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| Good morning. The summer has been a bit occupied thanks to my last round of preliminary exams (which went swimmingly), but I did enjoy an opportunity to travel north with my parents last week. It was a rather low-key trip, with two nights spent in motels and three spent at the home of one of my dad's former colleagues (from back in Maryland). The scenery, showing notably less concrete than my standard morning commute, was pleasant throughout. There were no incredible wildlife sightings, but deer, hummingbirds, ducks, and friendly chipmunks somehow sufficed. A few of those are shown in photographs below.
Our first destination was the Copper Harbor area of the Upper Peninsula. State and national forests and parks worked their way into our itinerary smoothly. Porcupine Mountains, Bond Falls, and some general looks at Lake Superior were lovely. The second half of the trip revolved around the house of the aforementioned colleague, who lives in a lovely log home on a small lake with his wife in northwestern Wisconsin. I spent those days reading or just enjoying the surrounding area. Good meals and a lot of sleep are never to go unappreciated.
Anywho, below are some photos and a video. Do enjoy (larger versions of these photos are available in the associated album).
Bond Falls:
There were about a dozen and a half ducks (some with -lings in tow) scattered about the river above the falls. They seemed to be enjoying the algae. Here's a close up for cuteness sake.
I do want to again note that this was a scenic drive. Here's a sample of one of the pretty stretches of road.
Below is a photo of my parents overlooking Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains.
And now a look at our lodging in northern Wisconsin.
This would be the view from their house (well, from one part of it):
And now for a photo or two of the local fauna.
  
Hummingbirds sound like they would be the scariest bugs alive, but they mostly just dive-bomb each other (or at least they mostly did just dive-bomb each other, while I was observing). Fun, vicious little fellows.
Speaking of vicious, the chipmunks of the area were storing up for the coming of winter (or just for some snack binge they planned to have later on). They were quite friendly to us, but quite defensive if any other rodent attempted to claim our attention/their peanut supply. I have many photos and videos of the inter-species interaction, but I'll only show a token. The day before we arrived, my dad's former colleague had realized they would come and take a peanut from him if he pinched the peanut between his fingers and let his hand dangle down near the ground. With sufficient cheek space, a single peanut per trip was not always sufficient. Photos and video should verify these observations (the video was taken three nights after the first time they took a peanut from our host--the chipmunks grow comfortable quickly).
And what would a set of trip photos be without a sunset shot over water (or two). Seriously, all trip photo sets seem to have them. Here I go, being a slave to convention... (this is Lake Superior)
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| Dear xanga,
Today I lit my shirt on fire with a laser. It was exciting.
Stephen
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| http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7999909.stm
One of the craziest stories I've read in a long time. The entire article should be read, as should the picture captions. It makes its own commentary.
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| Some two decades ago, in a northerly land untouched by the hands of modernity, a small family line set out on an arduous journey one calm sunny day. The youngest, and only member of the band of descendants and ancestors to not bear a spouse in tow, was charged with the task of marking the trail to aid in assuring a safe return. Thousands of small, uninterrupted (for the matron of the party had decreed that all should bear themselves by their own strength) footsteps later, the party arrived at the end of a wide, wooded trail. The wood opened to a rolling field, marked by a windmill of no mean picturesque value. But alas, this view did little to comfort the tired legs of the most anxious party member. Whether he still wielded the stick that had now laid the clear path to the starting point of the voyage was not known, though none of the company were lost in the travels that day. Satisfaction came neither from this task's successful completion, nor from the scenery. His interests could be peaked only by other simple pleasures in life--food, beasts of the wild (or beasts of the home), or perhaps a decent playmate. He felt as though his power had waned without prospect of return, even though an equal length of travel yet lay before him prior to the rest at day's end. The patriarch, eldest of the family name alive at the time, knew that hope need not be lost, for it was apparent to his experienced eyes that a modest supply of ripe blueberries waited on the edge of the nearest hill. Finding no joy in the capture of this inanimate quarry, but recognizing the importance of the nourishment offered, the lad stooped to gather what he could, pausing to allow the gravity of the situation, as reflected in his young face, to be captured as a memorial for times yet to come.
Four times the lifetime of that child have almost now passed, stretching through his youth and into the burgeoning of his adulthood (though some might claim such a label requires amending), but the story and picture endure.
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| A primer on astrology, a book about the Dalai Lama, a Lord of the Rings book, and What's So Amazing About Grace: these the books I identified on the bus ride back to my apartment today. And this was just the bus headed out to the west side of town. It shouldn't be too hard to tell why Madison can be such an interesting place.
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