#i love the driftless region

[thiickets]

I love going on hikes

[cedarsalute]

Taken on a trip to the driftless region in wisconsin

i do love all the colors of spring and summer but nothing feels more magical than the browns of late fall and winter

[daja-the-hypnokitten]

If my followers aren’t familiar with House on the Rock, the huge carousel isn’t even the most interesting part. It’s part house, part museum, part “how are there so many mechanical musical instruments??? WHY IS THERE A WHOLE ROOM OF WEIRD PIPE ORGANS?!” and toured in 3 distinct parts; the outer grounds are also *amazing.* I got to take my mum’s DSLR one visit, and some of the photos I took remain among the best photos I’ve ever taken.

The outside is normal enough (but absolutely gorgeous)

But then you get to the part where there’s a window in the *floor* because the cantilevered building is stretching something like 50 feet without support under it? And you can feel it moving and swaying as you’re walking out there. And because this is the Driftless Region of Wisconsin (so unglaciated), you’re just out over the top of the forest below...

and it’s called the infinity room because it uses the visual concepts behind vanishing points to give the optical illusion of going on forever.

Then there’s the decor, which is pretty but also “what is this supposed to be? just glass balls in a table??”

though another photo of that table is a play with depth of field I have to say I’m fair proud of:

But I mentioned it being part museum, right? That includes a showcase of weapons that *should not exist,* why did anyone ever make these?

And then there’s a section full of what are designed to look like storefronts on a a town’s main street, filled with all sorts of things, like fancy china and silver serving things...

And the multi-story tall model of a whale and a giant squid...

Oh, and the room with all the pipe organs also has this AMAZING clock

And there’s more, of course. The carousel is fairly famous, and you can google better photos of that than I was able to get with the gear I had. (and I have no photos without folks recognizable faces in them, and I’m trying to avoid that as much as I can). But there’s other amazing things too, like the most impressive dollhouse I’ve ever seen...

And also amazing stained glass, and so much more but tumblr only allows so many photos, so here’s my favorite photo of the stained glass:

If you’re ever in the southwest corner of Wisconsin (near Spring Green) and you have a couple of days to do tourist stuff, I can’t recommend House on the Rock enough. I’ve been 3 times and could go back again and see things I missed. (If you’re there in summer, also look up American Player’s Theatre and go see a lovely play, they’re amazing at Shakespeare.) And I guess if you’re into architecture, you could go by Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright’s home) which is near enough to Alex Jordan’s House on the Rock. (No. HotR is NOT Wright, and people seem to want to think it is??? But it isn’t.)

Wisconsinite here-- how did you find out about House on the Rock of all places? Was it less obscure 22 years ago? Now whenever I bring it up with people and find out they haven't been there, I say "the place with the carousel from American Gods" and about 90% of the time they know right away what I'm talking about.

I think it was a lot more obscure back then. But then, I moved to Wisconsin in 1992 and lived there for two decades. I saw the signs nearby for The House on the Rock, and decided to go and look, urged on by fellow Wisconsinite, Maggie Thompson, from the Comics Buyers Guide.

[cedar-glade]

I’ve gotten a few questions on what the ILP is.

It’s an abbreviation for a region centered among four major forked uplift regions in between the Ozark's and ancient mountains region(interior highland plat and central plains nebulous matrix), and the Appalachian Mountain range( very intensely complicated series of ecological and geological concepts that I really should break up into their geological range but the list is massive). Above it is sections of the great Plaines prairie peninsula corridor, great lakes region, central lowland, driftless ect. below is the extremely complex depression savannah matrix we love to call the southern/ or distal/lower coastal plains.

 Believe it or not the reason why I got into botany was because of the ILP, specifically the biodiversity of being center to so many unique ecosystems means the diversity here captivated me, specifically Red River Gorge or RRG captivated me as a child, doesn’t get much better than that. As for what the ILP is... I can’t tell you, I honestly don’t think a single person has the time to explain the vast geological / ecological/ anthropological history of the ecoregion. I can’t even give you a good briefing but I can give you the general sense of an idea of what it is spatially and minimalisticly 

 . 

this is essentially it. though the KY section in the above image is missing a good portion of it and same with Indiana.

Much more accurate.

So the ILP is geologically diverse and sedimentary, 

The map above shows major true karst sheet exposure regions and the ILP is one of the largest.  With Sandstone sections we can look at Shawnee Hills, Hoosier Nat forest, sections of Adam’s county Ohio,  extremely small sections of Hamilton (well not anymore), Red River Gorge(almost turned into a lake and would of been quarried but luckily we still have it), Cumberland, Grundy County Matrix in TN ect. 

Take a good look at that karst map :) 

[mcad-library]

Holding Space

A Library Gallery exhibition by Alexis Schramel

New exhibition in the Library Gallery! Please make a detour to the MCAD Library to see Alexis Schramel's installation: Holding Space.

