We're goin' to . . .

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Old picture. But, it works.
Just replace remove the beard, add glasses (and a few years) and it's up-to-date.

Huh???

For the past month I've driven by this billboard a number of times. It sits on the edge of a small community of about twenty homes and one bar. The speed limit along this stretch of highway is 55mph which means most people who pass this sign are going at least 60. I've been trying to read the message without success. Now, years ago, I designed window displays for Sears and an old rule of thumb was that signage should be readable to someone riding by on horseback at 7mph. That may explain the purpose of this sign as this particular area is heavily populated by Amish families that travel, either by horseback or horse drawn buggies. At first I thought that I would pull up next to one of their buggies and ask them what the sign said but because the photo depicted a note placed under an automobile windshield wiper blade, and very few Amish buggies are equipped with wipers they probably didn't think it pertained to them. Finally, I pulled onto the shoulder of the road to take a closer look. This was no easy task as cars and trucks were whizzing by at 55mph (HA!!!). What a nice message. Too bad it's wasted on a billboard that's nearly impossible to read. Maybe instead of some Art Director's "I hope I win an ADDY award" solution, a simple bold faced typeset
"DON'T DRIVE BUZZED!" would have been more effective. As an old Art Director and a tax payer I think I have a right to bitch about this use of Federal funds. And, just because I'm old, I can say, "Don't put that on my lawn!"

It's even hard to read close up.

IT'S HERE!!!

Spring has arrived. Not in the form of a red breasted bird, or green buds on the trees or tractors busting up dirt clods in the fields but in the form of juicy balls of ground beef on the grill at Pete's Burgers in Prairie du Chien. Every year for the past one hundred and (I think) two, Spring is heralded in by the aroma of burgers and onions grilling in a little shack on the main street of this riverfront town. For the real lowdown on the history of Pete's, check my archives, April 25, 2009, "Make Mine Plain". Jo and I were at a loss for dinner ideas last evening. Fridays around here means that the few restaurants that are in the area are filled with greasy fingered friendly munchers getting more than their fill of crispy chunks of dead fish. These people are serious about Friday Night Fish Fry so don't dare ruin the harmony in the kitchen by ordering any thing that isn't deep fried and doesn't exist under water. I actually heard about a guy that was run out of town by a greasy fingered mob because he ordered sushi at a local cafe. And, just try to get a piece of fried chicken that doesn't have a distinctive fishy taste. Ha!!! At any rate somehow the thought of "A Good Burger" entered into the conversation. Hey! Is Pete's open for the season? (Pete's is closed during the winter leaving the New Year's Eve Carp drop as the main Prairie du Chein event) We checked Pete's web page (Yes they have a web page - http://peteshamburgers.com/ They may cook a little old fashioned but they know the difference between bytes and bites.) A quick twenty-five mile trip to Prairie and we were first in line to grab a sack of juicy burgers and head down to the (flooded) riverfront for a romantic spring dinner. Today the temperature is supposed to go above freezing, the grass is getting green and Pete's is open (only on weekends). How good is life?

Pete's grill loaded with the next bunch of juicy burgers
(about seventy-five patties).
The pile in the middle is onions and "The Secret Ingredient" (Water)
No one gets served until the full grill is done cooling.

The only choice you have to make, with or without onions and which,
if any, of these many condiments.

This is it... the Ruth's Chris of Prairie du Chein!

