Bright Blue Globes

Bright Blue - Self-Portrait

A visit to the local garden center this weekend provided me with a two hour photo shoot. I pretty much emptied my wallet to do some replacement purchasing for foundation plantings for my home – six bushes and a European Filbert Tree that I was told was native to Wisconsin. (Go figure!) It looks like a giant corkscrew.  So, as a result of my contribution to their economy, I felt it only right and proper that I get some photo subjects out of the deal.

The colors were wonderful wherever I looked. And after I became completely color blinded by at least a thousand kinds of flowers, I went over to the flower pots. I wasn’t disappointed there, either.

Even got a self-portrait in this photo, but you have to look carefully – or blow the photo to poster size. 🙂

Oscar Mayer Weinermobile

Weiner-Mobile

I am not posting this because it is a good photograph, but because it is the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. How many of you have seen this big guy up close? I’ve always thought it might be fun to ride way up there, surveying Madison from the top of a hot dog, but this is as close as I’ve gotten. I occasionally see the hot dog car cruising the streets of Madison – Madison, WI is the home of Oscar Mayer.

The Weinermobile was the brainchild of Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl G. Mayer, and first made its appearance driving the streets of Chicago in 1936. The sixth generation of Weinermobiles was built in 2004 and are equipped with voice activated GPS, an audio system with a wireless microphone and a horn that the Oscar Mayer Theme Song in 21 genres, from Cajun to Bossa Nova, Classical to Rap. It also has a ceiling painted sky blue with floating, fluffy clouds. There are currently 6 of these Weinermobiles in existence, and they travel the US from coast to coast 365 days a year.

Drivers of the Wienermobiles often hand out Wienerwhistles, little toy replicas of the Wienermobile that double as whistles. I, as a proud mother of 3, have probably collected a dozen or so of these screech-y things over the years. I wonder how much monetary value is attached to a 25 year old Weinerwhistle?

If you want to see a video of the very newest Weinermobile, ABC News covered the big story Weinermobile Goes Mini Cooper in March of this year. It takes a moment to pop the story, but its fun to see the new mini-weiner. (though you’ll have to spend 30 seconds watching a coffee commercial before the featured film – sorry)

Peak Dogwoods

Peak Dogwoods

Dogwoods in full bloom, the peak of a century old mansion in the background.

Checkered Path

Checkered Past

While wandering around the University of Wisconsin’s campus, I came across this great shadow/light pattern. Had to play with these stairs a bit to make the checkerboard really pop. Sometimes you just gotta have a little fun with the photos. Create and play and marvel at the complexities of computerdom and software intricacies.

Imagine. Seventeen years ago this month, we bought out first home computer. 128k Hee hee. And we were SO impressed. The first program we got was Sticky-Bear Math for my then 3 year old. Anybody out there remember Sticky-Bear?

Hiker’s Delights

Jack Sticks Out His Tongue

My first Jack of the year. He was poking out of a mass of wild geranium leaves, the geraniums not in flower yet, and I almost missed him. Jack in the Pulpits are a favorite of mine.

Emerging May Apples

And I found a huge field of May Apples just emerging. They should be in full bloom in less than a week, though what I love most about this plant is its foliage as it unfolds. Like a giant yawn when you have to throw your arms out wide, and stretch, too. A white five-petaled flower will tuck itself under the umbrella to complete the show.

One of my readers, Uphilldowndale from northern England, asked about the fruit. I rather forgot it has that fruit-y word, “apple”, in its moniker. For the record, it does have a soft, yellowy kind of fruit which can be eaten, mostly in marmalades, jams, pies, etc., though I’m not personally recommending it for I’ve never tasted it. Supposedly it is sweet and mildly acidic, though one source called it “peculiar”. Has anyone ever had a bite of a May Apple?

[where: Owen Conservation Park]