Exhibition: Tuesday, November 29–Friday, December 16, 2022 MCAD Library Gallery

Poetry Reading: Tuesday, December 6 MCAD Library Gallery 6:00 p.m.

Introduction to the installation by Alexis Schramel: Holding Space is a site-specific installation, that shifts and changes with each iteration. The catalyst for this installation was initiated in response to my need for human connection through being physically, mentally, and emotionally there for other humans and non-humans. Reflecting on the patterns of my life, I associate autumn with pain, loss, decay, displacement, and transition. This installation is a way of sitting and moving with these emotions. I imagine how this installation solidifies and complicates how I understand the relationships and spaces I inhabit now and in the future. I believe by holding space for each other we can find a tender and loving space which we all carry. Together.

Artist statement: Alexis Schramel is a queer artist practicing across disciplines for exploration within social practice, bio-wilderness, collaboration, and installation. She grew up rooted in rural farming communities of the Driftless Area along the Mississippi River. Growing up in this region, she explores the whimsy and brutality of nature during her childhood. She attempts to make sense of the unspoken and unseen materialization of the senses related to site-specific installations and human experience. Her work experiments with the thresholds of sensory perception- looking and seeing, hearing and listening, giving attention and awareness to what lies in between. 

Recommended library books:

The Poetics of Space, by Gaston Bachelard and M. Jolas

Uta Barth: to Draw with Light, by Uta Barth

The Art of Light + Space, by Jan Butterfield

Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, by Amy Chaloupka, Leslie Umberger, and Anne Davis Basting

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence, by Brian O’Doherty, Christo, Jeanne-Claude, G. Wayne Clough, Edwin C. Anderson, Elizabeth Broun, and George Gurney

Whole Cloth, by Mildred Constantine and Laurel Reuter

Art Therapy for Children: Activities for Individuals and Small Groups, by Jodi Dorson

Ann Hamilton: Habitus, by Ann Hamilton, Patricia C. Phillips, Susan Lubowsky Talbott, Natalie Shapero, and Susan Stewart

Agnes Martin: the Distillation of Color, by Agnes Martin, Durga Chew-Bose, Olivia Laing, and Bruce Hainley

Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art, by Jenelle Porter, Louisa Elderton, Rebecca Morrell, and Catalina Imizcoz

Do Ho Suh: Drawings, by Do-Ho Suh, Rochelle Steiner, Clara Kim, and Elizabeth A. T. Smith

Glass, by Judy Tuwaletstiwa, Laura Addison, Ivy Bridgewater, Tina Oldknow, Diana Gaston, and Jean Norelli

*Due to COVID-19 campus access has been modified. Please continue to check the school’s COVID-19 page for updates.

[highways-are-liminal-spaces]

I'm a SW Wisconsinite and I absolutely love your posts! Going through the #wisconsin tag had me nodding and saying "yes, FINALLY, someone is encapsulating the feelings I've had for years about this state". There's something so strange, yet so comforting about the atmosphere. Somehow, even though a big chunk of the land here is cornfield, you can't help but feel ~something~ pressing in on all sides when you drive the highways and backroads, especially at night. I've felt lonely and safe all at once while driving those roads.

And then when you get closer to where I live (Driftless Region) and the hills begin rising and the roads start to wind and the trees are all reaching for your car like lost souls? *chef's kiss*

I’m so glad to hear it!  I love the Driftless area, there are so many little roads and valleys to get lost in and the clouds are different there.

[pallanophblargh]

Whitewater state park in southeast Minnesota was fantastic. I got to remember why I love the driftless region so much... not only was it among my very first “wilderness” experiences outside of cornfield hell, but it’s an undeniably beautiful region.

Got some really good strenuous hiking in, saw some killer views that were nigh impossible to capture with a phone camera, and did a little plein air watercolor. Also sitting beside the Whitewater River to paint gave me a nice sunburn. Minimal mosquitos though, so major plus. Plenty of birds and wildlife was regularly sighted or heard, so never a dull moment, either!

When I can’t access mountains to stare at, really picturesque wooded hills and rushing streams will do just fine. Views here were from chimney rock trail, inspiration point (and trail), and coyote point. And the whitewater river of course!

[fatehbaz]

Y’all know there are bog-dwelling miniature rattlesnakes on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, on Manitoulin Island, and at wetlands on the rugged northern shore of Lake Huron in Ontario? This week, went to an ecology lecture thing and met some academic types who claimed they had never heard of my ~favorite~ venomous snake in North America?

