The Daily Raw - August 26, 2023 - Saturday - Trip to Madison

We hit the road at 7am to visit Erica in Madison. I loaded the Blueberry bike in the back of Lexi to deliver to her.

 
We drove directly to the horse barn where we were greeted effusively by Charlie. We met Erica’s horse, Cookie and plied her with small horse treats. Erica worked Cookie in the outdoor arena while we watched. I took several photos. College friend / fellow horsey rider Mette stopped by to ride her horse, Raven.

 

 
The expansive property includes large indoor and outdoor arenas, smaller circular pens, fenced turn out areas and a huge grazing field with apple trees and ponds. We picked some apples and ate them too. The horses have a good life here.

 

 
After three hours at the barn we headed to Erica’s apartment, had a snack then took Charlie on a long walk through Maple Bluff. An actual town, this neighborhood flanks Lake Mendota. We enjoyed the water’s edge on this cool afternoon - post heat wave.

 

 
Dinner in Middleton and then to Memorial Union on the UW Campus. We parked a half mile away and walked by Bascom Hill to the lake’s promenade up to the Union Terrace. We enjoyed the famous UW creamery ice cream.

 

 
A full day enjoyed with family - humans and animals!

 

 
Some photos from the day:

 

 

 

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Ties That Bind - What Defines Family?

I had been consistently taking photos and blogging, then mid June hit and I lost momentum. I'm not sure what to blame - our area started to open up, we started going back into the office so I got busy with other things. Then I had to travel for work to a location in Kentucky, about 4 hours away by car. I stayed in Kentucky for over a week and will drive back sometime this week or next.

Regardless of that, today I'm sharing photos taken at the end of May - the "family" of Senior Addison. Why the Quotes? Several years ago, the KO family formed by combining two family units. Two sets of parents, two sets of offspring and two sets of dogs. The two families were great friends so they decided to buy a house together and join their distinct clans together. They called it their "great social experiment". The union dissolved due to new job opportunities outside the area. The KO family asked me to take photos of their clan before they parted ways. I love the challenge of new things - this large group with their dogs certainly lived up to that challenge!

For the group shots I ended up learning how to "head swap" for an optimal group shot. I only had to do this two times (thank goodness).

Family "O"

Family "K"

The Adults still get along even after living together for 3+ years.

And to earmark this unique time - pandemic masks.

Family - certainly not defined by blood, but by love, respect and friendship.

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