Day 58: Baby Robin

Day 58:  While packing my lunch for work I noticed a mama bird feeding her baby on the deck. I wanted to get a photo of both, but I scared mama and she flew away. The baby sat in the open for a while and then scurried over to the fake tree we have sitting near the patio door. I had to check that the baby bird was gone or not on the grass before I let the ferocious labrador outside, but there he was--still in the tree! He didn't seem too scared, but I heard mama squawking--she was definitely keeping an eye on him. Hopefully they found a good spot to hide, especially since it was so hot today!

Day 57: Perennial

Day 57: I took this picture of a blooming flower on one of the perennials in my garden. Do I know exactly what type of flower this is? Nope. I can't remember them all! But it was right after I watered them and the water droplets show up nicely. Definitely a pretty flower, although they seemed to take forever to bloom!

Day 56: Cranes!

Day 56: Cranes are not common nor uncommon around Madison, but it was kind of surprising to see them in Greenway Station, right smack-dab in the middle of a parking lot and a parking garage. I guess somehow they managed to find some of the only green space near the mall!

Day 55: Kayaking!

Day 55: Today was my first day kayaking! (check another thing off of the bucket list!) I bought my dad a gift certificate from Rutabaga and we were finally able to use it! 

We decided to head out to Lake Waubesa on a sunny, warm Saturday. With 3 hours of kayaking ahead of us, we explored the wetlands and saw numerous blue herons, which are my favorite. They are so big and gorgeous and I feel like they should be the state bird! After the calm, we went right through the middle of the lake to the other side, in the midst of speed boats and choppy conditions. We were successful and it was a treat to be back in the calm waters along the shore. I took this photo while in my boat, with my dad in front of me. Don't worry--I caught up! We had a blast and I can't wait to go again!

Day 54: Race Car Driver

Day 54: How lucky were we on this night to stop into Menards in the presence of greatness! Well, not so much greatness, but maybe alrightness? The driver of the Menards car for the auto racing league ARCA stopped by for autographs and photos for employees and shoppers. I took a picture of driver Frank Kimmel and some Menards employees from the parking lot. I wanted so badly to get into the car, but I held myself back because I was worried I wouldn't be able to get in or out. Good choice since I am the town klutz!

Day 53: A Flattering Mirror!

Day 53: It seems that no one really likes mirrors, especially us women, because they never do us justice. Or maybe they tell the truth way too much. Whatever the case, I finally found a flattering mirror! It happened to be on the wall outside of the PDQ gas station, but I found it! Why thank you, PDQ, for noticing! :)

Day 52: Sunrise

Day 52:  I've seen many a sunrise in my day, but for whatever reason, they never seem to get old. I had to capture this one out of the car window (hence why it's blurry) but it's still a pretty neat shot--right over the hill and between clouds.

Day 51: Beetle?

Day 51:  I saw this bug outside of our house as I was pulling some weeds. I had never seen this type of bug before, so I immediately went back into the house to grab my phone. After doing some research, I am still unable to identify what type of bug this is! I am assuming it is some type of beetle, but the internet still hasn't been able to verify this. If anyone reads this and they know, please let me know! I'm uber-curious!

Day 50: Cactus and a Bee

Day 50:  I love the fact that there is cactus being grown on the campus! Most people don't know it exists, but it's pretty neat to see, especially since we are far from a desert. I finally took a photo of the cacti and also spotted this bee in the process. Good thing neither one stung me! ;)

Day 49: Bug

Day 49: I have to admit that sometimes taking an interesting photo each day is quite the challenge. I was running out of time this day, so I ventured outside to find my photo--if it was the last thing I did! I was about to give up when I saw this bug along side of the house. Figured it was worth the picture! Not sure exactly what it is, but he looked interesting!

Day 48: Pool Sign

Day 48:  I took this photo at the Middleton pool while volunteering. Since I was situated in the pool for the entire morning, I happened to check out this sign and it just made me giggle. I'm a 2-year old, I know! But you have to admit, it's kind of funny... :)

Day 47: Commerical

Day 47: I had to pause the television to capture this image, but it was darn worth it. It was part of a commercial for some law firm stating that if you had sustained any injury from a surgery in which the facility used the da Vinci Robot, you were entitled to a settlement. My favorite part? The order of the list. Vascular injuries, death, other serious injuries. Really? What other serious injuries can be worse than death?

Day 46: Duck on a Log

Day 46: I was down at Lake Wingra again for another logrolling lesson when I captured this picture of a duck sitting on a boom. Booms in logrolling are long groupings of logs tied together and in competition are used to run across. My favorite part of this picture is that you can see the reflection of the duck and the clouds in the water. These types of photos never seem to get old!

Day 45: Clouds and Contrails

Day 45:  I took this photo around sunset while playing softball. I just liked how I was able to capture the color and the wispiness of the clouds while at the same time catching the lingering contrail from a passing airplane. Neat-o!

Day 44: Danger Sign

Day 44:  A co-worker and I ran into this sign when we were over at the University Club visiting a former co-worker. We both thought the sign was quite humorous and disturbing all at the same time. But leave it to us, instead of getting off of the elevator on the correct floor, we managed to get off in the dangerous lead paint area. And we weren't even authorized personnel! Nothing like a little exposure to lead in the afternoon!

Day 43: Fruit!

Day 43: Summer is my favorite time of year, not only because it's warm, but there are so many delicious fruits available! After beginning my attempt at eating clean, I've (mostly) cut out crackers, pretzels, etc. for my lunch and I try to eat an extra fruit instead. These were the options I had in the refrigerator at the time (not including the watermelon I had yet to slice). So fresh and colorful! :)

Day 42: New Bridge!

