Tulip Bed on the Square © 2010 Bo Mackison
We went on a brief foray to the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison this past Saturday. It was a gorgeous day, appropriate for May Day, and evidently everyone else must had the same idea. We began our morning by ducking into a little spot for a bite of breakfast (Bradbury’s — yummy!) and then we ventured forth towards the market.
I was briefly distracted by this beautiful bed of tulips — love that red fringe — and so I had to take a few photos. I liked how there was a streak of sunlight showing off a few of the flowers. Then I dodged a few hundred people in the first half of the first block while trying to check out the asparagus and spinach. We decided to turn around and head home before we’d barely gotten started. Too many people.
I think I may be a rainy day friend of the Farmers Market. It has gotten so popular that the best time to check out the produce and visit with the vendors is either when the market opens at 6 am or when it’s cloudy and chilly.
Might get my chance this coming weekend — rain in the forecast.
Dusk on Capitol Square
Historic American Exchange Bank Building
The American Exchange Bank is on the Capitol Square across the street from the State Capitol Building. The building is constructed with huge blocks of Wisconsin sandstone. That seems to be the building material of choice for many of the historic buildings in south-central Wisconsin, and the sandstone apparently holds up well. This structure, built in 1871, is still a handsome place.
One of the best things about Madison’s downtown square, however, is the number of benches always available to a quick rest or people watching.
Wisconsin State Capitol
Hans Christian Heg, a statue of Norweigian immmigrant who was a soldier in the Civil War. A prominent statue on the grounds of the State Capitol, and one I’ve photographed repeatedly without ever liking the results. Somehow, the snow and the white stone set the dark statue off to its best advantage, and I finally have my photo.
Wisconsin State Capitol
A walk around the Capitol Square usually provides a few views of the State Capitol in the office building windows. I love a good reflection.
Marching to a Different Drummer
I went to the Farmers Market this morning. The April-through-October weekly ritual begins. I bought some spinach and a few flowers to plant, and took some photos of the Market and the crowd and the Capitol Building. (The Market is on the Capitol Square in Madison; the Capitol Building is in the center of the Square.)
On my way to the car, I noticed this delightful bit of graffiti. I love the balloon guy!
or perhaps like Abbott and Costello.
Walked around the Capitol Square on Monday evening. It wasn’t your typical mid-June stroll – I had on jeans and a heavy sweatshirt – but it was a pleasant night, a tad windy. I dragged my tripod and camera around for a couple of hours. Shot the sunset over Lake Mendota, the flooding in the Tenney Locks area, and finally wandered around the Capitol.
Set this up at dusk just as the Capitol Building’s lights turned on, and managed this shot while positioned in the middle of Washington Avenue. The drivers of the passing cars were kind enough to avoid hitting me and my tripod, though “my Sherpa” was keeping watch.. No editing this time.
Blue Star and Shadow Bike
Another shadow photo. Love the abstract quality of the lines. Madison is a big biking town with well maintained bike paths and routes nearly anywhere you may want to go. In this day of the $4 a gallon gas, there are even more bikes on the streets than ever before. There are even those hardy souls who bike year round, – yes, even with an annual snowfall of over 100 inches – but I prefer to think of myself as saner and wimpier, and my bike stays indoors when the snow flies.
For those of you not intimate with University of Wisconsin sports, the UW – Madison teams are all named the Badgers. As in “Go, Wisconsin Badgers!”
Brocach is the Gaelic word for Badger Den. What a great name for a Madison pub on the Capitol Square, just across the street from the State Capitol building.
This wonderful bagpiper was playing at Saturday’s Farmers Market.