Skywatch Friday: Weeping Willow

The sky and several distant condos are reflected in the reservoir next to this golden weeping willow tree at the edge of Cecilia Drive.

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US Mail

One of the stone creatures surrounding the Asiana Restaurant on Capitol Drive is this giant eagle, who is guarding the mailbox.

Asiana

One of the newer restaurants in our area, Asiana, offers an Asian/fusion menu. This huge place rarely seems busy - but it is certainly interesting from an architectural standpoint. It also has a variety of large stone creatures surrounding the property -- not sure why, though. I'll post an example in the next day or two.

Distraction

Meet the reason we've all been a little distracted around here lately: Harriet. She's my daughter Kate's new little CockaPoo, just about 15 weeks old. At 8.5 lbs, she looks a lot bigger than she is...& most of it is fluff! She lives with Kate at her apartment, but spent most of this past weekend at our house and got to know our dog, Nik (who loved her) and our cat, Phoebe (who did not!)

SkyWatch: Late Afternoon Haze

Another view from the top of Grandad's Bluff. This was taken while at the end of a trail, facing southwest, looking towards the Minnesota and Iowa border on the Mississippi River. The reflection of the sky on the river almost looks like snow in the distance.

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Get Your Duff Up the Bluff!

The Alpine Inn has been at the top of Bliss Road on Grandad's Bluff in La Crosse since I can remember. As a child, when our family would drive to the top of the bluff for an afternoon hike, my dad would stop on the way back home so we kids could get a "pop" - usually a Spring Grove Orange, or a 7-Up. As a college student in the mid-1970's, we would spend weekend afternoons watching (or playing) volleyball on their side-court, and evenings listening to music and tipping back a few. It's lived through lots of changes, but the modified A-frame shape and the name remain the same.

Milkweed: Finale

This is the grand finale in my series of milkweed pods. (If you open that link, please be sure to scroll down to see all three phases.) The dried, crackly pods have finally burst open, setting free thousands of fluffy down seed parachutes to insure that next year the cycle will begin again.

Pink Frosting House

Every La Crosse local is familiar with the prominent "pink frosting" house, located at the intersection of Losey Blvd. and King St., just beneath Granddad's Bluff. It resides in a lovely old neighborhood, but because Losey is the main drag through the city, it has become a land mark of sorts.

A decade or so ago, one owner painted the stucco house a more benign terra cotta color. Gasp! There must have been objections, because shortly thereafter, it was once again re-painted pink.

I recently found out that one of our friends from high school purchased the place a few years ago. Apparently, her grandfather was the electrician when it was built in 1927. It's built in the Moroccan style of architecture by Otto Merman. There is a rumor that the home was a speakeasy during prohibition with a bar in the basement and a secret hiding place under the stairway. You can read more history about it here. [Select the April 2009 newsletter .PDF.]

Wailing Wall

I visited some family members in La Crosse, WI, this past weekend. Granddad's Bluff, which towers 580 feet above the city, is one of the area's main natural attractions. The photo above shows the point from the city below. Bliss Road, which winds all the way to the top of Granddad's, was shut down several years ago due to structural flaws and crumbling of the rocks under the road. After lots of political debate, it was eventually repaired and reopened this year. I was excited to finally go back up to the top during my visit.

The view below shows a retaining fence, which supposedly keeps people from getting too close to the edge. The bluffs are made of sandstone and chert, which are soft and unstable rocks. But, naturally, there are always those daring souls who walk around it and try to get to the look-out area below. Sadly, a young high school girl recently slipped to her death from here, hence all the flowers and memorials tied to the fence.

Still, it is a beautiful view. The houses in the lower left are part of the city of La Crosse. The forested area and the marsh beyond is Myrick Park (where I took these eagle shots last spring.) The expanse moves into north La Crosse and neighboring Onalaska. The bluffs in the distance are on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi. I hope to post a few more photos of the area in the days ahead.

Leaving Pewaukee

...and heading east into Brookfield down Capitol Drive. I took this recent shot on my way into work one cloudy morning. You can see the giant water tower straight ahead up on the corner of Capitol and Calhoun Roads.