Category: hobby

  • IAT Eagle Segment – 01/11/2026

    IAT Eagle Segment – 01/11/2026

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    After morning chores, I drove about an hour east of the Madison area, turned south just before Delafield and drove past Scuppernog to get to the north trailhead of the Eagle Segment of the Ice Age Trail. This was a spur-of-the-moment choice with no planning at all. I just wanted to go for a hike… Read.

  • cannonball

    cannonball

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    Went for a short walk along the Capitol City Trail and the Cannonball Path, two paved cycling/running/walking paths I’ve biked on often but have only rarely walked on. There’s an interesting little connecting path where the two mail paths pass close to one another, near Ashbourne Pond in Fitchburg. I don’t use it much when… Read.

  • wading

    wading

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    I spotted this guy wading in the tall reeds growing along the bank of Pope Lake in Hartman’s Creek State Park. Snapped his photo on the fly with my phone. Turned out okay, if I may say so myself. Read.

  • to paddle or not to paddle

    to paddle or not to paddle

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    Events did not play out according to plan this week. I had hoped to meet up with several friends from high school for a campout in the north woods but the weather changed from iffy to rainy, so we made other plans that didn’t include being outside in the rain. However, my kayak was already… Read.

  • Hartman Creek State Park

    Hartman Creek State Park

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    I hung my hammock between two tall pines at Hartman Creek State Park, looking forward to a good night’s sleep and a view of the stars. Didn’t get either. Someone down the road had their radio going all night, so I drifted in and out of sleep to the tunes they shared with everyone else… Read.

  • Lake of the Pines State Campground

    Lake of the Pines State Campground

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    I spent the night at Lake of the Pines State Campground, in spite of the best efforts of a biblical swarm of mosquitoes to drive me away. Lake of the Pines is about a four-hour drive from Madison if you don’t stop. I stopped more than once, so it was more like four-and-a-half. I arrived… Read.

  • Morning Paddle 05-10-2025

    Morning Paddle 05-10-2025

    I usually visit the UW-Madison arboretum every weekend, even if it’s for a short walk, and when I go, I like to stop by Big Spring and watch the water flow for a little while. It’s calming in a way that I don’t completely understand but I enjoy nonetheless. Today I visited Big Spring in… Read.

  • Evening Walk

    Evening Walk

    I went for a walk through Edna Taylor park after work. At the far end of my walk, where the path loops through the playground behind Henderson Elementary School, I saw two Sandhill cranes walking across the lawn. As I got closer, I caught a reddish blur weaving between their legs. I’d never seen a… Read.

  • morning walk 4-26-2025

    morning walk 4-26-2025

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    It was a good day for a morning walk through the UW-Madison arboretum. It started out cold, with temps in the forties, but a clear, sunny sky quickly warmed everything and by the time I left, about two hours after I arrived, temps were in the fifties. Very pleasant weather for a long, slow stroll… Read.

  • IAT Sauk Point Segment

    IAT Sauk Point Segment

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    After drinking my morning coffee Sunday morning, I dressed for a rainy day outside, jumped in the van with my backpack, and headed for the Sauk Point segment of the Ice Age Trail. There was rain forecast for the afternoon but it wasn’t supposed to arrive until one o’clock or later so I figured I… Read.

photo of the author and the author's best friend