No Labor On Labor Day Weekend

Mia posing for a Jeld-Wen Ad

A busy, fun Labor Day weekend. Our daughter Amy & fiancee Rob came up to visit. We brought up some more windows but knew we wouldn't work on them.
Friday night we ate at Chilito Lindo in Viroqua. The food was great & there was entertainment too. It is such a fun place. There is outdoor seating with rocking horses for the kids to play on. Later on, under a bright moon, we had a campfire (and a bottle of wine).

Saturday morning we got up early to go canoeing on the Kickapoo River. We rented from the Kickapoo Yacht Club in Rockton. It was a beautiful day. We took our time, spending about three hours paddling. There are numerous sandstone bluffs along the lazy, twisting river and quite a few different species of birds. There is know to be over 100 species of breeding birds in the reserve. We saw the biggest bird I've ever seen fly down from a tree & over Amy & Rob's canoe. It's wing span was larger than the width of the canoe! It was flying away from us so we couldn't identify it.
Getting ready to paddle

Taking a break

Saturday night we went to our favorite spot to eat, The Driftless Cafe.After dinner, we went to see a fiddling poet at Green Man Music Hall.

Sunday we packed up some snacks & drove to the Elroy-Sparta bike trail. This is no ordinary trail. This trail has 3 railroad tunnels. Pitch black with water dripping on your head from springs above them. We went through the longest one which is is 3,810 feet long and took 3 years to dig in 1873. There are channels on both sides to catch the water. They recommend using a flashlight, but we did it without. People were making scary noises throughout the tunnel :-)

Amy & Rob inside the tunnel
Steve almost out

Relaxing with a root beer after the ride in Sparta.

When we got back to the farm, we ate & Eli, Lizzie and the baby Fannie came to visit. Fannie was smiling & cooing. It was nice to catch up with them. Sometimes we work so hard we don't get the chance to visit. When it was dark enough, we got out the telescope to look at the moon. It was great! I've never done that. The craters are amazing.

The tomato with a face :-)

Monday morning, this pileated woodpecker greeted us on the tree out the picture window. They are the size of a crow. When Steve & I were out in the garden later, an eagle was gliding over the orchard & woods. Seems like there is always something amazing happening at the farm.

Amy & Eli & Lizzie's calf. A combination of their cow & a Scottish Highlander

Monday, we ended the afternoon by picking apples. Not as many on the tree as last year though.
Traffic was heavy like we expected but it only took us a 1/2 hour longer than normal.
It is so much fun to have family visit. We look forward to the next time.