Golden Arch

On the Mississippi Riverfront at Dubuque, Iowa. The bridge in the background is the Julian Dubuque Bridge and connects to East Dubuque, Illinois. I was attracted to the patterns and colors in the glow of the setting sun.

We pulled over along the river to take a few photographs and when I got out of the car, I was immediately swarmed by buffalo gnats. Evidently the wet weather and high waters have provided the little beasts with a perfect breeding ground. I took only a couple of shots, and I did those super fast. Yech!

Blue Flag

These lovely iris are growing all wild along the roadsides in Door County. The flowers this year seem to be out-doing themselves. Maybe giving us a reward for surviving last winter’s brutal punches. I’m thankful for all the bright colors and the warmth of the sun too. I am so happy that summer has finally begun!

Yellow Lady’s Slipper

This June the Yellow Lady’s Slippers were profusely decorating the woodlands of Door County. Considering how picky and complicated their life cycle is, it’s almost amazing they grow at all.

All Lady’s Slippers grow in acidic soil which must have a certain underground fungus. The seeds of these plants are about the size of a dust speck and have absolutely no nutrients. Their “fungus buddy” attacks and eats the outer coating of the tiny seeds and allow the inner cells to absorb nutrients from the fungus and then germinate. This process can take several years. After the slipper finally germinates, it can take up to 15 years for the plant to mature enough to flower.

And it doesn’t get any easier after it flowers. Its pollination is equally complicated, requiring a bee to enter the pouchy flower. Once inside, the bee will often get trapped and either dies or has to chew its way out. The bees that manage to escape this demanding mistress then carry pollen to other blossoms, but even after all this trouble, only a small percentage are actually pollinated.

Guessing the only reason these ladies survive is due to their long lives – each plant can live for 100 years, providing they are not lunch for one of the many Door County deer. Once a flower actually is pollinated it is very prolific though, and can produce more than 60,000 seeds.

Green Barn with Character

This is another of the many Door County, Wisconsin barns whose builder refused to go along with the more customary red barn motif.

A very green barn – green roof, once sage-green walls, even the trim was a darker shade of green. And now surrounded by lots of tall, waving grasses. The little bit of red in the window provides for an interesting contrast.

Lots of work went into the construction of this concrete silo – I love the little window facing west and the “top hat.” And somehow, an industrious tree has taken root under the roof.

This barn was most likely built circa 1900 – this circular form of concrete silo was most prevalent in that decade. It was hand built of formed concrete rings that were poured atop each other. Metal ladder rungs were frequently added as a permanent part of the structure to facilitate access, and a poured concrete dome was usually hoisted to cap the tower.

I can almost imagine the farmer climbing the steel rungs on the outside of the silo, calling to some of his younger kids playing in the loft, maybe the littlest one peeking out at father from the second story window.

Companions – A Car and A Truck

Taking a short cut through the center of Door County, traveling from our campground on Lake Michigan to the Green Bay side, we passed these once handsome vehicles. Without a doubt, they would have been real beauties in their hey-day. Now they both appear to be in search of new owners.

Looking for similar cars, I found this 1939 Dodge Luxury Liner Deluxe D-11 4-door Sedan. Sure looks similar, even the same color! What a looker that car was brand new! I can just imagine riding along the streets of Chicago, dressed to the T in a tailored suit influenced a bit by masculine apparel, a tipped hat and  nylons just introduced that very year. Why, my suit may have even had one of those new, modern zippers! (Pretty fancy name for the car – hmmm? Not only luxury, but deluxe, too!)

I didn’t have as much luck looking for a comparable truck. I narrowed it down to one of the early 1940s models – I think. But it still must have been grand to zoom around in a shiny red truck, especially after the work chores were done. Tooling through the Door in a snazzy truck, making a Saturday night ruckus!

Sailing on Green Bay

“There is a rule in sailing where the more maneuverable ship should give way to the less maneuverable craft. I think this is sometimes a good rule to follow in human relationships as well.” Joyce Brothers

One of my viewers, Rosa Say, who has a remarkable site at Aloha Coaching left me an interesting comment. “There is a Hawaiian belief that the sky above us is filled with multiple layers of life: The word we use is papahulilani, and (it means) we don’t always see what is there, but we shouldn’t question that it is.” Thank you, Rosa, for this added insight.