Barron County Roads and How They're Named

 Red Cedar River

Happy Friday everyone! Today I'm posting photos I took not far from our house on our way home from Wausau last weekend. All photos were taken in the same general area, which is west of Sand Creek on 1 1/2 Avenue or from Barron Dunn Avenue. Our area is full of natural beauty. It's a wonderful place to visit during the spring, summer, and fall. and the perfect place to visit in the winter if you like depressing darkness, bitter cold, and skiing. :-) But I'll have to admit, even in the winter time, it's beautiful here - mostly if you've got a good fire going in the stove, a hefty stash of popcorn, a stack of books, and dark chocolate. A couple nice big dogs would help too.

With Mr. C's ability to whip up a great morning fry, I sometimes think it would be fun to turn our home into a B&B, except that we'd probably get no takers. Even when people say they want to get out to the countryside for some peace and quiet, they're not usually talking about the very literal peace and quiet that we have here. We could offer good food, beautiful scenery, and lots of good books, but no traffic, no shopping, and no noise.

Since there were a few furrowed brows about the name of the road, 1 1/2 Avenue, in Wednesday's blog post, I thought I'd take a minute to explain how Barron County names its roads. Unlike Dunn County to our south, which seems to have absolutely no rhyme nor reason to their road names, Barron County is laid out on a grid with every street being named according to its distance north/south and east/west of the southwest corner of the [perfectly square] county. If you know this, you need never get lost in Barron County. Everything is measured from that southwest corner.

For example, if the address 320 27th street is where you want to go (I just made that up, but I suspect it actually is someone's address!), that location is 3 1/5 miles north of the south county line and 27 miles east of the west county line - so on a grid it's 27x, 3.20 y.  It makes so much sense.  And if you know your own address and can read the road signs, you can figure out how many miles you are from home. :-) That's always handy. 

Of course, once you enter a town, there are names like Oak, Maple, and Wisconsin. But out in the countryside, you'll find numbers.  And now you know the rest of the story!

 There were well over a hundred whitetail deer in this cornfield
and the one across the road. By the time we stopped
so I could get the photo, several had already bolted.

 Awwwww.
'Can they see us?? Stand perfectly still and maybe they'll go away.'

 Barron Dunn Avenue
Barron County is on the left;
Dunn County is on the right.

Did I mention that all streets run north and south and all avenues run east and west?

The stop sign is facing Sioux Creek Township

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  I'll be gone to Texas for a week, so I won't be blogging, but will probably post the occasional photo on Instagram @cranberrymorning. Please make sure that the springtime app is fully installed in Barron County by the time I return. Thank you. :-)

Linked to Weekend Reflections

and Eileen's Saturday's Critters
and Deb's Friday Foto Friends

 ***

Check out my natural, handcrafted vegan soap!
Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

My shops will be closed March 11 - 20 
We'll be in Texas, y'all! 
Our son will be tending to things at home while we're gone, bless him.

'Oatmeal Almond'

All-natural, Homemade Vegan Soap


...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at
 
HomemadeSoapNSuch


and at


Our ETSY Shop

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cedar Side Walking Trail, Rice Lake, WI

Oooh, Bridges...My Favorite!

I took these photos the last day of April, when we took a walk on what I just learned is the Cedar Side Walking Trail in Rice Lake, WI. I'm not sure how I missed that. All my photos are tagged with 'Red Cedar Trail,' which happens to be in Menomonie, not Rice Lake, and which one should not confuse with Cedar Side Walking Trail. Both are along the beautiful Red Cedar River, by the way. Anyway, it was a lovely spring day, before the mosquito season arrived.

Along the Trail

We often see women from UWBC (University of Wisconsin Barron County) walking two by two, visiting as they walk briskly along the trail. Mr. C. calls them 'Walkie Talkies.' Mr. C. and I are more like 'Walkie Thinkies.'

Red Cedar River

Rice Lake, WI

 It's even more beautiful, now that the trees have leafed out.

Linked to Good Fences and Mosaic Monday.

***

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soap!

Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

'Sandalwood Vanilla'

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop

Red Cedar River, Giveaway Reminder

Sorry, you may think that this is a bait-and-switch, but I have no intention of giving away the Red Cedar River. (You can check out the Giveaway below.)

I apologize to my dear blog friends. I missed Hodgepodge Wednesday yesterday, and have had no time to visit others' blogs. I'm hoping to get caught up over the weekend. In the meantime, I wanted to get these photos of the beautiful Red Cedar River northeast of Rice Lake, WI (where those barn photos came from in Tuesday's post). It was a beautiful sunny winter day. The river looked so blue.
I was glad to get that old square German-style house in the background on this particular farm. There are many houses like that in our area. They have a large eat-in kitchen, and the second story usually has a central hall that runs the full length of the house with bedrooms on each side. Very logical and symmetrical.

