Taking a break

I'm taking a short break from blogging while I get my computer situation straightened out. I will be back, so check in once in a while.

Thanks,

Heidi

Some sort of Buoy...I Think on the Waukegan Shore

Buoys are used for different purposes, navigational, weather updates, and there are warning or boat guiding buoys. This buoy was right on the corner of the pier we were walking on and the rock pier jutting out to the right so I really can't say what it is used for. Maybe it isn't a buoy. There is a lid on top. Maybe they take water samples but then again why would they climb on top of that thing and not take samples off the side. It could be for measuring water levels. Ok. I can't speculate. If anyone has any ideas. That would be great.

Lost in the Crowd-Chicago, Illinois

Some of you city dwellers may know how it feels in rush hour, shuffling off a train beneath the city and being propelled through the subway corridors, up the escalator and tossed outside into traffic, crowds of moving people and blazing sunlight. It's a bit stunning if you aren't used to it. I go into Chicago about once a month for work and it's just seldom enough for me to enjoy the experience. This is a shot of me being propelled from the subway corridor. I almost got knocked over two times but my coworker nudged me out of the way (I was busy taking pictures).

Pigeon Facts

These pigeons were hanging outside of Union Station in Chicago. As people walk by they throw a handful or two of crackers and bread during rush hour. These pigeons had a food arrival after posing for me so they became busy. Pigeons are so cool.

Pigeon Facts:

1. Pigeons mate for life.

2. Both the male and female raise their young (mostly male, toward the end of 'babyhood') all the way until the baby has 'feathered-out' and almost full size.

3. Pigeons hide their nest. That's why you never see baby pigeons-like you might see sparrow's nest for example.

4. Pigeons were and are cliff dwellers. That's why they are so adept at living in skyscraper cities.

5. Pigeon parents spoil their two babies. They only lay two eggs so they can. It's called non pareil.

6. Pigeons drink like horses and suck water up in a big drink.

All these great facts came from discovery.com

A United State Coast Guard Patrol Boat

We drove down to the lake to eat our lunch today. I took a million pictures-okay-58. "Oh, you and that blog!" my friends say. Needless to say I did not want to go back to work. Crammed in a tiny office, nose smushed against a bright computer screen, not to mention the constant E-mails popping into my projects. So for one short, and I mean short hour I was blissfully happy. I will saturate this blog over the coming weeks with outdoor pictures. Buildings? If they have bright colors, I'll consider it.

Here's a nautical Website that is really cool and you will learn something.

Brand Spankin' Blue Restaurant, Waukegan, Illinois

The Kong Restaurant, Waukegan, Illinois

This restaurant is near my work and it's got a great variety of Asian food at inexpensive lunch prices ($5.00-7.00 a plate). It has an enormous fish tank with Koi fish and we were lucky enough to sit right by it. The building seems to be at a crooked angle but I just remembered it's at the bottom of a hill. I love the sign-it's so 1950's French-looking. The sign, brick building and the Chinese restaurant sign all seem to be of a different decorating style not unlike a lot of businesses in small town America that are on a tight budget.

Can't Fight It-Waukegan City Hall

a random pillar on Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee

I went for a bike ride today-Oak Creek

It's spring here, the first truly warm day. The woods are still brown and bare but the buds are starting to open. The new leaves creeping out of the buds are a crisp lime green color. Birds are everywhere, sitting on every fence pole, on a random branch, flying in front of you, around you.

one step up from a bathtub Madonna...

except this Madonna needs a bath. Her face is really dirty. The maintenance men planted daffodils below her feet to match her pedestal (below). I really like the angel above her head. It's ethereal. This is the view from my desk. Almost everyone I showed at work, who wasn't a smoker, didn't know that we had a Madonna statue behind our building. I asked our Nun-in-training who this was and she giggled then said, "Oh, this is behind our building." You may of guessed I work for a non-profit Catholic organization.

shadows from the trees

a great oak creek house

I really liked this house when I spotted it. I love the three across theme and the chimney smack in the center of the roof. It's an old house and it's not my photo taking that's making this house look crooked, it doesn't stand up straight. It's for sale and oh, I would so like to have a great house like this someday. It has potential.

the culture of farmers

farming is still a thriving business for many people who live in wisconsin. while it may not be the only way they make a living, owning property, fields, planting, and harvesting is still profitable. some farmers find it impossible to own all the equipment they need to produce their product, corn, wheat, soybeans, etc. so if one farmer has a planter and another a combine (a special tractor/machine that harvest corn and cuts it up) they share. one farmer may plant five or six fields that don't even belong to him and expect the other farmers to come through for him when it's harvesting time. farmers meet each other, socialize, etc. at the local country bar. there is almost one bar on every corner in wisconsin. [i will post a picture of a typical bar soon] friday nights most bars turn into pubs and put on a friday night fish fry. a certain night may offer just chili and/or burgers and french fries. in the summer a bar may host a huge party around the back of the bar and set up volleyball nets, horseshoe lots, or even a makeshift baseball diamond. the bar owner may hire a person to come in and roast a pig or make a kettle to booyah (a traditional soup with just about everything in it-its a green bay thing). even though the drinking age is 21, it's common to find children sitting up at the bar drinking a soda (they may have a cherry or two floating around in it), playing pool or shooting darts in a smoke infested bar. when my children were younger my sister would babysit on a friday or saturday night (i worked in a hotel-ok?). her husband, who is a farmer, and her, along with my parents and/or his parents, would take them out for friday night fish frys. all three of my kids can play pool and throw darts. they also know that cherries are better in sprite than olives.

bars are part of the culture here and sponsor all sorts of teams all year round. my daughter's softball team, when she was 12, was sponsored by a local bar. they bought the t-shirts for the team with the logo plastered on the back. the bar owner would come out, snap a picture of the team, and it would get framed on the wall at the bar. the bars also sponsor bowling leagues, dart leagues, pool leagues, and i'm sure many other leagues. adult leagues are expected to play their games, if available, at that bar and will travel to other bars to play other teams. at the end of the day the teams all head to the sponsoring bar for drinks.

electric lines over a junk yard-oak creek wisconsin

family life in oak creek

i thought it might be a nice change to give people an idea of what an average apartment looks like or rather what average family(young people) looks like. notice when everyone gets together beer is always a part of the scene. those who are old enough to drink, do. the kids all dress in sports clothes and expensive tennis shoes. i try to lure these guys home with a home cooked meal. as is typical with teens they are either manic and hyper or sleeping or in a barely functioning stage.

the sky, the lake, the drain, the beach, the barrier, the bench, the grass, the wind, the mist

the view of lake michigan.

tranquil, right? well it's deceiving. it's cold. very cold. damp cold. if you sat on that bench and all you had between you and that bench was the cloth of your pants, you would have stipes of frost bite on your bum.

how happy is the little stone...& fire hydrant

How happy is the little Stone

That rambles in the Road alone,

And doesn't care about Careers

And Exigencies never fears--

Whose Coat of elemental Brown

A passing Universe put on,

And independent as the Sun Associates or glows alone,

Fulfilling absolute Decree
In casual simplicity--

by Emily Dickinson

factory off of chicago's north avenue

waterfalls & sunny

in south milwaukee on the east shore there is a 380 acre park. today it was raining dogs but not cats. sunny the poodle dog didn't mind. all through this meandering grant park wildlife is everywhere. fish florish in the ponds. streams run with salmon, trout, etc. they feed and spawn (depending on the season) and can be easily caught along the river banks. as i drove by one fisherman had caught a two foot long fish. i want to come back in the summer just to wade in the streams, shower in the waterfall, and barbeque among the trees.