Amy and I decided to get up early and go hiking before the Northwoods Art Tour.
So we set the alarms and bundled up to head out into the frozen morning air.
Bundled up, we set out on the McNaughton Trail for some early morning beauty.

And then we made our way around to a smaller lake where the morning mist
had not dissipated yet. And to make the morning even more magical, the mist had
frozen and “frosted” all of the beautiful plants along the lake’s boardwalk.

And then it was back to Amy’s… for another day of the Northwoods Art Tour!

For more photos of my time in the Northwoods… check out my Facebook page.
Do a search for “Fire When Ready Pottery” and click the LIKE button. Then check
out my photo albums for a whole lot more photos!!!

So after the tour on Friday night, Amy was pleased to take me on a tour of her Northwoods
area. We were a bit tired, but still excited to get out and see some of the beauty of the
Northwoods. We hopped in her car and set out for our evening tour… and I was excited
to see her “friends” in the car! Her “love monkeys” both Curious & Sock!!!

One of the stops on the tour, was a beautiful wilderness resort where Amy’s family
comes up to vacation at. And what Northwood location would be complete without
a chainsaw carved bear?!

While we were touring the area, we also pulled off and stopped off at a beautiful lake.
The colors were beautiful, the lake incredible… and what a great sign on the bridge!

Then we headed off to tour Minocqua, and see some of the sights & locations that make up
Amy’s day-to-day life in the Northwoods. Lucky for me… we pulled off in a small park
just in time for me to view an incredible sunset!

So then we finally got around to having dinner… and of course, I had to start off with a big
basket of deep-fried cheese curds!!! When in Rome…

After working in the morning, and a meeting downtown, I hopped into the car
last Thursday to head up to the Northwoods. My friend Amy lives up in Lake Tomohawk
so it was going to be around six hours of driving… plus any “excursions” along the way?
It’s a long drive, but luckily, as the trip started to get a little “long”… that’s when the
fall colors started to burst on the scene! The second half of the trip was beautiful.
So of course I had to stop a couple times to take some pictures along the highway.
I even pulled off a couple times just to “explore” and see some color!

By the time I got to Amy’s place it was already dark. And up there in the Northwoods,
when I say it’s dark, I mean REALLY dark. Pitch black. With no street lights?!
Amy was still at a business workshop, so I sat out on her front porch all bundled up
in a blanket and watched the stars. So much cooler than the few stars we may
occasionally get to see here in Chicago! While I was sitting there, minding my own
business, two deer decided to stroll right past the deck – about five feet away from me!
I think I scared them just as much as they scared me?! Beautiful.
And a great “welcoming party” to the Northwoods!!!

Okay, so here goes…
Last weekend I went up to the Wisconsin Northwoods for a long weekend getaway.
The Fall colors were vibrant & intense. The perfect weekend for a Fall excursion.
Even better, because it was also the Northwoods Art Tour! And my friend
Amy Higgason of Pigeon Road Pottery was stop #14 on the tour. So I decided to
drive up, hang out and help her for the weekend.

I’ve finally gotten around to editing my photos… but there are still a LOT of pictures.
So I’m warning you now… this may get lengthy?!

Plus, if you want to see the photos, but not suffer through my verbose ramblings,
you can also go to Facebook and see my photo albums at “Fire When Ready Pottery.”
Do a search, click “Like” – then open the photo albums. And enjoy…

As the summer comes to a close, the plants on my back porch are starting to suffer
and wither in the cooler Fall weather. But, it’s still great to see every morning as
my rusty farm gear “curtain” is getting covered by morning glories & cardinal flowers!
Okay… so it’s really more leaves, and not so much flowers… but it still looks nice!

Plus, a quick shot of the “other” side…
so you can see all of the BEAUTIFUL rust!!!

And how dramatically a sunrise can change in just a matter of minutes…

After camp this afternoon, Chris & I went up to the Skokie Lagoons for a little kayaking!
We’ve pedaled our bikes through these lagoons for years along the North Branch Trail
and never once even considered kayaking before. This year, it was finally time!
And as luck would have it, there is now a convenient rental location right off Tower Road,
right on one of the lagoons! So we gave it a brief “test drive” last Monday as a quick break
in the middle of our afternoon bike ride. Today we planned ahead & left the bikes at home –
with full intention of kayaking after work instead of biking!

So we hopped into our rented kayaks and started off. Last Monday we headed south
and went around the closest island. Today we decided to go north up to the
Botanic Garden and back. About 6 miles. With map in hand… we paddled off.

It was a beautiful afternoon with some dramatic clouds rolling through. There were
a few moments of “dark clouds” as we questioned if we were going to rained upon.
Luckily, we didn’t – the clouds blew over and the sky cleared up. With more beautiful
clouds to contrast against the beautiful blue skies.

As the sun started to go down, the water lilies had already closed for the evening.
I can’t wait to paddle again a little earlier in the day to see the blossoms wide open.

As we paddled through the lagoons, Chris and I got to see a lot of waterfowl and trees.
We were surprised by the number of Great Blue Herons we saw flying all around us.
Up close & personal, swooping & squawking, flying from tree to tree. Dozens of them!
Along the way, we also had to get out of our kayaks and portage across three small
embankments. And for the novice… let’s just say, neither of us looked all to graceful as
we tried to maneuver our way out of the boat, and then back in without flipping it over.
Let’s just say, the opening in the kayak isn’t as large as I would like it to be… to get my
legs, thighs & butt wedged in there! Like threading a needle… while still afloat?!

And then we turned another corner, around the river bend… and we spotted this incredible
tree full of waterfowl. How spectacular is this? The “tree” was in constant movement as
the birds flew in, and flew out, and interacted with each other. On a side note?…
let’s just say that the green bushes below this tree were a lot “whiter” than they should be!
Sadly… I don’t know my birds well enough to identify this tree-perched grouping?!

EDITOR’S NOTE: After this initial posting, I was informed by my birding-friend
& fellow potter Karen Avery that these flocking water birds are actually called
Double-Crested Cormorants. Who knew?! – – – – – – – – okay, well I guess she did?!!!

Now these waterfowl I can identify… a row of female mallard ducks sunning themselves.

As we came around the final bend, and paddled towards the shore to finish our journey,
one last glimpse back and there was a wonderful sunset in the making! A perfect end
to a perfect afternoon… and a nice “alternative” to pedaling up to the gardens!
Close, but not quite the same… paddling, instead of pedaling!