April Fool

As usual, I've had all sorts of ideas for a "Great" new blog. But, as usual, I either forget these "Great" ideas or realize that they're not that "Great". Now, as I look out my window at the lovely winter scenery, I realize that there have been many "Great" ideas recently that, if nothing else, have made life rather interesting. For instance, right now the "Great" Global Warming idea doesn't look so hot! And the "Great" idea to store my snow blower away for the season, doesn't seem to "Great" either. So, maybe, for now, I'll just stick to a few ordinary thoughts and ideas. For starters, although I've had my suspicions, my Granddaughter Catherine finally came out this week. Yep she's admitted that she's a "Billiken" (or will be as of the Fall Semester at St. Louis U.) The accompanying pics pretty much support those suspicions. (that's Catherine on the right) Enough said.
Late last week JoAnne's Grandmaing genes really kicked in. This resulted in a quick trip "Up Nord" ta see the Grandkid Eddie, don't ya know. I normally enjoy the drive but after following a semi at around thirty miles an hour for, about, thirty miles, it wasn't shaping up to be a real joy ride. The reason for the delay was because of the two or more inches of "Slow" covering the road (that's a mixture of slush and snow). Just as I started to consider turning back, the semi pulled over to let me pass and the road conditions improved. On to "The Cities" where Grandma was rewarded with a welcome by a smiley little Eddie and Grandpa got paid for his driving chores with freshly baked, homemade scones. After a quick visit which involved Reid and Summer shopping, Grandma Jo spoiling Eddie and Grandpa eating scones, it was back on the road to the Sunny Southland. The River is pretty high right now, lapping up fairly close the the road's edge in places. Lakes appear where no lakes belong and the Eagles are busy raising their newly hatched kids. Actually, this time of year the Vultures move in as the Eagles proceed farther North. So, Eagle sightings are fewer and farther between. From a distance it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the Vultures and the Eagles. They're both large, black and have enormous wing spans. The sure fire way to pick out the Eagles is the giveaway white head and tail. Although, due to the cold weather, a lot of the Eagles were wearing little knit ski masks therefore making identification a lot more difficult. We did encounter one rather exciting incident, two Eagles engaged in a mating ritual. They completely ignored any sense of decency and went at it right there in broad daylight. My first reaction was to stop and take pictures but the fear of being caught by the DNR with "Birdporn" in my possession made me think twice. Besides I was anxious to get home in time to enjoy some good old fashioned Wisconsin Spring weather.
Meanwhile back to "Great" things. Last Friday I was privileged to take part in a project to "Feed My Starving Children" at the Fennimore Firehouse. This involved volunteers preparing and packing meal kits which are shipped around the world to feed kids that don't get fed very often. I'm proud to say that I was part of a group who in an hour and a half packed enough nutritious food packets to feed thirty three kids for a year. (For more information see www.fmsc.org )
A few other "Great" ideas include - not mentioning the Cubs, and writing down my "Great" ideas in the future. Another idea maybe "Great" maybe not - post a few pics from "Up Nord".

Could this be a future Billiken?

"Roomies"

Everyone but the dog got the joke.

" You're getting sleepy. When I snap my fingers, you say, 'Grandma' ".

"these two ardvarks walk into a bar................"

Here We Go Again

The invitation was tempting, the weather was fair, (not below freezing) the wind was blowing out and it was April Fools Day so why not accept the offer and head South to the Land of Lincoln and Wisconsin Democrats.
Early Friday morning I ventured out of the comfort and security of my little "Clock" place and was immediately greeted with the first of many April Fool jokes, SNOW! The weather guy on WGN Radio promised no snow in Chicago so off to meet the guy with the tickets, Derek. After a quick check of equipment, peanuts, KitKats, Jolly Ranchers, Hersey Miniatures, gloves and warm hats we hit the road for a wonderful day at the old ballyard. An uneventful car ride, a short hop on the El and squeezing in as the last two to make it onto the overloaded bus made for a fairly pleasant trip down. The car ride always provides an opportunity for the kid and I to solve most of the world problems while the El ride gives us a reason to pray a prayer of thanksgiving as we witness the Expressway traffic we left behind when we moved North. We arrived early which gave us a chance to take a lap around the outside of the stadium and check out the new statues and shops (bars) in the area. And once inside we seek out the "old timer" vendors who never seem to change, the familar groundskeepers who just slow down a little more each year while the new, younger ones eagerly scrap, rake, sweep and run around meaninglessly.

Ah but there was no joy in Wrigleyville that day, the mighty Cubbies struck out, grounded out, flew out popped out and just simply, lost out. At any rate it was still a great day and the return of Vienna Hot Dogs to Wrigley almost made it worth while. Young Sebastian is just learning the meaning of being a Cub fan. Here's his first reaction...

Just think of all "The Next Years" he has to look forward to!

