Tag: milwaukee

Turned 40, Continuing to Get Rad on the Regular

by edmakowski

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Got to the trails this morning and asked the first person I saw about trail conditions. “Well. It’s a little dusty,” he grimaced. I grinned and nodded, recalling a spring of trails too wet to ride at all. Last week I turned 40. By 40 my dad had already accepted a life of struggling to find his mouth with a quavering spoon, watching the world through drawn curtains, and wailing incoherently at the world and us through the depressive fury of Huntington’s Disease. Ride through the sun-glint waves of settling dust or kick up some new, all the rest of this is a fucking bonus. . . . . . #lchiem #getactionbesane #getrad #radderthandeath #huntingtonsdisease #ridebikesbehappy #trails #bike #fatbike #mountainbike #philosophy #forevertwowheels #poetry

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Delighting in the Fleet of Prairie Grasshoppers

by edmakowski

Recent Cityscape Photography

by edmakowski

Lately I’ve been taking walks and bike rides around my fair city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Taking a walk is quite useful for noticing interesting compositions for photographs. Biking can be a little fast for observation, but works sometimes too. I think it was Thoreau who extolled the virtues of sauntering around with a half-focused demeanor of observation in search of wonder.

Here’s a window into what I’ve seen lately, taken generally with my phone and not a more earnest camera. I consider them sketches. These are all on Instagram for simplicity, feel free to follow me there.

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Turf

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Sunbird.

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New Poetry in Junk Drawer Magazine

by edmakowski

I sent out a few poems to the folks at Junk Drawer Magazine and two were accepted. One is relatively recent, and the other I wrote when I worked at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (a factual poem about House Wrens making nests). Click the cover image below (Junk Drawer’s artwork, not mine) to see the latest edition.

Spring Trail Photography at Riveredge Nature Center

by edmakowski

I’ve been out practicing photography more at Riveredge Nature Center this spring. Comparing my recent pictures with pictures from last year, it’s exciting to see how my work has grown. Lots of practice.

Spring, fall, and winter are great because of all of the shadows. Until the leaves drop again, summertime is for flowers on days without too much direct sunlight. Have a look at what I’ve been up to below.

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Ecologists will talk about “plant communities,” which may sound silly at first. What they are referencing is that each plant or tree or fungus is specific about moisture, sunlight, soil type, and a slew of other factors. Plants that have similar needs, or offset or work in concert with one another will flourish in close proximity to these needs; functioning very much as a community. These interactions become more apparent the closer one looks. So we invite you to get down to plant-eye level on the trail and study the interconnected universe of moss and fungus and lichen and downed trees and flowers too residing along the trails at @riveredgenaturecenter. As we like to say, “Everything is connected to everything else.” – Leonardo da Vinci . . . . . #spring #flowers #ecology #milwaukee #wisconsin #ephemerals #photography #plantphotography #moss #springephemeral #wildflowers #westbend #ozaukee #forest

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Pictures from the Black Lives Matter Kids Walk Protest in Milwaukee

by edmakowski

Pictures taken at the What About Us #BlackLivesMatter Kids Walk #protest Saturday, June 6 in #Milwaukee. Click the arrow to see more pictures.

Seeing the Warblers of Spring Bird Migration

by edmakowski

Got out to take some pictures on the trails at Riveredge yesterday morning. Here is a Palm Warbler that stayed still for just long enough.

And here are some of the folks out social distance birding…

Something about this bench was so inviting. Maybe it was the surrounding sun. 😉

Voting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

by edmakowski

The line of people waiting to vote was quite stunning, so I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures.