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.

Some highlights of 2025

2025 has been quite a ride and it will soon end. The year, at any rate. The ride, perhaps not.

My divorce is likely the biggest event of the year for me. But 2025 has been more, much more, than just the beginning to the legal end of my marriage. Several people have entered or re-entered my life since being served papers. I found myself in the company of people that I would never have thought I'd be spending time with and have experienced quite a bit this year that was new and/or unexpected.

There were countless final things done with my wife and first times without her. Traditions were laid to rest and new ones born. Many new places, many new people. Some adventure was had in the UK, majesty in Concord.

A modest look back at 2025 in pictures.

HONK! was fantastic and Boston has become an annual trip for me. I love this Trump's Cthulhuy coif.

A most unexpected find on a hike.

Thanksgiving this year was the first in 20 years or so that I didn't spend with my wife. Instead I spent the day at the homes of two kind and generous people. At one I got to see Piper's brother, Gibson. 

While there I sampled a luscious mango turmeric ginger tart. Or was it a torte?

It was simply delicious and I befriended its maker. I now have someone to visit should I find myself in Evanston.

2025 was the year I attended my first Chicago International Puppet Festival. It was fantastic!

Back in October I moved out of our marital residence and over to Eken Park where I found that one of my neighbors was rather fond of Halloween.

My wife and I visited the Northside Lounge. Despite some awkward moments, we managed to have a decent time. I like the contrast in this rather spare photograph.

Our last trip together was to Milwaukee in May where we caught both nights of The Magnetic Fields. It was also the last time that we managed to spend any significant time together in something resembling harmony.

I made multiple trips to the lovely Morton Forest, a real treasure. 

In a seemingly never ending parade of attempts to spend as little time at home as possible, I finally made a visit to The Cat's Brew.

My friend who lives just a couple blocks away has a neighbor with this wonderful greenhouse. 

It's been great living so close to this friend as we now see each other fairly frequently and Piper has a new caretaker for times when I am out of town.

My trip to Boston saw me visit Walden Pond where I experienced the sublime.

While in England, I ran into this statue of Lucifer rather cunningly placed just outside the Ozzy Osbourne exhibit. 

The same museum also had a really cool exhibit about disabled people of color.

At another museum I got to stand before a steam engine from 1799 that was designed and/or built by James Watt himself. A piece of the Industrial Revolution that transformed the world. It still works. Amazing!

There were some nice pubs over in the UK.

Inside the Craven Arms looked like Sherlock Holmes' drawing room.

While I continue to get used to my new digs and still need to buy bookshelves, I do not miss my wife's clutter which occupied so much of our home. 

Earlier this month I made a return trip to the Christkindlmarkt in downtown Chicago.

I may have a marzipan addiction.

Chicago TARDIS was a blast again this year. My wife and I began attending in 2009 and, although she stopped going last year, it was this year that made me really feel like the tradition that we built together was truly over and now I had to make my own.

And so I have. I now meet my mother and a cousin at a nearby Greek restaurant. Making a visit at the Qamaria coffeehouse threatened to become a tradition but, since they opened an outpost here in Madison, I'll be going to the other Yemeni coffee place in Lombard.

I attended a panel hosted by the indelible Tony Whitt.

A gentleman and a scholar, Tony is the master of all things Target Novelizations. He approached me at another panel discussion to say thanks for attending his and chat for a bit.

My downstairs neighbor has a dog whom I caught staring at me one day.

My neighbor is a nice lady. She waves when either of us drive by the other. If the aromas from her kitchen are any indicator, she's also a fine cook. I am still getting acclimated to having downstairs neighbors as it has been a while since I've had any. But, if I am to have one, she is a good choice.

2025 may have marked the second anniversary of Grabby's death but she's never too far from my thoughts. 

 

 

2026 promises Chicago TARDIS once more and another trek out to the Boston area. But before any adventures in far off lands I plan to start a new tradition on the first day of the new year.

A cuppa. Coffee.

While in Birmingham I bought a bag of African coffee from 200º Coffee. At some point I will rant about the English and their coffee culture (tea still rules the roost over there, it seems) but know that I stopped in at 2 of their shops. It was at the second that I asked what a "Brew Bar" was and discovered much to my delight that it was drip coffee.

Don't get me started on Americanos.

Anyway, I recently busted out their beans.

It was delicious! Earthy, roasty with a bit of stonefruit. Exactly why African coffees are my favorites. 

Tess co-operates and carries

My favorite canal boat in Birmingham.

Bookish

At some point the decline and fall of my marriage so preoccupied my mind that I failed to keep up with Andrew Cartmel's The Vinyl Detective series. Forsooth!

Once I became conscious of the situation I set out to rectify it by putting in an order for the 2 latest entries in the series. Many thanks to Mystery to Me.

They arrived in time for my UK trip and I brought them with me.

I managed to finish Noise Floor while across The Pond. As always, it was a very fun read. It sees TVD and his partner Nevada being hired to find Lambert Ramkin, a.k.a. Imperium Dart, an EDM god from the 90s who has gone missing and his wives are very concerned. As always, Tinkler is ably assisting his friends when not making lewd comments.

The dialogue is fast-paced and witty as usual. Plus the retro-faux-rave scene gave me 90s flashbacks.

Underscore was no less fun. Here, TVD & Nevada are hired to find a rare soundtrack album to a giallo classic called Murder in London and Bikini of Blood and The Black Dog Murders, et al. The seeker is the granddaughter of composer Loretto Loconsole.

Plenty of banter about wine and coffee, Tinkler is in fine form, and the Swingin' Sixties sounds like it was a hoot. Not a whole lot of Agatha here as she is busy elsewhere much of the time, though her driving skills are utilized in a life or death situation as usual. As with Noise Floor, Nevada takes the lead more often than in previous books. I think. It's been a while since I've read the predecessors.

In addition to The Vinyl Detective, I also enlisted Mystery To Me to help me catch up on the Rivers of London series by Andrew Cartmel's pal, Ben Aaronovitch. I have so far received the latest entry in that series, the novel, Stone and Sky, which came out this summer, but I am still waiting on the novella from last year, The Masquerades of Spring.

While in Birmingham I had my first visit to a Waterstones, which I gather is a bit like their Barnes & Noble. I found exactly what I was looking for, a history of the city.