One Fina Day

For a a garden club field trip. And we really did go to a field this time.

Fina Gardens, right in our own backyard in Hillsdale, WI, sells cut peonies to the floral industry during bloom season and rootstock by mail to any old body in the fall.

Some of these are headed for Hawaii where they will bloom beautifully for some bride who wants bouquet blooms just like in her granny's garden back in the Midwest. The ants have to stay behind.

This is Bartzella, an intersectional peony, and friendly model Earl's beard.

The garden club ladies had sooooo many questions.

NDL mostly looked and oohed and aahed and wished she had a big old yard with full sun.

Partial photo credit: M. Blue, garden club guest (and her amazing iPhone 7)

St. Croix Crossing

Last summer the garden club went on an aquatic adventure. A three hour tour, if you will. And we even got lunch! No coconut was on the menu. 

We boarded a paddleboat on the St. Croix River for an educational cruise around and under the construction of the to-be-completed in 2017 St. Croix Crossing that will replace the Stillwater Lift Bridge.

Speakers from the DOT and DNR were on board to narrate what we were seeing. 

For starters we learned that the bridge is an extradosed design which is a hybrid design of a box girder and a stay cable bridge (just as we suspected, but it was good to have that confirmed).

This is not usually the kind of thing NDL gets excited about, but this is a truly amazing project with some very impressive stats and a cool end product. And it was a good excuse to be on a boat on the river on a beautiful day.

The biggest red crane you see here (which certainly has some kind of official name that we don't know) is one of only three this big in the U.S. and it is on loan (I suspect there is a little rental fee) for this project.

Each of these bridge sections that the crane is lifting in this photo weighs 180 tons and there are 988 of them. Total concrete in the bridge will be 563.8 million pounds.

For bit of perspective see the concrete mixer on the barge. The lineup of Porta-Johns up on the bridge deck was impressively large, but tiny compared to the bridge too.

The length of the visible stay cables totals 5.2 miles (about 400 miles of cable strand). 

Within the bridge is 1,969 miles of cable strands.

The length of the bridge is nearly one mile. The width about 100 feet.

Segments between piers is 600 feet. That is the length of two football fields.

Part of the St. Croix Crossing plan that was of interest to the garden club and other outdoor and nature enthusiasts is the planned 4.7 mile Loop Trail.

The trail will connect to existing trails in MN and WI and uses both the new St. Croix Crossing and the existing Stillwater Lift Bridge, which will be converted to a bicycle/pedestrian bridge in 2018-19.

The new bridge will have a designated bicycle/pedestrian lane.

Of particular interest to the Garden Club cruisers were the well thought out plans for sustainable plantings in the many, some very large, areas around the long lead up to the bridge on either side of the river. These spaces include paths, parking lots, roundabouts, restrooms, informational kiosks, and viewing areas. It seems the crossing will be both a bridge to a destination and a destination itself.

If you want to know more check out the MN DOT website for Loop Trail and Design and Construction details

NDL on a Mission

We got to go here. Motawi Tileworks factory and outlet store in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Motawi makes beautiful tile and has rights to make the wonderful images of Charley Harper into ceramic art pieces. His work is perfect for reproduction in the lovely colors and finishes of kiln-fired glazes.

When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe. - Charley Harper

It is possible one or two made it back to Wisconsin.

Another Motawi tile theme is arts and crafts/mission-style designs. You can see a few here and many more at their website. 

Speaking of Mission....

Here at NDL we are going to adapt and adopt the Motawi company Values and Mission Statement. 

Bout time we had some direction around here!

Values and Mission Statement

What do we do?

We make distinctive stuff and do things in a (relatively) healthy way. We share our story. 

And we have fun.

Why?

We believe we can make the world a better place by making beautiful (or at least cute) things for everyday places and model healthy(ish) neighborhood and family practices.

How do we do this?

We make things that are valued for their design and quality (or their quirkiness, or because they amuse us, or because they help us reduce, reuse, or recycle stuff).

We cultivate an intentional (home) workplace culture that fosters (almost) constant improvement, positivity (mostly through the wit and wisdom of Mary Englebreit and Calvin and Hobbes, greeting card slogans, or signs we see on our travels) and consistently high (as possible) performance all while drinking lots of coffee.

