And On Those Shores They Did Dance

It was a lovely day on Saturday to return to San Damiano to see what the wood sculptors at the Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival had come up with. If Michelangelo was correct in his (arboreally adjusted) assertion "Every log has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it" then I was surely in for a treat. And so I jumped on my bike and headed out after my morning coffee and making sure Willow was properly fed & watered.

Starkweather Creek looked lovely from the Ivy Street bridge.

Back in my old neighborhood I spied a mama mallard and her brood in the runoff reservoir just off of Walter Street. It brought back some good memories as I had walked and biked by there quite often when I lived in Eastmorland. I saw all manner of creatures there as I passed by over the years - mallards, muskrats, blue herons, et al.

When I stopped in at the wood sculpture festival last weekend, the artists were mainly wielding chainsaws and doing the rough cuts on their logs, giving only the broadest of outlines to the statues within. But now there were some completed sculptures, a few getting stain applied, and the remaining still having the finishing touches put on them.

The bear and mouse dancing was simply lovely.

Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!!

San Damiano is such a lovely spot.

At least some of the works from the last festival ended up on display at Olbrich Park and Garver Feed Mill and I am hoping the same will happen to this year's works.

The Dixon Green Space was serene and all aglow on my ride home.

Chow

I've been eating a fair amount of soup lately as the temps haven't been deadly. Here's pho from Hot 'n Spicy. I've had it a couple times recently and appreciate the numerous basil leaves they give you. I've noticed that their jalapeno slices tend to be of a large diameter.

I took a friend's daughter there for dinner recently and she remarked that her dish had the perfect amount of spicy heat. Contrariwise, my ladyfriend ordered Pad Woon Sen there at medium heat and it burned her mouth up real good. "Well, I can't complain about it as I knew the place is called Hot 'n Spicy when I walked in," she admitted.

That place has quickly become a favorite.

When I couldn't indulge in pho, I went with wonton soup. This is a generous helping of the stuff from a Chinese joint at Global Market's food hall the name of which I cannot recall. Tasty but I wouldn't have minded more - much more - baby bok choy.

While it hasn't been 90 degrees out, I have nonetheless been trying to avoid cooking inside which means grilling outside. Here's chicken with Thai cucumber salad that I made.

Pork chops seasoned with that Cherry Bomb seasoning that I've mentioned previously.

My ladyfriend assembled chicken kabobs one evening and I cooked them up fine.

Walleye with green beans. I would like to get one of those tray hoolies so I don't have to wrap fishes up in foil for grilling.

I finally busted out the BBQ rub I bought in Albuquerque.

The chops turned out well. A little heat but nothing deadly. Instead just good red chili flavor.

Tangent: I was in a store recently and saw Hatch chili something or other and I immediately had a flashback to Albuquerque.

Spring rolls from Hot & Spicy. Mmm...

Lastly, the pollo soup from La Pollera Colombiana on East Wash. Simple yet delicious. Plenty of chicken along with potatoes and carrots. Good basic food. The staff there that night were quite friendly and our server was happy to let my ladyfriend ply her limited Spanish on her. Also of note was the football game on the TVs. When Brazil scored, the announcer yelled "GOOOOOAL!!" for about 15 seconds. Twice. Great food, great people, great atmosphere.

Every log of wood has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it

Last weekend I was pleased to discover that my bicycle's tires could still hold air as I inflated them for the first time in many a moon. While I'd taken a ride last summer, I believe, it had been a while since I rode with any sort of frequency and I was looking to get back into the swing of things. My first venture on two wheels of 2026 would be to the Harry Whitehorse International Wood Sculpture Festival over at San Damiano in Monona. I'd attended back in 2024 and now realize that I never wrote about my visit.

Harry Whitehorse was born up in Black River Falls in 1927. He served in the Navy during World War II and settled in the Madison area afterwards. He ran an auto body shop in Monona and pursued his passion for creating art, including wood sculpture.

The festival involves artists from around the globe each being given a ginormous log and transforming it into a sculpture over the course of several days on the shores of Lake Monona. This year they came from such faraway places as Poland, Puerto Rico, Germany, Argentina, Green Bay, and Madison. The theme for 2026 is dancing and I am keen to see what these artists come up with.

