I used to write these posts in a big white house full of volunteers and dust, with slanted floors and an enormous dark-stained kitchen table. I'm writing this one in the Caretaker's Office of Stone Arch Lofts -- a multigazillion dollar development in the historic mill district of Minneapolis' river front, two doors down from the stunning new Guthrie Theater.

But these pictures are from the backyard of my little brother and his wife's new house in Saint Paul. They threw me a little welcome home shindig, and hosted their housewarming the following weekend. Their hospitality, and my folks' as well, has made my transition from the cloud forest of South America to the sweltering prairies of Minnesota as smooth as can be expected.

I start the drive to Boston in two weeks, stopping along the way to see dear ones in Chicago and Ann Arbor. From there I fly to London for a friend's wedding, so I won't really 'land' anywhere until September is here. That's the month I start my classes at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and it's also when I start teaching digital photography two days a week at Umana/Barnes Middle School in East Boston.

[Speaking of my elective class at that incredible school, if any of you have upgraded -- or downgraded -- your digital cameras recently and have been wondering how to pass on the joy of photography to kids at a school that shouldn't be doing nearly as well as it is considering the challenges the students are overcoming (sound familiar?), let me know. We can use all the digital cameras we can get our hands on, and probably even get you a tax deduction in the process.]

Catching up with friends and family, I'm trying my darnedest to be not be "busy" even though I'm plenty "scheduled" during my time here in my beloved homeland of Minnesota. (The difference I see between those two is that 'busy' people are so preoccupied with their busy-ness that they rarely seem to focus on the here and now. 'Scheduled' people might have just as much on their plate, but they are present. They may have to be somewhere else in 25 minutes, but right now they're right here. Or so I hope . . . )

If said scheduled-ness allows for some more photos from South America, I'll likely put them on Casi Bastante, my photos blog. I'll try to put a reminder here if that happens.

Otherwise, expect some sweet shots of my darling cousins and their ensuing shenanigans from the Cousins by the Dozens reunion the second weekend in August. It promises to be the kind of fun you can only handle every 5 years . . .