Ducks On the Pond. Trout In Left.

Ducks On the Pond.  Trout In Left., 2014

photograph 
© copyright Mike Kraus

I always have my camera with me to catch these moments.  A few ducks on perfectly blue water with fish just below the surface.  It’s almost abstract and painterly.  Easy to fall into reverie.

Raise the Woof!

Raise the "woof."  Get it?  Instead of roof because we're an animal shelter.  I'll be here all night folks...

The new Training Center is going up real quickly at Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester.  The roof is going up and the sides are getting covered!

Backside of the training wing

The new clinic has its roof too.  Lots of windows for lots of animals to look out of while they are recovering from spay, neuter, and other surgeries.  

Look at these guys.  They laugh at Mother Nature!  Hurricane Sandy won't stop them from helping the animals in our community.  

Thanks again for all of your support.  None of this would be possible with the support of the community.  And, I promise, more updates to come.

The Cats of Minor League Hockey

This is Moxie the Desk Cat.  I've been volunteering at Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Rochester and Monroe County (http://www.lollypop.org/), which is a wonderful organization.  They have all kinds of animals out there from cats, dogs, goats, chickens, horses, snakes, turtles and I'm sure much, much more.  I have to say that I've never had pets at work before, but they are great co-workers.



DiBella's is a local sub shop chain (Friends and family: they have one in Ann Arbor, MI if you want to try).  Some really good stuff.  Megan and I went there for the first time last week after a young professionals get together downtown because so many people showed up that we weren't going to eat.  In Chicago, you're lucky if 15 people show up for a young professional event.  Here in Rochester, there were nearly 1,000.  It was pretty intense and we were wholly unprepared for that.  So, we had subs instead.



HOCKEY!!!!  HIT HIM!!!!  For Christmas, Megan got me a ticket package for the Rochester Americans (Amerks for short) (http://amerks.com).  They are a part of the American Hockey League (AHL) (they play the Grand Rapids Griffins on 1/26).  They are an affiliate of the Florida Panthers .



DEAL OF THE WEEK:  Two Zweigle Hot Dogs (Red Hots), Four Molson Canadians, Only $6.  



The Amerks played against the Lake Erie Monsters out of Cleveland.  



FIGHT!!!



He was alright, but it looked like they were selling a lot of hockey equipment at a yard sale.



Intermission entertainment!  It seemed that they put kids from the ages of 4-6 out there.  One kid was the best.  He would skate, stop hunched over, skate, fall, skate, stop hunched over, repeat.  It took him the whole intermission to get to the other side of the rink and then the coach carried him off the ice when the Zamboni was ready.



Not sure if this ended up being a goal...



This is R. Thunder.  You would think he's the main mascot, but he isn't.  You will see him next.  



This is the Moose, which is the main mascot of the Americans.  I guess they got him from a local radio station and somehow it became permanent.  I think their mascot should be something like George Washington with a black eye and a missing wooden tooth.  Just a thought...



Oh the Nutty Bavarian.  



"Don Stevens is the man of the hour (but not this hour)."  He's their play-by-play announcer.  So, I have no idea what this is about...



BEER GUY!!!  Famous in the Bell family.  So, the next time you see Megan you should ask her about the "Beer Guy Wedding."



The American Spirits with the Moose.  It seems they are looking for new cheerleaders and if you are interested, visit http://amerks.com/fan/spirit/.  



GENNY LIGHT!  The local brew of choice.  Interestingly enough, they don't seem to serve it at the War Memorial at Blue Cross Arena; they just advertise there...



THANKS MEGAN FOR A WONDERFUL DATE!  I'll see you there for game 2: against the Manitoba Moose (again the Moose is the Amerks mascot, which seems more Canadian)



More cold and snow recently.  It's been bitter, but not nearly as bitter as we've gotten use to in Chicago.  So, we took a walk to check out the snow and all at Linear Park (aka Channing H. Philbrick Park) in Penfield, NY









Ducks found something good to eat



My "National Geographic shot"


That's it from the hamlet of Rochester.  Not too much going on in the next week.  Just volunteering at Lollypop, Megan's going to New York for a conference this weekend, and job hunting. 

So, Let’s Talk About Food!

Here’s the Kiera Knightley aka - Fire Dog (because it’s hot) from Hot Dougs. If you haven’t been there, you should visit "The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium."
www.hotdougs.com
3324 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618


Here are the fries. I believe you can get "duck fat fries" on Saturdays, which are delicious. If you go, expect a long line out the door.


Megan making the Easter lamb. A tradition of hers. Good stuff!


Here’s a close up. Unfortunately, the food was so good that I forgot to take pics of the finished product. 8-9 pounds of lamb, a heap of potatoes, gravy, asparagus, and mousse. Mike, Megan, and I were stuffed...


A snowman we saw on a post-Easter dinner walk. I think it’s doing the limbo. Plus, I like his pirate tie.


Megan has her traditions and I have mine. Here we are celebrating "Easter Monday!" Like other great holidays (x-mas on the 26th, Valentine’s on the 15th, Halloween in November), all the candy at Walgreen’s is 50% or more off.


We settled on Whoppers Eggs. What a great Easter Monday!!!

"It's A Good Day For Ducks!"

This is a long one since I've been busy this week at work and on vacation. This time, I went to Galena, Illinois in northwestern Illinois near the Iowa and Wisconsin border. Enjoy!

I had a work event at Navy Pier in the Crystal or Winter Garden or something. Whatever the name, it was very nice to hang out and get paid...


