We wake up to rain. I am sure the farmette plants are grateful. Perhaps all plant life in south central Wisconsin is grateful. We've had a pretty dry run of it this past month.
My three day escape with my friends continues (albeit it's not a total escape: I still must process at least a half dozen phone calls this morning -- and counting! -- concerning the care of my mother and they require a focus that perhaps isn't totally compatible with a Prairie House getaway, but oh well).
Forecasts have given us ominous predictions for these days, but so far, this morning brings us mostly this:
(Across the road: Donald Rock)
We do have a flash downpour, from these clouds:
(Our indoor sandpipers keep an eye on things...)
While the three of us eat breakfast...
And then we drive the short stretch of road to Mt. Horeb. We thought it might be the perfect day to do a self guided walking tour of this small town that once concentrated its fortunes on the agricultural lands that surround it -- all part of the Driftless landscape that covers south-western part of the state. (Hilly, with rock formations and without the sediment of a receding glacier.)
For example, the old schoolhouse:
And the main drag, which has storefronts that date back to the 19th century. That's old for this part of the country!
We pause at shops -- antiques, gifts, soaps.
And then, as the rain comes back to wet us, we sidestep into the Driftless Historium and Mt. Horeb Area Museum. Parts of it are a fantastic account of this region's economic and social history.
Some parts are a little quirky. I suppose that's to be expected. This is a town of Norwegian trolls. They make their way into many places here!
It's still drizzling when we leave and that's just fine. It's time to stop for lunch.
There is an eatery here that is part of a small Dane County group of restaurants, all called Buck & Honey. An eclectic menu that pleases many, including us!
Fish tacos? Honeycrisp cider? Maybe a pizza? Yum!
Most people would get up and loudly proclaim that they could not possibly look at food after all that. Not us! First, we stop at a coffee shop (Bucky Bros, for caffeine and a cookie)... And then we continue! To the local grocery store. To stock up! (Turns out we do love to nosh in the afternoons, evenings, all day actually.) Satisfied with our stash, we go home to our house among the lupines. Where the swallows play.
There's a 1000 piece puzzle someone left behind and we started in on it this morning, with the intent of finishing it by tomorrow. With the storms in the forecast, I think we have a good chance of succeeding!
Except...
There's a break in the rains. Quite suddenly, one weather front moves out, and another is brewing to the west, and in the meantime, we have a streak of weather luck.
Barbara and I return to the Donald Park trails. And once again, it is perfectly beautiful.
Our dinner is one of lunch leftovers. Outside, the mist rolls in, the clouds are again hovering on the horizon. All this, as seen from the large windows of the Prairie House.
What I leave out of this text is those times where we walk not especially great distances, nor make great progress on our puzzles, or even on our sightseeing (our walking tour fizzled out after a few notable buildings), but it's those down times which are so great with friends. The kind of friends that have always supported you no matter what. Who have always understood your strengths and never wavered in their readiness to listen should you need that in life. Without ever trying to talk you out of being who you are.
The three of us are rooted in such different lives and we have circles of family and friends in our histories and our current lives and we return to them at the end of these escapes, but what remains is the knowledge that we have each others backs, regardless. It's the way it has been and it will always be thus.
with love...
