By Joann M. Ringelstetter
When I was a kid, winter was my favorite season, probably because, unlike recent winters, there was a lot of snow most of the winter and we went sledding and ice skating, built snowmen and snow forts, and played games in the snow like Fox and Geese. As an adult, however, autumn has been my favorite season and I look forward to the fall colors all year.
In late September of 2012, we spent six days in Northern Wisconsin and the colors were stunning. We found ourselves saying, “Wow!” over and over as we found amazing color around every bend. It was definitely food for the soul! On the morning of September 30, we were in the Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area in Iron County at dawn. There was a light fog over the wetlands and an unmatched serenity as I stood soaking in the misty fall colors which were reflected in the water.
In 2017, we found some beautiful sumac in late October at Indian Lake County Park in Dane County, Wisconsin. The sumac colors are often finished by that time, so it was a pleasant surprise. It was foggy that morning, too, and the grass was wet. Still, I climbed up a steep embankment to get above the color. Getting up that high allowed me to capture Halfway Prairie Wildlife Area, with the Matz Farmstead stone ruins, in the background.
This fall, it was a challenge to find the expected fall color, which didn’t appear at the usual time. We headed out a couple of times in late September and early October, only to be disappointed by the lack of color. Finally, around October 18, the color showed up in Sauk County so we hit the backroads in search of a few scenes. A short distance from my house, we realized that it was going to be a beautiful sunrise, so we discussed our options quickly and headed down the road about a mile to capture a farm silhouetted against the blazing orange and yellow sky. This wasn’t the type of fall color I was looking for, but it was an awesome start to the day.
Our first stop in Sauk County was near Ski-Hi Orchard. There, a rusty old Studebaker truck sat among the fall grasses. We had seen it a couple days earlier and had planned to photograph it after capturing a historic log cabin, but then had forgotten. After that, I ran into Ski-Hi for some apple cider. And, no, I didn’t buy any apple cider donuts or caramel apples. But don’t credit me with willpower because it was only 8:00 a.m. so those weren’t available yet.
From there, we headed over to Durward’s Glen, a very special wooded retreat that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The trail that begins across from the parking lot immediately forks. First, I took the left fork and headed to the glen. I was grateful for the overcast lighting, which avoided harsh shadows on this beautiful place.
After hiking several trails in that direction, I backtracked toward the parking lot and took the right fork. This trail takes you past the Stations of the Cross on the way to St. Mary’s of the Pines, a stone chapel built in 1866. There is also a cemetery behind the church. The fall color on this trail was wonderful.
We left there and headed over to one of our favorite churches, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. But when we got there, a car was parked in the short driveway and a photographer was taking pictures. We decided to drive past and look at a few other things and then return. I made a mental note of the cornfield to make sure that I captured that view when we came back.
While stalling around to give that other photographer time to finish, we stumbled on a fall harvest scene with a long row of grain wagons parked along the edge of the cornfield. The farmers are having a hard time with their harvests due to all the rain, which resulted in very muddy fields.
We’ve learned not to question the Universe when it delays or reroutes us. In this case, we returned to the church from a direction that was different from our usual approach. This allowed me to spot a very nice composition from a hill that we usually drove in the opposite direction. And the fall color in the Baraboo Hills beyond the church was lovely. There is a sign above the church doors that is in German. It says, “Ev. Luth. St. Pauli Kirche, 1878.”
We decided to have our lunch while we sat in the peaceful surroundings of this historic church. The weather forecast had called for brief rain showers that would move through quickly starting around noon. Just as we finished our lunch, it started to rain. We moved on, counting on the rain to do the same. We drove to Seeley Lake to capture the dam and, hopefully, some fall color. But the rain began to increase and showed no sign of stopping. So, out came the umbrella for this shot.
Still hoping that the rain would pass through as predicted, we moved on, but it continued to rain heavily for the next hour, so we worked our way home. One of the last things I captured, also under an umbrella, was this Halloween display. I hope you got out there to enjoy the fall colors such as they were this year. Happy Halloween, everyone!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Shunpiking To Heaven Backroads Blog
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Another Day in Amish Country
By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
Joann and I so look forward to any time we can spend in Amish country. The pace of life just seems slower in those areas for the most part. We always look forward to hearing the clip clop of horses' hooves even before a buggy comes into view.
