December 2017 Road Trip

We hit the road in December for one last road trip of the year.

First we went to Lexington Kentucky and visited our friends, Tak and Brian. It was a short visit this time, but we packed in a lot of sites, a lot of laughs and lots of wonderful memories!

Then we headed north to the Cincinnati area. Our friend, May Lee, was being awarded her PhD from Northern Kentucky University, so we joined her and her family to celebrate. We then spent a couple days sightseeing in the area and had a wonderful time.

Our last leg of our journey, we went to visit our friends, Tami and Jerry at the new home in Chardon, Ohio. We had a great time and were able to visit nearby Cleveland and also see some sights near their new hometown.

A Fine Fall Day

The Falls colors weren't as spectacular this year as others, but the weather was beautiful. We spent some quality time with "The Mom's". Here at Wyalusing State Park.

Another Fine Birthday

I celebrated my birthday in style surrounded by friends at the Villa Louis Horse-drawn carriage competition "Carriage Classic" in Prairie du Chein.

On to the Next Adventure

Martha no longer volunteers her time or sells her artwork at the gift shop in Boscobel. It was a fun (and sometimes stressful) 7 months, but the owner felt as if he had "lost his identity" with Martha being there and managing the marketing, so they parted ways. The good news is that Martha is now selling her artwork and some antiques and collectibles at The Planted Tree Gallery and Gift Shop in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

New Adventure

Martha is now working at The Quick Running Squash Gift Shop & Studio as their Marketing & Promotion Manager in addition to working a few hours each week in the shop.

Burn Season for Steve

Steve was certified as a Prairie Burner last year, so now he is in high demand this time of year, working around SW and Central Wisconsin. Last week he even had the opportunity to burn in some of the pens at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo. Prescribed burns serve many purposes. They include: •  controlling undesirable vegetation •  preparing sites for harvesting, planting or seeding •  controlling plant disease •  reducing wildfire hazards •  improving wildlife habitat •  improving plant production quantity and/or quality •  removing debris •  enhancing seed production •  facilitating the distribution of grazing and browsing animals •  restoring and maintaining ecological sites •  managing native plant diversity/composition

Vacation in Florida *February 2017

We did a road trip to Florida with our friend, TJ, to visit my best buddy, Scott. More photos soon...

A Look Back at 2016

2016 has come to a close and what a year it was! You know we like to stick close to home, but we did take a few road trips during the past year. When we visited friends Door County last January, it was the first time we had been there in the wintertime and it was gorgeous! We took the ice breaker out to Washington Island and spent the night in a wonderful B&B. The highs during the day were -8F but we didn’t care, because it was so beautiful! Later in the winter we spent a few days in Chicago and Milwaukee and took in lots of sights and museums. In April, we took Martha’s Mom to Houston, Texas, to visit relatives and had a blast! We went out to Galveston Island, spent the day at the Space Center and spent wonderful time with family. In November, we took another road trip, this time with Steve’s Mom, and visited family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We did some really fun things and got to spend a lot of quality time with family. When we travel, we have seen some beautiful places, but nowhere as beautiful as our SW Wisconsin. So we made a point to explore SW Wisconsin more this past year, driving, hiking and canoeing. We both keep busy with volunteering, we have attended classes and gone on field trips at the nearby UW and of course, lots of home and yard improvements. Steve had taken on the huge task of converting some of our property in Sleepy Hollow into a Prairie Oak Savannah. It’s looking great already and we’re exciting to see what prairie plants grow this spring. Martha has gotten quite busy this past year with her photography and artwork and is selling some of her work in a local gift shop in Boscobel. She also showed her work at a coffee shop in Boscobel, the month of January and will be showing again during the month of March at the Acorn Inn located in Soldier’s Grove. 2016 was a year of milestones for us… Steve turned 65 in August and Martha turned 60 in September. The best is yet to come, we figure! Plan a visit to Sleepy Hollow when you can, you know you’re always welcome.