Wash, Rinse and Repeat

I went to the Sauk dam last week.

"I'm not impressed."

I think so many people call it the Sauk dam because they never know if they're in Sauk City, Sauk Praire or Prairie du Sac.

"Cold, cold, cold."

I only know if I'm in Prairie du Chien, my favorite place to spot timber rattlers. 

I kept thinking of the George Costanza scene, "The sea was angry that day, my friends."

It was a glorious day outside and except for a narrow path cha cha cha, easy to social distance.

"Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."

I went kayaking here with an outdoor group last century. I spent most of my time getting dumped out of my kayak and into the water. The best words to describe my attempt at class III rapids are wash, rinse and repeat.

"What is that, a Titleist?"

Happy Memorial Day

We had a few surprises on the start of our Corona Summer yesterday. Okay, Memorial Day is the unofficial official start. Are you dusting off your white pants and grilling brats from a safe distance today? A brat is short for bratwurst, a delicious sausage consumed in mass quantities here in Wisconsin, not a naughty kid.

We used to live with my cousin and her family in one big Italian house

The first surprise was lots of sunshine following all the rain.

I love her Memorial Day outfit

And the second was a COVID Visit (COVISIT) from my cousin, Rita. She was done with chemo for the time being and having a good day. 

My mother with her sunglasses and the mandatory tissue up her sleeve

My mother and I road tripped from her living room to her balcony and had a lovely visit ❤️.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

Discombobulated

Somewhere between will i am and Sam-I-Am I met Jackie I AM, a talented and colorful high school pal. Her favorite word was discombobulated and that's how I've felt this week.

"That doesn't seem right."

Then yesterday I visited a few of my favorite spots on a glorious day full of sunshine.

Yes, there are pelicans in Wisconsin (this photo doesn't show it, but there was plenty of sunshine too)

And now I'm hungry for fish.

Pancho & Lefty

This haunting classic by Townes Van Zandt inspired a Tex Mex place in a small town south of here. I hope to visit them when it's safe, whenever that may be.

Does anyone else feel as if they're wearing their skin like iron? 

I understand the hearts which I'm guessing were added during the pandemic, but I have to ask, "Why the mermaid?"

The Hey Johnny Say Cheese! Link Up

I love street photography and don't do nearly enough of it. Here's one of my favorites from last week. It could be sharper, but love the 'tude.

"Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"

I tried to get people on Facebook to answer with the famous quote below.

I failed. But a friend did use an Oingo Boingo reference which is another kind of cool.

Whether you're only a lad or a wild one, why not roll up and SAY CHEESE! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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A Few Highlights From My Birthday Say Cheese!

It took over five-and-a-half hours to find the thing I was looking for yesterday.

This wasn't it but I could barely tear myself away from this place

The weather was gorgeous and finding a covered bridge I'd been thinking about was almost beside the point.

The Green County Courthouse sent waves of chamber music around the square

The historic town square in Monroe overflowed with classical music while wise ass kids lobbed back blasts of hip hop from open car windows. I wasn't even in the right city to find the bridge I wanted to see, but it was fascinating.

Younger kids were on scooters and skateboards, making it look like Mayberry in the time of the Virus.

When I finally found the Clarence Covered Bridge (the thing I'd been looking for) I'd seen a rushing dam, a reopened state park with playgrounds wrapped up like crime scenes, masks sold like roadside vegetables, and a town square playing speaker wars (a country western station was also in the mix).

I'm exhausted and on my last nerve after a day of installation guys hammering next door and doing whatever it was that sounded like an earthquake, so I'm going to sign off and save a few photos for another post.

And besides, it's time to turn the dial up to 11 and SAY CHEESE!

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Sometimes It Is Black & White

One of these rallies is happening in California right now. They treated it like a big party here in Wisconsin last week. They clustered and bragged about shaking hands like Boris Johnson. Don't they watch the news? There were guns and kids and dogs and Trump gear and lots of posturing and alt right money.

There were very few voices of reason.

She's covering her ears because the honking was deafening and relentless

There was lots of honking.

Thinks she's tailgating and hopes they light up the grill real soon

Wants to know when Soldier of Fortune went all soft

Photo Credit Jay Rath

They want you to honk for them as if they're heroes, they aren't.

Linking up with The Weekend in Black and White

The Infectious Disease Say Cheese!

There was another Open Up rally around the Capitol Square on Friday. It was a big one. Even the president set a two week downward trend guideline

And these were his people

This was his base

They brought out the big guns by invoking the Constitution while taking selfies

And misappropriating religion

As a devout lapsed Catholic I found it offensive

Sister Gertrude, who pelted us with chalkboard erasers and sometimes candy, would not approve

And she'd have straightened out these little pr*cks while getting them ready for First Holy Communion by May

And of course they literally brought out the big guns. But whether you listen to Alex Jones or John Oliver

You should really watch this if you're sick of alphabatizing paper goods and cans of ravioli

Whether you use the words "Safety" and "Nazis" in the same sentence

Or whether you think our governor is being too cautious or not cautious enough

Even if you don't care about your safety

Or the safety of your children

Or the safety of your children's children

 

Or haven't been infected (yet)

Whether you're sitting in your monster SUV while sending your daughters out in this insanity to make a buck

Or hiding behind the flag and wearing it as a cape

Or some kind of harem mask

Calling a global pandemic a conspiracy and thinking you're impervious

While ignoring sane voices of authority and reason

Will not get you back to work or your kids back to school any sooner

And we'll be dancing this dance a lot longer

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Weather

I've been trying to see weather through a dog's eyes and maybe because my best dog pals have been labs

With a few exceptions

Okay, Handsome Bob too

I can't forget my favorite neighbor and the best watchdog I ever met

 It's easy to look at the clouds and rain and wind

You would not believe the wind on Lake Mendota last week

I mean it was crazy

It's easy to look at all that and not want to walk out into it, but I know a dog would.

So be a dog. Stay inside when you should, listen to those smarter than you and get outside whenever you can no matter what the weather.  All weather eventually changes.