Day 42: A massive construction project has been in effect for a few months now in our area and although it's kind of a pain at times, it's neat to see the phases of the project being completed. The best part of the construction is watching them erect the bridge, which seems to be happening quickly. Every day there is a new section of bridge completed! I took this photo of a wall in progress with the capitol stamp ready to be placed in the cement. Only 11 more months to go!

Day 41: Spiders...eek.

Day 41:  As many of you may know, I'm not a fan of spiders. Never have been, never will be. But for whatever reason, I have become a bit (just a teeny, tiny bit) more tolerable of them over the past year or so. I think it's because deep down I feel bad killing them, even though they are so creepy-crawly. This spider has been building this nest for quite some time now, and I really wanted to get rid of it weeks ago, but couldn't bring myself to do it. There are babies involved! So, it looks like this spider will remain in the garage for another week or so, until I have to do some cleaning.

BONUS POST: Karma

BONUS: They say karma is a bitch. Well, I suppose it is. I kept telling everyone how much fun logrolling is and that you aren't going to hurt yourself--just maybe a bruise on the shin or a bump on the butt. And then what do I go and do? I completely fall off of the log, while doing the splits, and scrape up my entire shin. More of a scrape-log-burn. But come on, karma! Now no one wants to log roll with me!

Day 40: Family of Swallows

Day 40: Earlier this spring, there was a tree swallow nest inside the parking garage at work--a tiny little nest filled with about 5 babies--with both mama and papa guarding the nest at different times throughout the day. A few months after the first babies left the nest, there is now another nest with a whole new set of babies. I think it's official--we have a large family of swallows living in the parking garage! Today both mama and papa were busy flying around and guarding the nest, while the rest of the family was just "hanging out" on the ledge. Pretty neat to see!

Day 39: Hazard?

Day 39:  Lots of construction and improvements have been made around campus this summer, but it looks like this was one area that thus far has been missed. It's obvious that the trip hazard they are referring to is the broken and uneven pavement, but the sign makes it appear that the barricade is the trip hazard. You'd have to be pretty clumsy to trip over that! (even I didn't trip over it and I'm one of the clumsiest people I know!)

Day 38: Lei

Day 38:  It's been about 4 years now since our "honeymoon" trip to Hawaii. I still miss everything about that trip--the sun and the warmth, the light rain and the rainbows, the snorkeling...you name it, I miss it. A few of our professors and graduate students had a conference out there at the end of July into early August, and I have to admit I was pretty jealous. I want to go back so bad! But, as a consolation prize, my boss brought me back a hand-made lei, just like the one I brought home 4 years ago! I was so excited! :) They are so pretty and they smell so good...

Day 37: Kohl Center

Day 37:  I was at a training class for the entire morning and the view from the 11th floor is incredible. You can see the Alliant Energy Center, the Arboretum, parts of Camp Randall--you name it, you can probably see it. I have recently taken quite a few photos of scenery, so I thought I'd take an above view of the Kohl Center. It's a pretty neat building inside and out...and above!

Day 36: MOTH!

Day 36:  I was stretching after a strenuous gym class, and as I was leaving, I happened to peek up to see this huge moth on the window. It had similar characteristics (including size) to the biggest moth I've ever seen, which was in Mexico. I don't think the photo does it justice, but it was a very pretty yellow color and it had some black spots on it. Wonder what kind it was?

Day 35: Wall Art

Day 35:  I decided that the living room needed some sprucing up, so I spent the weekend painting. I went with a "tan" color for the majority of the walls and re-painted the gold/yellow accent walls with a bright orange. I also decided the walls needed some more art, so I printed some of my favorite photos from places we've been, things we're interested in, etc and created this masterpiece. The blue frames accent the orange well and the walls and the frames are a perfect match for my rug! Maybe I should be an interior designer! :)

Day 34: Paddleboarding!

Day 34:  I may not have the most exciting bucket list, but I have one, so that has to say something. I have crossed off a few things recently, such as the Polar Plunge and logrolling, so I thought why not check off another! I had always wanted to try paddleboarding, especially while I was in Hawaii, but never seemed to get the chance. This year, I decided to sign up for Paddle for the Polar Bears, where the proceeds from the event go to support the polar bear exhibit at the Henry Vilas Zoo. It was a gorgeous day on the lake--sunny and warm with just a slight breeze. I was a little nervous to stand up initially, as I didn't want to be the first of the group (that included little kids) to fall in the water. But somehow, I managed to stand on the board and paddle without falling in, even though some boaters thought it would be funny to put me into their wake. Ha! Take that! I must say it was a wonderfully relaxing experience for me and I think it might be one of my new favorite things! Now, hopefully I get the chance to do it again before the summer is over with!

Day 33: Farm Sunset

Day 33:  The nights as of late have been so beautiful (minus the little ankle-biters that have almost eaten me alive...those mosquitos are out to get me, I swear!) This night was no exception, as it was again clear, calm and almost crisp. The photo was taken out my back door, showing the amazing sunset and the red barn in the distance.

Day 32: Lake Wingra

Day 32:  Thursdays have been logrolling days on Lake Wingra as of late, and I couldn't help but take this photo at sunset after my lesson. The lake was extremely calm and you can see the reflection of the scenery and the red-tinted clouds in the water. It was a gorgeous night!

Day 31: Da Plane! Da Plane!

Day 31:  Night was falling and I realized I hadn't taken my picture of the day. It just so happens I was at the softball diamonds in McFarland, which is a hot spot for planes flying overhead into the Dane County Airport. I would have liked a closer shot, but the plane made a turn and this was all I could get. Neat photo, though, as you can see the plane just over the horizon and the lake!