Pewaukee Lake is a major focal point of this small-town community. In the winter, there's ice fishing and snow-mobiling; in the summer, it's a haven for swimming, sailing, boating, water-skiing, and fishing. There's a community beach party in June, Independence Day fireworks in July, and "Taste of Lake Country" in August.
These views look east down Wisconsin Avenue, which borders the north side of the lake. The Lakefront Park beach is on the right and cute shops & restaurants line the left side. [Watch for shop postings in the coming days.]
This little plane was the only one out when I drove by the Capitol Drive Aerofield the other day. It's a small airport for recreational pilots and the landing strips are still mostly grass. You can learn to fly there, too!
Wisconsin may be the dairy state, but around here, there are also quite a few people who own horses. As noted within this blog, there are horse farms all over Waukesha County, where "city folk" can board horses and come to visit and ride at their leisure. I'm just a casual observer, but I believe our neighbor's green copper weather vane illustrates the point.
I snapped this while waiting at a stoplight on Good Hope Rd. in Menomonee Falls on my way home from work. The sun is always directly in my eyes for my drive home, so I welcome cloudy days sometimes :-) -- But this time the sun was bobbing and weaving in and out of the clouds as it set.
See all SkyWatch Friday entries here.
This little abandoned cabin stands next to an old farmhouse on Silver Spring Rd. The barn has been torn down and the pasture converted to a McMansion subdivision. So goes the world. Note the woodpecker knotholes above the front window. On the left-hand side of the photo below you can see it still has a tiny outhouse - albeit, doorless!
Yet another horse farmstead I pass on my way to work each day. I took these photos while at a stop sign at Weyer Rd. and Hwy K. My first shot was the one above - which includes the full height of the barn - but appears to show the horses in a compromising pose! I had to wait my turn until the car ahead of me turned the corner so I could drive forward to get a slightly different angle (below.)
We could all use a little "L'Money" now-a-days. This is another of my railroad car graffiti shots, which appears to have been done back in 2006 with the curious message of "[Chris] You ain't goin' no where." Click the graffiti tag below to view others in the series.
A new multi-sports arena is slated to be put on this spot on the east end of Lindsay Road in the next few years. The house that stood along with this old barn was burned down last fall in a fire-training exercise for local firefighters, and then subsequently demolished (see ruble at left.) The barn has been stripped of its' collectible exterior barn-boards and now stands as a condemned shell. It will no doubt be demolished soon. Kind of sad to see the end of an era in this once very rural community.
This is old St. Mary's Catholic Church - located in the village on Wisconsin Ave., just west of the lake. There is also a small cemetery next to it, and the on-site school is still in use. It was recently replaced by Queen of Apostles (seen here in an earlier post) - but it still has a beautiful, old-fashioned appeal.
This house is located on High Street in the village, near the lake. It's one of the many turn-of-the-century (19th to 20th) houses that dot the area. Most are Victorian, but this one has a Gothic vibe. A little overgrown and neglected, it gives the appearance of being haunted.
Happy Spring! The reflection of houses in the reservoir pond in The Oaks subdivision off Lindsay Road gives an illusion of confusion between water and sky.
[See other Skywatch Friday participants.]
Yesterday was our 31st wedding anniversary ("it only seems like forever!") We celebrated with a trip downtown to the Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by the architect, Santiago Calatrava. The photo below shows the exterior front entrance. The roof "wings" open and close. The atrium (above) has this gorgeous abstract glass sculpture on display.
I believe this is another "gall" type fungus (see my 3/16 entry.) This one is a mass of perfectly round little knobs that was also located on a roadside shrub across from Balmer Park. They are about the size and color of a large acorn. If any one knows specifics about this one, please let me know. [Click image to see larger view.]
It's St.Patrick's Day and so, to follow tradition, I'm posting something green. However, as this blog has shown - other than many beautiful spruce and pine trees - the upper Midwest is in short supply of natural green this time of year (see previous post.) One "Little Bit O' the Green" that stood out recently was this "Welcome to Pewaukee" sign on Swan Road. Just a reminder of where we are :-)
Another tradition on St. Paddy's is this easy recipe!
This gnarly looking fungus affects local plums, chokecherries, and other shrubs. It is most noticeable during the fall and winter months when the leaves are gone and it stands out like "poop-on-a-stick" - which is it's common name! These were on some roadside shrubs near Balmer Park.
