the dharma blog

I haven’t posted much the past few weeks. Life and its obligations have conspired to keep me pretty busy. We’ve been having a lot of fun. Some might say, too much fun. When I’ve had the forethought, I’ve sought to preserve the moments in pictures (Coen bros. movie reference, gold star if you name it).

The following is a smattering of those photos, and a pretty fair mixture of God’s creations and man’s. Which is kinda how I like it.

First, there was a delightful groom’s dinner on a yacht on the St. Croix River. A perfect summer eve.

Then, the joyous union of one of my best friends and Katie’s cousin. Yes, I am now legally-related to one of my oldest friends. This is the lovely bride.

Only six days later, one of Katie’s best friends got married in Appleton, Wisconsin.

We explored some back roads on the way home from Appleton and found a cool spot along a prominent trout stream in that area. This was the trail leading to the trophy section (which I did not fish, by the way… I was too busy enjoying the company of my bride).

My folks had a day-before-the-4th party at their house. Katie and I brought our canoe and gave rides on the little pond out back. It’s a swampy drainage pond, but I hadn’t been out there for a long time. The water was covered with little blue dragonflies, the undeveloped penninsula was lush, and it was a bit of a trip down memory lane. Here’s me with my dad.

This cool old windmill is a relic from when the land that is now a subdivision was still a farm.

A lily.

As is our tradition, we joined Katie’s family at the Afton Parade on Independence Day. Though the village only boasts a population of about 2000 people, there must be easily 3000 people there each year. It’s a free-for-all of a parade. Anyone can show up and drive down main street and back.

Here’s the Vulcan Krewe, a Twin Cities staple, heading back to St. Paul after the festivities.

We adjourned to a beach on the river after the parade for an afternoon of swimming and drinking. This shot was irresistible.

My own private Eden.

I rounded out my five-and-a-half-day weekend with a really enjoyable day of fishing.

This leafhopper is one of the coolest critters I’ve seen in a long time. It was no longer than the tip of my pinky is wide. Also cool because he’s hanging out on some watercress.