A Cat on a Leash

When was the last time you saw a cat on a leash? It's a pretty rare thing although if you live in St. Paul, MN there is a house where I often see up to 3 cats at a leash. It is on the corner of Jackson Street and E Jenks (I think), across from Oakland Cemetery.  How they ever got 3 cats OK with being on leashes I'll never know. 

Two weeks ago I drove over to St. Paul to say good-bye to my son, who was moving later that week to Colombia. I stopped at the rest area on I-94 outside Menomonie, WI. The car parked next to me had a cat on a leash that the owner was trying to get out of the car. You could tell the cat hated being on the leash. She was slinking as low to the ground as she could. Eventually she went to the grassy area. The young couple with her were traveling from Chicago to Minneapolis for a visit. They said the cat was fine in the car. She hadn't been on a leash before but they didn't want to risk her dashing out of the car when they stopped for breaks.  Smart idea.

Hummingbird Moths

The past week or so has seen a lot of hummingbird moths in town. At first you might confuse them for hummingbirds but they are smaller and if you see them up close you realize they aren't hummingbirds. I never really noticed them in previous summers but they are currently all over our downtown area.

Hummingbird Moth

Pontoon Ride on Lake Mohawksin

When I lived here in the 1980's my husband and I would rent a pontoon once or twice each summer. We would first travel to the Kings Road Dam, where he and the kids would fish. Then we would head back to Lake Mohawksin, a 1515 acre reservoir formed by the Tomahawk Dam. The Wisconsin, Tomahawk, and Somo rivers flow into the lake. We spent the day on the pontoon, eating a picnic lunch, and stopping to visit friends who lived on one of the small islands.

One thing I looked forward to when I returned to Tomahawk was taking a pontoon ride each summer or fall. A pontoon isn't something I want to drive so I'm glad the Senior Center offers a pontoon ride each August. It's a very peaceful way to enjoy the lake and all its scenery.

Some pretty flowers at our boarding location.

Another pontoon 

If I had been driving I would not even attempt to go under this  train trestle.

We knew the retired Chicago dentist and his wife who spent summers here in the 1980's so we would visit them on their island.

Bradley Park, Tomahawk

It has been nearly a year since I made an entry on this blog. It's time to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

Last week a friend and I walked through Bradley Park. I've only walked in parts of this park a few times, never really taking advantage of what a lovely spot it is to hike or ride a bike through. In the winter it is a great place to cross country ski or snowshoe. I hope to get back to cross country skiing this winter, and I'd like to try snowshoeing for the first time.

Bradley Park was originally called "Hog's Back" and consisted of 105 acres of virgin pines. Today the park consists of 68 acres. The park is a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Lake Mohawksin. Lake Mohawksin is formed by the Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and Somo rivers coming together.

It's a scenic site to visit in any season.

What looks like a floating bog of some sort

Blue Heron

The Point with its hobbit like tree roots

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Today is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan who loved all animals.  Some churches, both Catholic and Protestant, have the blessing of animals on this day. The prayer of Saint Francis offers words of wisdom to those seeking to live a simplified life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

2nd Grade Class presented a living museum last spring. This boy  played Saint Francis.

Wordless Wednesday 10/3/2012

What way do I go?

It's October Again

If you didn’t already know it, which could only happen if you live in a cave, October is breast cancer awareness month. I am a two time breast cancer survivor so you’d think I’d love this month, right? Wrong. I’m tired of the onslaught of pink everywhere.

I want to see lung cancer, which KILLS more women than breast cancer, get equal awareness along with research dollars and efforts. More lung cancer is being seen in non-smoking women. We need research to find out why so that steps can be taken to reduce the risk. That won’t happen without dollars.

I want to see the breast cancer awareness ads  let MEN know they too can get breast cancer. 1% of breast cancer occurs in men. They tend to develop the genetic types of breast cancer which tend to be more aggressive to begin with. Men are diagnosed later than women, in part because they don’t know that men can get breast cancer. Doctors are more likely to wait and watch with a male presenting with a lump. Men have to fight with their health insurance companies to get  mammograms. Put all these factors together and maybe you can understand why men with breast cancer  have a significantly higher death rate than women with breast cancer.

I want to see more awareness and dollars for heart disease, which kills far more women than breast cancer does.  It’s the number one cause of death for women. We are seeing more awareness about heart disease but more needs to be done.

I don’t want breast cancer awareness to stop. I don’t want research to stop. Breast cancer mortality has been reduced significantly from what it was 25  years ago. One reason is more women do seek medical attention sooner. Another reason is the advent of estrogen blocking drugs. But let’s give other cancers and diseases the same awareness and dollars.

My grandson does his part to raise breast cancer awareness