River Rat Blues Photography

That's also how we ended up with so many stitches...

Looking
for last minute senior portraits?......Or thinking ahead for family
holiday portraits? Contact Laura Paske for an on location portrait session that
is professional and economic. Flat rates , no timed sessions, and all
photos released to you on CD.

Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions, and other settings.
Street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society. Street photography often tends to be ironic and can be distanced from its subject matter, and often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment. On the other hand, much street photography takes the opposite approach and provides a very literal and extremely personal rendering of the subject matter, giving the audience a more visceral experience of walks of life they might only be passingly familiar with. In the 20th century, street photographers have provided an exemplary and detailed record of street culture in Europe and North America, and elsewhere to a somewhat lesser extent.

http://pdcsnappyturtle.blogspot.com/
We are pleased to announce that The Snappy Turtle will be selling our Prints this summer! Snappy Turtle has something for everyone, take a look at their website!

Snappy Turtle Resale and retail store with unique items from local talents from Prairie du Chien, Wi, area.(608) 326-5006 Prairie du Chien, Wi.

Evergreen’s Oak Savanna is a complex, dynamic, interdependent plant community in which over 40 species of native plants have already been identified. What is now seen as a beautiful and open forest was until the late 1980’s largely hidden and inaccessible by a dense undergrowth of invasive, non-native shrubs and plants. At that time the understory of buckthorn, often 20’ tall, was removed by the City of Oshkosh, but because of the persistent, fast growing nature of this plant, it grew back undeterred by sporadic efforts to remove it.

This situation continued through the 1990’s until a neighbor, a retired city planner from Chicago, recognized the woods as a rare Oak Savanna. With help from Evergreen leadership, he led a successful effort to systematically restore the savanna by recruiting support from other neighbors, Evergreen residents, an area group of native landscaping enthusiasts called The Wild Ones, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Oshkosh Parks Department.


The primary restoration task is permanent removal of the buckthorn. Many approaches included cutting and painting the stumps with herbicide, burning with propane torch, pulling with w**d wrench, chopping with brush hog, and applying w**d killer to leaves. All were successful to some degree. However, when carried out with persistence over several years, the results have been spectacular. Spring, summer, and fall now bring an ever increasing array of wild flowers and other native plants, the seeds of which had been dormant in the shade and cool soil under the buckthorn.

The removal of the buckthorn has also made the woodland more open and accessible and has encouraged the use of graveled and wood chipped paths for walking or biking. In addition to supporting a wide variety of plant life, the Oak Savanna is also home to many species of wildlife such as beaver, hawks, owls, deer, and many smaller birds and mammals. The expanding variety of plants and the open forest floor will continue to encourage and support a greater variety of wildlife.





The Evergreen Oak Savanna is an extraordinary natural resource not only for the Oshkosh area but especially for Evergreen residents, their families, and the staff who can enjoy its natural beauty in our own backyard.

When Jason and I first got our hands on the Nikon D90 we were going on a lot of road trips, a favorite part of the trip was spent doing what I like to call.............DRIVE BY SHOOTINGS.....relax we didn't hurt anyone.......eh.....I think.....Here is a glimpse of our drive byes

Just north of the Pigeon river and passing Mill Road you will find a small farm that is the home to some curious little creatures :) Then we have more furry friends if you take a walk through Oshkosh's free Zoo at Menominee Park.

All photos on our site are available for purchase....I will be posting fees and printing options later today in our Discussions section.

Much of the land that the park occupies today was previously owned by the Western Lime and Cement Company, a still vibrant limestone operator in Wisconsin. Quarrying operations in the area date back to before 1870. Limestone was quarried, "cooked and crushed" for use in the construction of roads and buildings. Some of the lime was used for agricultural puposes. Kilns were constructed to process the limestone into mortar and slaked lime. A cooper's shop supplied wooden barrels as shipping containers in the early years, until the ledge was nearly de-forested.



The community of High Cliff, also known by many as "Clifton," was a bustling village of approximately 250 people in its heydey. Company owned homes, several taverns, a church, school and blacksmith shop served the people well. A privately owned and operated amusement park and dance hall on top of the ledge provided visitors of all ages entertainment and fun. Paddleboats and steamers brought people from across the lake to picnic and dance. Work was hard and life was good.