Wish us luck at our next performance review!

Have Herbs, Will Travel

It's a simple pleasure for sure. And pretty much a just a summer thing.

Heading out of town with a bouquet of homegrown herbs in the drink holder for some seasonal cabin cuisine. 

Time to plan this year's kitchen garden. 

Basil, basil, tarragon, basil!

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme...

Really! They Were Just There a Minute Ago!

At the time we visited the quilt exhibit at the American Swedish Institute this delightful space was in place for the small visitors to the castle.

We entered the village walking past friendly trolls,

crossed over the old troll fishing hole,

stopped by the roaring felt campfire,

and finally arrived at the 

quilter's studio.

It was all very charming, but apparently we dreamed it or are seeing things.

Exhaustive attempts to search both the ASI website and the internet show no traces that the lovely little troll village does now, or ever did exist and is as imaginary as Gus the Griffin.

Oh well. You will just have to trust us that it was cute. In our dreams!

Sewedish

The American Swedish Institute housed in the beautiful Turnblad Mansion

hosted an exhibit of quilts by international quilters.

There were many interesting and provocative pieces on display,

but our favorites were the quilts of Minnesotan, Mary Chalmers

located and filling entirely the upper level ballroom.

This one is made of wool and intricately hand-stitched.

This one also.

The jewel tones of this garden lattice quilt are very pleasing

and the combination of contemporary Bali batik on a traditional ticking type stripe very clever and effective.

Sadly the exhibit ended in October, but in case you did not get a chance to attend we thought you might enjoy seeing a small selection of what was on display. 

In future will try to inform you in a more timely manner of events that might be of interest.

Shotgun Wedding

We were at the John Michael Kohler Art Center and the event in their auditorium looked to be classy.

No air of hurriedly made arrangements.

Just a hint of true Wisconsin crept in with the golden shotgun shell boutonnieres.

But the exhibit of the season was Wisconsin through and through. 

"Seeing Wisconsin" had elements of the old curiosity cabinet.

And a long view of what the deer sees while the hunter is trying to see him.

But the famed art center attractions that people come from near and far to see. 

The ones that remain as the galleries undergo change of artist and theme several times a year are the washrooms. 

Artists, with support of Kohler and use of their foundry were invited to create the washrooms of their dreams.

This one near the main entrance is called simple "The Women's Room".

If you go to Sheboygan to go to the Art Center make sure you "gotta go" cause you are going to want to see them all.

And, this is one place where gender will not keep anyone out of the "ladies" or "gents" as a kindly docent would be happy to help you investigate any of the facilities as long as the "coast is clear" of anyone trying to actually do their business in any of them.

Go! Have a look in the loo. And then go some more.

What We Preserved on Our Summer Vacation

Got a new recipe from our Canadian connection. Peach Rum Jam. It's as pretty as it is tasty.

The 20 pounds of peaches we bought off a truck did not cooperate completely by ripening at just the most convenient time. So they got to go on a trip even farther from Georgia than the Lake Hallie Farm and Fleet parking lot to end up a stone's throw from Lake Superior where they ripened nicely in their own sweet time.

It was kind of fun to have a project to do in the Northwoods in between sessions of porch sitting. And as it is usually 5 to 10 degrees cooler there it is not such a hardship to be steaming up the kitchen.

As always you are welcome to stop over for toast and jam anytime. The pantry is stocked. But if you are going to have seconds please walk over or bring a designated driver. We have plain peach jam for her.

On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!

We are almost ready too. 

And eager to add this nursery with an optimistic attitude to our list of ways to waste time while coming and going over the river and through the woods.

When danger of frost has passed, we will be off the blocks and in the garden plot. 

Patience saves seedlings.

Must Go Here

Stitch Supply Co. kindly let us have a look around even thought they were still unpacking and not officially open yet. 

They have cleverly displayed

bright, contemporary fabrics

in a brand new, colorful, airy space.

A highlight for this sewist - designer fabric lines not previously available in local shops.

Beautiful yarn too!

Friendly (and tolerant) staff.

Temptations galore.

You have been informed and warned. Our job here is done.