the wonders of wisconsin.

who knew that a dairy free lady like me would fall so entirely head over heels over the dairy state - where cheese and cows and corn reign supreme?

well, i did. hook, line and sinker. rumor has it that we rolled into town for the first stretch of gorgeous sunny summer weather, which further implies that the reason everything was so green and lush and full was because of the immense amount of rain the state has been receiving, causing everything to grow like crazy. but reasons schmeasons. WISCONSIN WAS GORGEOUS!

the first thing that impressed me about the midwest was the sky. man oh man, it's something else. it's massive and its expanse becomes a larger, more dominant character than the land below. the clouds are huge, you see weather over there move over there then come through here and go over there. it's a totally different perspective and scale than anything i've seen before. it was breathtaking. giant puffy cottonball cumulus clouds dotting a perfectly blue sky. green green pastures and, depending on the time of the day and the farm, picturesque scenes of cows grazing, cows standing around doing nothing, cows lying down relaxing. old farmhouses and barns, some in disrepair, a pangful and sharp reminder of just how damn hard it is to be a farmer in this country, in this economy, in this day and age.

and the farms. oh my. the barns, the cows, the fields, the horses, the corn...they are beautiful. they look like exactly what i picture when i think of a farm.

we worked hard while we were there. and we relaxed like champs. it was a meticulous and amazing balance. perfect, i would dare say. there were things of ryan's to sort through and clean out and pack into the truck. there was a kitchen table we refurbished by sanding the rust off of the legs and giving her a new coat of paint and which now sits proudly and beautifully in our berkeley digs. there was an organ to demolish - all of its wires and pieces and cables and speakers and parts to be sorted through for salvage or dumping. but there was also time to play with the dogs and visit with family and float down the river in canoes and kayaks.

it was hard to leave wisconsin.
but yellowstone called, and we had no choice but to answer...