Ants, Blues, and A Windmill

I'm on the road working with my mother tagging along again, this week we've had a bit more time to stop and...well, not smell the roses.  This is Wisconsin in January after all.

Cedarburg is a great town for walking and window shopping

But, there has actually been some more sun, and most of the time the temperatures have been bearable.  I drop her off at a shop, go do my sales pitch and then we're off again to the next town.

Ants for sale in Cedarburg

Cedarburg is a town we've both spent a lot of time in, and this time she spotted the giraffe!

Giraffe alert!!

While she was shopping in Cedarburg I dashed over to Grafton where I normally pop in and then hit the road right away.  I slowed down for a look around to give her more time in the shops and saw this water fountain sculpture which was designed and created by local artist Norm Christianson.  News to me, Grafton was once site of a Paramount recording studio.

Most of the African American blues artists probably went back to Milwaukee to stay according to a quick internet search, but a few indicated staying at the Hotel Grafton next to the Paramount Plaza where the water fountain and other tributes are located.

Hotel Grafton

Also of note in Grafton is Lime Kiln Park where lime was quarried by the Milwaukee Falls Lime Company. The kilns were used to fire the lime to 2000 degrees, which converted it into calcium carbonate, calcium oxide, or lime. It was then crushed into a fine powder and shipped out on the nearby railroad tracks to be used by the many tanneries in Milwaukee. The quarry was closed in the 1920's, it was used as a town dump for many decades.  Eventually a park was built over the dump in an effort to clean up the Milwaukee River. Three of the original 5 lime kilns remain and in addition to the nice park a dog park is located across the street.

Over the weekend I got outside also. I headed over to Glacial Park and walked out to the windmill which is technically outside the park boundary I think. Usually I just look at it from the top of the big kame, so I was pleased to get out to it and then circle the bottom of the kame and head back to the parking area.  The whole walk took me almost an hour, which is great because if I didn't mention it yet I'm trying to get back outside due to a big trip I'm hoping to take a month from now...

More on that as I get my plans squared away, for now just enjoy this barn I saw outside Reedsburg on a sunny day last week!