That’s her. Given my love for Great Lakes and Midwestern landscapes, and given my love for strange biogeography and distribution ranges tied to unique biomes and highly-specific microhabitats, it’s an obvious choice: the eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus). Sometimes I feel like Great Lakes landscapes don’t get enough credit for their unique regional ecology, with the American Midwest usually being dismissed as “drably-colored grassland” or “monotonous prairie,” so I like to emphasize that this snake is one of the only reptile species exclusively endemic to ecoregions in the Midwest and near the Great Lakes. (Considering its unique habitat of flooded prairie and wetlands, it may as well be called the “Great Lakes swamp rattlesnake.”) This snake is rare and increasingly endangered as wetlands and native prairie in the American Midwest are so often fragmented and converted to agriculture. The snake has a close relationship with crayfish, using the crustacean burrows for shelter. The eastern massasauga is also the only venomous snake still living east of the Great Plains within “Canadian” borders, and Ontario residents will probably recognize the snake as an icon not just of Georgian Bay landscapes, but also as a symbol of conservation at the Ojibway Prairie complex, where the snake still lives in Detroit suburbs near Windsor. This snake has so many unique qualities; one quality that’s exciting, for me, is the snake’s presence in such cold and northerly climates, isolated islands, and bogs basically adjacent to boreal forest.

A juvenile eastern massasauga, in southwestern Michigan. [The header photo at the top of this post is an adult eastern massasauga, also from the same region.]

An eastern massasauga from a wetland at Grand River Lowlands, Ohio.

It’s a so-called “pygmy rattlesnake”; small and delicate. Rattlesnakes exist in only two genera: the genus Crotalus (including almost all rattlesnakes) and the genus Sisturus (containing only the eastern massasauga and two-ish other species of miniature, moisture-tolerant rattlesnakes).

Very unique for a rattlesnake, the eastern massasauga inhabits wetlands, bogs, marshes, and flooded prairies, often using the burrows of crayfish to hide among the reeds. Though rattlesnakes, especially west of the Mississippi River, are usually associated with dryland and desert environments (the highest rattlesnake biodiversity is in the Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, and northern Mexico), the eastern massasauga is essentially dependent on undeveloped bogs and prairie wetlands. Thus, if you’ve seen photos of the eastern massasauga, you’ll recognize how neat it is to see a little rattlesnake flanked by so much moss, lichen, and wetland vegetation.

Rattlesnakes on the Upper Peninsula and the shores of Georgian Bay.

Here, people are removing invasive plants from a prairie wetland in Wisconsin known to be inhabited by the eastern massasauga; removing dense growth of invasive plants allows the prairie or meadow to receive more sunlight, which allows the snake to better regulate it’s body temperature. This photo also shows a crayfish burrow, which massasaugas regularly use for shelter. [Source: Rori Paloski for Wisconsin DNR.]

---

Side-note: The edges of the eastern massasauga’s distribution range correspond well with many of the region’s major urban areas. If you use Google Earth or something to view satellite imagery of the Great Lakes region, so that you can view general vegetation patterns, you can clearly see how the eastern massasauga’s range corresponds well with the Driftless Area (in Minnesota and Wisconsin) and also the Corn Belt prairies and plains running from about Cedar Rapids and Davenport in the west, through Illinois and Indiana, to around Cleveland.

Also very unique for a rattlesnake, the eastern massasauga can live very close to boreal biomes and what is essentially boreal forest. East of the Great Plains, the eastern massasauga is the only venomous snake still living within Canadian borders. The snake lives in a couple of isolated prairies in the “Carolinian forest” ecoregion along the shores of Lake Erie in southern Ontario (specifically, at Windsor and Niagara Falls) but there is a wider range for the massasauga along Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, of all places. This is rather northerly and cold for a rattlesnake. This area is directly adjacent to boreal coniferous forests and is exposed to frigid air masses from Hudson Bay.

Though the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) was historically present in at least two small populations (one near Montreal, and another near Niagara Falls), the massasauga was always the more widely-distributed of these two rattlesnakes in Canada. While the Northern Pacific rattlesnake lives farther north in British Columbia, and the prairie rattlesnake lives farther north in Alberta, the eastern massasauga is the only one of Canada’s three remaining venomous snakes that actually lives adjacent to boreal environments.

Here’s the distribution of eastern massasauga in “Canada,” depicting locality records of the snake from Manitoulin Island and nearby Fitzwilliam Island. [Map from Canada’s SARA Registry. They maintain much-more-detailed maps of massasauga sites in Ontario, if anyone’s interested.]

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And here’s a look at some scenery from Manitoulin Island, where the massasauga still lives. It’s cool, to me, to think that rattlesnakes are living in or adjacent to coniferous forest like this. [Photo 1: USGS public domain. Photo 2: Wikimedia Commons, originally by Jhapk.]

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[Source.]

Here’s a good look at each county in the US where the eastern massasauga appears to be extinct/extant. The distribution range is also color-coded to depict the three genetically-distinct population segments of the species. [Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, modeled after phylogeography research by Szymanski, et al., 2016.]

