Weekend adventure!

Picnic along the river in a bluebell patch!

Bike ride back to our car

In the Kickapoo Valley Reserve


Mark faces off a Ruffed Grouse...that bird would not leave us alone!

Canoeing along the Kickapoo

Our campsite

This weekend Mark and I went camping and canoeing! We drove up to Wildcat Mountain on Saturday afternoon and set up our tent. On the way there we dropped off our bikes at where we'd be finishing our canoe trip. When we got out of the car this bird came up to us and was getting really close. I snapped some cool pictures, but then it started running at us. We got on our bikes and rode down the trail and it flew at Mark! It was quite an exciting bike drop off.

After setting up our site we made dinner (hobo meals) on the campfire. Then we walked around the campground in the dark and laid down in a field to look up at the stars.

In the morning we laid in the tent for awhile just listening to all the bird calls. Then we packed up and hit the river. The Kickapoo River is really beautiful. Parts are flanked with pretty grass and trees and wildflowers and then other parts have these huge rock bluffs on one side. It was a really pretty paddle. We got out a couple times and explored. At the end of our trip we biked back through the reserve and got the car so we could pick up our canoe. It was a wonderful couple days. :-)

New Apartment!

Mark and I are moving in together next year! (yay) So, we need somewhere a little bigger than my apartment. After a bit of searching...we found something we're really excited about. It's nice, big, and less than a block from Mark's school. We move in August 1...which is a ways away, but I'm sure it'll be here before we know it.

Our window is the 2nd one up on the left. :-)

Spring (Can you tell there's a trend here?)

Spring in my neighborhood and evening canoe trip! :-)

The return of the Farmer's Market!

Mark and I had a wonderful weekend. Highlights include:::

UW Band Concert with Mark's family
Farmer's Market (YAY!)
Bike ride looking for apartments
Trip to School Forest with Mr. Swift (another 2nd grade teacher at Mark's school...he's so cool)
Paddle to Seattle documentary (really good...really funny)
Made Pasta Primavera...Yum!

SPRING!

Walk last night

Ephemerals
Lake Monona and downtown



I'm learning that spring is really just a long transition. The most exciting thing about spring is the continual change outside. Everyday it seems like there are new flowers and buds and leaves on trees. There are tulips and daffodils everywhere, and the FARMER'S MARKET returns this Saturday!!!!!!! Yay!

Yesterday I finally heard that I didn't get the assistantship at UTK, so I'll be staying in Madison next year. Seeing as I love Madison, I am very excited. Mark and I celebrated finally knowing what we're doing next year last night by getting some ice cream and eating it at the park at the end of our street. We also went for a walk at Olin park (which is on the other side of Lake Monona). We saw a chimpmunk, three deer, and three muskrats as well as lots of cool ephemerals peeking their heads out of the ground for a brief stint.