Showin’ of the Green?

Showin' of the Green?

Hmmm. No. No green here. Sure, I know it’s St. Paddy’s Day, but the truth is – I live in Wisconsin. You know, Wisconsin. W-I-S-C-O-N-S-I-N!  You got it. Yeah, up north. If you live in most of the good ol’ US of A,  you think I live somewhere near the Arctic Circle. Ha!

Now some of you folk may have green, and your land may be wearing it proudly too, but I don’t see green ’round these parts. We’ve got your basic white – that’s the snow – and your basic brown – that’s where some of the snow has melted and turned into mud – but sorry, no green.

Guess if you really want to see some green ’round here, you’ll need to check out the local pubs. You’ll find all the green you’ll want to be seein’ in there. All those crazy shamrock decorations and lil’ Leprechauns, those mugs of green beer, and if you hang around til evenin’, all those green faces, too. For me, it’s back to life in the burrow as usual.

You go on now. Have a happy St. Paddy’s.  Have a root beer for me.

from your friendly Black Prairie Dog,

Simon

Happy Birthday, Jeanne

Wintry Blossoms

Twenty-seven years ago this morning – 10:31 am to be precise – I gave birth to my first child. I look back and remember those early days of motherhood as being among the most precious of my life.

Here are my Happy Birthday wishes to my older daughter.

Enjoy. Laugh. Love.

Self-Portrait

Tangled

Tangled, too focused, not enough color.

Photographs can be self-portraits.

One Red Wall

Red Barn Side

Red Barn Side © 2008 Bo Mackison

Nearing the end of a long winter, a farm stands in snowy isolation.

Sauk County, Wisconsin

Vines on the Barn Window

Barn Window

Barn Window © 2008 Bo Mackison

Five minutes from our home on the outskirts of Madison, we are in the heart of Wisconsin farm country. Most nearby farms have been in families for many years. Many of them are century farms – the farms have been in production by the same family for 100 years or longer.

Over 99% of Wisconsin farms are family-owned and there are over 76,500 farms in the state. Wisconsin’s farmers grow enough food to feed 11.8 million people a year. While Wisconsin is strongly associated with dairies – we ARE the Dairy State and we call ourselves cheeseheads – we farm many unusual things, too.

We are among the national leaders in the production of cranberries and ginseng, have large numbers of trout and mink farms, and, of course, the state is dotted with Christmas Tree Farms.

Photograph of barn in Sauk County, Wisconsin