While most other temperate and tropical North American ecoregions have a few, or many, reptile species whose distribution ranges make nice outlines of local regional biomes, the eastern massasauga is one of only about 4 or 5 snake species with distribution ranges that closely align with the ecoregion boundaries specifically limited to the Upper Midwest and/or Great Lakes landscapes. Specifically, in the US, the eastern massasauga is largely confined to the ecoregions referred to by the EPA and WWF as: (1) the Driftless Area; (2) the “Corn Belt plains” of ”The Heartland” in Illinois, northern Indiana, and west-central Ohio; and also (3) the “northern central hardwoods forest” belt of southeastern Minnesota, southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, lowland western New York, and southern Ontario.

The other Great Lakes-endemic snakes are Kirtland’s snake, Butler’s gartersnake, and the eastern fox snake. (Arguably, the short-headed gartersnake, western fox snake, and blue racer might qualify as “Great Lakes-endemic snakes,” depending on how generous you are with your definition of Great Lakes-specific ecoregions.)

Iconic prairie and wetland mascot, right here.

[danishmuseuminterns]

It Takes a Village (And a Bunch of Norwegians)

By Anders Tornsø Jørgensen

One of my projects during my internship is conducting a series of interviews with a long line of people who have shaped and impacted the museum in different ways. These interviewers will be a part of the Museum of Danish America’s 40th anniversary next year. So, this week I travelled to Decorah, Iowa, to interview two former board members, while also returning an exhibition to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

After a drive of about five hours from Elk Horn, Iowa, I arrived in beautiful Decorah. The town of Decorah is located in the Driftless Area, which comprises northeastern Iowa, but also southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. The region was never covered by ice during the last ice age, which have shaped its geologic characteristics: steep hillsides, narrow valleys, bluffs, and forested ridges. Also, when I visited, fall was arriving, which created beautiful shades of brown and orange in the trees.

Decorah made national news with the Decorah Bald Eagles website, where you could watch live streaming of a bald eagle nest. As such, spectators could see eagle parents feed their children, and protecting them from predators and harsh weather. The Decorah Eagles became an Internet phenomenon and was the most viewed live-stream of all time when the website reached 250 million views on Ustream in 2011, with roughly 2.4 million views per day.

Anyway, back to my trip. My first stop was at the Vesterheim Norweigan-American Museum, where I had a guided tour after I returned the items. My favorite exhibition was a dolls collection, which included a set of Barbie dolls with a Norwegian twist, but I also enjoyed the rosemaling displayed. Rosemaling (rose painting) is the decorative folk art of rural Norway that flourished in the 1700's and 1800's, but continues to survive in Decorah due to its folk art school where participants can take different art classes. Also, having worked with a lot of the Museum of Danish America’s history during my internship, it was quite interesting to experience Vesterheim, as many of our founders were inspired by this Norwegian gem in the corner of northeast Iowa.

In the 1850s Decorah became a center for Norwegian-American culture. A few years later, in 1861, Luther College, a Lutheran liberal arts institution, was established. In 1877, the Norwegian-American Historic Museum (later Vesterheim, meaning “western home” in Norwegian) was created, thereby solidifying the area’s Norwegian heritage – a heritage that still deeply impacts the town as evidenced by the annually Nordic Fest celebrated each July, but also by the various statues, businesses and sports teams associated with Viking culture. My favorite was a Viking with a pie, which I found quite cool.

After my visit to the wonderful Vesterheim museum, I went out to explore Decorah’s downtown area. I visited during Decorah Pride Festival, so most of the city was covered in lovely rainbow flags and a lot of interesting events was taking place.

Normally, June is the traditional month for LGBTQA+ Pride festivals, commemorating the June 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. However, in Decorah, it was rescheduled in order to ensure that Luther College Students were back on campus and could participate in the festivities.

This meant that I had a chance to enjoy my first drag show experience at a local arthouse. The performers were locals and Luther students, and they did a magnificent job. I enjoyed the music, the costumes, the makeup, but what truly made an impact was the self-confidence and how they embraced themselves, being their best version. I truly admire their inspiring might.

My driving around the Midwest has made me realize how much a significant majority of small-towns are struggling economically. However, the combination of energetic college students, dedicated citizens, and a vibrant and healthy Main Street business community has shown to be a great recipe for success in Decorah.

I also enjoyed a lot of hiking as the Driftless Area provides a lot of scenic beauty very close to Decorah. One of Iowa's best hidden treasures is Dunning’s Spring Park, which is home to a lovely 200-foot waterfall surrounded by trees and limestone cliffs. I also visited the nearby Ice Cave, which according to locals, gets its name from layers of ice that form every year in January and last through August. There was no ice when I visited, but it was still really cold. The cave was really captivating, and quite frankly, a bit spooky. I must have watched to many horror films, because I imagined some kind of troll living deep down in that cave. Anyway, some people say that Iowa is flat and only consist of cornfields, but they have been to hilly Decorah (or the Loess Hills of western Iowa for that matter).

