Why I Oughta...

Over the weekend, we spent part of a day at the Walworth County Fair up in Elkhorn, Wisconsin .  Eating corn dogs, seeing the 4-K kids with their animals.  Watching the horseback barrel races.  And, of course...spending some time in the Horticulture Building.  Looking at the cut flowers.  The two categories that I'm most interested in seeing are (of course) dahlias.  And Zinnias.  Here, below, is a look at some of the dahlia entries: I believe that the stems have to be in place about mid-week.  So, these are 3-4-or-5 days old by the time that we see them.  So, they're on their way out in terms of vase-life. Can I say something? Am I wrong?

The largest park in Walworth County that runs a few hundred acres and gives visitors the ability to get down close to the White River during all seasons.  On this recent Winter visit, the River was a mix of frozen and moving.  I visited (and posted) about this very park last year in mid-January .   If you get off the main trail a bit, you can get down to enjoy the sights and sounds.  This visit was a reminder about being 'present'.  Spend a few minutes listening to the running river and you can forget about whatever is on your mind - both past and future.  And just be present.  Jimmy V's famous speech talked about doing three things everyday:  "Number one is laugh. Number two is think -- spend some time time in thought. Number three, you should have your emotions move you to tears." This sure feels like a spot to do #2:  spend some time in thought.  Our visit to Walworth County feels like a good reminder to do all three everyday....

We packed the kids and their sleds in the car and spent an hour or so out at the White River County Park in Walworth County a couple of weeks ago .  The photo at the top is the hill that greets you as you walk down from the parking lot towards the river.  If you look closely at the top of the photo, you'll see the river winding around the bend.  If you were pretty streamlined and had a good push, you could *ALMOST* reach the river by sled from the top of the hill.   This is the county's largest park and is located just 10 minutes or so away from Lake Geneva. From the county's website : After we hit the hill a few times with the sleds, we took the kids for a little snow hike down the trail that is adjacent to the White River.  We didn't get far, but we did see people doing it right - with snowshoes and cross country skis. Back near the parking lot, there's a large barn - not sure if it is in service, but it looks like it was original the property.  Here...