Apache Plume on the High Desert
The Apache Plume is a true desert plant, found in all four southwestern United States’ desert regions – Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Great Basin. Though it has white, five petaled flowers (very much like the wild rose I see throughout the Midwest) the true fascination I have with this plant comes from its thick, wild, silky seed heads – pink fluffy plumes that look very frazzled and blow in even the slightest of winds.
Talk about always having a bad hair day!!!
These plants, little shrubs actually, were in bloom all over the high desert when we were traveling in early October. I admired them while hiking near Wupatki National Monument, about 40 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. This desert stuff – there is much to admire!
Sunlight Caught in a Spider's Web
The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web. ~~ Pablo Picasso
Red Rock, The Moon, and The Horse Corral
I had to photograph most of Monument Valley while being held a car-captive-passenger by a wild driver intent on making camp before dark. It was my fault – I designated a fair number of miles to travel on the day we left Arches National Park in Utah, never anticipating that once we crossed into Arizona, we would dally half the day away at Hovenweep National Monument. And so when we drove through Monument Valley, there weren’t enough hours left in my day to stop wherever I wanted.
Every time I tried to hang my head out the window to check out a new crop of rocks, the wild driver would utter unspeakable words in my general direction. So I learned to be quick about my not-so-stealthy maneuvers.
The moon was hanging over this red rock butte, and I aimed for the shot on the move. I got my moon, I got my red rocks, and later when I looked at the photo, I got a little extra. Tucked in the corner, there was a very small corral dwarfed by the surrounding landscape. But it’s a great corral.
A corral with a view.
Variegated Maize or Indian Corn
…that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something.
This gives you an opportunity for learning.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
These are the times in which you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations.
They are opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for new challenges.
They will build strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things,
but a life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can turn into your blessings.
~~ Author unknown
Thanksgiving Day, 2008
A Place to Rest
I am prepared for the craziness that will soon descend on my typically quiet home. Usually there are only two of us to make a mess, take a shower, fix a meal, get a little out of sorts. Today and tomorrow there will be 16 people, adults and teenagers, filling every nook and sleeping in every corner. I’m hoping there is no last minute clothing emergency because the washing machine was pronounced dead by the Maytag man on Monday, and a new one can’t be delivered until next week. Hmmm.
This photo is my solution if there are any situations that may require a time-out. I took this photo earlier this summer in northern Wisconsin, and it always brings back memories of nearly colllapsing in one of those blessed chairs after hiking for many hours. I was hot and tired and maybe – just maybe – a little cranky. But I leaned back in the chair, solid and comfortable, closed my eyes, and just rested for a while. Just relaxed in my own little space.
Gradually, I noticed a graceful breeze, brushing over me ever so gently, cooling away the hot stickiness. The sun tucked itself behind a few wandering clouds and provided a brief respite. I heard a few birds chittering in the branches above me, and grasshoppers were doing their thing in the tall grasses. It was only a short stop, maybe fifteen minutes, but it re-vitalized me in those few moments.
So if I need a time-out over the next few days, I know exactly where I’m heading. These chairs will be waiting for me, tucked in a cranny in my mind. And if I really get desperate and I need a visual reminder, I’ll pop open the computer, and just tell everyone I’m going to check my blog stats.
What’s that you say? I cannot check my stats in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner?
Hmmmmm.
Then maybe it would be better if I take a peek while everyone else is doing the dishes…
Larry's Mug on the Tank ©2008 all rights reserved
The City of Milwaukee has a heritage of brewing great beers. While many of the old names have faded, the Lakefront Brewery has grown and is adding to Milwaukee’s proud tradition. And to add a little extra color to their beer, Lakefront Brewery is a participating business in the Travel Green Wisconsin program, a state program which identifies Wisconsin tourism businesses who practice “green.”
Ah, definitely a greener kind of beer.
Sherpa and I have stopped at many a brewery tour, but this brewery tour has got to be the funniest around, and well worth the trip. Even if you don’t like beer, you’ll still enjoy the show. (I was told the beer is great by the Sherpa sampler guy, but I drank their root beer which I happily gave a five star rating.) Our tour guide was a mild mannered middle school health teacher by day, and a comedic, brash cheerleader and part time Laverne & Shirley imitator on the weekends. Her performance alone was nearly worth the trip.
You find out all the basic things about beer on this tour, including definitions of words like wort and fermentation. However, the high tech graphics (laminated hand made signs), fermentation tanks painted with images of The Three Stooges, the tour guide’s rendition of Laverne & Shirley choreography, and evidently the refillable beer cup, make this tour “The Tour.“ You see the real brewing operation in all its gory – or glory – and it’s one grand adventure.
Go ahead. You’ve always wanted to visit Milwaukee. Mark this brewery tour on your map for when you plan your visit.
Arches National Park, Utah
While the snow flies here in Wisconsin, instantly turning my world into whites and grays, I am bringing to mind the warmth of the desert – the oranges, yellows, and pinks – and the cooling breezes that wash over the earth when the sun sets. I give thanks for the memories.
This scape was taken in mid-October at Arches National Park, Utah – a high desert region.
Many people, other than the authors, contribute to the making of a book, from the first person who had the bright idea of alphabetic writing through the invention of the movable type to the lumberjack who felled the trees that were pulped for printing. It is not customary to acknowledge the trees themselves, though their commitment is total. – Rada and Forsyth, Machine Learning
When I examine my bookshelves for the perfect book to read, I am always thankful for my books. I’ve never thought to be thankful for the trees, too.
Chapel of La Conquistadora
The Chapel of La Conquistadora adjoins the large Basilica Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi near the Old Square in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Chapel, built in 1714, houses La Conquistadora, the oldest Madonna in the United States.
The statue, carved of wood, was brought to the area by Franciscan Friars in 1625.
Scandinavian Wood Carving
I have admired these wood carvings since I first visited Sister Bay, a town in Door County in the northeastern part of Wisconsin, more than three decades ago. There are at least six statues I have examined, each maybe 3 or 4 feet in height, each carved and painted and polished. When I first saw them, they looked old. Every time I return, the cracks are a little deeper, but the figures’ eyes still peer with a glimmer of character.
Sister Bay was founded by Scandinavians in the 1850s and has a strong cultural heritage. I have asked many people, the people who live in the towns up and down the Door Peninsula, for information about these traditional carvings. No one seems to have any clue. Obviously, I’m asking the wrong people. Some one must know their history.
Finally, I decided to do a Google search, confident information would turn up. After all, isn’t everything on the Internet. Seems the answer to that is no. I can find nothing. Not a thing. They remain a big mystery.
So I’m hoping that by throwing this out into the Internet universe, someone may stumble on it, and shed some light to these mysterious carvings. They are just way too cool to remain so anonymous.