I was hosted by wonderful friends of the museum, for whom I am very happy to have met. Their home was located in an area filled with historical homes, but also access to Phelps Park, another source of wonderful hikes. Walking around the neighborhood was wonderful and I felt like I was walking in a film set, and I loved the combination of picture-perfect small-town America mixed with Norwegian culture.

My interviews also went well. I met up with 89-year-old Jim, who took me on a walking tour of Luther College. Earlier in his life Jim served as president of our board. I must admit, that it simply astonishes me that Jim was born two months before Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first term as president – yet Jim is as fresh and sharp with details as ever before. Also, Jim was influential in getting the campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which succeeded in 2021. It turned out that Jens Jensen, a renowned Danish-American landscape architect, did a full landscape plan for Luther College in 1911. With great passion, Jim expanded my knowledge of Jensen. Most of Jensen’s works were landscapes for people's homes, including Henry Ford, and city parks, the most famous examples can be found in Chicago. However, Luther College is the only college he did a landscape plan for.

Also, it is quite appropriate that the Museum of Danish America now has a look somewhat similar to Luther College in that Jensen's legacy is well represented by the relatively new parts of the Museum grounds which reflect his ideas in landscape architecture. The Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park, installed in 2012, is named after this Danish immigrant who ended up becoming one of America's most important landscape architects.

As Decorah is located close to the border of Wisconsin, I also ended up doing a day trip to Devil’s Lake State Park. My last trip to Wisconsin was back in the end of July, and America’s Dairyland really made an impact on me, so it was wonderful to get back.

Devil’s Lake State Park is the largest and busiest state park in Wisconsin and offer unmatched beauty with its super cool cliff and rock formations. Some of them truly looks out of this world with their clean, sharp edges. The park is also part of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which is a thousand-mile footpath that highlights glacial landscape features. Around 16 miles of this trail is located in Devil’s Lake State Park. However, be warned, the many quartzite rock formations can be quite slippery.

After hiking, I went to Sauk City to visit the original Culver’s, which opened in 1984. This Wisconsin icon has long been a favorite of mine, and it was a great way to end a great weekend with another milestone of my Midwestern pilgrimage.

[broomclosetbrew]

As a boy from Illinois I love following the various distilleries in the Great Lakes region and I've got to say I have not been disappointed by anything I've tried from Driftless Glen. I'm told they have a really great gin but I can't seem to find it here in California. I added this stellar pick from Cypress Craft Beer and Liquor and the Orange County Bourbon Society to my bottle stash (I don't like to call it a collection since I drink it)...bottle pile? Whiskey library?...oh I like that....my whisk(e)y library. I digress, this bottle bring a great big caramel finish to flavors of leather, clove, some cinnamon, and wood. Paired the bottle with a Aquitaine cigar from RoMa. ...... "If alcohol is queen, then tobacco is her consort. It's a fond companion for all occasions, a loyal friend through fair weather and foul." ~ Luis Bunuel ...... #cigar #CigarLover #CigarAfficionado #cigarphoto #cigarsnob #cigarlife #cigarsmoke #romacraftcigar #sailorandsticks #cigarsandwhiskey #TapThatAsh #whiskey #bourbon #singlebarrel #caskstrength #barrelpick #cypresscraftbeerandliquor #orangecountybourbonsociety #whiskeylife #WhiskeyLover #whiskeyphoto #WhiskeyNeat #WhiskeyAfficionado #whiskeygram #quote #quotestagram (at Coastal San Pedro) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfvFtjOLR9I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yogawithavery]

💚 heart openings in Decorah 💚 SUMMER IS COMING. And that means Driftless Yoga Festival is SO SOON! @driftlessyogafestival is a gem and if you can you should come 🌸 A yoga festival centering politicized convo and practice is maybe to be expected in hip urban areas, but in the rural Midwest?! Ahhh what a truly special thing… I had the immense pleasure of coming to teach last year, and had such a rejuvenating and beautiful time. Incredible community, who were so HUNGRY for and appreciative of these critical spaces and counterculture entry points… Flowery fields and fairy forrest woods to explore with trails connecting everything - I literally waded all the way down the nearby river home to my Airbnb between teaching, while sipping local kombucha and listening to the birds singing … so lovely. . . Side note, looking back through these pics, I’m blown away like how much change… 👀 Much of year was really rough for me, oof. I’m in such a way better place rn on multiple levels than I was a year ago and it’s cool to reflect on that. This time spent at @driftlessyogafestival last year was such a needed inspiring reminder of community, possibility… Looking forward to see what this year holds! . . Laree and crew - I celebrate you and believe in your mission. Thank you for bringing this work off the beaten path to these local communities. I’m so excited to come back and be part of this years amazing line up! … “The Driftless Yoga Festival is located in the heart of the driftless region: Decorah, IA. June 23rd - 26th, 2022 LINK IN BIO Join a brilliant collective of instructors, authors, disruptors, social justice activists among the region’s rich and unique Iowa topography. Beyond movement, the Driftless Yoga Festival, an equity-forward event, is about breath, slowness, and binding us to the fact that we are all moving tributaries to something greater. Join for a weekend of reflection, curiosity, and reverence for the practice of yoga.” Are you coming?! (Sorry couldn’t tag everyone!) Image descriptions in alt ID (at Decorah, Iowa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdRMbiZPxKQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tweething]