 No Skating

I wanted to stop in and say hi to everyone today and remind you that my HomemadeSoapnSuch Giveaway ends Friday night at 10 PM CST. At that time, all the names will be put into a hat and Mr. C. will draw out three winning entries. I will announce the winners on Saturday morning.

Be sure to enter my Blogiversary Giveaway

Entries close Friday night at 10 PM CST.

Check it out HERE

No hoops, easy entry.

'Strawberry Mango'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at 

Our ETSY Shop 

This post is linked to

FREEDOM FRIDAYS

In The Neighborhood & Eventful Afternoon

 Rafters in Menard's Parking Lot

Just posting a few pics I took while running errands in Rice Lake - and on the way home.  

And by the way, the other day we had quite an eventful afternoon. Some construction workers pulled up into our driveway and asked if we'd lost a toddler. Seems that there was a toddler walking along the highway just a quarter of a mile from our house. We hopped into our pickup and drove down the road. There was a little guy, all alone, wandering down the road, just above the trout stream. We called the sheriff, looked around to see if there was a car down in the creek or anyone else nearby. Then we took him back to our house. 

As you come out the west drive of the Walmart parking lot:

A friendly reminder from the farmer across the street

I think this dairy barn has been abandoned for a while.

He didn't talk, except for 'dog,' which he said when Jazzie came to the door, barking. I gave him some water and cut up a hot dog in small pieces for him to eat in case he was hungry. Kids always like hot dogs? I put a pool of ketchup on his plate and a few chips. We sat at the kitchen counter. Eventually the sheriff's deputy showed up (As Mr. Cranberry always says, 'When seconds count, the police are just minutes away!')  Actually, it wasn't much of a wait, and he was a very nice deputy. He asked us a bunch of questions, asked if the child could stay with us a  while (of course!) and then was going to go door to door down the highway and see if he could find who this child belonged to.

Crossing the Red Cedar River

Pilings from the old bridge

In the meantime, little boy X ate a few pieces of hot dog, but preferred the ketchup, eating it with a spoon. He kept an eye on Jazzie and Misty, who by now were both at his feet. He must have dogs at his house, because he wasn't afraid of them.

In a very short time, the deputy was back. He came into the house and asked the little boy if his name was '_'.  The little guy just had a pleasant look on his face the whole time. Not scared, not bothered. Enjoying the ketchup.  The deputy told us that he had found the frantic mom hunting for her little boy.

The reunion was very tearful for everyone. It was impossible not to empathize with that mom who melted into tears and sobs when she saw her little boy, only 23 months, who had simply wandered away from home while she was taking the groceries out of the car and putting them away.

It happened just that fast. He had walked a half mile on a main highway and was found just above a 3' deep creek.

The story had a happy reunion ending, but could have had such a different outcome.  We praise God for keeping that little guy safe.

And all the time, little guy X just kept that pleasant look on his face. It was so cute! He had no idea of the distress he had caused his mother.

I'm glad to see that Reptile and Tina

are still getting along.

***

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps!

Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

Two of my Christmas Soaps:
'Cranberry Tea'
'Christmas Forest'

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties:  Amaze Me Monday and Inspiration Monday and Mosaic Monday and The Barn Collective and    Treasure Box Tuesday and Vintage Bliss Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesdays at our Home and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Vintage Inspiration Wednesday and Ivy and Elephants Wednesday and Adorned From Above  and Artsy Corner Thursday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters

Wisconsin Barns - Scenes Near Colfax, WI

Always a Favorite Scene:

A barn, a fence, and flowers
(the ubiquitous corn field in the background)

As you may know, we live in the rolling hills of NW Wisconsin. There's some pretty flat land north of us, but going south, there are beautiful hills and valleys. I love the gorgeous farmland and views we see along the Red Cedar River. The photos in this post are from the Colfax area. 

Zooming out, the same barn, outlined in lilies

as viewed on a warm summer afternoon
Remind me to plant lilies. 
Remind me to read up on lilies so I don't waste my money.

Although the Harvestore silo seems to be the focal point of this photo, I was trying to get a somewhat panoramic view of the farm with surrounding hills.

A nearby hayfield and lots of wooded land.

Wisconsin has trees. Lots of trees.
Trees, hills, rivers - three of the things I love about Wisconsin

Red Cedar River, taken from a small bridge

NW of Colfax

I would have loved to get a photo of cows standing in the river, but I'm pretty sure that's now a thing of the past - pre DNR and EPA.

No idea why this farm is called 'Peek-a-Boo Dairy'
I cannot imagine anyone coming up with that name.
I'm sure it wasn't the cows.

Wild phlox beside a country road
Look at those beautiful white pines in the background.

I was thrilled to get this photo of a pair of 

Sandhill Cranes as they slowly meandered across a pasture.

Click HERE to hear the squeaky wood call of the Sandhill Crane.

I love the fun, distinctive sound they make!

There's lots more to see on a drive between our home and Colfax. Maybe I'll post those photos at another time.

***

'Forest Floor'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Store 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and Efforts and Assets and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special