Travalon's Photos: Vilas Zoo, Salmo Pond, Sunset

 

I don't have much to say about today. I worked on campus and walked alone at lunch because Hardingfele was at an all-day event. Right after work we had a big Union meeting online, because our local has combined with another local to make a bigger local. Only three people showed up from their local, so it was mostly our people, and then the guy who looks like a leprechaun, who would lead our local meetings, asked the person leading this meeting to let him share his screen. I don't think she knew how to do that, because instead she shared her screen, so there were three iterations of the leprechaun on the screen: the big main one, a little one right above that in the strip of images of all attendees, and a little one right above that in the strip of attendees above the shared part of the screen. That did kind of make me laugh.

Fortunately Travalon has come through with some photos. Yesterday he went to the zoo.

Here's the red panda.

This is a meerkat.

The red panda again.

What a surprise - the aardvark is asleep.

Today he went to the big shoe store in Black Earth to buy new sneakers, and then he went for a walk at Salmo Pond. Here are some photos of the pond and Black Earth Creek,

In this photo from the overlook at Festge Park, you can see Blue Mound in the distance.

Then at work he saw a beautiful sunset.

He took all these with his cell phone. Maybe I should have taken a photo of the computer screen with three leprechauns on it. I'm still laughing about that.

Famous Hat

Northern (and Southern) Lights All Over!

 

Yesterday I'd heard there would be incredible northern lights, but at 7:30 when I got home from Adoration, it was cloudy to the north. Later I saw everyone posting incredible photos on social media, so I went back out, and it was still cloudy, but I saw some pink to the northwest and took this photo from our dock.

You can see the green glow of the aurora borealis through the clouds, but I didn't notice that until looking at in on my computer - it was hard to see on the phone. Travalon and I went to Bong Road, but there was only one other car there, and they weren't outside of it looking at the sky. They left as soon as we arrived. We got out and looked at the sky, but it was totally cloudy.

Today I worked on campus, and a colleague showed me some incredible photos she had taken, but she lives in another town. I got mixed answers about what you could see here in Madison; some people bemoaned the clouds, and others posted photos from, say, the Union Terrace. People all over the world saw them: down in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, over in Scotland, and the aurora australis in Australia were just some of the places I saw photos from. My aunt in Colorado sent this one:

And also a gorgeous sunset.

At lunch I walked with Seabird, then we had our big department meeting this afternoon. I thought this evening we had a Union meeting online, so I would go straight home and log in, but that's tomorrow - tonight was the Shamrock Club book study. However, I hadn't read the book, and I hadn't brought dinner with me so I could go straight there, so I came home to grab a bite to eat... and then felt too comfortable and didn't leave. Travalon came home, and then I checked what was going on at the dock.

Definitely aurora action! Travalon and I went to Bong Road, and tonight there were a ton of people there. You could see the northern lights with your bare eyes, and it looked a bit like this:

The camera picked up a lot more with a three-second exposure. Here are my favorite photos.

Those were looking north. Even right above us there was activity.

So maybe it wasn't as spectacular as last night (at least, some people are saying that online), but it wasn't a disappointment either. It was totally worth going to Bong Road and standing out in the cold.

Famous Hat

Guest Post from Travalon: Year Long Today Fest

 

I don't have too much to say; it was a quiet day of working from home, going to Adoration, and leading Night Prayer. It was so cold that Travalon and I didn't go to Governor's Island for a walk; we just took a short one in our neighborhood. I did get an email from "Andy" saying that he was at the meeting yesterday but online, not in person, which explains why I couldn't find him. I was looking in the right spot - I wonder if he knows the "Other Andy," since they sit in the same part of the hall? Since I don't have much to say today, here's a guest post by Travalon:

Year Long Today Fest

In about three weeks I’ll be celebrating my 60th birthday. Can’t believe how the years have flown by. Part of me feels kinda old but part of me still feels youthful and adventurous wanting to keep getting out and about exploring new places and just making the most out of life, although balance is the best thing, having plenty of quiet nights at home too. Starting this month and going all the way through next year I decided to celebrate just being on this earth for sixty years by partronizing all my favorite independent small businesses- shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and even bars around this great city of Madison, the area surrounding it and elsewhere in Wisconsin. It’s spread out over a period of 14 months so I’m not spending too much money on one day or getting too bloated eating and drink in too more than I can handle. I will do a lot, however; on the weekend after Thanksgiving Day and Small Business Saturday leading into my actual birthday on December 1st. This should be fun to see how many I can do. Famous Hat likes a lot of these places also, and is always welcome to join me visiting them as she chooses. 

