Wild Swan Chase

Last Monday I decided to take advantage of the beautiful Native American Summer weather by driving up The River to check on the annual Tundra Swan migration. Just south of La Crosse, Wisconsin on the west side of the Mississippi River is an area where thousands of Tundra Swans, and other migratory water fowl, stop to rest and carb up for their journey to their wintering grounds. I thought it might be a little early in the season and with the warm weather, the chances of large numbers of birds would be pretty slim. But, it was nearly eighty degrees and a good excuse for a car ride. I guess I wasn't the only one yearning for a road trip. On my little journey I saw more top down convertibles than I had seen all summer. Anyway, I was right! On the way "up" I drove the Wisconsin side of The River and saw no wild life other than a couple of elderly ladies dueling for the same handicap parking spot at Walmart. Proceeding "down" the Minnesota side I finally spotted a Blue Heron and then small groups of Canada Geese. (barely a gaggle) When I arrived at the area that Our Government has designated as an authorized Swan Rest Stop I could see three or four groups of swans out in the center of The River. Even my zoom lens didn't make it worth while to try shooting photos of them. As a matter of fact I'm not even sure if they were swans or not. They could have been pelicans or white rhinos for all I could tell. Can't consider the trip a complete waste of time. Because after arriving back home, while downloading my camera, I discovered that I had captured quite an interesting shot. As I drive up to The Cities this weekend you can be sure that I'll be a lot more aware of what's out in that river.

It's amazing that I didn't notice the fall color on the opposite shore.

Undercover Boss

Maybe you wonder where I've been for the past week. (Probably not, but so what. I needed a theme) Actually, intrigued by the TV show "Undercover Boss", I decided to go undercover in my company. I must admit that I really don't have a company. But, if I did, I would want to look into the inner workings of it. I started off by disguising myself so not to be recognized by my imaginary employees. (I fooled all but one of them) After just one day of performing the menial tasks that normally go undone, I discovered how tired I would get on a daily basis if I did all the stuff that needed doing. I must admit as I looked throughout my room...I mean company I found almost no disgruntled employees. As a matter of fact we are all very gruntled. As in any other company the size of mine there are always things and procedures that can and should be improved. Since returning to overcover I have instituted a few things that will make the company a better place to (pardon the expression) work. Bowls of chocolate, in some form, shall be placed throughout the plant. Pie will be served with most lunch entrees and plates of freshly baked cookies will be available for emergency munching. I am initiating extra coffee breaks for noncoffee drinkers. These will be know as Root Beer Float/Chocolate Malt breaks. And, lastly I am setting up a scholarship fund for all employees who wish to further their education by pursuing degrees in clock setting, battery replacement and pastry chefmanship. I am sure that if you should call into the "company" in the future you will encounter a holier, happier and probably fatter reception from a holier, happier and probably fatter me. I think that this has been a very successful undercover week and should be picked up by CBS to air on a TV near you. Now if I can get this stupid beard off, I'll get back to work.
(It gets all messy from the chocolate frosting on my triple chocolate cake.)

Little Girl Lost?

While on vacation earlier this month I came across a wonderful scene on the shore of Lake Michigan. As I moseyed along the beach (I do mosey from time to time) I found this little girless shoe among the stones. What joyful visions this stirred in my mind. A playful little tot prancing along the warm stones, the cool blue lake beckoning ahead, a mad dash to confront the breaking waves with such enthusiasm that the missing shoe doesn't faze her. The stones, the water, and the shoe remain but the little girl is gone. Or is she?

You can take the little girl out of the shoe,
but you can't take the little girl out of the little girl!

Back, Back, Back . . .

I just don't know. I go away for a week and the Cubs go nuts. During my absence I think they won forty or fifty games in a row. Then I get home just in time to see one of them get skewered with the sharp end of a broken bat.
Meanwhile back to the vacation stories. There was no one really far out occurrence (that spelling doesn't look right to me, but who's to argue with spellcheck?) We did do a lot of back road driving which gave me plenty of time to muse. I didn't use to muse but now I find myself musing all the time. (besides it's neat to say) One of my many musings involved people's need to give humorous names to their possessions, mainly vacation homes, boats and, the queen of them all, beauty shops. Unfortunately I didn't muse this muse in time to photograph a bunch of examples but there is no play on words that escapes these people. Jo and I tried our hand (or head) at coming up with a few names. I guess we're not meant have a boat to dock at our vacation home while we primp and perm at the shoppe because we couldn't come up with anything worthy of posting. (although I kinda like "Curls Night Out" for a salon name and "Richie Haven" for a cottage) But we did pass a sign outside a business (not a cottage, boat or salon) It was a store for yard ornaments called Ta Da . . . "Birdbaths and Beyond"
Enough musing for now. Most of you who know me know that I have strong yearning for chocolate, pie and ice cream. (and I throw in hamburgers for the nutritional value) At our lunch stop on Washington Island I wacked the entire food pyramid with one or two sweeps of my fork. A really dark chocolate ice cream provided the dairy portion, apple pie took care of the grain (wheat flour in the crust) and fruit. Just to cover all the basics I threw in a cup of chili for meat and veggies.

