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February 09, 2018

Morning Walk   -   Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Verona Segment

Thursday afternoon a lifetime friend, Dave Keeffe,  and his partner, Linda Weltzin, came down to Madison to attend a Robert Cray concert. Naturally, we got together before the concert, ate out, and shared old and new times. Gus’s Diner in Verona serves up some delicious food and way too much dessert in the form of chocolate malts.

They went to the concert. I left and went back to our place, but a morning walk was planned so Dave and I could explore part of the trail and maybe get a few shots of birds or anything else we might find interesting. 

Into the chilled morning air, we walked for a bit before heading off onto the trail. No problem. It was part of the trail in Verona I had not explored yet. It’s always good to save some things for special occasions. We were not disappointed.

 Though too far away from us for good shots we managed to see two, TWO, Great Horned owls on the trail. As soon as they took flight a murder of crows chased them around, through, and over the trees surrounding a ballpark and part of the wildlife area connected to the Ice Age Trail. We hoped the crows might send them in our direction. Didn’t happen.

No worries. We were happy to even see owls at this time of morning. Grateful, we were, and are for this opportunity. However, along the way we both managed to get a few decent shots of two Sandhill Cranes lingering about Badger Creek, which runs through part of Verona. 

Dave managed a short video of the cranes, and I got a decent shot of one walking water. Ok, it was ice, but hey, water is water, frozen or liquid. We also managed to shoot several red wing blackbirds and a marvelous coniferous tree that somehow managed to look more like a giant bonsai than a pine tree. 

Go figure. That tree will be the subject of future shoots for me. It was great wandering around on crunchy snow, chatting, observing, and comparing notes on our various shooting adventures, all the while shooting two different viewpoints of the same events. 

After a late breakfast at Tuvalu’s Coffee House and Gallery, Dave and Linda waved farewell. I plugged into my computer and now offer these few shots. I’m sure Dave can hardly wait to plug his card into his laptop back in Wausau. 

We’ll compare shots and talk about this event soon and get together for another soon enough. Happy Trails my brother from another mother.

I am grateful for your visit. Thank you.