Campaign Follies

Now that the primaries are over, the real races begin. To lighten your mood about the upcoming mud season, here's a video from CNN's Jeanne Moos showing some of the best, weirdest campaign ads out there. So far.

News and Views (i.e. TCD and Sculpture)

It's always exciting to learn new things about your hometown. Well, at least as long as those things classify as neato-keen. Today was gracious enough to provide two to check out.


The Third Coast Digest

Bannerhead courtesy of ThirdCoast Digest.

geekMan and I really enjoy exploring Milwaukee, so it's always nice to know we are not the only people relishing what this coastal cosmetropolis has to offer. The TCD is new to me and on first glance it seems promising as an alternative news-voice. I've plugged it into my reader, so only time will tell.


The Lynden Sculpture Garden

Bannerhead courtesy of Lyndon Sculpture Garden.

Previously called the Bradley Sculpture Garden, this collection was recently renamed and opened for public viewing. I never knew it was there before, so this is all totally new to me. I've heard of Mrs. Bradley in terms of her art collections and her generous donations to the Milwaukee Art Museum. I don't know the full history of these sculptures, but from what I can gather reading Eddee Daniel's blog Arts without Borders, the garden used to be opened only once a year to the public. Now it's open two days a week all year long. I'm keen to see this collection and how different pieces look now and after the snow falls. And in Spring. You get the idea.

Tree + Wind = A Big Mess

Mother Nature did some serious pruning in our yard yesterday. One of the very large trees in our front yard lost most of its crown yesterday in 50mph gusts. Of the three there, it is the American Linden (or Basswood) in the middle between a Northern Red Oak and a Norway Maple. They provide a lot of wonderful shade for the front of the house (well, they did...).

Tree crown in the yard.

We're really lucky that the tree didn't come down on the house. Or anything in the road for that matter.

Tree across the road.

The trunk looks pretty rotted through, poor thing. It was probably only a matter of time before it came down. There was another branch high in the tree I had expected to go, but it is still attached. According to the neighbors, the tree was fine until about 4pm.

What's left of the trunk. You can see the long gouge up into the branch I thought would be the one to go.

By the time I got home from work the tree was down.  I made a mad dash out to purchase a chain saw; it was so overcast, the light was fading and we had to get it out of the road. There's a streetlight immediately across the street that proved very useful. I don't recommend using chain saws at night, however. As a rule.

The front yard this morning. We managed to get it cut back and removed from the street and sidewalk last night.

We're going to see if we can find someone to use the wood. geekMan found some info online that said basswood is good for carving and making instruments, but not so much for burning in wood stoves. And of course, the rest of the tree will probably have to come out. It's like a bad tooth. It makes me sad  to lose such a mature and graceful tree. The two remaining trees will still provide a fair amount of shade for the house. The space will seem so empty though, I'm hoping we'll plant another tree. A birch would be nice...

Also, if anyone in the Milwaukee area is interested in the wood, give me a holler in the comments :-)

Tall ships in Milwaukee harbor

Yesterday driving home past the lake, I was excited to see several tall ships in the Discovery World harbor. Usually the only one you see is the S/V Denis Sullivan, a modern sailing vessel that's "the world’s only re-creation of a 19th century three-masted Great Lakes schooner." 

S/V Denis Sullivan; photo credit www.cleveland.com

The ships are still in port this morning (along with a ginormous cargo ship), and the harbor was wrapped in fog to great effect. I really wished I had my camera with me and the time to use it... fortunately, Tom Lynn one of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel photags captured the moment for everyone to enjoy. 

S/V Denis Sullivan in harbor; photo by Tom Lynn, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Not a bad way to start the day.

Life was in color then too

Something caught my eye today, and I'm not sure why. I read several blogs regularly, one of them being the undeniably geeky Gizmodo. Today they posted a video from Kodak showing some of the earliest color movies ever made. 1922. A good 17 years before the double-decker blockbuster year of 1939 when Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz came out. They weren't even the first in-color films to be released, just the ones everyone thinks of.

This movie compilation from Kodak is strangely moving, seeing images in color that I've always associated with black & white. It also strikes me that modeling hasn't changed much; perhaps that's more a statement on human nature than anything else. Enjoy :-)

Where's the Box??

It's been a few weeks since I last posted a box update - oops!. Late Summer veg production is in full swing, and I've been working to preserve as much as possible. This week's box is much like the last couple, so without further preamble:

This week's box contains: watermelon (an orange one!), sweet corn (8 ears), edamame soybeans, slicing tomatoes, bell peppers, Spanish onions, pickling cukes, basil, Romano beans, and heirloom tomatoes.

I don't have a pretty picture since the lighting was bad - we had storms in the area Friday afternoon, and I'm still totally reliant on natural sunlight for pictures. I have flash available, but the color is ug-ly! And I've not sprung for the light shed yet.... so....

Rather than share mediocre images, here are a couple shots of the pickling madness that's consumed the kitchen.

Hot pots on the stove!

Here's the big blue canner, the stock pot with pickling syrup, and a small saucepan with rings & lids behind. Notice I've learned you can use the handle of the stock pot as a handy spoon rest ;-)

Vinegar, sugar, jars.

I discovered last year the difference between apple cider vinegar and apple cider flavored vinegar (the flavored stuff is really bitter). Being fairly thrifty, I understand wanting to save on the fancy stuff, but when the real thing made from apple cider is only $1.79/gallon.... what would be the point of using anything else.

Bread & butter pickles ready to shelve.

So far we've been through 25lbs of cukes to make bread & butter pickles (slices and spears), sweet cucumber pickle relish, and garlic-dill cucumber pickle spears. Next came pickled beets, pickled watermelon rind, and cranberry-red onion relish. I've never had pickled watermelon rind before, but it sounds interesting; more on that later. With so much produce available right now, I have plans (reckless hopes?) to put up more, much more.

What's in the Box? CSA Week12

Lots of goodies in the box this week. The only issue to get through may be the muskmelons; geekMan is not a fan, leaving me to eat it all. Recently my lunches have been melon and cheese; almost better than grapes and cheese. The new Emeril cookbook has a recipe for pasta sauce made from melon. I just may be able to sneak some past geekMan.

This week's box contains: sweet corn (6 ears), muskmelons (2), green leaf lettuce, green bell peppers (2), red bell pepper (1), Walla Walla onions (4), summer squash (1), garlic (1), cucumber (1), tomatoes (pint of cherry maters), eggplant (1), broccoli (other options were celery and red frying peppers).

It's hard to see from the pic, but the cucumber is really big. Once seeded, it should be great for some tzatziki sauce. Beth at the farm also mentioned that the garlic is fresh - not dried as usually found. She said to eat it up since it won't keep well. I decided baba ghanoush would be a tasty way to use up the garlic and eggplant. At the moment, the house smells of roasting garlic and, well, eggplant. Should be tasty when done.

Since I'm writing this on Sunday, I should point out that the tomatoes are already gone; mixed into a caprese of sorts with slices of small fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil, olive oil and S&P. That and sweet corn are the tastes of summer.