Honestly i love madison , i can’t imagine living in any other town in this forlorn and wintry state. It’s just like living in a little urban bubble of art and intellect, like a big city but without a good music scene or public transport system. And it’s so close with nature as well, especially the hills in the driftless region to the west. I just love the balance here and relative lack of gentrification. I really look forward to studying at the university :-)

[nightmare-afton-cosplay]

Minnesota Wild All-Star Ryan Suter Reluctantly Selling Wisconsin Retreat for $4.5M

Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

When Minnesota Wild All-Star Ryan Suter needs to relax, the defensive stalwart heads to his retreat in Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, in the tiny town of Mazomanie.

That five-bedroom, seven-bath home, and the 120 acres it sits on, is now on the market for $4.5 million, listed with Paul Handle with Mahler Sotheby’s International Realty in Milwaukee.

In 2011, Suter—a Madison, WI, native—had the 12,000-square-foot mansion custom-built, including a home theater, tennis court, billiard room, and wine cellar. Covered spaces near the outdoor pool are designed to weather a chilly spring or fall.

Aerial view

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Front exterior

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Kitchen

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Stairwell

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Mazonmanie is 25 miles northwest of Madison and has a population just under 2,000.

“The home’s positioned high up on a hill from a long driveway that comes up to the highway from a gate,” explains Handle. “It was really built to capture the views.”

He adds, “the finishes are world-class.” The home offers top-notch features such as plank floors and marble baths. The kitchen is equipped with commercial-grade appliances.

Master bath

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Living room

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Because Suter uses the home only during the NHL off-season, “it may be seven years old, but it’s only been lived in for (the equivalent of) about a year,” says Handle.

In Wisconsin, a home listing for $4.5 million is outside the norm. There are posh second-home enclaves such as Lake Geneva and Door County, where big crowds flock in summer, which almost defeats the purpose of a quiet country retreat.

Handle is marketing the listing nationally in hopes of attracting the perfect buyer.

“This is an unbelievable Door County alternative. I think it’s going to attract entrepreneurs or other athletes,” says the agent. “It could just be a buyer who wants the solitude or for hunting.”

Tennis court

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Pool and spa

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Billiard room (Suter’s framed jerseys not included in the sale)

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“It’s a sanctuary, a getaway. Ryan has a very busy and physically intense career,” says Handle. The home “was built to have guests,” and putting it on the market wasn’t a move Suter came to lightly.

“This is a tough decision. He loves this place,” says Handle.

But now that his kids are older, there’s a pull to be near urban amenities, and Suter’s saying goodbye to his sanctuary, says Handle. “They live in Maple Bluff (a suburb of Madison) now.”

Suter has spent 13 seasons in the NHL and been named an All-Star eight times. After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Nashville Predators, he signed a remarkably long 13-year, $98 million deal with the Minnesota Wild.

The post Minnesota Wild All-Star Ryan Suter Reluctantly Selling Wisconsin Retreat for $4.5M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/ryan-suter-selling-wisconsin-retreat/

[callowsermons]

Reign- Herod’s Foolishness

The mission of the twelve has been a tremendous success. Jesus is making a name for himself all around Galilee. But the question of who exactly this Jesus is has come up for debate. There is no doubt that he has great healing powers, that he teaches with an authority the scribes and elders of the Law don’t possess, and that he‘s been ruffling the feathers of the establishment. But what to make of that? Some said Jesus was Elijah, because Elijah was expected to arise before the coming of the Messiah. Others said that Jesus was like the prophets of old. But Herod in his paranoia knew who Jesus must be: John the Baptist. The one he beheaded.

Mark treats us to a strange and unnerving digression. Back in chapter one Mark told us that Jesus began his ministry after John was arrested. Now we hear that he had been killed, and under tragicomic circumstances. The life of Herod Antipas was a mix of comedy and tragedy. Herod was the son of Herod the Great, the former King of Israel. After Herod the Great died there was no single competent child who was able to take the throne. So Rome split the region into three Kingdoms. Even then Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas’ brother, had to be removed after a few years because he was just that bad. But Herod Antipas managed to maintain control through buttering up Caesar with massive building projects with Caesar’s name on them and keeping his people from revolt.

