Milwaukee in the Day...

Usually when I come to the Bead & Button show, I don't get an opportunity to explore the city during the day.  All of my exploration is left after dark when the show is over for the day.  Today my flight got in early and I took the chance to walk around and see a different side of Milwaukee.

I've often times seen the museum lit up, like a giant sail, but haven't been able to check it out.  I decided to change that and see what they had.  I was impressed with the selection and took massive amounts of pictures.  It was funny to see works of art by my professors or from friends back in New York up in the museum.  It was a little reminder of home.

Above is a small selection of pieces I saw by artists:  (From left to right) Catherine Lusurier, Erwin Redl, Abbott H. Thayer, and Bruce Pearson.

After I finished up at the art museum, I found a connecting system of park trails and walked several miles through the trails.  Along the trail was a REALLY nice coffee roaster called Alterra Coffe Roaster.  It was a cute little stop that seemed hip.

I saw a lot of different plants and kept stopping to take pictures.  People would stop and stare and ask questions when they saw me squatting on the side of the trail or climbing up a hill.  It was nice to talk to the various people, but what I enjoyed best was the solitude and the quiet of nature.  I relished the sounds of the birds, the smell of the clover and flowers, and the exploration of my own thoughts as much the exploration of the trails.

I liked finding little things, little things that might normally get passed by.  I liked freezing a moment, that to most would seem insignificant.  

Like a flower on the steps of the Urban Ecology Center...

Or an old wasp nest, blowing around by the museum...

Or a spiderweb on a drainage pipe off a trail...

Or a tennis ball that met with a lawn mower...

Or a snail shell on the bank of a river...

I had a good time finding things and taking pictures of them.  I tried to make myself get lost and sort of bask in the surroundings, enjoying all the details of a new and different place.  One of the things I stumbled upon were koi fish made of milk cartons.  They swam over a boarded up window.