One other food note. On the way up to Door County we found a little burger joint in Two Rivers (pronounced Trivers), Wisconsin that ranks right up there with Petes in Prairie du Chien. (see "Make Mine Plain" - April 25, 2009)


Nuf said about food.
I'm still in the process of editing the hundreds of photos that Jo and I shot hoping to narrow them down to a few good examples of the beauty that we saw. Until then I'll leave you with a story of the photo we didn't take.
In our travels we run across deer fairly regularly. Normally we are either face to face with them or left with a view of their "white flag" (tail) disappearing into the woods. Last Tuesday we were driving down a nice quiet little road in Door County chuckling at the silly names at the end of driveways of vacation getaways when I noticed a deer up ahead. She was standing in the middle of the road not paying a bit of attention to us but rather staring in the opposite direction at an approaching bicyclist. She was completely oblivious to anything but that biker. Almost as oblivious as were the two tourist sitting in their Honda not taking pictures with any of the three cameras at hand. Finally the cyclist got fairly close and another deer, who was enjoying the whole thing from the edge of the woods, yelled (or whatever deer do to get each others attention) and they both took off into the forest. A day or two later a different deer did stop to pose for me. It actually started to approach the car but got scared off by another car zooming by.

And one Eagle for good measure!

Pictured Rocks, Lighthouses and waterfalls are up next!

Bye for a while

Although my posts have become few and far between, I always intend to write more often. Normally I have two or three really interesting/funny stories bouncing around my head (usually in a sleepless period during the night) but, by the time I get to the computing machine, they have dissolved and run off to the land of lost stories. This coming week I have a legitimate excuse for not posting. We're going on vacation. This will provide Jo with a much needed rest away from work and other household responsibilities and give me an, even better than usual, excuse to take an unneeded rest from work and other household responsibilities. My job for the next week or so will consist of finding and shooting a whole bunch of outstanding photos. I still haven't found "The Photo of the Year" for 2010. And, maybe I'll even find a clock or two for my wall. The count is presently up to twenty one and I want to tell you that twenty one ticking clocks certainly provide plenty of "white noise" for what ever "white noise" is good for. Watching the preparations for a week long trip in the Blume house is somewhat like witnessing a circus ringmaster load up the VW with a thousand clowns. This season of year, especially when you're traveling "Up North", things become a little more exciting. Warm sunny days, cool crisp nights, possible rain, the chance of snow, earthquakes, forest fires and the occasional, dreaded tidal wave all give JoAnne the heebie jeebies, which is Spanish for, "I better pack this in case of that!". I have almost finished packing my Piggly Wiggly reusable shopping bag with my stuff and Jo, who promised to limit herself to one suitcase, is just about finished repacking for the _______eenth time. (our neighbor has been kind enough to offer the use of his brother's fork lift to help load the "one" suitcase into the car.) Now that we have selected and packed the necessary clothing, we can devote this afternoon to the gathering of the important supplies...snack stuff. Going on vacation is no excuse for going nuts and abandoning your normal, healthy diet. So, with that said, I'm personally attending to the food pyramid. Let's see, does chocolate go on top or create the base for all other nutrients? I've already covered all the essentials, stopped the mail and newspaper deliveries and stopped at the bakery to assure them that I was coming back so there would be no reason to panic if I didn't show up for a week. Well, all we have left is load the cooler(s), fill up with gas (which naturally went up a nickle a gallon while I was writing this), try to figure out which chargers go with which electronic device, wind the compass and hit the road early tomorrow morning. We'll be back in a week with great photos and even greater tales of the North Woods. (some even true).

As we used to say in the old country, "See Ya!"

Odds, more odds and a few ends...

