Evening Light

The sun is setting very low now. Low on the horizon and well south of where it sets during the Summer. The flat, warm light illuminated a roughly stamped piece of glass hanging from a weathered wind chime. ~B

Marked in Michigan

Fort Wilkins State Park is at the very end of the Keweenaw Peninsula. As parks do, some of the trees are marked but this one with an engraved and then spray painted beaver? pelt shape, was different than the rest. ~N

Last Call

We don't get colorful Fall foliage in most parts of Southern California, but yesterday we had incredibly blue skies. Against this background the last of the dying leaves on a small maple waited patiently to fall. ~B

Goin' Out in Style

Wow, a very own mosaic for eternity - piece by piece someone honored Edward's life - or maybe he made it himself? Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. ~N

Festa Italia

Little Italy's Festa Italia is an annual event with all the standard booths selling crafts, countertops, T-shirts, newspaper subscriptions, voter registration, condos, etc. few of which have anything to do with Italy. Others sell italian sausages smothered in peppers and onions, cannelloni, Italian ices and other goodies designed to ruin a diet and cause gastric distress.

But the main attraction, what we go every year to see, is the street art - the chalk drawings (pastels actually) created on the pavement of the side streets. The only requirement is the theme must be "Italian". Pinocchio, madonnas, a sprawling fleshy nude, a mandolin, David. But this year the images were flat and unimaginative. Competent, but without inspiration. Earnest, but lacking.

The real art was the hands of the artists. Handfuls of broken colors tinting their skin, grim from rubbing pastels into the asphalt surface of the street. Their hands showing the tension their drawings lacked. Their hands were the real attraction. ~B

Ah ha - A CA Wannabe

This sign is just outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin . . . ah, sour grapes! ~N

Coyote Ugly

Every night I get a call on Skype from a different woman. Strange...I don't remember meeting them before. Perhaps during one of my blackouts back in the days when hanging out at the Coyote Inn or the Blue Roadhouse was part of my routine. I always thought the women were pretty fine back then, but maybe I wasn't seeing too straight either. Whatever...but the one tonight is the poster child for "coyote ugly". Excuse me while I go gnaw my arm off. ~B

Mercer, Wisconsin

There's a place for everything apparently. I've found the "loon capital" (labeled on the sign) in Mercer, WI.

Next to the Chamber of Commerce, a huge concrete loon towers higher than the one story Chamber building. ~N

How Hot was It???

The hottest day on record in San Diego was in 1899...until yesterday. Lindberg Field, the official weather station, topped out at 94. Coronado, La Jolla, Torrey Pines, Carlsbad and Oceanside were in the 90s by noon. A resident of La Mesa reported 110 in her back yard. Borrego Springs officially hit only 104, but we know that's understated. And at Chez N & B - a candle slump tells the story. How hot was it? Damn Hot!!! ~B

Bayfield, Wisconsin

Bayfield, Wisconsin is on the northern coast, a lakeside town on Lake Superior, with boat docks and a ferry landing. During the summer the ferries cruise the 22 Apostle islands. Tomorrow I might take the car ferry to Madeline Island (the largest) and explore a bit.

To quote from the ferry flyer: "In winter, after the ferries stop, some students cross by windsled to attend school in Bayfield until the ice road is passable by automobiles".

Really!? they drive out there!? ~N

Empty Morning

An empty corner of an empty coffee shop. The morning rush is over - they've all gone to their cubes. Empty tables, abandoned newspapers, silence, the quiet talk of barristas with no espresso to press, no milk to steam. ~B

Nelson, WI

Lawn art along the Mississippi River. ~N

Postcards from the Edge

From the edge of the West - eastern Wyoming - N sends me postcards to document her travels. Graciously she includes a biker babe to let me know she's thinking of me. Or, could it be, Testy instead? ~B

Mt Rushmore, SD

As I neared Mt Rushmore (and didn't expect to see anything), I noticed a bunch of cars/people with cameras, pulled over on the side of the mountain road. There's this spot between cliffs, outside the park, where you can view just George by himself. ~N

Is this Fall Weather??????!!!

It's hot, it's muggy, there are clouds in the sky, and the breeze has died. Joggers walk, walkers sit and the cold setting on the shower means tepid. San Diego isn't supposed to be this way - not at 5:30 PM in October. ~B

Alva, Wyoming

Small cabin near the quiet and small town of Alva, Wyoming - nestled among the oak, lots of deer - needs work. ~N