Spring Thaw

Southeast Wisconsin is finally experiencing a bit of spring thaw - even though temps are still mostly in the 30s. This photo shows our street the other day when Nik and I were taking our morning walk amongst the remaining patches of snow. The weatherman predicts we may reach 50 degrees on Sunday (& we maybe even see some sunshine.) Woo-hoo!

Arts & Crafts Part II

Just down the street from the home posted yesterday is another gorgeous example of Arts & Crafts architecture in suburban Wauwatosa. This one looks like it belongs deep in the forest of a fairy tale.

...Except for the neon flamingos!

Vintage Arts & Crafts

An original Arts & Crafts-style house located on Stickney Avenue in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. There are a number of these beautiful works of art on this street, and throughout the city. This style of architecture flourished in the early part of the 20th century. They just don't build 'em like this anymore.

Constantine & Helen

The City of Wauwatosa is sometimes called the "City of Churches" because there are over a dozen within the old village area alone.  Set amidst a pleasant neighborhood of stately vintage homes, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthadox church stands out as a divergent bit of architecture.

Sunny Delight

We are growing a variety of sunflowers in our garden this year and they are in full bloom. I love this burgundy/peach version, and apparently, so do the bees! If you look closely at the photo below, you'll also see a shiny metallic Japanese Beetle in the center. They were especially pesky this year and invaded many of the trees and gardens in our neighborhood.

Bandits-Redux!

UPDATE! This afternoon I was able go back over to the big tree on the corner and get a closer shot of the baby raccoons with my regular camera... there are FIVE of them...(maybe more?) Be sure to double-click the photo to see the close-up of their cute little faces. :-)

[See the original posting and image of them in my 6/25/11 entry.]

Bandits

So, I'm patiently waiting my turn at the 4-way stop at the edge of our subdivision, when I casually glance out my my window at a huge knothole in an ancient box elder tree. Imagine my surprise, when I see these two little guys poke their heads out and stare back at me! (I must apologize for the poor quality of this particular image - I did not have my regular camera with me while out running errands....isn't that always the case?) I quickly pulled over and was lucky enough to get a snapshot with my cell phone before they ducked back down inside.

The odd part about this is that, even though we live in a semi-rural area, and see lots of turkeys, pheasants, ground hogs, possum, and deer, I can't recall the last time we saw a raccoon wander through the area.

Bill and Coo

We have a pair of mourning doves frequenting our yard this year. They especially like Bill's garden now that he's tilled it because the worms and little bugs are easier to get at. They are so sweet and each morning we can hear the familiar 'hoo-hoo-hooooo' as they sit on the perimeter of the garden.

As the song goes: "Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me..."

Loud Mouth!

Every spring the Robins build several nests around our yard. For the past few years they have decided to set up shop on the lower branches of a tall spruce near our patio. Noticing the Mama Robin's busy flight to and fro, we suspected the eggs had hatched. Yep! This little baby is hungry. Another photo below shows them just before the "squeaky wheel" opened her mouth!

Squall Line

The clouds show a distinct squall line as a thunderstorm moves into our neighborhood from the Northwest.

See more images at SkyWatch Friday.

Parker Pears

Our neighbors have a beautiful "Parker Pear" tree in their front yard. It's healthy and compact and each year in early autumn bears these gorgeous juicy, red fruits. The only challenge is keeping the bees at bay while picking them!

A weed by any other name...

(With apologies to Shakespeare)...this clump of dandelions burst forth on the south side of a building not too far from our neighborhood. Even though we can have snow and freezing temps into mid-May around these parts, their sunny faces can't help but make me smile and believe in the summer ahead.

Wrestlemania

Looks like the Pewaukee High School wrestling team has gone to state for the third year in a row. Go, Pirates!!

What Christmas is All About

One of our neighbors has a simple creche template/cut-out with a white spotlight shining upon it. Let's remember that this representation of the birth of Jesus is the reason for this season.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Roger - Over and Out!

No reindeer for this Santa - he's got his little propeller plane and has been cleared for take-off on this runway lit by holiday bulbs.

Frosty the Snowman

All lit up and ready to party! Since Frosty is air-filled, there is a very loud wooshing sound with this particular display, which scared poor Nik when she got close enough to sniff.

"Thumpity-thump-thump, thumpity-thump-thump, look at Frosty go!" - Now, that might really be a little scary if he started to walk away. Fortunately, he is tethered down to the ground.

Don't look a gift cow in the mouth.

Another house in our subdivision has this pedestrian cow delivering a Christmas present to their front door. Since Wisconsin is "America's Dairyland," there's probably a nice wheel of aged cheddar inside!

Snowman Lamp Post

Similar to the Halloween pumpkin lamp post covers I posted earlier this fall, many of the neighbors have put a top-hatted snowman on top of their lights this holiday season. Below is another view taken from a distance.

More Christmas Greetings

Another neighborhood Christmas light display. (Be sure to click image to see larger view.)

Ho-Ho-Ho

The neighborhood Halloween decorations have now been replaced with ones for Christmas. This air-inflated Santa waves to us as we pass by our neighbor's garage.