PhotoMagic

Recently a friend/photographer, who goes by the handle "evilbear" (have no idea why) posted an example of turning a rather nothing photo into a interesting image by using PhotoShop methods. In the mean time I've been sitting here trying to come up with a new Blog of my own. Evil's piece was just enough to get the coals of imagination glowing. Out on the edge of town there is a barn that is slowly crumbling away due to neglect and age. The ravages of Wisconsin's harsh winters, blistering summers and cheese breath has finally taken its toll on old "Barney". Over the past couple of years I watched "Barney" deteriorate a little more each month. I really wished there was something I could do to comfort this old guy. I'm guessing that "Barney" is probably somewhere around the same age as me and if I were to fall into such a sad state of repair, I would hope some one would come to my aid. Physically there isn't much I can do to fix up "Barney" but maybe I could restore some of his dignity photographically. I have spent considerable time researching the structure itself as well as the surrounding foliage, atmospheric pressure, ground water table and global warming. Armed with a brain full of useless information I set out to bring "Barney" back to life. I replaced as many planks as possible, got the trees to sprout new leafs, greened up the grass and weeds and even got rid of that old horse trailer. The road in the foreground was pretty distracting so I modified that to one lane. I had considered putting another coat of paint on him but I ran out of red paint when Jo and I went out on the town the other night. All in all I think "Barney" turned out fairly well but, I'm afraid if too many "Barney" owners see the results, I may be up to my manure spreader in requests for cosmetic barn surgery. Oh, yeah! Here's how "Barney" turned out!!!

Bird watching?

With a break in the late winter weather it seemed like a good time to leave my paperback friend from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rachel Porter, and strike out on my own in search of local critters who are emerging from their winter hideouts. Preparations for these little excursions is quite a deal, charging batteries, finding blank video tapes (yeah, I'm going to try taking videos this year) and, the really big deal, filling up the Honda with fuel. I have paid less for a used car than what a tank of gas costs at today's prices. The warmer temperatures should have started to melt the ice on The River so I headed West to check out "Ole Muddy". I decided to cross The River in Prairie du Chien and head North on the Iowa/Minnesota side. Here and there a Hawk settled on a telephone pole would eye me as I drove by hoping that I might provide lunch by bumping off a squirrel or raccoon. The River wasn't nearly as thawed as I had hoped. There were Eagles around but not nearly the number that I had expected. The leaf-bare trees allowed for good views of nests (aeries) that stood ready for this year's family. Now and then, above the high bluffs, a pair or "Baldies" would perform their midair courting rituals. As I crossed back to the Wisconsin side, I slowed down to check an area that, when open water was present, it attracted hundreds of Eagles. Not today. Although there were a half dozen or so roosting in nearby trees seemingly waiting for the buffet to open for the season. All in all I saw a few Eagles including one who sat perched in a tree above me as I tried to shoot pictures of some swans and geese in a little creek that snaked its way through a swampy backwater area. I promptly became entertainment for the Eagle as he watched me fumble around grabbing for cameras while trying to quietly open the car door and twist myself into a position where I could get a clear shot of him. (I anticipated something like the photo at the beginning of this post) He managed to contain his laughter long enough to give me a "wing flip" and lift off to the safety of a heavily treed area. As I sheepishly slipped back into the driver's seat I looked around to make sure that only the geese and swans were witnesses to my exhibit of photojournalism at its best. Needless to say, I have neither a shot of the Eagle or the geese and swans. The Eagle hunt may have been a little disappointing but as I proceeded to the South, I discovered still another interesting species , the Flannel Shirted, Rubber Booted Fisherguy. Normally you find open water around dams and power plants. This attracts fish which, in turn, attracts eagles, gulls and other waterfowl AND . . . fishermen. This year is no different. I guess there's some sort of fishing season open now.

Not that interesting? Consider this, open water - dozens of guys in boats hoping to bring home dinner. Now let's go down the river a couple of hundred yards where we find another group of fishing guys sitting on plastic buckets staring down little holes in a sheet of slowly disappearing ice.

They're hoping to bring home dinner too! This scene replayed and replayed as I continued the rest of the way down The River. Open water - boats, frozen water - buckets. In some cases the boat guys were close enough to wash a wake across the bucket guy's domain. Interestingly I only saw this taking place on the Wisconsin side not on the Iowa/Minnesota side. I'm sure there's a tale to be told there but, I don't know what it is. Ironically after driving over two hundred miles, as I spotted the welcome sight of the Fennimore skyline I noticed a graceful image soaring overhead. I know the birds and animals have a way of communicating with each other but, do you suppose that the "Tree Eagle" had tweetered his cousin in Fennimore just to bug me. I'm not sure if it's related or not but, moments later a large white splat hit the windshield directly in front of me. Maybe with the price of gas, I might be better off sitting on my deck waiting for the Eagles to come looking for me. I even have a plastic bucket to sit on.