Herod had married Herodias, his half sister. By the way, are you noticing a pattern to the names of Herod the Great’s children? Herodias had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother and another ruler of Israel. John had called out Herod, letting him know publicly it is unlawful to take his brother’s wife. So Herod had John imprisoned for Herodias’ sake. Herodias held a grudge against John the Baptist and wanted him dead. But Herod feared John, because he knew he was a prophet. He also liked to listen to him from time to time, not because he agreed with anything John had to say, or even because he understood John. He simply found John entertaining.

But one night Herod had a birthday party with the nobility, the generals, and political leaders of Galilee. Herodias’ daughter, his step-daughter, danced for Herod and his guests. Mark tells us simply that they found the dance pleasing. We get a sense of how pleasing the dance was when Herod vows before the powerful of Galilee that he will offer her anything she wishes, even half the kingdom. Makes you wonder if he was under the influence when he gave such a brash and unthinking vow. Herodias’ daughter conferred with her mother. Herodias tells her to get the head of John the Baptist.

When Herod hears the request he is very sorry. But he knows he can’t go back on his vow in front of so many honored guests. So he orders John’s execution and has his head brought in to the party on a platter, giving the situation a flair of the grotesque. When word got to John’s disciples that he was dead, they requested the body and had him buried.

You can see what I mean by calling this both comedy and tragedy. There’s real humor to this vignette. King Herod marrying his sister, who is also his brother’s wife. In a few generations one of the Herod’s was going to end up his own grandpa. The ruler of Galilee making brash and thoughtless vows. Herod squirming before his nobles as he’s forced to fulfill his promise. It’s the best of cringe humor. But there’s tremendous tragedy and grotesquery on display as well. This fool is the King, how terrifying that must be! He is incestuous. He treats human life as dispensable. He is strung up on his own alcohol fueled bliss. He has no concern for justice or truth. This, Mark contends, is the reality of the political situation of his day.

The power of this vignette is that it contrasts the Kingdom of God with the Kingdom of Herod. Where Herod is foolish, unjust, debauched, inhumane, the Kingdom of God is sober, abundant, true justice, true humanity. We also witness a subtle foreshadowing. As John is martyred so too Jesus will be martyred by the same forces. As John is paraded around the party on a platter, Jesus will be paraded through Jerusalem carrying a cross. That is how the world treats the righteous and the just.

We’d like to think things have changed, and in a lot of respects they have. We no longer endure the rule of Kings and Queens whose claim rests solely on their parentage. But this world still knows Herods. I’m thinking of the example of Colonel Qaddafi. When the revolution hit Libya and he was brought into the streets to be executed his last words were, “what did I ever do to you?” He kept his people in poverty and ruled over a brutal regime, but he was caught up in his own unreality where lives were statistics. Or a little more closely to home, the people of Flint would have clean water if decisions weren’t made by the higher ups to try and cut costs. In Durham, NC many people would not be on the streets and crime wouldn’t be as terrible if decisions weren’t made to shatter the black neighborhood with a freeway, breaking the community apart and leaving young men driftless. None of these examples are as grotesque as John’s head on a platter, but they show in the more stark and the more ordinary ways how the powers of this world work. How they fail to see humanity, and in doing so perpetuate injustice. As Josef Stalin reportedly once said, one death is a tragedy but a million deaths is a statistic. From the vantage point of power the danger is humanity can wear off and all that is left are statistics. Crime statistics, accounting statistics, migration statistics. And when everything becomes statistics, when everyone is just obeying orders, government grows inhumane.

We who are citizens of the Kingdom, no matter what our political station on this earth, are called to see humanity in everyone. We know that every person, no matter their nationality, class, race, or sex is one for whom Christ died. And we know that every human being is made in the image of God, every human being is a chance to see our Lord. So we know we are called to treat one another as human beings, to love one another as a human being, not as a statistic, not as the faceless other, not as a sheer enemy. That is what Herod failed to do. In his debauchery and thoughtlessness he put an innocent man to death. And yet that is what Jesus Christ always did.

Questions for Reflection

Who would play Herod Antipas in a sitcom? Herodias? John the Baptist?

Can you think of other examples where people act like Herod?

Why do you think it’s so hard to recognize the humanity of others?

How might we strive to treat others more humanly?

[foursprouthealth-blog]

Butternut Squash and Sausage Breakfast Hash with Baked Eggs

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/butternut-squash-and-sausage-breakfast-hash-with-baked-eggs/

Butternut Squash and Sausage Breakfast Hash with Baked Eggs

Take out that cast iron pan of yours and make this butternut squash and sausage breakfast hash with baked eggs! It’s an excellent high protein breakfast (lunch or dinner!) to jumpstart your day with!

Tis the season to be jolly and for cozy comfort food. Does it get any cozier than butternut squash? I think not.

It’s Linley, here! Happy Friday, right now I am on my way to La Farge, Wisconsin to have a weekend getaway with my honey. I am SO excited. We are headed back to the Driftless region where Team Fit Foodie had a fun couple days of farm visits with Organic Valley (READ HERE)!

