Milwaukee Art Museum – Caught in Flight

Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum © 2008

Yes, this is Milwaukee. Isn’t she lovely?

This is the Quadracci Pavillion of the Milwaukee Art Museum, which hugs the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee’s downtown, and has easily become a symbol for the revitalization of the city. The design, built in 2001, features a movable winged structure which stretches a magnificent 217 feet when it is open during the day. It closes, folding on itself, at night or during inclement weather.

The architect, Santiago Calatrava, is world-famous for his playfulness and the use of kinetic features. Some of his work, including both the Art Museum and the renowned Turning Torso in Sweden, is featured in this video. If you like buildings, but not your plain-old-ordinary rectilinear buildings, this guy does some amazing work that is art – in and of itself.

Lake Michigan through the Eyes of the Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum on the shores of Lake Michigan

Milwaukee Art Museum © 2008 Bo Mackison

Milwaukee Art Museum on the shores of Lake Michigan

Say Milwaukee and what do people think of? Beer? Bowling? Laverne and Shirley? Actually when I think of visiting Milwaukee, it is usually in anticipation of attending Summerfest, the biggest music festival in the world – draws over a million people every year – or visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The Museum is an amazing place. The newer addition is a “moving winged affair” designed by internationally acclaimed architect, Santiago Calatrava. It’s a great museum, and it has a large collection of paintings by one of my favorites, Georgia O’Keeffe. And the museum is on Lake Michigan’s shores, so spending a summer day there is usually delightful.

What’s New in the Gardens?

Tomatoes on the Vine

Tomatoes on the Vine © 2008 Bo Mackison

The tomatoes are so thick with blossoms and fruit this year, the tomato plants are requiring extra stakes. Good news for my salads and spaghetti sauce.

Full Moon Pumpkin

“Full Moon” Pumpkin © 2008 Bo Mackison

“Full Moon” – the ‘great white’ of pumpkins, though not really white. More pastel orange. It can grow 25-50 pounds. This pumpkin’s photograph was taken on the day of the full moon – think that makes it a lucky pumpkin?

Sweet Beauty Watermelon

“Sweet Beauty” Watermelon © 2008 Bo Mackison

The fruit of the “Sweet Beauty” is sweet and crisp. Perfect for dessert any night.

I went to our University’s Annual Field Days at their Research Gardens. There they show off all the produce of their test gardens and even provide free samples – the corn and salsa and raspberries were really perfect. Even got to vote on favorites, so maybe the tomato I loved will be in seed packets and at the garden centers in a year or two.

Giant Sunflower and New Perspective

Giant Sunflower

Giant Sunflower © 2008 Bo Mackison

When you take time out to rest your back upon the earth, and look up into the summer skies, it’s amazing what you just might see. Perhaps, like I did, you might see life from a different perspective.

Fish Boil – A Wisconsin Tradition

Fish Boil at Boil-Over

Fish Boil at Boil-Over © 2008 Bo Mackison

I have a suspicion that if you mention “fish boil” anywhere in the United States, except Wisconsin, you will see some odd expressions, but the traditional Door County Fish Boil is wildly popular in this northern Wisconsin vacation destination. The main ingredient – thick steaks of delicate, freshly caught whitefish from the surrounding waters of Lake Michigan – make dinner an occasion for many a visitor. This is especially true when the fish is prepared in a huge black kettle amidst a fiery blaze. When a member of the Boil Over Crew sounds the dinner bell, it is the signal for the “boil over” and that is the signal that it will soon be time to eat.

For the uninitiated, a fish boil begins with a kettle of hot salted water perched atop a wood fire. The boil master drops one steel basket of potatoes and onions into the boiling water, and a second basket of fresh whitefish goes into the steaming cauldron a few minutes later. When everything is nearly ready, kerosene is added to the fire and a huge flame erupts, causing the water to boil over the top. Hence, a “boil over.” The hot flames cause the water to boil over the sides of the kettle, removing fish oil that has collected on the surface during the cooking process.

As you can see in the photo, the crew then lifts the baskets from the heat, lets the water drain, and the ingredients are presented to the hungry crowd with a generous drizzle of butter and hearty slices of bread. And to make the event an even grander foodie experience, the meal is finished off with a slice of Door County cherry pie.

Yum!