One of our favorite things about visiting Amish country is getting old fashioned raised donuts at the bakery, just like the ones our mother made when we were kids. You have to plan your visit because many of the bakeries are only open on Fridays and Saturdays, and some only make their famous donuts on Saturdays.
This past Friday, we decided to take a day trip to the Amish area of Columbia and Green Lake counties. Our plan was to arrive at the bakery around the time they opened so we could have donuts for breakfast at a reasonable time and try to avoid the crowds. Fall can bring tour buses to the area and the bakery is small. Often the line goes out the door and up the sidewalk to the parking area. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that we failed in our quest.
As anyone who knows us is aware, we’re easily distracted and, since we were driving in the daylight, we were noticing things in small towns along our route that we hadn’t noticed before. We just had to stop and capture what we saw.
When we finally made it to the bakery entrance, several cars were just turning in from the other direction and, as Joann turned in behind them, we saw a big line of cars coming. And even though the parking lot was relatively empty, people were driving crazily, like if they didn’t speed and swerve around, they wouldn’t get a space. They seemed to be playing demolition derby.
There are a lot of Amish businesses in the area and traffic is always worse near those. But if you get away from those roads, traffic gets better and you can enjoy the quiet as you pass Amish farms and schools. You can also hear the buggies coming down the road.
One of our stops was at an Amish school in the area. The Amish are very resourceful and will reuse what we, the “English,” no longer use. In the case of this school, they have re-used old playground equipment that those of us who are older played on but which is no longer considered safe.
Across from one of the Amish stores in the area were these Texas Longhorn cattle. It took a little while for Joann to get a picture because most animals don’t understand posing and do exactly as they please. This mother and baby finally cooperated.
After breakfast at the bakery and a stop to check out fall produce, we headed out into the country. The sky for the whole day was amazing and we had to take advantage of it.
We found only one farm with corn shocks already in the field, but knowing that crops were planted very late this year because of spring rains, we weren’t really surprised. We’re just hoping that the weather starts cooperating so that fields dry a little and farmers are able to harvest.
We ended our day later than we had planned but, as I said, the sky had excellent character all day long and we had to take advantage of it.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Joann and I so look forward to any time we can spend in Amish country. The pace of life just seems slower in those areas for the most part. We always look forward to hearing the clip clop of horses' hooves even before a buggy comes into view.
One of our favorite things about visiting Amish country is getting old fashioned raised donuts at the bakery, just like the ones our mother made when we were kids. You have to plan your visit because many of the bakeries are only open on Fridays and Saturdays, and some only make their famous donuts on Saturdays.
This past Friday, we decided to take a day trip to the Amish area of Columbia and Green Lake counties. Our plan was to arrive at the bakery around the time they opened so we could have donuts for breakfast at a reasonable time and try to avoid the crowds. Fall can bring tour buses to the area and the bakery is small. Often the line goes out the door and up the sidewalk to the parking area. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that we failed in our quest.
As anyone who knows us is aware, we’re easily distracted and, since we were driving in the daylight, we were noticing things in small towns along our route that we hadn’t noticed before. We just had to stop and capture what we saw.
When we finally made it to the bakery entrance, several cars were just turning in from the other direction and, as Joann turned in behind them, we saw a big line of cars coming. And even though the parking lot was relatively empty, people were driving crazily, like if they didn’t speed and swerve around, they wouldn’t get a space. They seemed to be playing demolition derby.
There are a lot of Amish businesses in the area and traffic is always worse near those. But if you get away from those roads, traffic gets better and you can enjoy the quiet as you pass Amish farms and schools. You can also hear the buggies coming down the road.
One of our stops was at an Amish school in the area. The Amish are very resourceful and will reuse what we, the “English,” no longer use. In the case of this school, they have re-used old playground equipment that those of us who are older played on but which is no longer considered safe.
Across from one of the Amish stores in the area were these Texas Longhorn cattle. It took a little while for Joann to get a picture because most animals don’t understand posing and do exactly as they please. This mother and baby finally cooperated.
After breakfast at the bakery and a stop to check out fall produce, we headed out into the country. The sky for the whole day was amazing and we had to take advantage of it.
We found only one farm with corn shocks already in the field, but knowing that crops were planted very late this year because of spring rains, we weren’t really surprised. We’re just hoping that the weather starts cooperating so that fields dry a little and farmers are able to harvest.
We ended our day later than we had planned but, as I said, the sky had excellent character all day long and we had to take advantage of it.
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
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