iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

What to do on a rainy autumn day? Stay home with your books. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #books #writing

santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It's autumn. The nights are closing in. Now is the season when it's easy to catch the sunrise and the sunset. Do it. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #photography #nature #joy

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Mankato Art Crawl today! Come celebrate wild wonder with me at the Carnegie Art Center! #books #photography #dogs

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

One day until the weekend and the Mankato Art Crawl! I'll be reading from my memoir about walks in urban nature with my dog Santiago and raising money for Blue Earth Nicollet County Humane Society. Live what your dog has taught you. #dogs #photography #books #art #dogsofbluesky

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Soybean field under a gray sky: a reminder that wonder is everywhere if you teach yourself to see it. #dogs #books #dogsofbluesky #farmlife #joy

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Lunch hour, hump day. Get outside and shake off anything that keeps you from being happy beyond words. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #books #nature #joy

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

4 days 'til I read from my manuscript about dog walks at the Mankato Art Crawl! 😃 When these goats appeared in Minneapolis' Wirth Park in 2020, Santiago sniffed them out, and when we arrived, they ran to the fence to greet us. Curiosity killed fear. #dogs #goats #books #photography #nature

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The problem might not be the world. It might be your perspective. Try a new one. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #photography #nature #joy

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Ten days 'til the Mankato Art Crawl—where I'll be displaying photos of Santiago and reading about our walks together. This pic comes with a reminder to stop and look around. It'll make your day better. #dogs #photography #mankatoartcrawl

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

When Santiago died, a friend told me to go to bed for a month. It was good advice I didn't take, and now I find grief lodged in my shoulders like rubble. I can't remember what happened two hours ago. But when I walk, I remember Santi and what he taught me: that there are no bad days. #dogs #joy

Brindle-colored pit bull-fox hound mixx standing with two white front legs on a low stone wall, autumn leaves on the ground under his chest, the Mississippi River before him. His head is turned to look at the camera through dark eyes in dark fur interrupted by a white stripe down the middle of his nose. He looks contemplative.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Looking for good news? I'll be reading & sharing photos about the joy of walking with my dog at the Mankato Art Crawl. It's a benefit for @benchs.org and you can help: submit your art about nature & animals for a pop-up display @carnegiemankato.org. #dogs #cats #nature #photography #joy

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

One of the first trips we took without Santiago was to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. After this photo was taken, a mother walked her toddler under the falling water, his face bright with discovery. Santi was in that moment. He's in every joy he taught me to see. #dogs #nature #photography #spirit

In the foreground, green and white umbels of cow parsnip behind which is a low waterfall fringed by leafy hardwood trees, the water falling into a shallow pool decorated with stepping stones.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Every day Santiago reminded me that before there were men who carried briefcases to office buildings, there was something else. And it was good. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #nature #photography

Dog beside a stone wall overlooking a pond surrounded by wildflowers is on his hind legs, looking toward a grassy hill and turning, ears pricked with interest. Beyond him, at the top of the hill, is a sculpture, a silhouette of a man in a hat carrying a briefcase. It is open to a sky that is lovely with rolling clouds lit by the dawn over the points of fir trees.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Santiago ran away from his first home three times before being adopted by me and embarking on a life of long walks, tasty snacks, and soft beds. There's no reason to wait for happiness. Make it happen. #dogs #photography #joy #nature #adventure #dogsofbluesky

Brindle pit bull-fox hound mix with white legs on a stone bridge before a blue lake and a blooming tree, tail up, barking, full of life.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Walking reminds me that kindness is everywhere. This sign was tacked to a wooden post on a boulevard in Northeast Minneapolis in 2021. #dogs #photography #bethegood

A sign made of worn white tag board is painted with blue letters that read, "PEE POLE. All Are Welcome Here," with a dog's face painted in red at the bottom.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

My grandfather served in WWI. He was shot down on the Western Front but made it home. Santi and I used to walk the memorial parkway near our house. We'd visit the cenotaph of the soldier with the most beautiful name. He always told us the same thing: Be happy. #dogs #photography

Dog in foreground gazing to the right of the frame and looking small beneath a huge pole flying the American flag at half-mast, a gold eagle at the top of the pole, the dog surrounded by stone benches, a wall engraved with the fallen to the left in the background, and the sky filled with white clouds backlit gold by the sun.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

One week ago, Santiago left his body and became pure spirit. Then again, he was always mostly spirit. Sorrow engulfs me each time I pass the empty couch or have to chew down a pizza crust I would have given to him. But he endures in the beautiful world he taught me to see. #dogs #photography

Dog at the end of a lakeside dock at sunset, the trees on the horizon black over still, gray-blue water that reflects them, with a puddle of orange-gold light in the middle of the frame as the sun departs.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Santi's face started drooping this week. He started running into things and tipping over. Today, he saw his first prairie burn; next week he turns 13. I'm writing a book about him that he won't live to see. Love everything you can, then let go and welcome new life. #dogs #photography #love

Pit bull-pointer mix with brindle back and white legs standing in a green meadow with a hill behind him in the distance, looking at the camera with big brown eyes and a brown mask over white jowls, his head tilted to his left, the right side of the photo. He looks old and distinguished, his eyebrows white, and thoughtful and tired and glad to be out in the sunshine.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Live as if when everything you love is gone, there will still be love and you will still be happy. #photography #nature #desert #spirit #nobaddays