The closing of the quarry operation in 1956, due to poor quality limestone at this location, was the beginning of the end for this once thriving town. All that remains of the operation are the abandoned quarries, lime kiln ruins and General Store building. The 1800's General Store, constructed of bricks from the local brickyard and once owned and operated by Western Lime stands as a historical tribute as a museum and interpretive center.



When Western Lime closed in 1956, the State of Wisconsin took ownership of the land for the purposes of creating a state park in order to provide camping, hiking, picknicking, wildlife watching and lakeside fun for the citizens of Wisconsin. The foresight of a number of local citizens was instrumental in creating the High Ciff Forest Park Association in the early days of the park in the 1960's. They worked tirelessly to raise funds and awareness to develop and improve the High Cliff site. Today, some of the main features of the park include the marina and all of the amenities found there, campgrounds, swimming beach, hiking trails - including handicapped accessible trails, a handicapped accessible overnight cabin, the General Store museum, Lookout Tower and Pavillion, and the many scenic trails and places within the park.



Park Ecology

From the vantage point of the limestone cliffs and even further above on the Lookout Tower in the Upper Park, visitors can see for more than 30 miles to the north, west, and south.



The forest, composed largely of maple, hickory and oak covers most of the upland area of the park. A good hickory nut crop occurs each fall.



Many animals call High Cliff their home including mammals such as white-tailed deer, red and gray fox, racoon, squirrels, opossum and coyote. There are approximately six snake species present. Tree frogs and katydids liven up most summer nights during the peak camping season.



The park is a notable place to view dozens of turkey vultures all summer long as they soar above the ledges and along the lakeshore. Other notable bird species include purple martins, bluebirds, osprey, owls, hawks and a wide variety of songbirds and warblers. Waterfowl move in and out of the park in the spring and fall in large numbers.

"Playing in the Rain" a fountain featuring sculpted children enjoying the water.

Modern Inspiration from Ancient Roots

The origins of belly dancing, though unclear, can be traced to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa. In fact, in the Arabic language, the term belly dancing is Raqs Sharqi and in Turkish, it is Oryantal dansi. The Turkish term Oryantal dansi can be roughly translated to mean "exotic oriental dance" and the Arabic term Raqs Sharqi is claimed to be of Egyptian origins. Because these terms suggested an exotic dance that originated elsewhere, the art of belly dance was held in higher esteem than local dances.




Historical evidence shows Egyptian tomb paintings dating from as far back as the fourteenth century BC that depict partially clad dancers whose callisthenic positions appear to be very similar to those used in belly dancing. Belly Dancing also has been depicted in Persian miniature paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries. The popularized connotation between belly dancing and exotic harems is due largely to the Romanticism movement in the 18th and 19th century as artists depicted their interpretation of harem life of the Ottoman Empire. But for Saudi women, the dance itself was considered to be sacred, and not intended to be seen by men at all.

Taken at Maywood in Sheboygan, Wi

Now that Spring has finally sprung I would like to drop a reminder of her sister Fall.........

