovers

I may have mentioned earlier that Barbara went nuts this year with flowers, even a vegie or two...well, tomatoes and rhubarb. It's been fun watching her have fun. Oh, and she's got big plans for raised vegie and flower beds for next year, expect I'll be digging and building that. Thank goodness I have a template named Bixby Boy.

I'm serving leftovers here, individual pix that I guess I want to share that just don't fit into a sensical story. "So how is it different" you say? About half are about flowers, couple critters, and a couple brothers. I wouldn't normally post photos of flowers, I leave that to folks who know something about them, but I do take requests...so here ya go.
Over the back fence to the back yard. The trees are looking pretty good, after having to share the sun with a forest, the trees over the past few years are branching out to new areas of sky.
I stand upon the stage prepared to give a speech, and no one came. Some hippie came and was in such a hurry to leave, they left their wine skin behind.

Political speeches are like steer horns. A point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. ~Alfred E. Neuman
Lots of green, some yellow, white, and other colored flowers, and some other stuff too. Don't know much about this stuff, but it sure looks green and lush and makes our yard look better.
A big bunch of flowers with different colors sitting on the corner of our back deck.

If you're going to San Francisco

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair ~Scott McKenzie

I think these are daisies or she loves me she loves me nots. A woman's prerogative...so I'm told.

Daisy, Daisy,

Give me your answer do!

I'm half crazy,

All for the love of you! ~Harry Dacre

A whole bunch of flowers from a different angle.
It really wasn't that bad, but the Bixby Gal got spooked on a recent boat ride riding on white caps. She put on a life vest and hung on for dear life...er Barb. Sure we got a little wet. So wet, it's summer.
A flock of waterfowl.
I'm livin' free and tryin' hard, and ridin' high. Yippee ki yay.

“There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud”. ~Carl Sandburg

Artisan the eye of the beeve holder. Gaea, notorius Gaea, the second most photographed statue in Bemidji. So Deborah Davis couldn't get away with this, but a 50's family-oriented sit-com got away with the lead character's name?

"Sometimes things get so messed up, crying is the only thing you can do." ~Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
The Pipes are Callin'. Duckman and Bear Kelly take turns singing Irish ballads at Bridgid's Cross Irish Pub.
The sly ole Bear get's ready to pounce on the dis-text-racted Italian Duck
These two are too much alike. They have somehow found that they "independently" own the same red jackets. See the Duet of the Double Duplet Pair in the May Lazy Boy. http://makakii.blogspot.com/2010/05/duet-of-double-duplet-print-pair.html

“The sixties were when hallucinogenic drugs were really, really big. And I don't think it's a coincidence that we had the type of shows we had then, like The Flying Nun.” ~Ellen DeGeneres

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” ~Auric Goldfinge