Just a few scattered thoughts.
Here's an update on my, soon to be acquired, fortune. Saturday evening I received another call from my friends down in Jamaica. He inquired if I had received the package containing my two point five million dollars. A package, accompanied by two US Marshals to insure safe delivery. I told him that it hadn't arrived because if if had he would be talking to me in Hawaii. He was visually shaken (not stirred) and expressed his concern about the nondelivery. I agreed that I too was really worried about the situation. We exchanged, "oh nos" and "oh my Gods". I asked, "what can we do about this?" He assured me that he would personally look into this mishap and would personally instruct me in the procedures necessary for a smooth, safe transfer of my two point five million which, incidentally, would be delivered by UPS. Then for some reason he asked if I knew what UPS was. I quickly replied that I definitely did know that UPS stood for the "Under Pants Society". He agreed. At this point, I needed to get back to the Cubs' game so I told him to take care of things, send me the money and I would sponsor him for membership in UPS. Next call I'm planning on playing it straight and let him (or his cousin) explain the entire routine for me. It should be interesting to hear his response if I offer to save him UPS charges by flying down there to pick up my money in person.

This weekend I took part in an interesting experiment. I attended a birthday party for a toddler that didn't involve clowns, elephant rides, face painting or a Beatles reunion band. What an interesting concept, a couple of balloons, ice cream and cake. I'm sure, that with some therapy and the proper medication, the kid will survive being deprived the expected birthday extravaganza and not be inclined to run away with the circus.

I'm not sure if this is a sign of Fall approaching but, this morning Jo called to tell me that an eagle had just buzzed her car on the way to work. Although they hang around all year, you see quite a few less during the Summer months. It was kinda like seeing the first Robin.

Speaking of spotting birds, a week or so ago, on our way to Derek and Jeanna's new home, we spotted fifty or more Sandhill cranes feasting on something in a field. These birds have become more and more abundant. As a matter of fact, I recently read an article in a Minnesota newspaper that they were planning a hunting season for them and that they were extremely delicious to eat. I think I'll wait on trying some, but if any of you have or will try Sandhill steaks, let me know how they are. (Hold out for steaks or breasts. I don't think the legs are worth the trouble)

I normally write a lot about things that I encounter while driving around. This experience was quite a bit different from the usual scenic view or wildlife. We had driven about a block after bringing my Mother-In-Law to see Derek and Jeanna's new home. JoAnne looked back to ask her mom something only to find her unresponsive (out cold). I stopped the car and called 911 as Jo successfully revived her. The police and EMTs did their thing and reluctantly allowed us to be on our way. On arriving back in Dodgeville it was decided that a trip to the local hospital would ease everyone's concern. Between Jo, her Mom and I, we have a frequent flyer rating at Upland Hills Hospital. Jo's mom is doing just fine back at Crestridge.

One last thing. On the way home from Mineral Point Saturday afternoon I experienced another "first time ever" sight. I have a number of explanations for this image. Pick one.

What's this? Could it be my package from Jamaica?

Oh! It's just a Wisconsin "Porta-Potty".

Too much "Two" party.

Grandpa Blume shows Eddie proper patio fishing techniques
while daddy and grandpa Nimz chase Moby Dick in the wilds of Minnesota.

Nothing to say. Just a nice pic.

Easy Come...Easy Go!

For the third or fourth time in less than a month I have turned down millions of dollars. Just this afternoon, as I was not enjoying still another Cub loss, my displeasure was interrupted by a phone call from Kingston Jamaica. A voice in very broken English greeted me by name, Mr. Ronald Blume (with the accent on the "E"). He proceeded to inform me that while searching through some records his firm had discovered that I was owed two point five million dollars plus ten thousand dollars for something I couldn't understand. All I needed to do was verify my address and some other minor information and the bucks would start rolling in. The easy way would be for me to have them deposit it directly into my checking account. At the time I was distracted by the ball game where the Cubs were about to set a new record for striking out on wild pitches. I told the guy that I really didn't have time for him right now and two point five million was hardly worth the trouble and as long as he had my phone number he could probably dig up my address and just mail me a check. He insisted that this was a chance of a lifetime and I may never have an opportunity like this again. I replied that only two or three weeks ago one of his colleagues offered me a similar deal which I also turned down. I explained to him that such a large amount of money would put me in a higher tax bracket and create an awful lot of extra paperwork, besides I had just driven a trunk full of pop cans over to Michigan and collected the deposit for some big bucks. In my best broken Jamaican I suggested that he could have the money and maybe take his wife and family out for a nice dinner, I understood that the jerk chicken and escoveitch fish were real good this time of year. I told him that I had to hang up because three Cub runners were caught in a rundown between home and first base. (That only occurred twice before in this season) I thanked him for his time and concern for my well being. In closing told him to call back anytime he came across a more worthwhile amount. Not wanting to be a complete idiot, I gave him the names of all my Facebook "friends" and suggested he split up the money between them. So, when you get your cash, I'm free for lunch!