Wisconsin Capitol

Since the recession of the glaciers that once covered much of Wisconsin, the Fox River has supported several Native American cultures, with its fisheries, waterfowl, wild rice, forests, and water. Archaeologists have determined that early peoples lived in the Fox River area as early as 7000 BC.
Prior to European settlement in the late 1600s, the shores of the Fox River and Green Bay were home to roughly half the 25,000 Native Americans who lived in what is today Wisconsin. The first Europeans to reach the Fox were the French, beginning with Jean Nicolet in 1634. In 1673 explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet canoed up the river as far as Portage. Here they made the short portage from the Fox to the Wisconsin River and then canoed on towards the Mississippi River, establishing an important water route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River known as the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. This route was used frequently by fur traders during the French colonization of the Americas. The French-Canadian men who established homes on the Fox River married First Nation women, producing a mixed-blood population similar to the Metis of Canada.
The high concentration of paper mills and other industry along the Lower Fox has historically been the source of much pollution of the river. Public debate about this contamination began as early as 1923, but little was done to improve the river until the federal Clean Water Act was passed in 1972. Much effort has since been put into cleaning the Fox, but problems still exist. According to some measures of pollution (e.g. dissolved oxygen, pollution-tolerant worm counts), the Lower Fox River is much cleaner than it was before 1972. However, according to other measures of pollution (e.g., phosphorus, estrogenic compounds, discarded pharmaceuticals), the river waters are slightly more contaminated than before 1972. As a result, debate over the river's contamination continues between environmentalists, the paper industry, Indian tribes, and elected officials at the federal, state and local levels.
While not officially designated as a U.S. Superfund site, the Lower Fox River bottom still has some sections contaminated with toxic chemicals. These contaminated sediments are the river's current environmental problem. One contaminant of special concern today is a group of chemicals called Polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. PCBs entered the river from many sources, but the largest deposits of contaminated sediments are traceable to the local paper recycling mills which have been part of the region's history, culture and economy, thus making cleanup a difficult issue.
Since the late 1800s, dredging of river bottom sediments has been done to allow large ships to enter the Fox River. The contaminated sediment has been used since the 1960s to fill local wetlands and after 1978 to create an off-shore engineered holding area called Renard Isle also known as Kidney Island.
Among the wildlife in the Fox River Valley are birds such as mallard ducks and Canadian geese, and fish such as walleye.
Early on parts of the Fox River were used for recreational purposes. This only lasted for a short period of time as the water quality deteriorated, and the water was considered unhealthy. Also, fishing was a huge aspect of life on the water as many fisheries were set up along the river. This remained large for a short period of time but also was soon limited by water pollution and the depleted amount of fish. Restrictions were put on fishermen on how many fish they could catch and what fish they were allowed to catch legally. Fishing makes a very large profit for the city[.
The Fox River region was dominated by dairy farms that benefited from the rich soil and plentiful water supply. Flowing from south to north, between Lake Winnebago and the Bay of Green Bay, the Fox River falls through a height equal to that of Niagara Falls. As such, the Fox River was an ideal location for constructing powerful saw mills that made the Fox River area famous for its paper industry. A negative side effect of this industrialization was the dumping of hazardous material byproducts of the paper mills. It was soon after this started that dumping became illegal. While evidence of these waste deposits remains to date, the Fox River is being cleaned up.

Scott Park, Omro Wisconsin

Omro, Wisconsin

Since the recession of the glaciers that once covered much of Wisconsin, the Fox River has supported several Native American cultures, with its fisheries, waterfowl, wild rice, forests, and water. Archaeologists have determined that early peoples lived in the Fox River area as early as 7000 BC.
Prior to European settlement in the late 1600s, the shores of the Fox River and Green Bay were home to roughly half the 25,000 Native Americans who lived in what is today Wisconsin. The first Europeans to reach the Fox were the French, beginning with Jean Nicolet in 1634. In 1673 explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet canoed up the river as far as Portage. Here they made the short portage from the Fox to the Wisconsin River and then canoed on towards the Mississippi River, establishing an important water route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River known as the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway. This route was used frequently by fur traders during the French colonization of the Americas. The French-Canadian men who established homes on the Fox River married First Nation women, producing a mixed-blood population similar to the Metis of Canada.
The high concentration of paper mills and other industry along the Lower Fox has historically been the source of much pollution of the river. Public debate about this contamination began as early as 1923, but little was done to improve the river until the federal Clean Water Act was passed in 1972. Much effort has since been put into cleaning the Fox, but problems still exist. According to some measures of pollution (e.g. dissolved oxygen, pollution-tolerant worm counts), the Lower Fox River is much cleaner than it was before 1972. However, according to other measures of pollution (e.g., phosphorus, estrogenic compounds, discarded pharmaceuticals), the river waters are slightly more contaminated than before 1972. As a result, debate over the river's contamination continues between environmentalists, the paper industry, Indian tribes, and elected officials at the federal, state and local levels.
While not officially designated as a U.S. Superfund site, the Lower Fox River bottom still has some sections contaminated with toxic chemicals. These contaminated sediments are the river's current environmental problem. One contaminant of special concern today is a group of chemicals called Polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. PCBs entered the river from many sources, but the largest deposits of contaminated sediments are traceable to the local paper recycling mills which have been part of the region's history, culture and economy, thus making cleanup a difficult issue.
Since the late 1800s, dredging of river bottom sediments has been done to allow large ships to enter the Fox River. The contaminated sediment has been used since the 1960s to fill local wetlands and after 1978 to create an off-shore engineered holding area called Renard Isle also known as Kidney Island.
Among the wildlife in the Fox River Valley are birds such as mallard ducks and Canadian geese, and fish such as walleye.
Early on parts of the Fox River were used for recreational purposes. This only lasted for a short period of time as the water quality deteriorated, and the water was considered unhealthy. Also, fishing was a huge aspect of life on the water as many fisheries were set up along the river. This remained large for a short period of time but also was soon limited by water pollution and the depleted amount of fish. Restrictions were put on fishermen on how many fish they could catch and what fish they were allowed to catch legally. Fishing makes a very large profit for the city[.
The Fox River region was dominated by dairy farms that benefited from the rich soil and plentiful water supply. Flowing from south to north, between Lake Winnebago and the Bay of Green Bay, the Fox River falls through a height equal to that of Niagara Falls. As such, the Fox River was an ideal location for constructing powerful saw mills that made the Fox River area famous for its paper industry. A negative side effect of this industrialization was the dumping of hazardous material byproducts of the paper mills. It was soon after this started that dumping became illegal. While evidence of these waste deposits remains to date, the Fox River is being cleaned up.

