noooooooo!!!!

Massive glitch on my computer - I've lost all my photos! We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming once my resident IT expert (the husband) comes home from work tonight.

union chairs

Anyone who is familiar with Madison knows how iconic the chairs at the Union Terrace are, so much so that a giant one was made & put on display at the Terrace. They're not exactly the most comfortable chairs, but when you can actually find a free table with a few of these around it, it makes for a happy day.

summer kick off

There was no finer place to be this long Memorial Day weekend - the unofficial beginning of summer - than the Wisconsin Union Terrace. Located on the shores of Lake Mendota and the heart of the university, this playground is home to boat & canoe rentals. But, really, this is the best place in town to get a cold beer, take a seat and people watch.

memorial day 2007

Enough said.

bratfest

Yesterday we went to Bratfest, billed as the World's Largest Brat Festival. The brats in this case are bratwurst, not small annoying children. I feel safe in saying this is definitely an "Only in Wisconsin" moment - this giant truck has been turned into a large barbecue grilling sausages for the masses all day long. The record for most brats consumed was set in 2004 with a grand total of 189,432 brats consumed over 4 days! (To be fair, this is all for charity, not total gluttony...)

through the looking fence

Still obsessing over this week's season finale of "Lost" (called Through the Looking Glass) I'm naming this one in the same spirit.

This was taken looking through one of the beautiful wrought iron fences at the botanical gardens.

bird on a wire

This is a mourning dove - both Wisconsin's state symbol of peace and target of mourning dove hunting season. How the two go together is beyond me, but it certainly has been a controversial topic.

bridge #2

Just something about a bridge & trees reflecting on the river has me whipping out my camera in no time.

take a deep breath

Here's the bagpipers pausing for breath during the Syttende Mai parade. This is not an instrument for a smoker - it takes some serious lung power to play those babies.

Can you see the camels behind them? Yes - camels, bagpipes, fire engines, horses, clowns, tractors, high school marching bands - this was a big parade for a little town.

parade

Another photo from the Syttende Mai parade.

syttende mai

This weekend we headed down to my husband's hometown of Stoughton for the annual Syttende Mai celebrations. Syttende Mai (17th May) celebrates Norway's independence from Sweden. This is a HUGE deal in Stoughton - way bigger than the 4th of July when the U.S. celebrates independence from my people. The weekend culminates in a massive parade down Main Street, which I'll post some pictures of later on in the week. Here today is Maddie, dressed in a traditional Norwegian dress, under one of the hundreds of Norwegian flags flying over this little Scandinavian outpost in Wisconsin.

ready for action

The spring weather is being very Wisconsinish - temperatures bouncing from the 80's to the 60's and back again. In the meantime, these canoes are ready & waiting should anyone want to take a trip down the river. Still too cold for me.

P.S. My site tracker just clicked over to 1,000 hits - this is a huge deal for me! Thanks to everyone who has visited in the month that I've been doing this - I never expected to get so much feedback!

oriental poppies

Probably my favourite spring flower - nothing beats them for sheer drama & colour. Happy weekend everyone!

spring showers

One thing I love about living in the midwest is the crazy weather. We're not exactly in Tornado Alley (although they can get pretty close) but we do get the most dramatic thunderstorms. The day before yesterday the temperature dropped quite quickly, then the sky turned about 5 different shades of gray. This was taken from my car window on my way home - as an ever growing number of my photos are :)

madeleine

Today I am following the example of Lynn in Cheltenham and posting a photo of Madeleine McCann, the three year old British girl who was abducted in Portugal two weeks ago.

Although I shudder at the circumstances surrounding her kidnapping - she and her siblings were left alone sleeping at their holiday villa while their parents dined at a nearby restaurant - surely this is every parent's worst nightmare.

She could be anywhere in the world by now, so I feel a certain responsibility (if that's the right word) as a member of this global City Daily Photo community to post her photo.

green wave

The spirea are in full bloom in Madison now - this road has one after the other as far as you can see. My clever husband pointed out that it looks like a green wave, hence the title. (He's handy to have around sometimes.)

bleeding hearts

Easily the most dramatic looking flower in my garden right now.

willy street

The photo I posted on Mother's Day was taken on Williamson Street (known locally as Willy Street), a very eclectic neighborhood on Madison's east side. When I first came to Madison it was pretty run down and not the safest part of town, but these days $300,000 condos sit next to tattoo parlors and the natural foods co-op.
These signs are hanging from lampposts up & down the street - I kind of like how the symbols represent everything Willy Street is and aspires to be.

mama didn't raise no fool...

Today is Mother's Day in the U.S.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas & grandmas reading this - and if you have a mama you can call on the phone - do it! Call your mother & tell her you love her (fool.)

Madison tidbit: this was taken on the side of a coffee shop called Mother Fools (get it?) and they have given over one wall of their building to local graffiti artists. They change it every month & this one recently went up for Mother's Day. The perfect photo for today.

passing through

I went down to the lake one evening hoping for a couple of good sunset shots (which Chris and Deb in Minneapolis have turned into an art form) but, wouldn't you know, the muse didn't strike. Walking home I looked up to see this plane flying over far above me & that was my photo.
Can you see the UFO lurking in the background?

tree art

Well, why not? Shouldn't trees get all dressed up once in a while??