The hard, black, finger-length galls take a cycle of several years to appear. In addition, black knot fungus can sometimes affect the fruit, which appear to have muddy black dust in their flesh. Affected branches & twigs should be removed, and further damage can be prevented with an application of fungicide during the dormant season.
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."
The Pewaukee Public Library, while located in the village, serves the city, too. The newer structure also has a planetarium, and the dome can be seen just above the main entrance. (To see the old library which is now part of the village hall, see my 03/03 post.) The shot below shows a slightly different angle with the moon rising in the background.
Another in a series of train graffiti images (check label below to view others) - taken while waiting at the RR crossing on Duplainville and Weyer Rds. So many times the designs are just seemingly random stylized letters, At least this one is *almost* legible....not sick, but SiCR?
A lonesome oak has the entire cornfield to himself on this quiet, cold sunny day.
The Mobil gas station on Capitol Drive and Lilly Rd. in Brookfield (the town just east of Pewaukee) was recently remodeled. It now looks more like an upscale office building than a service station. Their logo mascot, Pegasus, is featured in a red neon back-lit sculpture hanging on the brick facade.
Located on Town Line Rd. in Lisbon (the small town just north of Pewaukee,) I pass this farm outbuilding on my way to work each day. It's set far back from the road, so I had to do a zoom to show the striking black wooden outlines of people casually leaning & waving on either side of the door. [Never mind the fake deer posing in the left-hand corner...]
However, I can't quite figure out what kind of graceful tall trees rise behind it. Their yellow-tipped branches are reminiscent of a willow, yet they appear too bare & tall for that. Perhaps the owner pruned them all the way to the top? In any event, they give a nice glow to this gray day.
There are a number of horse farms in the area, and I pass several on my drive to work. Here is a seemingly affectionate pair nuzzling each other. However, upon closer watch, I saw that they were actually playing a horse version of "take-away" with an old green rubber ball (below.)
These two little garden gnomes are watching over our patio, no matter the weather. The past few days they've seen rain, sun, sleet and snow. [Guess which one is really the boss!]
On a recent walk I took a cell-phone photo of this large white barn (below), part of an old farmstead on the corner of Swan and Lindsay. It houses a few cats, a pony, and a family of goats. The goats were out braving the cold morning air, so I was able to get a close-up of the "kids!" (above)
Another in a series of railroad boxcar graffiti. I often wonder how long these rogue artists have to get a design down and finish it before they are discovered, chased away or caught. Too bad it's not a legitimate profession, as some of them are pretty good. To see the rest of my train graffiti set, click "graffiti" in the label tags below.
During the long, cold Midwest winter, gray is the dominant color. So on a recent sunny day during my drive to work, I did a double take at this bright red cardinal against a blue sky. I was barely able to pullover, get out of the car, and take this shot before he flew away. (Lucky to get a zoom, no time to focus!) Once the weather warms up a bit, it won't be long until the robins, blue birds, orioles and the rest are back to join him.
This sign stands at the entrance way of Balmer Park, located on the northeastern edge of the city. It's a popular place for softball and soccer, with local teams playing and practicing three seasons of the year. There are also a few picnic spots, a small shelter house and a playground.
The photo below shows Lindsay Road, which passes along side the park. It's a quiet road only about 4 miles long. We take walks with the dog up and down this beautiful rural road almost daily, no matter the weather. Both the park and road are lined with ash, oak, maple and hickory, with stands of aspen here and there. In the fall we gather pockets full of hickory nuts. In the future, I hope to post photos of the many wild turkey that also inhabit the area.
Ok - technically, this is the brand new Village Hall on "downtown" Oakton Street. They based the redesign on the section on the left, which was the old library - which in turn was also once a church. Pewaukee Village Hall is built on the edge of a block with early 20th century houses. I think they did a nice job of preserving the architectural integrity of the neighborhood with the new addition.
Both Nik and Phoebe have a little touch of cabin fever. Usually, they give each other a wide berth but lately they've been waiting in ambush for each other or jockeying for position over the few spots of sun in the house. Recently, while I was playing ball with the dog, Phoebe surprised us all by chasing it, too. I just had to share the "best butts" shot!
Eventually, they both just looked at the ball - and then at each other - and then walked away. Not worth the effort when there are beams of sun to absorb...(see below.)