Asylum Bay Lighthouse

On the central western shore of Lake Winnebago, just a few miles north of Oshkosh, a promontory extends into the water.
On this point in 1871, construction began on the Northern Asylum for the Insane. The name of the institute was later changed to Winnebago Mental Health Institute, reflecting perhaps an increasingly sensitive public, but the hospital’s original name has been forever connected with the surrounding geography. The promontory is still known as Asylum Point, and the surrounding water is called Asylum Bay.
The word Asylum means a place of refuge or sanctuary, and the institute “has throughout its history, provided many troubled individuals with a sanctuary, a refuge, and a safe place to prepare for re-entry into a turbulent world.” The same statement of purpose might just as well be applied to the nearby Asylum Point Park, as many people come to the park to take refuge from a turbulent world and spend a carefree afternoon fishing in the tranquil waters or simply relaxing on the man-made island next to the Asylum Point Lighthouse.
The lighthouse, reportedly the result of a 1937 project of the Works Progress Administration, was rejected by the Department of Transportation as a navigational light for the lake and was thus never lit. In 2007, the lighthouse received a $4,000 makeover with labor provided by inmates from the Winnebago Correctional Institute. Parts of the wooden lantern room were replaced, windows were refitted, and the metal roof was rebuilt.

Dragonflies and damselflies are insects. As such, they have 3 prominent
body parts - a head, a thorax to which the wings, in this case 4, and 6 legs
are attached, and an abdomen. Their front and rear wings are not linked together,
but can be operated independently. The dragonfly is an impressive insect, a
master of the air, daring enough, in some cases, to hover almost within arm's reach
in front of human invaders in its territory. At rest, its wings lie flat, at right
angles to the body. The damselfly is generally much less impressive or conspicuous.
It tends to be smaller and less robust, a much weaker flyer still capable of aerial
acrobatics, but less active. At rest, damselflies hold their wings over their backs,
either together or spread out in a v-shape. Damselflies usually stay close to a surface,
while dragonflies can zoom up into the air and out of sight. Dragonflies and
damselflies are predators throughout their lives.

Dragonflies and damselflies have been around for a long time. Impressive
fossils of dragonflies with 27" wingspans have been found dating back over 200 million
years. Today, the largest ones have wingspans about 5 to 6 inches.

This property was once owned by Coop based in Madison. They attempted to operate a fertilizer company.......but eventually the operation was put to a halt by the DNR. The fertilizer was produced with high levels of phosphates, which caused an increased growth of w**ds from runoff waters.

Now the lot is owned by a local entrepreneur who took the beginning steps in turning it into a drying shed for gravel mined nearby. The seeds of the business were said not to be watered well and were eventually abandoned.

Now the owner seems to have made the area a plot that houses his eccentric projects that may or may not one day be restored as he intends.

The property is housed on the west side of Prairie Du Chien along the backwaters of the Mississippi River.

It sits waiting........