--Now the question is, will Kate in St. Paul post a picture of a tree today - lately we've been posting very similar photos because great minds think alike ;)

playtime

One of the reasons I started this blog was I wanted to start taking photos of something other than my children...and then I see this amazing statue outside our natural food co-op. It was one of those 'pull the car over to the side of the road' moments - I just love the fluidity (real word?) and movement in this statue and, of course, it makes me think of my children playing.

The light & the angle are a little funky (I was gingerly stepping through the co-op's garden to take the photo) but I hope you can see at least some of the detail. (Try viewing it large.)

street music

The guy on the left is playing a washboard - they drew a good size crowd with this music. Very interesting sound.
I was thinking this would be a good future 'theme day' - I think most cities have someone playing music somewhere, don't they?!

high rise work

I spotted these two window washers while walking around the farmer's market this weekend - I can't imagine this is a good line of work for those with vertigo, but could this be the dream job for rock climbers who don't like chatty co-workers?

temple doorway

I'm so knocked out by the colours & detail in this doorway. This is at Deer Park Buddhist Center in the town of Oregon just outside Madison. The Dalai Lama has been a frequent visitor here & will return next spring for the blessing of the new temple at Deer Park. (Thanks to father-in-law Steve for sending me this photo to post today!)

bee season

The Farmer's Market has started up again & will run through November - it is held every Saturday and draws thousands of people each week. This guy & his honey has been at the market for as long as I can remember & he's always wearing his beehive hat.
Has anyone heard about the mysterious bee disappearance? One quarter of America's honeybees have disappeared - just gone. Conspiracy theorists abound!

bridge #1

With so many lakes in Madison and the Yahara River running in between them we have a lot of bridges so expect a few bridge photos - here's #1. Note the trees are still pretty bare in this part of the world - spring takes a long time to get here but when it does you can't help but be impressed.

hello dalai

Sorry, couldn't resist the pun - the Dalai Lama is in town! Obviously I would have loved to get close enough to take a photo of him for today but the chances of that are about zero, so instead you get a shot of the city county building flying the Tibetan flag. I know, it's an ugly building (and a less than thrilling photo.)

a norski & some flowers

The tulips are in full bloom around the capitol building right now, they're absolutely beautiful. In years past the city used to dig up the bulbs at the end of their growing season to give them away for free - they were all scooped up pretty quickly, as you can imagine.

And who is this stately figure keeping guard over the pink tulips? It's none other than Hans Christian Heg, a Norwegian immigrant who led the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War (also known as the 'Scandinavian Regiment' because nearly all of its soldiers were Norwegians.) How do I know so much about this guy? Shameless plug: because my father-in-law wrote the book, literally, about Heg and it's available on Amazon! (This one is for you, Steve!)

that's entertainment

Boys + heavy machinery = bliss.

When we were standing around watching all this action, my friend Liz & I were wondering if the guys who drive these big diggers & excavators are all still little boys playing with their toys. Or is it just a job?

May Theme Day: City Exchange

This month's theme day is City Exchange. There was some confusion about whether you were supposed to post a picture of a city other than your own, or if you should post a photo of a city that would make the viewer think it was another city... so I went with the latter. This is a traditional 'sala', or pavillion, from Thailand which is right here on the east side of Madison. It was a gift from the King of Thailand to the University as a sort of thank you present for all of the students from Thailand who have studied here. I'll post a close up one day, it's truly remarkable, not a nail in the whole thing.

82 Daily Photo sites are participating in the 1st May theme, "City Exchange", please use the links below to visit them. Due to time zone differences and other factors, the theme photo may not be displayed until later if you are viewing early in the day.
Monte Carlo, Monaco - Rome, Italy - Singapore, Singapore - Tenerife, Spain - Rotterdam, Netherlands - London, UK - Montréal (QC), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Bastia, France - Hong Kong, China - Mazatlan, Mexico - Buenos Aeres, Argentina - Manila, Philippines - Arradon, France - Madison (WI), USA - Evry, France - Seoul, Korea - Shanghai, China - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Sequim (WA), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Budapest, Hungary - Baziège, France - Hamburg, Germany - Toruń, Poland - Nelson, New Zealand - Madison (WI), USA - Vantaa, Finland - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Mainz, Germany - Dubai, UAE - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cork, Ireland - Stockholm, Sweden - Menton, France - Tel Aviv, Israel - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Kitakami, Japan - Stayton (OR), USA - Szentes, Hungary - Stavanger, Norway - Grenoble, France - Villigen, Switzerland - Paris, France - Hyde, UK - Moscow, Russia - Joplin (MO), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Greenville (SC), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Asheville (NC), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Madrid, Spain - Auckland, New Zealand - Oulu, Finland - Lubbock (TX), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Vancouver, Canada - Seattle (WA), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Manila, Philippines - Lyon, France - New York City (NY), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Hayle, UK - Wailea (HI), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - San Diego (CA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Torino, Italy