Christmas trees and geese at Harley Davidson Museum

I was out in the Menomonee Valley again when it snowed yesterday. Did you know that you can buy your Christmas tree at the Harley Davidson Museum? I didn't know that. The big black cubic building was what drew my attention. It was quite striking in the snowy landscape. It's blackness was softened by the snow, as you can see in the photo above.

It wasn't until I drove in to park near the building that I noticed the orange fencing, which at first I took as part of the Harley Davidson color scheme. That seems to be a coincidence, though.

Out in front of the small, fenced tree lot the open field had attracted a huge flock of geese.

Now and then more geese landed singly or in small wedges. Most of them stayed hunkered down into the snow until I disturbed them by approaching too close.

I did catch a few flying over the museum from across the canal. I wrote a haiku to capture the contrast:

wintry stillness
a wedge of silent geese
a full-throttled roar

Hank Aaron State Trail and Harley Davidson host Health Jam on Saturday

None other than Hank Aaron himself has stated the motivation for what promises to be a fun family outing: "We need to do everything we can to get kids outside and out from behind a TV screen".

"Walk, Roll, and Ride" is the theme on Saturday. The 7-mile Hank Aaron State Trail that runs through the Menomonee Valley is the location. And Harley Davidson has teamed up with the Friends of the Trail to help promote healthy living in Milwaukee.

For a schedule of events, directions, and other information, click on Summer Health Jam.

Milwaukee Urban Water Trail makes NY Times Travel section

Hey, not only did today's New York Times feature Milwaukee's Urban Water Trail in their Travel section but they used one of my photos to illustrate it. Another plug for Milwaukee's urban wilderness! Thanks to Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, for making the connection. Keep up the good work, Cheryl!

Check out Seven Rivers Less Paddled.