Wedding photos

Here's a picture as we were departing for the courthouse:



Standing in front of the judge:



The rings:



Harriet and I with the ring bearer:



And showing off our rings at the reception:


Before the reception:




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Cat-proof fence

Well, we have Peet, a completely, profoundly blind cat (his eyes were removed due to a rare glaucoma). Peet was an outdoor cat, and we take him for multiple daily walks around the block. We also sit with him in the back yard, but he takes every opportunity to run, whenever our attention wanes.

So, we decided that we needed a temporary fence: T-sticks and green plastic netting (intended for chicken enclosures:


This fence slowed Peet down a bit. His first win was climbing over, but he occasionally hit a post. Then he discovered that he could go under, especially where the ground slopes down.

Croquet wickets, my son David's good idea, pinned down the bottom edge, and stymied him again.

At the end of this week, Peet was able to slip through the fence as if he was smoke. How?


Can you see the hole, chewed by rabbits? Now I remember the title of an Australian film from several decades ago: "Rabbit Proof Fence". Though it wasn't so much about rabbits, so I had to save the rabbit lesson until now.

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Head over Heels

Actually, I'd call it treads over headset. I set out for a 24-30 mile bike ride last Sunday. I headed out in my favorite direction, towards Battle Creek park.

As I was cruising along highway 61 on the bike path, about seven or eight miles from home, I noticed that there were some new colored arrows spray-painted on the path, indicating that a bike ride with three separate routes, signaled by three different colored arrows, had been routed on this path.

Just before I got to the park, the yellow and blue routes veered off to the right, away from the park. Orange continued into the park, then veered to the left, off the path, and up a rocky trail. About twenty yards later, still in the parking lot, an orange arrow appeared again, but turned abruptly to the right before the bridge and headed straight towards the creek. Shocked, I looked away from my path, towards the creek. What did the river crossing look like?

Suddenly, I remembered my own path. I looked up just in time to remember that there is a post in the middle of my path, which is sometimes folded down, but it or its bracket still provides a hazard in the middle of the path.



I was about a foot away from the bracket, and with quick pressure to the handlebar, I cut just to the right and avoided the bracket. But to stay up, I had to cut back left, just as I felt my back wheel hit the bracket.

The next thing I knew, I was airborne, landing on my knee, and it hurt, so I rolled to my thigh, and it felt better. Prone, on the ground, I looked up, and saw my bicycle next to me, wheels spinning in the air. I assessed my condition: conscious, maybe dazed, but nothing hurt too much.

I stood up, and realized that my bike had landed with its handlebars on a low wall, my bike perpendicular to the path. I set it upright - one brake hood was twisted almost ninety degrees, but otherwise, my bike seemed OK.

I took myself off the path, and assessed myself, and my helmet, more closely. No cracks, dings, nor chips in the helmet. My painful knee was the source of a trickle of blood running quickly down my right shin.

I could handle the blood, then I noticed a goose egg, or maybe an ostrich egg on the inside of my left shin. How could that have grown so big so quickly? Slightly shaken by the sight, I banished the idea of continuing up the path, and decided to ride slowly and carefully home. I was surely having a rush of adrenaline, and was maybe suffering some shock. I thought that if that lump grows any bigger, or something else starts to hurt, I want to be closer to home.

I carefully looked over all the components of my bike: wheels, spokes, brakes (needed a bit of tweaking, probably because the handbrake mechanism had been pulled out of position). Frame and paint showed no bends, dings, nor scrapes. I was good to go!

Here's what my legs looked like when I got home:





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Taliesin

We had stopped at Frank Lloyd Wright's long-time home and school on the way to Madison, but we decided to delay the expensive two-hour tour until Sunday of the drive home.
That is today.


Just outside bedrooms in house.





Looking out entrance to house.


The first (?) red tile . . .

