Here’s a sampling of skies that have been hanging around our farm lately. The above photo gives evidence of the VERY delayed corn harvest here in northeast Iowa.
Ten inches of rain in October kept harvesting at bay.
*
Thank you for stopping by! You know the drill…..please visit Skyley.blogspot.com to find the links to this week’s beautiful SkyWatch photos.
*
There’s not much rhyme or reason to this post. Or how about, there’s NO rhyme or reason. I liked the photos, that’s all.
Above is a scene from the college campus where my daughter is a student. Below is an especially fetching photo of my son and I. I’ve been trying to convince him to get a haircut…..but the suggestion has so far fallen on deaf ears. Actually, maybe he can’t even hear me with his ears covered up with all that hair. Let’s not even start on my appearance, thank you very much.
Lastly…..more shadow configurations…..
Thanks for putting up with the randomness!
*
Continuing on from the previous post……
After stopping at Pike’s Peak south of McGregor, Mom and I crossed the Mississippi River via the bridge from Marquette, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The above photo was taken from the bridge---looking south---with the grain silos at McGregor visible in the distance.
Once across the river, visitors are welcomed to Wisconsin by this statue of Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who joined Louis Joliet to explore the Upper Mississippi River region in the 1670’s. Father Marquette was chosen to be part of the expedition because he was familiar with Native American languages. He also was the founder of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, near where the expedition began. This statue is located on the outskirts of the town of Prairie du Chien (translation: “Dog Prairie”, named for a Fox Indian chief whose name meant “dog”.)
From Prairie du Chien, we meandered north on highway 35---a Great River Road---nestled between tree-dotted bluffs and the Mississippi River. A very beautiful drive it was; as mentioned in the previous post, the river appeared exceptionally blue for some reason. Just gorgeous! I was chomping at the bit to stop here and there to gaze for awhile, but there was not enough time.
South of Ferryville, we took a road which made its way northeasterly in a twisting and turning fashion through a coulee complete with lots of old farm buildings. Many of the drafty-looking barns are used to store tobacco leaves for drying.
Eventually, the road climbed up onto the high ridges where many dairy farms are located; Wisconsin is famous for being a dairy state, don’t forget. At Mt. Sterling Mom and I were forced to endure this horse’s suspicious glare as we parked in front of the cheese factory. The hand-written sign on the post says “STAY AWAY FROM HORSE!”
From Mt. Sterling the road wound steadily through the wooded hills which surround the village of Gays Mills. There were plenty of delapidated old buildings in view once again. Most of these photos were taken through the car window as we drove along, with me constantly stifling an urge to stop and take more pictures.
Gays Mills, “Wisconsin Apple Country”…..
Gays Mills’ main street comes to a “T” intersection, with a right turn leading up a steep hill to where the apple orchards are located.
I hope you can read this sign……it gives historical info about the orchards. It says there are over 1000 acres dedicated to apple-growing here.
The sign stands at a roadside overlook, with the vista looking like this:
The first orchard along this road is “Sunrise Orchard”……it has a large retail warehouse that accommodates many visitors. I bought Red and Golden Delicious apples, along with apple cider doughnuts…..yum! There were samples of the available apple types, including Ida Red, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Jonagold, Lura Red, Empire, McIntosh, and Harralson. Also, I bought a big bag of cranberries grown in northern Wisconsin.
Well, that’s the final photo, so I will close this blogpost. It was a wonderful day trip to Wisconsin! The weather was perfect…..there was plenty of fantastic scenery, and, of course, special hours spent with my mom, chatting about this and that, that and this.
*
Thanks for stopping by!
*
Last week my mom and I enjoyed a day away. Our ultimate destination was the apple orchards at Gays Mills, Wisconsin. As “chance” would have it, our route to Gays Mills took us into conveniently close proximity to Iowa’s own Pike’s Peak, which overlooks the Mississippi River. It was a gorgeous sunny day with just a hint of distant haze; we couldn’t resist stopping at the state park to take in the always awesome bluff-top view.
The above scene shows the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, as Mom and I gazed in a southeasterly direction from the observation deck. The photo below is looking northwards toward the bridge which connects Marquette, Iowa, with Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the river look so blue as it did on this particular day. The dark specks in the above photo are ladybugs---they were swarming around the overlook deck. Our clothes were covered with them in short order. Yuck…..the ladybug beetles smell funny and will bite when the weather is warm.
Clear blue skies provided the perfect backdrop for autumn-toned treetops.
After leaving Pike’s Peak, we drove down the hill and motored along Main Street of the river town of McGregor, Iowa, past intriguing old false-fronted stores and historic brick buildings. No time to linger there, though. On to Wisconsin we needed to go. This next photo was taken from the Marquette bridge, with the riverboat casino in view, too.
Next is another random shot from the bridge. I blindly aimed the camera and snapped photos through the car window as we drove across the bridge, hoping at least one picture would turn out to be blog-worthy. The water was very lovely---without the usual “Muddy Mississippi” look, for some reason.
The next blogpost will show scenes from the Gays Mills, Wisconsin, area.
Thanks for stopping by!
*
.JPG)
.BMP)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.BMP)
.JPG)
