capitol lights

This is one of the lamplights at an entrance to the state capitol. I love the old-worldliness of them - I'm not sure how old they are but I would guess they've been around since the capitol was built in 1906.

on the move

This house has been dug up from the foundation & placed on wheels - off to where? This was taken about half a block away from a major construction site on the main thoroughfare into Madison (East Washington) where a huge condominium project is under way. Out with the old, in with the new.

orton park festival

Another summer weekend, another summer festival in Madison. This past weekend was the Orton Park Festival - a big, beautiful park on the eastside is host to a 3 day festival of food, music & merriment. On Saturday morning we took our kids to see David Landau, a local musician & storyteller. He can really get the kids dancing & his whole performance is cute enough to keep the parents entertained too. It was a good start to a beautiful sunny weekend, a welcome respite from all the rain.

weekend market

It's kind of hard to overstate what an event the Saturday Farmer's Market is. Throngs of people start their shopping at 6:00AM (mostly restaurant suppliers that early) and keep on shopping until 2:00.

Here's a view from the steps of the capitol of the ever-shuffling crowds, going very slowly counter-clockwise around the capitol square. Definitely not the place to shop if you're in a hurry, but what a place to slow down and take in the view.

cosmos

A vibrant cosmos from my garden to send you all on your merry way to a good weekend.

bubbles

A couple of weeks ago the Willy Street Coop , our local natural foods cooperative, threw its annual membership party. They close off the parking lot, set up a massive grill for brats (regular and tofurkey, a culinary oddity if ever there was one, but remarkably tasty), watermelon, pasta salad, cookies and lots and lots of beer and soda - all free for members. One of the staffers climbed onto the roof and set up a bubble station much to the amusement of all the kids below.

I would have taken more photos of this fun gathering but I was having too much fun enjoying my free tofurkey brat & beer...

wobbly reflection

The state capitol reflected in the windows of the glass bank across the street.

uh oh, another sunset...

...but at least this one is in Madison :)

I couldn't resist taking yet another sunset photo. This one was so stunning that we pulled the car over to the side of the road so I could take a photo. To the right it looks like tendrils, hair, waves, something spectacular.

sunset

One last up north photo - a beautiful sunset over Lake Superior - and then back to Madison photos on Monday.

rain

Finally, a surplus of rain. July was extremely dry - verging on drought conditions - while August has had more that it's fair share. The only downside - here come the mosquitos...

brrrr!

My husband about to take a refreshing dip into Lake Superior, still chilly in the middle of August.

butterfly

A butterfly resting on the sand at our favorite northwoods swimming hole, Lake Jackman.

up nort' roads

This is the road that leads to the family cabin in Oulu, Wisconsin. Just keep walking for 8 miles or so and you'll land in Lake Superior. My husband's family bought 80 acres of land up here with some friends in the 1960's and I don't believe it has changed much since then. Perfect.

home again

It took a long time for me to resettle back home after our trip up to the woods & start posting again. So, here's my wake up view from the last day of our vacation...early morning sunrise over the treeline.