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In early February of 2006, Frances and I drove from Austin to a small community in western WI, staying there with relatives. The weather for our vacation was as close to ideal as possible. There was one snowfall. Otherwise, almost every day was sunny. Temperatures stayed between about 15-33°F. Together with others or on my own, I snapped outdoor shots (with my Pentax Optio 750Z digital camera) throughout our stay. There were opportunities to explore frozen lakes, farm vistas, and snow-covered ponds, meadows, bogs, swamps, woods, or low hills. Summer's fields of grain were here replaced with thick drifts or white expanses. A mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees made up most of the forests. Even in the coldest months, and while 16 inches of ice covered much of its surface, a long, deep body of good fishing water still had unfrozen portions, perhaps due to springs in the lake banks. Our dog fell into one of these open water pools. Once she was out, much of the moisture froze in her hair, so she was a shivering icicle by the time we got her back to the farmhouse. We warmed her in a bath, then dried her off, after which she was just fine. Quiet, stately, and set against a snowy landscape, the dead lower branches and brown trunks in a stand of pines become a cathedral. With natural artwork, a snowstorm highlights in white each twig, weed, grass blade, thistle, and tree. Animals give abundant evidence of their winter travels. We saw prints of rabbits, muskrats, foxes, weasels, wild turkeys, crows, mice, bald eagles, deer, and otters. Black bears are numerous in the area as well but remained dormant in caves and dens. Ever interested in a more northerly abode, I kept my eye out for a nice looking bargain in fixer-upper real estate. More than one such picturesque property caught my fancy.
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