Great Hike!

     Yesterday, we hiked the Wisconsin Nature Conservancy's Lulu Lake Preserve with the LIR hiking group. What a great time we had! The morning started out a little unpredictable - was rain coming, or would it just be cloudy? Lo and behold, the sun decided to come out and make a perfect day for the 3.8 mile hike.
     The Lulu Lake Preserve is a hidden treasure. It is the most pristine lake in Wisconsin. According to the website:
     "Surrounding the lake and along the river are various types of wetlands including fens, bogs and sedge meadows. On the higher ground, you will find prairie remnants and oak openings. In early summer, shooting stars and other wildflowers are abundant.
     The northern kittentail is this preserve's most endangered plant. In the spring, this plant produces foot-high flowering stems resembling — you guessed it — the tail of a young feline.
     Fish: Of the 150 fish species native to Wisconsin, 59 can be found in Lulu Lake and the Mukwonago River! The river is home to several rare fish species, including the longear sunfish. The clear, deep lake water provides habitat for glacial relict fish such as the blackchin shiner and the Iowa darter.
     Birds: Other significant species are Cooper's hawks, migrating ospreys and nesting pairs of sandhill cranes. Lulu Lake has yet to be thoroughly inventoried, so other rare species may be present. Several plant and animal inventories are currently underway."  
     A conservationist joined us part way through the hike and gave us the history of the area and the conservancy. Yes, it was an interesting learning experience, too. After the hike we all went to Barley's Malt & Hops Restaurant in Troy Center and enjoyed lunch. Exercise, great people, education and good food - who could ask for anything more!
   Here is a photo story video from this most enjoyable day.

                                    

Wisconsin Organ Historical Society Crawl - April 13, 2012

This year the Organ Historical Society's crawl began in Kenosha at Carthage College and ended up at Christ Community Church in Zion, Illinois. We saw a number of manual pipe organs of all sizes and heard extremely talented organists play each and every one of them. Here is a photo story video of the day!