Here is part of my list, the ones I already visited in November have an asterisk next to them: 

He also sent me some photos to post. First are some drawings he colored, and at work they hung them on the wall because they thought some kid colored them.

And here are our neighbors, the modern-day dinosaurs:

Why didn't I get the license plate with them on it?? I always wonder if people will see my Ice Age Trail license plate and then see fat old me get out of the car and wonder to themselves, "Has she even ever SEEN the Ice Age Trail??" I don't look like the fit folk you usually see hiking on it.

And here are a couple of photos of Mendota County Park, the one that was closed for months.

Travalon says he doesn't see much difference, but there does seem to be a new picnic area and a new bathroom. Of course, this time of year the bathrooms are closed, so we can't go in to see how nice they are inside. We'll have to check it out when the weather warms up again.

Famous Hat

The Other Andy

 

On weekend mornings I always seem to wake up early, but of course this morning my alarm clock woke me up. I was dreaming that Toque McToque had bought me a bunch of groceries, and I was trying to get to my office to write her a check. I was climbing up some outside stairs carrying my Hugimal cat Frankie and wondering why Toque had bought me over $100 of groceries I hadn't asked for. How random - I haven't seen Toque in years, but maybe my brain remembered that her birthday is in a few days.

I worked on campus today, and as I was going into my building, a male cardinal flew down right by me and chirped at me. He was all fluffy because it was so cold out. At lunch I walked with Hardingfele, but it was so cold out that we made it shorter than usual. Then I had a meeting, and I was trying to find a guy named Andy, who is my representative (I'm the alternate), and I found a guy who looked like his description who also seemed familiar, and I said, "Are you Andy?" Then I realized he was a guy who works in my building, so of course I already knew he was Andy. I said, "I'm your alternate," and he said, "No, here's my alternate," and he gestured at the woman sitting next to him, so I must have needed to find another Andy with a beard and brown hair. I looked around, and who should I see but Handy Woman, another former coworker (like Toque McToque) whom I hadn't seen in a long time. We sat together, and she showed me a video of her granddaughter, whose name is Latin for Willow. I've heard of plenty of girls named Willow, but this is the first Salix I've heard of. Not sure if there was a connection between seeing Handy Woman and my dream about Toque McToque, since they both involved old coworkers, but it's probably just a coincidence. Oh, and I never did find the other Andy.

In the evening Travalon and I went to the East Side Club to watch the Packers play the Eagles. At halftime neither team had scored, but then the Eagles got a field goal. In the fourth quarter the Eagles got a touchdown, so we left and went to Bong Road to see if there were any Northern Lights. We saw a little activity, but the pictures my phone took just look like clouds. I thought there was supposed to be a lot of activity tonight, but on social media I saw it's actually tomorrow night. We were listening to the Packers in the car, and they did score a touchdown, but just as we got home and turned on the TV, they missed a field goal that would have tied up the game and sent them into overtime. Still, 10-7 isn't a bad loss.

Travalon wanted me to post these images of the video game he was playing yesterday (Mike Tyson Punch Out by Nintendo) while I was at my drum lesson. The first level is Glass Joe, and he said, "Even you could punch him out!" 

Notice how he looks scared because even I could punch him out. Next is Piston Hurricane.

This is Travalon's nemesis, Bald Bull, who is apparently from Turkey.

Travalon did manage to knock him out at least once, but not yesterday. I have never even tried.

Famous Hat