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Madison Farmers' Market

We had breakfast at a sidewalk cafe next to the farmers' market. Then wandered around the market. Produce was beautiful, as well as honey, maple syrup, cheese, meat, flowers, fruit, and other items.
Some random photos of the farmers' market, below:














Moved out of fancy hotel room, back to suburbs tonight.
Will do some reading and relaxing in a Middleton park in the afternoon.

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Around Madison on the City Trail

Today, we switched from the long-stay hotel in the suburbs to one night in a nice hotel near State Street and the campus. We packed everything in the car, parked on a residential street, and rode on eighteen miles of well-marked paths that wound through the city. 36 miles, but mostly flat and wooded. Here are some scenes:

View of Capitol area.


Rolling pin art in a cafe:


Outside same cafe:


Box (?) cars rusting:


And the political action du jour:



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New Glarus or Bust!

Today was scheduled to be our longest and hilliest day of the week, and we started in Paoli, the endpoint of yesterday's ride.
Scenery was quite beautiful:



Many T- stops.


Many rolling hills - but it's surprisingly difficult to capture steepness on film.


Finally, real home-made pie in a little cafe in the town of Albany, WI.


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Paoli towards Belville

Today, a 30 mile ride round-trip ride into Paoli, which turns out to be something of an artsy community - think Stockholm, WI, with more space, and more little galleries. Fun stuff - more crafty.
Catering to the earthy crunchy clientele:



Along the way, a modern house with lots of landscaping. Remember, this is only about fifteen miles south of Madison city limits:



Here's an old chicken coop, and the mature oaks along the road.



And on the last bit of today's ride, from Arboretum road, a view across the smallest of Madison's lakes, Lake Wingra, with Madison buildings in the background.


Tonight, we're planning to have dinner and a beer on the Terrace at the Student Union. Looking forward to that . . .

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Lodi and beyond

Today was scheduled to be hot (85) and humid, so we got an early start - coffee shop by 8:34 . . .
We drove to a starting point about ten miles away at the edge of Middleton.

Ride contained more, and steeper rolling hills than yesterday's ride. Farms seemed for the most part larger and more prosperous. And it was quite a bit hotter - felt pretty exhausted by the end of the shorter day.



Town of Lodi is quaint, buildings from late 1800's.



Fledgling robin on a chair outside our lunch stop.


Finally, after washing up, we biked back into campus area, had dinner, and ended up on the Terrace at the Student Union.



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Lake Mills and Aztalan

Started out this morning in a light rain that's supposed to turn into thunderstorms in the afternoon. Luckily, rain stopped and we've had partly cloudy weather. Hoping the t-storms hold off for a while.
Had snacks (coffee and a cookie ) at touristy town of Lake Mills. Then took a picnic lunch Aztalan State Park, which focuses on Indian mounds.




I like the old country roads with rows of mature trees:



Finally, my favorite shot from today's ride:


I think this might have been an original homestead - or possibly the original barn?

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Arrival in Madison

Arrived in Madison Sunday around dinner time. We unpacked the car and jumped on our bikes for a ten mile ride to the center of town (Univ. of Wisconsin campus)

We found Edamame, a Japanese noodle shop, with patio in the Willie Street.neighborhood. This was a citrus-based noodle salad.


We grabbed some groceries at the Willie Street Coop, then headed home, as evening turned to night.


On the ride home, I caught the setting sun over Lake Mendoda from Observatory Hill. Nice, quiet ride home.

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The Legal Step

Here we are, inside a courtroom, discussing details of our impending civil ceremony with the judge.


A momentous occasion in my life, in the state of Minnesota, and our civil society at large. Glad to be a part of this!

- Thanks to Mike Lotz for photo
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Before the Journey

About to partake in another trip, two wheels again, with extra time for reflection. I intend to take photos, as I travel into Wisconsin and beyond. How will my perspective be different? I'll be standing on the other side of the broom - a broom I had never really thought much about.
If I have my act together, I'll post photos of the transition. The broom-jumping, which is will happen on Friday.