Mayapples

The mayapples are in finally in full bloom here in the Pewaukee area.  These were growing in the woods along the side of Lindsay Road.  The little white flowers are hard to see unless you bend over and look underneath the leaves.  There is some debate about whether the resulting fruit is edible - it supposedly ripens in the fall and has a lemony flavor, and was once considered a staple of Native Americans.

Spring Wildflowers

Spring is truly here and there are a variety of wildflowers, blooms, and fungus scattered throughout the woods during our daily walks.  Here is a delicate variety of spring beauties (or fairy spud!) growing in the shade under a canopy of ash and hickory trees. Latin name: Claytonia virginica. I'll have more postings of our discoveries throughout the week.

Peace on Google Earth

[For the record, the two images in this post are taken from Google Maps to illustrate a point.]

For Memorial Day I am planning to drive up to where my grandparents are buried in rural western Wisconsin to plant flowers around their graves - just as my mother always did. While reviewing Google Maps for directions, I noticed an interesting oddity.  The map above shows the general area of where the church is located (B), in Vernon County, which is about 25 miles southeast of La Crosse.  But as I zoomed in closer to follow the exact route to take, I noticed this:

A peace sign is etched into the grassy field just to the right of the church cemetery!

Certain pockets of rural Vernon County used to be frequented by the hippies of the 60s and 70s, and so this could be a throw-back to those days. But now there is a growing and respectable progressive culture, with a very active co-op scene in Viroqua and the excellent Westby Creamery. In any event, this certainly seems like a "wink-and-a-nod" from someone, since it is obviously meant to be seen from the sky.

SkyWatch Friday: Sunset Over Lambeau

This view was taken from the ramp at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin while walking up to our seats at the Packers-Bears football game on September 13, 2012. (The Packers won, 23-10! Yay!)

See all Skywatch Friday entries here.

Lambeau Field

We were at the Packers-Bears game on Thursday night up in Green Bay.  This is one of the new giant HD scoreboards. There's one at each end of the field. (This one was at the far end from where we were seated; the clarity is fabulous.) The Pack won, 23-10!

Hot Stuff

Summer is officially just around the corner here in Wisconsin, but with today's temps predicted to reach into the 90's, I think we're already there. At least this potted ranunculus bloom seems to love all this hot weather.

Flood

In early April, during a visit to La Crosse, we stopped by Riverside Park on the Mississippi River. The spring snows had melted upstream and the flooding had begun. This view is looking south toward the bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The flooded brick walkway below the statues of the children is normally an open path to the steamboat docking. The cement curb beyond the docking posts is part of the levee usually above water. Across the river you can see the Pettibone Island beach house has been flooded as well.

The photo below shows the same landing looking northward, where the Black River (on the right) joins the main channel of the Mississippi (on the left.)

SkyWatch Friday: Slip-Sliding Away

A blue sky frames this decrepit, gothic farm house in Columbia County, Wisconsin. It can be seen in the distance from I-90/94, and is located just south of the I-39 Portage exit. Traveling this route for years, we have watched the steady decline of this old house. It appears to be leaning more and more each year, and I'm sure will eventually crumple to the ground unless it is demolished. In the photo below, you can see part of the newer home built to replace it.

See all SkyWatch entries here.

You know you're in Wisconsin when...

...you walk down State Street in Madison and see this shirt in a store window! And these others as well:

As you can tell, there is no love lost for Brett Favre around most of Wisconsin. This is now Mr. [Aaron] Rodgers' neighborhood.

FYI: Residents are sometimes referred to as 'Sconnies, hence the name of the shop.

[All photos via cell phone.]

Wienermobile

"Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener. That is what I'd truly like to be-ee-ee. Cuz if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener, everyone would be in love with me!"

Imagine my surprise as I saw this vehicle pass us last fall on I-90/94 near Madison, Wisconsin - where the OM Wienermobile headquarters are located. Growing up as a kid in Wisconsin, you were issued a wiener whistle in grade school and toasted OM hotdogs on a stick at cook-outs and camp-outs. (Maybe you did where you live, too - as Oscar Mayer is a national brand.) The random sighting of the Wienermobile is icing on the cake -- or maybe the mustard on the dog! If you look closely at the larger version, you can see the license plate reads: YUMMY.