photos

wisconsin. japan.

Well, hello there again.

I have been driven to distraction in a number of different ways these last several weeks, thus the serious lack of posting. First and foremost, I have been absolutely compelled by the heated political situation here in Wisconsin. Many of my friends and family members protested at the state capitol and have attended rallies against the actions of Governor Walker and his posse of low-blow Republican senators. (I wish that I could have been there.) It’s no secret that I stand on the side of the people, of democracy, of unions. Here are a few links to fascinating videos and astounding photography/graphics, as well as one interesting piece about how religion comes into play. When possible, view in full-screen mode.

Tax the Rich: Madison Protest Time-Lapse — Wow. WOW. Four minutes of your time WELL SPENT, plus it is set to a song by Radiohead.
Wisconsin — This is what democracy looks like, and it makes me cry every time.
Madison Capitol Protests — This site features some 360 degree photographs set to the ambient sounds of the picture. Please view in HD.
Roll on Wisconsin Unions! — This one makes me cry too.
Scott Walker Believes He is Following Orders from the Lord – This is a written piece. The title is self-explanatory.
Anti-Walker Graphics — Anti-Walker graphics! Get your Anti-Walker graphics here!!
Stand With Wisconsin — I printed out a few of these to hang in my windows.

Japan.

There are no words. Here are a few links:

Matt — This is a friend of mine that lives in Japan with his family. There is some info on his blog, but look the link (on the most recent post) to his Facebook page, where there is a lot of frequently-updated information.
For Japan with Love
The Big Picture
American Red Cross: Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief

pictures of grandma anderson

grandma anderson in sauk city

grandma at the clothes line

grandma at home

grandma and dad

I love to look at photos of Grandma Anderson. I am fortunate that she and her family took so many pictures.

(In the last photo, she is on the right and my dad is the boy in the front.)

[This year, I'm going to log 365 of my family heirlooms and thrifted finds. Items will be considered vintage by the 20-year standard. You can find all of the entries under the category 'something old'.]

tower climbing

For the first half of this week, there was a viral video of a tower climber online. The video was removed because it was (really obviously) disregarding OSHA regulations for the industry.

I thought I’d share some photos and THIS VIDEO of my own tower climber.

Be sure to watch for the “heart attack”, which is when the climber’s lifeline shifts and he drops a few inches. As you can tell, these guys love that. In the background, you can see the snow-covered Mississippi River. The guys are at 1000 feet.

These photos are from a work day five years ago. We went to a half-dozen towers to take photos. I covered the necessary ground shots of the electronic installations in the equipment buildings while my husband climbed and took pictures of the installations on the towers.

in lieu of an actual post

Here are a few out takes from this week. Just picture me as the proverbial chicken running around with its head cut off.

Have a lovely March weekend, folks.

diana tries to hold winter

Between November 15 and March 15, many of the riverway access points and trails are closed to provide a barrier for the American Bald Eagles that roost in our area. The VFW park in Prairie du Sac is one of the only spots that is always open. Like, last week when X and I stopped by to snap some shots of the amazing ice that ebbs and tides there, we couldn’t because of the TWENTY FISHERMEN UNLOADING THEIR BOATS. (Instead, here’s a different VFW park ice photo from some years back. Here’s another.)

Yesterday, the whole family jumped a snowbank and we followed our own trails near August Derleth park. We skip the (snow-covered) paved paths, and we follow those of other animals and explorers. Or, we make our own.

I brought along the dreamy Diana toy lens. We’ve been fast friends.