I've got wood...

...aged beer.

This is tasty stuff. It's nice to see a helles(?) given a twist that doesn't involve fruity-tasting hops.

Prelude to the afternoon of a bunny

 

 

Whenever I see scenes like this, the opening of "The Last Human Gateway" by IQ plays in my head - that flute-like synth melody with the drone in the background.

Back to the (Chicago Botanic) Garden

Yesterday was a fine day to wander the Chicago Botanic Garden. The sun shone all day but it remained temperate. And so I put my mother in my car and headed north.

It has been many years since I had been there.

Trillia were seen in the oak woodland. This reminded me that I should take a stroll around Heritage Sanctuary.

(Ian Anderson voice) Walking on Isle of Evening. Scots pine growing! 

The flowers were gorgeous throughout the grounds. Made me jealous of folks with green thumbs.

Grodziskie: The Thirst Slaker

The lilacs are in bloom and the lawn has been mowed. This brew tastes wonderful! Light and smoky and refreshing and smoky. It has slaked my thirst with its smoky goodness.

I finally found some of Dovetail's heretofore elusive and smoky Grodziskie last weekend down in Geneva. Perhaps some will make its way up here. The gent at Harley's said they were to receive their Pilsner, however.

New tunes

Thanks for the new tunes, MadCity Music. Also thanks to Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson, and Valerie June.

Obey your Ribmaster

A couple months or so ago I noticed that the Ribmasters truck had set up shop in the lot of the Citgo on the 200 block of Cottage Grove Road. I made a mental note to try out their food which remained merely an aspiration until just recently.

At first I tried to catch them at lunchtime when I was working from home but they were never open. And so I tried my luck one day at dinnertime. They were open for business!

Walking up to the truck I saw wisps of smoke rising from the smoker which made me think of Phillip Jeffries in season 3 of Twin Peaks.

 "It's smoky in here."

I ordered rib tips:

And a brisket sandwich with fries.

Oops. I ended up with brisket smothered fries. Well, I just had to build the sandwich myself.

The brisket was average to good, depending on the bite. I liked the rib tips more as they had a really nice smoky taste. I was told that the beans were good while I felt the fries needed more time in the fryer. Brown those puppies up! The biggest gripe was that the rib tips were a bit too salty. Still quite edible for me, though. A big plus for me was that the meat was not drowning in sauce.

I shall definitely try them again. The gentleman said that he was going to try to be open every night for dinner when the weather warmed.

If you get a meal there, look out for the hidden doughnuts.

I take up your challenge, Mr. Kooks

I first saw this stuff in the fancy new ethnic foods aisle at Woodmans a couple months back.

Although temptation settled upon me immediately, I didn't buy a jar, at first. And then a couple weeks back I threw caution to the wind and bought a jar along with some chicken. Would a ghost pepper miasma engulf my kitchen as I cooked?

It tasted like Chicken Tikka Masala but hotter.

Much hotter.

This stuff was very, very spicy but wasn't quite deadly. It did make me sweat a bit and I was very, very happy to have had ice cream for dessert but I didn't breath fire. Nice flavor and some rather intense heat. Good stuff!

Dilla's universe is transformation

Speaking of changes, I found out recently that Shermann "Dilla" Thomas was laid off by Com Ed last fall but rebounded by landing a job at the DuSable Black History Museum.

I am planning on doing another one of his tours this summer. Chatham? Englewood?

He also started a new show on Youtube called You Don’t Know Chi! Here's the first episode:

Scenes From a Spring Walk

Seen this morning.

I wonder if it's the same drake I've seen hanging out on our roof previously. This is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen one relaxing on the peak.

My neighbors' tree looks gorgeous.

A wabbit scurried out of the grass on one of those islands.

It took me several visits but...

...I eventually noticed that Haight's Mobile Maintenance is housed in a pair of Trachte buildings.

I think there's a small shed in back too but a fence obscured most of it.

Ghost sign, interior, Madison

I wonder if the rest of it is visible upstairs.

Giggling like I was 12

Well played, Music Box Theatre.

Coming soon, 2 May 2025

Seen before The Shrouds at AMC in Fitchburg.

My friend described this one as the sequel to Tár.

The last 2 were commercials, i.e. - no MPAA band.

Neil Peart, Stoic?

So I was reading some Marcus Aurelius as one does and came across this bit:

And of course this made me think of "Tom Sawyer" and its famous line:

"He knows changes aren’t permanent –
But change is"

Happy Beltane 2025!

 

To paraphrase Ice Cube...

...yesterday was a nice day. My walk to the bus stop in the morning was bathed in a layer of gold.

While waiting on a BRT platform going home, I noticed that the roof was made of sunglasses. The sun was a brilliant dot. 

And, when I got home, I had a golden post-work brew out on the deck.

Sleepy rabbit

Earlier this week I saw something I don't think I've ever seen before: a wabbit taking a nap out in the open. It was relaxing under one of our lilac bushes.

Luckily for it, there were no hawks around. As Sgt. Esterhaus used to to say, let's be careful out there.

Coming soon - 26 April 2025

Seen before a screening of Warfare at Point. Warfare was very intense, edge of seat tension from almost the get-go. Loved that there was no non-diagetic music. Great flick.

Marcus sure slips in a lot of commercials before their movies. I am not in the market for a pickup truck. Lame.

Farm ruins, Fitchburg, WI

I noticed these a year or 2 ago despite having driven by them for decades and finally went to take a look yesterday.

After wandering the old foundations closest to the road, I looked around and saw something on a hill. It proved to be another ruin.

Trachte building?

Seen on Madison's south side.

It looks to be one but has been tricked out, given various face lifts, and so on. And so I am unsure. But the bit above the door looks very Trachtey to me.