A Busy Day

Got out this morning for a short neighborhood bicycle ride.....I mean a country ride. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Here's a photo of my friend's (Joan) hobby farm, which happens to be less than a mile from our house.

Of course I had to stop at the railroad tracks to look for the train....no train, but I did hear lots of birds singing.

Those dang Asian beetles. That thing was pinching me, or should I say bitting me? Had to stop and fling it off my leg. Ouch!!!

The highlight of our day was an outdoor wedding that we attended at the Caddie Woodlawn historical park. Our friend Sarah, and her husband Greg, got married today. What a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding.

We hung out with our friends Anna and Jeff at the wedding today. I took lots of pictures and enjoyed great local organic food, pared with delicious wine. The wedding reception was held at the Creamery in Downsville, WI.....right off the Red Cedar trail, that I just happen to ride once a week. We had a beautiful night with temperatures in the 60's. A great day for a fall wedding.

Is This August?

I heard it was a nice day out there today. Briefly got outside for lunch, but everyone was telling me the afternoon was beautiful. I'm just grateful for taking Wednesday afternoon off from work.

Came home after work and discovered a male pheasant in our driveway. Unfortunately, I could not get a picture of this beautiful bird, as he ran off into our woods. I've been seeing the pheasants around our area for days now, but I can never get a picture of them.

Looking forward to tomorrow since it will be another warm day. Enjoying this warm Friday night!

I Love Buttermilk

Buttermilk Cranberry-Orange Muffins

One of the best things about fall are the fresh cranberries that are available now in your local market. I couldn't walk by the cranberries without scooping up a pound and wondering what I would make with them....there's so many choices, cranberry bread, cranberry-nut cookies, cranberry sauce, muffins, salads and even cranberries in cornbread stuffing with bacon (my favorite)! Remember, all my recipes that I talk about in my blog posts are located under Turtle Recipes in my menu.

PS. Just a little tip, I added some freshly grated orange rind to jazz up the flavor!

Today Was a.........

Gorgeous day. I took the afternoon off from work so I could ride with Kim this afternoon. We met in Downsville's at the RC trail and rode to Durand. The mid afternoon sunshine felt so great.

Now before you draw any conclusions, Kim and I were really riding for fitness and wellness today. Our wellness included pumpkin pie blizzards! Need I say more??? (36 miles)

Colors Are Fading

We are finally passed our peak colors here in Northwest Wisconsin, but I did find this one colorful tree on Sunday while out in the boat. The leaves are continuing to drop early, so raking might be in my plans for this weekend. Bike man stayed home today and did yard work all day....I envy him!

Just a quiet night after work. No bike ride tonight, but did take some time to stop at my neighbors place to buy some pumpkins from their kids. What a good deal. Their pumpkins were priced at $1, $2 or $3.00's each. All the money goes towards the kids savings account, so I don't mind buying some pumpkins from them. Now our yard officially looks like fall!

Oh So Beautiful

What a perfect afternoon to be outdoors. It was 64 degrees when Kim and I hit the RC trail late today. Where was Bike man? Out fishing of course! This is the best time of the year to fish for Walleyes.

The river is finally going back down to a normal level. Actually, the trail just opened back up on Saturday since it was closed due to high water and a big washed-out area. Our ride today was very enjoyable, however, when the sun set coming back, the temperature dropped very quickly. We weren't prepared for that! Those last four miles were pretty chilly so Kim and I kept our pace up to stay warm. We ended our ride at 6:45 pm, but darkness was already setting in so guess Kim and I are running out of daylight to ride 21 miles.

This week is predicted to be warmer with total sunshine. If you are from the Midwest, you know this time is limited, so take advantage of the great outdoors while you can.

Sunday Cruise

Went for a boat ride early this afternoon with Bike man. Bike man needed to collect some Secchi disk readings from various locations on Tainter Lake, and I was just happy to go out and capture some more fall photos.

We have several narrow channels on our lake, and this is my favorite spot. I love the steep, rocky bank with all the exposed tree roots.

This just happens to be the bridge that we cross very frequently, by either car or bicycle. Plans are to totally replace the bridge in the summer of 2011. That might pose a problem as we're not quite sure how we will alter our bicycle route when the bridge is out.

It was nice to see Trisha this afternoon. She's working part-time now so we don't get to see her as much. The sun was shining today, but the air temp was still cool (53 degrees) so it was definitely hat weather. I love your fuzzy hat Trisha!!!

I hopped on my bike and did an hour Sunday ride, or should I say cruise! Explored some roads I haven't ridden in a long time. Easy pace and very peaceful.....just how I like it. 10 miles.