  MY OTHER VIDEOS

  Quality time is one of my love languages (as well as ALL of the other love languages😂), so I am really looking forward to this weekend. What’s our plan? We are going to stay in the cutest little cabin that borders 8,000 acres of wildlife preserve. We are going to sleep in, hike, play cribbage, and RELAX. We have been hustling and bustling and I feel like my body is on the verge of getting sick. The sniffles have started and a weekend of hydrating and calm energy is just what the doctor ordered.

One more thing we are really excited about is trying a hipster little award-winning restaurant called the Driftless Cafe. The Driftless Cafe is nestled in Viroqua, WI. It is known for its delicious flavor combinations and for using sustainable ingredients from farms in the region. The menu made me weak in the knees, so I will report back to how amazing it is!

Speaking of things that make me weak in the knees, SQUASH. We love our sweet potatoes over at FFF HQ, but when it is squash season, we can’t get enough! We made this butternut squash and breakfast sausage hash with baked eggs on a whim one day because we were trying to use up veggies in the fridge. We posted a photo on Instagram and BOOM. You guys wanted the recipe.

You spoke, we listened! Here is the PERFECT winter hash for you and yours. It is packed with veggies and has all of your favorite breakfast flavors. ENJOY.

VIDEO: Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 10

Author: Lee Hersh

Yield: 2-4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons avocado oil

2 cups cubed butternut squash

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

6 pre-cooked turkey sausage links, sliced

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

4 large eggs

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Instructions

Heat a cast iron pan over medium/high heat. Add avocado oil.

When the avocado oil is fragrant, add butternut squash. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add yellow onion and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Add in turkey sausage, garlic, and thyme and let cook for 1-2 minutes.

Finally, add spinach and let it cook down for about 3-5 minutes.

Create four divets in your squash hash with a spoon and crack an egg in each divet. If you would like to bake the eggs, cook for around 15-20 minutes at 350ºF. If you would like to fry your eggs, turn heat down to low/medium, cover pan and let cook for 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

[foursprout-blog]

Butternut Squash and Sausage Breakfast Hash with Baked Eggs

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/butternut-squash-and-sausage-breakfast-hash-with-baked-eggs/

Butternut Squash and Sausage Breakfast Hash with Baked Eggs

Take out that cast iron pan of yours and make this butternut squash and sausage breakfast hash with baked eggs! It’s an excellent high protein breakfast (lunch or dinner!) to jumpstart your day with!

Tis the season to be jolly and for cozy comfort food. Does it get any cozier than butternut squash? I think not.

It’s Linley, here! Happy Friday, right now I am on my way to La Farge, Wisconsin to have a weekend getaway with my honey. I am SO excited. We are headed back to the Driftless region where Team Fit Foodie had a fun couple days of farm visits with Organic Valley (READ HERE)!

  MY OTHER VIDEOS

  Quality time is one of my love languages (as well as ALL of the other love languages😂), so I am really looking forward to this weekend. What’s our plan? We are going to stay in the cutest little cabin that borders 8,000 acres of wildlife preserve. We are going to sleep in, hike, play cribbage, and RELAX. We have been hustling and bustling and I feel like my body is on the verge of getting sick. The sniffles have started and a weekend of hydrating and calm energy is just what the doctor ordered.

One more thing we are really excited about is trying a hipster little award-winning restaurant called the Driftless Cafe. The Driftless Cafe is nestled in Viroqua, WI. It is known for its delicious flavor combinations and for using sustainable ingredients from farms in the region. The menu made me weak in the knees, so I will report back to how amazing it is!

Speaking of things that make me weak in the knees, SQUASH. We love our sweet potatoes over at FFF HQ, but when it is squash season, we can’t get enough! We made this butternut squash and breakfast sausage hash with baked eggs on a whim one day because we were trying to use up veggies in the fridge. We posted a photo on Instagram and BOOM. You guys wanted the recipe.

You spoke, we listened! Here is the PERFECT winter hash for you and yours. It is packed with veggies and has all of your favorite breakfast flavors. ENJOY.

VIDEO: Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 10

Author: Lee Hersh

Yield: 2-4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons avocado oil

2 cups cubed butternut squash

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

6 pre-cooked turkey sausage links, sliced

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

4 large eggs

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Instructions

Heat a cast iron pan over medium/high heat. Add avocado oil.

When the avocado oil is fragrant, add butternut squash. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add yellow onion and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Add in turkey sausage, garlic, and thyme and let cook for 1-2 minutes.

Finally, add spinach and let it cook down for about 3-5 minutes.

Create four divets in your squash hash with a spoon and crack an egg in each divet. If you would like to bake the eggs, cook for around 15-20 minutes at 350ºF. If you would like to fry your eggs, turn heat down to low/medium, cover pan and let cook for 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.