Yesterday I took the day off of work, and Travalon and I went to Sauk in the morning. We didn't see any eagles or ducks or anything, but at the coffee place we discovered we could also buy dairy and vegetables, saving Travalon a trip to the grocery store. Then we went for a walk at Pheasant Branch before he had to leave for work. After that I went for another walk, this time with Richard Bonomo on the boardwalk by Lake Waubesa. In the evening Travalon and I stayed in a hotel room next to the room occupied by Anna Banana II and Jilly Moose, and the three of them went down to the pool while I talked to Tiffy. Then in the middle of the night the fire alarm went off, and I was so confused because I thought I was at home. After that I couldn't get back to sleep, so I went down to the hotel gym and went a mile on the elliptical trainer, but man was that hard! Guess I'm not in as great of shape as I thought... I did get a couple of hours of sleep after that.
One thing I did get was a "boutique plant." Apparently Millennials collect unusual plants, and I am trying to avoid exotic plants since they always die on me, but this is a black ZZ plant. I have a regular green ZZ plant, and it's the best thing ever. If it were a person in jail, it would be all like, "Well, at least the food's not that bad." It was the only plant that liked my office; two of my Christmas cacti there died, and the third one was miserable until I brought it home due to the quarantine, and now it's so happy at my house that it's totally covered in flowers. I get the message! But if I ever have to go back to the office (crossing my fingers that I don't), I'll have two ZZ plants to keep me company: a green one and a black one.
I also bought a cute little succulent; I generally have good luck with cute little succulents, except that after a while they become big succulents.
And I got these fun socks because it's like they know me.
Today I was pretty groggy, but I did go with Rich and Pete the Sailor Man to partake in our annual tradition of putting flowers on Mr. Why's grave. Then we had lunch at La Brioche, and Pete regaled us with fascinating tales of sailing to the Azores with a clever setup for creating fresh water, and sailing through the Bahamas using dead reckoning (i.e., no electronic guidance). It's true - sailors do have the best stories! Then Rich and I met Anna Banana II at the zoo, which was very crowded, but a lot of the animals were not on display. This badger was, and he has a little stuffed fox, just like I have Raymond. (Raymond was home watching basketball with Daddy.)
Between state high school basketball tournament games, Travalon took a walk outside to enjoy the beautiful day. Out the window he saw this bird that looks kind of like a kookaburra...? I think it's got to be some sort of woodpecker.
He also saw this crane walking on the ice.
Later he joined Rich, Anna Banana II, Jilly Moose, Kathbert, and me for a walk in Rich's neighborhood, and then we went home and watched the sunset.
I could hear cranes calling from all sides, and off to the left in the marsh there was a different crane call. Travalon heard it too. I hear it for a day or two this time of year, and I really believe it's a whooping crane migrating through, maybe on its way to Horicon Marsh. One sandhill crane walked out on a dock behind Mariner's, calling and calling, until another one flew from the west and joined it, and then they both danced. So cool! Their song sounds so ancient, I almost feel like I could be listening to the mating calls of dinosaurs 300 million years ago.
Travalon's alma mater, the Pewaukee Pirates, won their earlier game today, so they were in the Division II championship game. They have had some rough years, like the year before he joined the team they were one and seventeen, and then in 2001 they were undefeated until losing the championship game, so they have a Silver Ball in their trophy case. They were playing Onalaska, and the game never got all that close - the Pirates were up by double digits pretty much the whole game. So they won their first ever Golden Ball! Here are a couple of shots Travalon took of the team with the trophy, from the TV screen.
They played in La Crosse this year (so it was practically a home game for Onalaska), but usually the tournament is in Madison and Travalon could go. He was hoping to go to La Crosse today to attend the game in person, but because of COVID there were only a few tickets available, and they sold out before the general public could buy any. So poor Travalon had to watch the game on TV, with only me (and Raymond and Sergio the Capybara and Randy Panda) for company, and I only cared because he cared. But he was texting his old high school teammates like crazy, so they did kind of get to celebrate together, as much as anyone does now in COVID times. The amazing thing is that there is only one senior on the team, so that means almost all the players will be back next year. Will they repeat their success?
Famous Hat
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