Zeloski Marsh and Chasing the Train

 

Since Travalon had the day off of work today, I asked if I could take it off too. We had a relaxed morning and then got some lunch at Athens Grill before heading off to go birding. We'd been thinking of going to Horicon, but we also wanted to see an 80's cover band at the East Side Club at five, so I suggested going to Zeloski Marsh in Lake Mills, since it's a lot closer, and the Professor Formerly Known as Lute Player and her husband had gone there not too long ago. On the way, we stopped at a new place called Dreamy Teazy and got bubble tea, taro for me and ube for Travalon. They both looked the same (purple), but they tasted very different.

It was a cool day, but we hadn't seen rain in the forecast. However, it drizzled on and off as we drove to the marsh. Here is the sign, with a blue-winged teal and a yellow-headed blackbird, neither of which we saw today.

We did see a great blue heron.

And a blue jay that posed perfectly for us.

We also saw a green heron, but it saw us first and flew away before Travalon could get his camera ready, and I saw an egret flying in the distance. We saw some non-bird life, like this deer.

We looked at each other for a while, then Travalon and I started walking away from it, which caused it to bound away with its bright white tail bouncing behind it. We also saw this female monarch butterfly.

Red dragonflies kept landing in front of me, but we didn't get any photos of those. The wild cucumber vines were in bloom and had a lovely fragrance. They were covering these shrubs and making them look like a wild topiary garden.

There were also wild morning glories in both pale pink and white. Sorry, no photos of those, but here is an overview of the whole marsh.

As we were returning to Madison, I suddenly had the urge to stop by the Schoenstatt Shrine and pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet. By then it was raining again, and there were no other cars there, so we figured we could pray it out loud. Just as we were about to start, another couple around our age came in, but it turned out they were going to pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet too, so we all prayed it together. They said they live about a mile from there and stop in all the time.

Since the antiques mall is on the same road, we went there next. I saw interesting things like this display of Packers hats.

I kind of liked them, especially the top one, but upon further examination, none of them would have been comfortable to wear. I also loved this very expensive glassware that looks like a little girl's fantasy tea party accoutrements.

And I really loved these wall hangings of a mandolin and violin.

In fact, I liked them so much that I ended up getting them. Here is some other stuff we got.

None of these things were very expensive. The little Beanie Baby bear and the cheap green rosary were my selections, and Travalon got the blue caboose. Then as we were waiting to check out, I spotted the brass candle snuffer with red and green glass decorations, which seemed like a steal at $10. I don't use candles that often, but when I do, now I don't have to blow them out.

Our next stop was going to be the East Side Club, but the concert was canceled due to the weather. We decided to take Milwaukee Street home, and as we were driving down Commercial Avenue, Travalon spotted a train on the tracks not too far from us, so we parked where we could get a good vantage point.

It stopped us on Sherman Avenue, and I thought of that time a couple of years ago when the train stopped me on Sherman Avenue, then it went over me on Troy Drive, and then it went alongside me on Westport Road. I told Travalon to take Troy Avenue, and sure enough, the train was going over us when we drove beneath the bridge. He asked if we should stop to watch it, but I said if we kept going, it would be going alongside us on Westport Road, and that was indeed true. We knew it was the end of the train because the penultimate car had graffiti on it that said "Yal," and I said, "I see the Yal Car, so it's right at the end." We followed it to the crossing on M, and I said how happy I am to have a husband who's just as dorky about trains as I am, instead of one who would be like, "Who cares?" He said matching levels of dorkiness lead to a long marriage, and I agree!

When it gets a little later, we are going over to Mariner's for their penultimate night in business. We'll have fish fingers and ice cream drinks there, if it's not too crowded. Everyone is going now for their last chance.

Famous Hat