Post and Photos by Lynne.
When Steven and I are “out and about”, we tend to take roads we haven’t before just for a change of scenery. On one of my vacation days, we took my mom up to Holy Hill in Hubertus, WI. We found a suggested fall color scenic drive on the internet recommending heading north on Hwy 83 from Delafield, and connecting to various Rustic Roads. The winding and hilly roads were pretty, but probably would’ve been gorgeous had it been about a week prior. A lot of the trees had missing leaves.

This was also true for what would’ve been more of a colorful overlooks from the top of Holy Hill had it been a week or two earlier. The sky was overcast, it was more cold and windy in the higher area, a mass was in progress so we didn’t actually get into the beautiful Biscilica. We planned to have lunch at their cafe as well, but it was closed though the website didn’t indicate it when checked the day prior. It seemed like the day was kinda a bust, but my mom was happy, and that made the difference.

We took the traditional freeway route back, and on Hwy 167 just a mile or two down from the hill, we came upon this scene. The pictures don’t do this justice; you’d have to see it for yourself. I’m not much into Halloween stuff but I thought this was pretty cool.

Just a quick note from me. Holy Hill is one of the most sacred places in the whole state of Wisconsin. Folks come from hundreds of miles away to see it and worship at the church. We found it very interesting that this display of bikers was just down the road from Holy Hill and within view of the church. Quite a contrast, that’s for sure. Happy Halloween everyone.
Steven

Here’s a fun post by Lynne that recalls memories from her childhood :-)

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October 16th was a relaxing day, with a family dinner to celebrate both of my parents birthdays in October. It was another warm, sunny autumn day that was too nice to stay inside so we ventured out to Swan’s pumpkin farm in Racine County. Steven didn’t take any photos but apparently I must have been in a photo shootin’ mood. It was very busy, and kinda crowded, but today it reminded me of when I was kid.
I remember visiting some petting zoos, feeding the goats and laughing when their tongues tickled my the palm of my hand. Seeing some of the baby goats this day was heartwarming and just made people smile and say “oh how sweet”.

I remember going to a pumpkin farm and picking out a pumpkin for Halloween that was WAY too big and heavy for me to carry. The little wheel barrels provided was a grand idea for hauling multiple items, but I guess baby strollers work too.

I also remember helping my grandma cleaning out the guts and complaining how gooey and gross the insides felt, but then washing the pumpkin seeds and roasting them in the oven for a crunchy salty treat. We only had the talent to carve a traditional face on our pumpkin, similar to that on the big inflatable pumpkin that was on display but when the candle was lit at night, it looked pretty darn good. We also hung Indian corn from the porch awning.

One of these times, the kid in me will come out somewhere, and I’m going to stick my face through one of the holes in a painted cut-out. I’m always tempted, just to be silly, but chicken out. I assume the “spook house” was their version of a haunted house. No real desire to check it out after having the crap scared out of me in one on my very FIRST date in Sophmore year of high school. Yes, those fun memories come flying back to me almost every year. We preferred to walk the grounds to see painted displays and signs that made us giggle. Walking through the corn maze to see the character displays was interesting.

I don’t think any pumpkin farm would be complete without wagon rides, but never in my life have I seen an opportunity to ride in a cage loaded on the front of a combine. There was a little tractor train ride for the kids that I thought was kinda unique and looked like fun. I did see one adult (aka a BIG kid) sitting in one of the tiny cars, and it just looked odd.

Yep, Fall is my favorite time of year. I hope my memories bring back some fun fall memories for you too.

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Water is an amazing thing, it can be so peaceful and pretty, yet powerful and frightening. Simple raindrops turn into rivers that eat away at theland, creating deep canyons and gorges. The delicate beauty of a snowflake turns into the awesome power of a glacier that carves out awe inspiring mountain cathedrals such as Yosemite Valley and the high peaks of mountains worldwide. There seems to be an eternal battle of water against the land. It’s a battle that has created the unique landscapes of the Earth. Landscapes that photographers travel the world to photograph.

In this image of Miners Falls in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI, I tried to capture the spirit of that battle, the place where water and rock meet. Where rock fights for it’s life as water slowly chips away at it. I’ve also tried to show water’s delicate beauty and the awesome, landscape changing power working together in natural harmony.

I love water. I’m fascinated by it’s diversity and simple complexity. I never tire of watching it in all it’s shapes and forms.

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Here’s a graphic of recorded wind gust from around SE Wisconsin today.

The Kenosha Airport and Sheboygan are #1 right now with gust of 68 mph!

The winds here at the house haven’t been all that bad. I’d say they’re blowing steady 15-20 with gust 25-30. We’re sheltered pretty well from south-west winds though. If the wind shifts to the west we’ll feel it much more. I’ve seen it blow much harder here at the house when the wind is out of the east or north-east. Even north-west winds hit us harder than today’s have.