On the Mississippi Riverfront at Dubuque, Iowa. The bridge in the background is the Julian Dubuque Bridge and connects to East Dubuque, Illinois. I was attracted to the patterns and colors in the glow of the setting sun.
We pulled over along the river to take a few photographs and when I got out of the car, I was immediately swarmed by buffalo gnats. Evidently the wet weather and high waters have provided the little beasts with a perfect breeding ground. I took only a couple of shots, and I did those super fast. Yech!
These lovely iris are growing all wild along the roadsides in Door County. The flowers this year seem to be out-doing themselves. Maybe giving us a reward for surviving last winter’s brutal punches. I’m thankful for all the bright colors and the warmth of the sun too. I am so happy that summer has finally begun!
This June the Yellow Lady’s Slippers were profusely decorating the woodlands of Door County. Considering how picky and complicated their life cycle is, it’s almost amazing they grow at all.
All Lady’s Slippers grow in acidic soil which must have a certain underground fungus. The seeds of these plants are about the size of a dust speck and have absolutely no nutrients. Their “fungus buddy” attacks and eats the outer coating of the tiny seeds and allow the inner cells to absorb nutrients from the fungus and then germinate. This process can take several years. After the slipper finally germinates, it can take up to 15 years for the plant to mature enough to flower.
And it doesn’t get any easier after it flowers. Its pollination is equally complicated, requiring a bee to enter the pouchy flower. Once inside, the bee will often get trapped and either dies or has to chew its way out. The bees that manage to escape this demanding mistress then carry pollen to other blossoms, but even after all this trouble, only a small percentage are actually pollinated.
Guessing the only reason these ladies survive is due to their long lives – each plant can live for 100 years, providing they are not lunch for one of the many Door County deer. Once a flower actually is pollinated it is very prolific though, and can produce more than 60,000 seeds.
This is another of the many Door County, Wisconsin barns whose builder refused to go along with the more customary red barn motif.
A very green barn – green roof, once sage-green walls, even the trim was a darker shade of green. And now surrounded by lots of tall, waving grasses. The little bit of red in the window provides for an interesting contrast.
Lots of work went into the construction of this concrete silo – I love the little window facing west and the “top hat.” And somehow, an industrious tree has taken root under the roof.
This barn was most likely built circa 1900 – this circular form of concrete silo was most prevalent in that decade. It was hand built of formed concrete rings that were poured atop each other. Metal ladder rungs were frequently added as a permanent part of the structure to facilitate access, and a poured concrete dome was usually hoisted to cap the tower.
I can almost imagine the farmer climbing the steel rungs on the outside of the silo, calling to some of his younger kids playing in the loft, maybe the littlest one peeking out at father from the second story window.
Taking a short cut through the center of Door County, traveling from our campground on Lake Michigan to the Green Bay side, we passed these once handsome vehicles. Without a doubt, they would have been real beauties in their hey-day. Now they both appear to be in search of new owners.
Looking for similar cars, I found this 1939 Dodge Luxury Liner Deluxe D-11 4-door Sedan. Sure looks similar, even the same color! What a looker that car was brand new! I can just imagine riding along the streets of Chicago, dressed to the T in a tailored suit influenced a bit by masculine apparel, a tipped hat and nylons just introduced that very year. Why, my suit may have even had one of those new, modern zippers! (Pretty fancy name for the car – hmmm? Not only luxury, but deluxe, too!)
I didn’t have as much luck looking for a comparable truck. I narrowed it down to one of the early 1940s models – I think. But it still must have been grand to zoom around in a shiny red truck, especially after the work chores were done. Tooling through the Door in a snazzy truck, making a Saturday night ruckus!
“There is a rule in sailing where the more maneuverable ship should give way to the less maneuverable craft. I think this is sometimes a good rule to follow in human relationships as well.” Joyce Brothers
One of my viewers, Rosa Say, who has a remarkable site at Aloha Coaching left me an interesting comment. “There is a Hawaiian belief that the sky above us is filled with multiple layers of life: The word we use is papahulilani, and (it means) we don’t always see what is there, but we shouldn’t question that it is.” Thank you, Rosa, for this added insight.
Juxtaposition of colors and textures tempted me. Not a typical barn, but I love its individuality. Hmm. Can a building have individuality?
I think so.
. . . the promotion of prostate cancer awareness and early treatments.
I met Skip early Saturday morning as he was preparing to shove off from the tip of Door County, Wisconsin, heading into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan. I was busy taking photographs of the lake when I noticed his kayak, loaded to the gills with equipment. I went over to see what was going on and he spoke with me about “his mission.”
He explained that a week ago, on Saturday June 14, he had pointed his kayak into Lake Michigan from the Chicago Harbor, and began a planned 54 day, 1,700 mile trip from the Midwest to the Hudson River in New York City.
Ciccarelli, a 60 year old high school teacher from Massachusetts, is a prostate cancer survivor. If all goes as planned, he will arrive in NYC on August 9 – 7 years to the day from when he had surgery for prostate cancer. He is doing the trip to raise prostate cancer awareness.
“I realized, like most men, I was clueless about prostate cancer and soon became flummoxed at how little men know about their own bodies,” Ciccarelli said. “I realized I could help raise awareness. By drawing attention to this disease, I’m hoping more men will get prostate check-ups, PSA screenings and that more research will focus on this type of cancer.”
More information on Cicarelli’s journey can be found at www.paddle4prostate.org. Any funds he raises over and above his expenses will be donated to two cancer organizations: Us TOO International and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
. . . Backwards, forwards, square and round.”
lyrics by the Yardbirds
If you can’t figure out which direction you are heading, can you reach your destination?
First there were the storm clouds. For most of our five hour Friday afternoon trip, the skies were bright blue and the sun was dazzly bright. Then as we approached our weekend camping destination, clouds started massing on the horizon. An ominous start to the weekend we thought. If we had only known. . .
Twenty miles from the campground I spied a doe and fawn at the side of the road. I said, “Look at the two deer”, and the doe ran across the road and smacked into the car as I said the word “deer”. We were lucky – we were towing our mini trailer and so we were driving the bigger towing vehicle which withstood the impact – actually very well. If we had been in our little Subaru, we would have been thrown into the ditch.
The deer didn’t fare so well – I’ll pass on those photos – and the fawn ran into the woods without its mama. We’re figuring a good 6 or 7 thousand dollars in car repairs. Front fender, hood, electrical repairs, on and on. With a sizable deductible to pay, our anticipated October trip to the Southwest looks pretty doubtful. We were already concerned with the price of gas, but looks like this might be the kiss of death – so to speak.
But today it is a sunny Saturday. The prairie wildflowers are blooming and I have an itchy shutter finger. And the only living things that surrender their existence to me today will be mosquitoes – which happen to be as big as wildebeests.
Looks like a good morning to head into Sister Bay and grab some Swedish pancakes at Al Johnson’s after I shoot for awhile. Those pancakes there are heavenly – paper thin and cut in long rectangles, swimming in lingonberries and butter. Yum!