Big pale blue sky mostly creamed with clouds beneath which a woman with a cane in the foreground is climbing a hill of white sand with a man in the background small, at the top of the hill, under the sky.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Pollen and mud and flocks of singing blackbirds, mitten mornings and t-shirt afternoons, pummeling hail that ends in double rainbows, the fragrance of green shoots and hyacinths and cherry blossoms. Spring surprises. Our job is to delight in it. #nature #photography #birds #nobaddays

Canada goose leaping off the pale spring green grass, wings spread, before trees just leafed out and a blue sky with gentle white clouds.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Things that are better with a bonnet: Easter Sunday, leisurely gardening, handsome dogs. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #Easter #gardens

Large terrier mix lying on pink shag wearing a black straw bonnet adorned with daffodils

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

A human's best friend is a dog. Her second best friend is a book. If she's lucky, it's a book about friendship. And if she belongs to @betsytacy.bsky.social she's got friends for life.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Even if you don't practice religion or know what "maundy" means, you can follow your dog's lead and love as you have been loved. #dogsofbluesky #dogs #love #findthegood

Two lean, muscled, mixed breed dogs on a deck rug stitched with palm fronds have their necks encircled as if in a hug as they play in the sunshine.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Santi joined a Palm Sunday prayer walk yesterday. He met people doing their best to practice a way of love. And a donkey. He met a donkey who accompanied the man carrying the cross. And it was good. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #findthegood

Dog on a leash jumping with excitement as a man bends to greet him and distract him from a donkey in the background beside a man carrying a cross.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Santiago will be 13 in May. He has some dementia. Last week, we took him to the Minneapolis suburbs where we used to live. We walked in his favorite parks, and the sashay returned to his hips. One day, you're gonna be old. Get out there and make some memories to sustain you.

Dog approaching the end of a fishing pier, tossing his head, ears flying, hips off-kilter in a happy jaunt.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Today, a photo with the colors of the Irish flag. St. Patrick told an innkeeper to be generous in order to keep a demon in the cellar from getting fat. So pour a friend a big glass of whiskey. Hug a green tree. Love makes you lucky. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #nature #photography #nobaddays

Terrrier-pointer mix with his face in a clump of tall green butterfly weed leaves topped with orange blossoms under a soft, white-gray sky.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

It's Monday. Put one foot in front of the other. The future may be brighter than you think. #dogs #nature #photography #dogsofbluesky #books #nobaddays

A terrier-pointer mix strides at the base of a paved path between deciduous green trees up a slope toward a bridge under a blue sky.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

After days so warm that opening the sun porch door heated the house, the forecast is for 15" of snow this weekend. Life is change. Move with it and be happy. #dogs #dogsofbluesky #findthegood #nature #photography

Terrier-pointer mix leaping on a snow-covered trail in woods where the sun rises behind trees iced with flakes.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I led writing workshops yesterday at the Young Writers and Artists Conference in Mankato. One girl was writing a story about "a lonely girl" who befriends a "mistreated tree." Nature teaches us to see the spirits in everything around us.

In the foreground a tree trunk that has been affixed with eyes, a nose, and a tear. The tree appears to be looking longingly at a dog in the background, in the shade of its branches.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Snow won't last forever. Get out and enjoy what the cold has to offer! #winter #dogs #dogsofbluesky #nature #findthegood

Pit-pointer mutt striding through snow on a prairie with a lone oak on a hill in the background.

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Santi's first Mardi Gras, 2016, after running away from his first home three times. Our experiences are like beads on a looped string, some satisfying, some painful, all of them together a glittering whole. Happy Mardi Gras! #dogs #dogsofbluesky #adoptadog #mardigras #happy

Pit bull pointer mix sitting and looking at the camera, head tilted, eyes soulful, chest draped with beads that are sinking to his feet

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

If the world seems to be a badlands of destruction, go to a quiet place and create something beautiful. #dogsofbluesky #dogs #nature #photography

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

During the pandemic, the trails in Minneapolis and its suburbs were filled with mutual aid in the form of painted rocks. A colorful message nestled in the crook of a tree might read, "Laugh" or "Be kind" or "You're beautiful." Here's a favorite: in childish lettering with a blue butterfly. #nature

A stone painted with a red background and lying on a weathered bench reads in blue letters "Everyone matters."

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

On Sunday I'll be leading a writing workshop @betsytacy.bsky.social focused on Minneapolis: "set on the storied Mississippi, glimmering with lakes." It's the city author Maud Hart Lovelace and her surrogate Betsy felt lucky to live in. Here's my favorite pic of Santi "riverbanking."

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

My aunt picked the photo today. I took this in the graveyard on the day of her funeral. She organized the donation of so many medical supplies to Ukraine that there's a plaque with her name on it in a hospital there.

Grave marker on a sunny hill that reads simply "Humanity prevails."

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santiverse.bsky.social @santiverse.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Walk, swim, fly: just get over the hump. #Wednesday #dogs#dogsofbluesky #quiet #nature

Terrier-pointer mix crossing a footbridge over a pond mirroring clouds in a blue sky as a duck flies overhead

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