Killdeer

Killdeer

Day 8 (7/8/15)

Wednesdays are Grandmas day off so we were able to all go out on the trail. Like yesterday it was kind of chili but at least the wind had let down some. We noticed that some of the berries along the trail are starting to get ripe and the birds love it. There is one particular area that seems to have all the birds flocking to it but we haven’t been able to figure out what is different in that area. My guess is that there must be something scrumptious that they are eating. Tomorrow I will have to explore farther. I did try to get a picture of a Cedar Waxwing but it took off just as I snapped the shot. We also saw what we think was a brown Thrasher. It was slightly longer and thinner than a robin. The color in the sun seemed almost like that of a female cardinal. I hope I get a better look at it in the future or even a picture.  Later I did get some cool pictures of a couple of Killdeer that were walking on the tracks. I have to rig up a front mount carrier that gives me easy, quick access to my camera. I didn’t do any new building today but I did do some maintenance on a couple. Wade of course continued to decorate the trail with his chalk drawings. There seemed to be a lot of families out on the trail today. We saw a couple of strollers and several groups with children. Perhaps it was because of the nice weather. After we got home we wished we would have spent more time on the trail but perhaps because it was busy we seemed to rush faster than usual. 

Prairie Rebuild

Making Drawings

Giacometti Rebuild

Bunny

Goofball

On the Road Again

"Circles Grandpa"

Day 7 (7/7/15)

Circles

Boy what a change a day can make. Yesterday had been hot and humid and today was cool and windy. The sun was out though and we were in the mood to just putz around. As we started drawing at our first spot our friend Teiva happened along the trail. She drew some circles for Wade and suddenly circles are his new obsession, “Circles Grandpa”. So at Wades bidding we made a lot of circles today. Because of the wind, I suppose, the trail was quiet and probably would have been a good day for building. It does get hard to build with a two year old along though. He no longer is content to sit in his chariot and watch. He wants to help. Unfortunately it is a little dangerous if the build has any size to it. I knew from the beginning that this year would be more about watching Wade explore the world. I tried showing Wade his shadow today and he really doesn’t seem to see it. Even after showing him how I drew around it he seemed oblivious to it. At this age perhaps things have to be a little more concrete. So circles it was.

"What's that?"

Always a good perspective

My one build of the day

Time to have a drink

Lets Dance

Geocaching and Hawthorne Rust

Does this make my butt look big?

Day 6 (7/6/15)
After eight years of biking, building and rebuilding there are very few surprises anymore. Today, however, I had two of them. It was a pretty standard morning starting out. Wade and I were doing our usual chalk drawings; I was photographing birds a half second to late, the usual. It was warm and muggy so we were kind of just taking it easy. We had already stopped and drawn a very elaborate landscape and a green elephant with pink polka dots when I had decided I should at least try to sneak in one build. We stopped at a site that I had not visited yet this year. There was a lot of material lying around since it was the site of past builds. I started scrounging around for material when I can across my first surprise. One of the rocks in the rubble had a secret compartment. On further inspection I found out that apparently somebody had decided to use my build site as a geocaching site. At first I thought about incorporating it into a build, but decided just to photograph it and put it back where I found it. At a later date it may have to become part of a build. The second surprise came on the way home. It was more of a poser than surprise. I came across a tree/bush that appeared to have like dried mulberries sort of on it. They were giving off a bright orange dust that looked like pollen. With the assistance of a friend and Google I was able to ascertain that it was a Hawthorne tree with a bad case of Cedar, Hawthorne Rust. It turns out it is a fungus that alternates between Cedars one year and Hawthorne the next to complete its life cycle. They seemed a lot cooler until I found out it was an ailment. It turns out that the fruit of a Hawthorne is not only good to eat but good for you, if of course they are not inflicted with rust. Apparently it doesn’t kill the Hawthorns but it does ruin the berries.

Coloring

Green Elephant with Pink Polka Dots

Geocaching List

A New Start

Cedar Hawthorne Rust 

Birthday Week

Happy Birthday Wade

Day 5 (6/29/15) – (7/4/15)

I had wanted to do more blogging this week but I was just too busy. It was the week of Wades second birthday and that called for almost a week long celebration. In spite of all the extra hoopla we did get out on the bike trail four out of the five days though. In this blog I am going to be brief and just focus on the pictures to tell the story. 

Making the Drawerings 6/29

Looking for material 6/29

Starting some new Builds at Prairie 6/29

6/30/15 Wades actual Birthday.

More Chalk 6/30

Landscape 6/30

 

New Build at Prairie 6/30

Another Prairie Build 7/1

Set Go!

New Question of Balance 7/1

7/2 Going South

Eileen and Wade Drawing

Peace Memorial was still standing but needed some repairs from last year.

A certain amount of goofing off happens on the trail

Grandpa is always working though

It has been a long week

I love my job!

Sidewalk Chalk

I like to make Drawerings

Day 4 (6/26/15)

Occasionally all the stars line up and perfect days are born. This was one of those days. We have had some really great weather in Wisconsin so far this summer, by my standards. I am sure that some people would disagree and would like warmer temperatures. I however just love when it is in the seventies and sunny. Wade had been sick so we missed a couple days on the trail. We were ready to make up for lost time. Once again Eileen was able to go with us which always makes for a nice ride. Wade has really been into sidewalk chalk lately so we decided to bring it along and Wade and Eileen drew while I built. As we had figured, this year Wade is not just satisfied sitting in his trailer and watching or sleeping. He wants to be an active participant. Our first stop was at a building site that I call “A question of Balance”. All the materials were still there so it was a rather quick setup. This was good because it is also a site that is always plagued with biting ants. While I was building Eileen and Wade kept watch and drew on the trail. Wade found it really neat to be able to get out and draw on the bike trail so when it came time to leave he wasn’t exactly thrilled. Our next stop was again at the site of “Tripod”. This has become one of my favorite building sites because of the availability of a variety of materials for building. Once more Wade and Eileen kept watch and made drawings while I did my thing. There were surprisingly few people on the trail for how nice it was so we were able to spend some quality time. After we were done there we continued on to Oostburg before turning around to return home. We made a couple more stops to draw on the way home. It is the summer of potty training for Wade so stopping often pays great dividends and making drawings is its own reward.

At the Building Sit

"A Question of Balance"

"Tripod" building site

At Work

Wade

This chalks for you

Cairn at Tripod site

Turn around at Oostburg

One last stop

Tripod

Tripod Rebuild

Day 3 (6/23/15)

Grandma didn’t have to go in to work today until one o’clock so she had the morning free to go out biking with Wade and me. It was another beautiful morning. Shortly after getting on the trail we saw some Sandhill cranes. Even though they have become quite abundant in our area we still love seeing these majestic birds. One of the builds that I had built yesterday was already down but my goal for the day was to get tripod back up so we rode on. Tripod is my oldest existing build. It has gone through more incarnation than Dr. Who. It may need a little more work in the future but for now it is standing. We continued on to the prairie build which was still up but Wade helped me put some rocks on it. Wade had a great time with Grandma along. It meant he could spend more time out of his cart and exploring. On the way home he was singing some song that only he knew but he had a great time.

Crane

My Partners in Crime

Where Grandpa Go

Feels great to be building again

Hmm, Lets see

Finished