My Week that Was - February 18

King of the sky. 2/11/23 dwm

Saturday morning, after a trip to the gym, we headed to Sauk Prairie which is shorthand for the twin cities of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City on the Wisconsin River a short drive north of Madison.

 

Bald eagles visit the community every winter because a hydroelectric power plant keeps open water available no mater how cold it gets.  

 

Limited access to water concentrates the eagles around areas of the river where they can catch a meal.  The river didn't come close to freezing over this year and when the calendar turned to February it was too late to expect it to happen.

 

There was an immature eagle flying over the river and two mature birds perched in trees on the river's bank when we arrived.  You  can read about the experience and see some more photos by following this link.  It was an awesome morning.

 

Sauk Prairie Eagle Inn

 After the birds, we stopped for breakfast at the Sauk Prairie Eagle Inn which serves every meal of the day.  I've been there for breakfast more than any other, it's worth a stop for that, lunch, dinner, or a snack.

 

 Sunday was the Super Bowl.  It's been 12 seasons since the Packers played in it but as a spectacle and event, I don't think I've missed watching one since I became a fan.  The first Super Bowl was in 1967 when I was three, so that game wasn't on my radar even though the Packers won it.

The first Super Bowl I remember was #7, Washington versus Miami.  I created a small book about all the NFL teams with a crayon-colored version of each helmet next to a paragraph or two about each team.  That was the season the Dolphins won every game, finishing with 17 wins and 0 losses.

At Oakwood Monday, I met a man heading to the community center in a scooter.  On the front was a basket decorated with decal of Yogi Bear.  I asked why he had Yogi on his transportation.  The reply was that he had a friend who was an artist paint Yogi on the side of his car with his tie flying down the side because of the speed.  That car and the scooter are both named Yogi.  I asked if there was a Boo-boo; yes, he said, "that's what I call my walker."

Another Thursday snow. dwm

My first pizza party of 2023 was Tuesday.  I have a new office on Oakwood's Prairie Ridge campus, on the second floor of an independent living apartment building, so my neighbors were guests at the first party.  It's the 11th year of these meetings. They have helped me get better acquainted with residents, especially those I wouldn't have met otherwise.  It does get busy but are worth the effort.

I'm way behind the Ted Lasso phenomenon, only four episodes into season one.  That means I'm trailing the world by three full years.  If you've not seen it, it follows an American football coach to England where he takes over as a coach of European football team.  

 

The show's awards and reviews indicate it's a good show, so you don't need my endorsement, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

 

Thursday brought another round of snow to southern Wisconsin.  A fun winter fact: in 2023 the Madison area has received measurable snow on every Thursday except one, Groundhog Day.  That's a wonderfully obscure statistic, have fun with it.

Friday wasn't warm but the sun cleaned off roads and driveways where it had a clear shot at the pavement, the weekend is supposed to warm into the 40s so a lot of that snow will be slip, sliding away.

Have a great week!