Here are some scenes from the opening day of sculpting. Chainsaws were the order of the day as the artists were doing the rough shaping of the logs. The finer, more detailed work would come later.

The sculptors had eye protection but we observers didn't. More than once a breeze off the lake blew the sawdust into my face.

I was surprised to see a face emerging already on this log.

It was a lovely day out with plenty of sun and not too hot. There were craft vendors and food trucks.

As I did back in 2024, I bought some cards by Christopher Sweet, a Ho-Chunk artist from Baraboo.

Here the artist from Germany contemplates how best to discover and uncover the statue in the log.

I was told that this was this fellow's first time sculpting from wood of this size. Until now he'd done only small-scale stuff. Oh, he's from Green Bay.

Some of the sculptures from the 2024 festival were put on display at Olbrich Gardens, Garver Feed Mill, and perhaps elsewhere. I'm not sure if these are permanent displays or not. One of the pieces from a couple years back was on display Saturday at the park.

And here's one that I spied at Garver back in the spring.

I hope that they get put on display around town and become fixtures like Sid Boyum's works are.

After grabbing a bite to eat, I head over to Working Draft Beer to sample their rauch hefeweizen. I also had a small pour (I was biking) of their English summer ale.

It was very tasty and reminded me of the Wainwright Gold I had in the UK last year. And here is that lovely beer which I had with my Sunday roast at The Old Crown in Birmingham. It's an inn that supposedly dates back to 1368 and I had two wonderful meals there in the warm, medievalish atmosphere.

The folks at Working Draft did a really nice job in capturing that light, doughy malt taste that predominated in the beers I had over there. Not a 100% exact match but really gosh darn close. Thank you Clint and company.

Having been refreshed by the power of delicious beer, I met a friend at the garden plot that she co-works with a friend of hers.

Swiss chard, basil, tomatoes, and more. I went home with a bundles of fresh dill. Mmm...

I hope to make a return trip to San Damiano this weekend to see the sculptures in their final form.

I ♥ Enrique's

My bread machine keeps churning out the staff of life unabated.

A loaf of herb bread turned out well.

The recipe called for tarragon but I had none so I threw in rosemary instead. 

I don't dislike tarragon, but I prefer rosemary. Tarragon has an anise/licorice thing to it which is not my favorite whereas rosemary is more like mint. The brot made for some tasty sandwiches at a friend's place.

Most recently I tried my hand at challah.

It turned out well except I misread the recipe and attempted to decorate the top of the loaf with poppy seed at the wrong time. Oops. 

I was pleased with how it turned out beyond a paucity of poppy. Light, fluffy. Eggy. This stuff makes some fine toast.

Earlier this month I got the craving for Italian food. I suspect I just didn't get enough at my Italian uncle's home over Christmas. A stop at the Willy Street Coop yielded some smoked mozzerella tortelloni from RP's Pasta. Next I made a trek to Fraboni's as I had a hankering for their XX hot sausage.

It had been a while since I'd had their sausage as my wife doesn't care for it. The grind is too coarse for her taste. Fair enough. Now that I am no longer cooking for her, I indulged myself. Also, I bought a quart of their marinara and voila! It was a fairly quick and easy dinner.

While at Fraboni's it was brought to my attention that they now offer Mystery Sausage Coils. 

Who knows what lurks in the heart of mystery sausages? The Fraboni knows...

When dining out, it's been Mexican lately.

It had been a while since I'd been to El Pastor. The fajitas were fine. Grilled jalapenos are da bomb. 

Is there a 12-step program for choco-flan addiction?

I love this stuff!

More recently I ate at Enrique's Market for the first time. It features a small selection of groceries, including a brand of salt & vinegar potato chips that I'd never encountered, as well as a kitchen offering a smattering of Mexican staples. 

My asada torta was simple yet very delicious.

I really like Enrique's. The food was good, the staff friendly, and it had a wholly unpretentious, hole-in-the-wall vibe that I adore. It's a neighborhood joint, not a Michelin starred destination for the well-heeled. As Douglas MacArthur once said, I shall return.