A Cat on a Leash

When was the last time you saw a cat on a leash? It's a pretty rare thing although if you live in St. Paul, MN there is a house where I often see up to 3 cats at a leash. It is on the corner of Jackson Street and E Jenks (I think), across from Oakland Cemetery.  How they ever got 3 cats OK with being on leashes I'll never know. 

Two weeks ago I drove over to St. Paul to say good-bye to my son, who was moving later that week to Colombia. I stopped at the rest area on I-94 outside Menomonie, WI. The car parked next to me had a cat on a leash that the owner was trying to get out of the car. You could tell the cat hated being on the leash. She was slinking as low to the ground as she could. Eventually she went to the grassy area. The young couple with her were traveling from Chicago to Minneapolis for a visit. They said the cat was fine in the car. She hadn't been on a leash before but they didn't want to risk her dashing out of the car when they stopped for breaks.  Smart idea.

Hummingbird Moths

The past week or so has seen a lot of hummingbird moths in town. At first you might confuse them for hummingbirds but they are smaller and if you see them up close you realize they aren't hummingbirds. I never really noticed them in previous summers but they are currently all over our downtown area.

Hummingbird Moth

Pontoon Ride on Lake Mohawksin

When I lived here in the 1980's my husband and I would rent a pontoon once or twice each summer. We would first travel to the Kings Road Dam, where he and the kids would fish. Then we would head back to Lake Mohawksin, a 1515 acre reservoir formed by the Tomahawk Dam. The Wisconsin, Tomahawk, and Somo rivers flow into the lake. We spent the day on the pontoon, eating a picnic lunch, and stopping to visit friends who lived on one of the small islands.

One thing I looked forward to when I returned to Tomahawk was taking a pontoon ride each summer or fall. A pontoon isn't something I want to drive so I'm glad the Senior Center offers a pontoon ride each August. It's a very peaceful way to enjoy the lake and all its scenery.

Some pretty flowers at our boarding location.

Another pontoon 

If I had been driving I would not even attempt to go under this  train trestle.

We knew the retired Chicago dentist and his wife who spent summers here in the 1980's so we would visit them on their island.

Bradley Park, Tomahawk

It has been nearly a year since I made an entry on this blog. It's time to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

Last week a friend and I walked through Bradley Park. I've only walked in parts of this park a few times, never really taking advantage of what a lovely spot it is to hike or ride a bike through. In the winter it is a great place to cross country ski or snowshoe. I hope to get back to cross country skiing this winter, and I'd like to try snowshoeing for the first time.

Bradley Park was originally called "Hog's Back" and consisted of 105 acres of virgin pines. Today the park consists of 68 acres. The park is a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Lake Mohawksin. Lake Mohawksin is formed by the Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and Somo rivers coming together.

It's a scenic site to visit in any season.

What looks like a floating bog of some sort

Blue Heron

The Point with its hobbit like tree roots