For those who don't know, the ferris wheel was invented in Chicago for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. It was two or three times the size of this one and the carts were about the size of a bus.


A view of Streeterville from Navy Pier


The Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier. A nice venue. Too bad its at Navy Pier...


Lakeshore Tower or Lakepoint Tower or something. Oprah and Sammy Sosa use to live here.


"It's a good day for ducks" as they bath in a puddle that formed in Humboldt Park


The Merchandise Mart (one of the largest buildings by square feet in the world) had the largest art show I've ever seen. We were there for several hours over two days and I think we only saw 1/8th of the art. IT WAS AMAZING! Especially when you can scam a VIP card!


How contemporary. Installation art.



I like the artwork. I wish the old man came with it...


I think I like it because it is red.


Okay. Imagine this stretching for several blocks in every direction on several floors and that was the art show. It blew my mind!


I wish I had a pet hyena(sp?)


A view of the South Branch of the Chicago River from the Merchandise Mart.


A view of the 333 Wacker Dr. Building from the Merchandise Mart. I didn't realized this when I took the picture, but that boat in the water is my boat from work. That boat is what gives me money to pay the rent and have a good time. Thanks boat!


With the VIP card, we got to ride in a new Audi to wherever we wanted for free. So, we did and went to meet Ronan (the Irishman) at Damen and Division. Annie is excited!


Now for the vacation. This is on the way to Galena. It's the first time I've left the Chicagoland metro area since X-mas. It looked like this as far as the eye can see. Middle America is beautiful.


Look at that!


Welcome to Galena, Illinois!

..
Here's Main Street and Perry Street.


Main Street and I forget. I think it's near the Galena Cafe, which has great diner food. I may have to go back for the homemade Snicker cake. I didn't get any, but I'm willing to bet I could eat the whole thing. I'm a fat kid...


Megan outside of the Galena Cafe at Main Street.


Here's the hotel we stayed at. Several notable people have stayed here like Abe Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, about every nothern Civil War general, and Ulysses S. Grant. One thing you learn about Galena is they LOVE Grant! He's from Galena and they remind you of that. They will give you change in $50 bills at every possible chance to advertise that fact...


A cross behind a nun-ery


Welcome to the City Hall/Police Department of Galena. It looks like an old west jail. I expect that they have two jail cells; one for the bank robber and the other for the friendly town drunk. The newspaper had a story about a 70-80 year old woman who had a shoplifter in her store. A teenager stole whiskey and the old woman chased her down and caught her and turned her into the police. Little did the teenager know that the old woman was a marathon runner (still) and fast as hell. Take that whipper-snapper.


Sometimes, a horse feels lonely...


Pickle or cactus? All cowboy!


Megan the lovely insect.


Main Street looking toward Diagonal Street.


MUSKEGON PEOPLE: Doesn't this remind you of Western Avenue across from the train depot/visitor center? You know, downtown can be a really cool place like Galena. There is nothing special about Galena except they have taken care of their city and Muskegon allowed it to become a shithole (one I love all the same). Just a thought...


Down at the old town square, I imagine Ulysses Grant sitting here drunk one day thinking, "I'm going to kill me some Confederates." The rest is history.


And, by "history" I mean they gave him a park...


And a statue for me to climb...


Here's me trying to hang out with Mr. Grant.


A view of downtown Galena.


Megan taking pictures of the downtown area.


"War of the Rebellion"


A farm girl on the prarie. How midwestern...


She's so happy!


This is Mrs. Grant (Ulysses S. Grant's wife). It seems most people think she looks like Mrs. Butterworth. I see it...


And, me and Mrs. Grant...


When Grant won the Civil War, they gave him this home.


A huge mansion near Grant's house!


Hilarious! What's with the momma duck having no wings? That one baby duck lost its mind!


The floodgate at the Main Street entrance. You had to pass through this gate to get into the city as if this were some ancient European village. I guess when the Mississippi River floods and the Galena River overflows, they have to close this to protect the city from drowning. I just like the idea of Galenians closing the gate and dumping hot oil on invaders...


Megan on the pedestrian bridge with Galena in the background.


The Belvadere (sp?) mansion.


This was the city's first waterworks.


Another cool old house.


The first brick building in Galena.


This was a cool building for some reason other than being pretty. Vinny's restaurant was in this building. It looked good. Too bad we couldn't figure out how to get in it to eat. VINNY!


USA!


Cool church.


The Galena Fire Department.


Turner Hall


I just like the door. What I don't like is the power lines. Dear Galena Power Company. Please put your ugly power lines underground so we don't have to look at them. Love, Mike


Old Galena High School. This is at the top of the big hill behind the city and has been turned into condos. If I lived here, my legs would be giant chicken legs from the climb up the hill everyday. That, or else I'd never leave because of the hill climb everyday.


The view from the Old Galena High School. That is the downtown way below behind the trees.


These are about half of the steps to the downtown area.


Cool old mansion.


Pretty view of downtown.


another cool house.


This is where I would live in the Gnome House. I would have to wear a red cone hat and tend my garden. A giant fox would be in the garage and I would use him as my transportation.


Ulysses S. Grant's house when he moved to Galena. He only paid $100 a year in rent! Mr Grant, you must be a great man. You are the only person I know that has found a good place with cheaper rent than me...


This was the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor. It was pretty good and had a soda fountain and everything. Now, I don't want to disgrace this place, but something was wrong with the girl behind the counter. It is my belief she was a meth addict as she had scabby arms, no teeth, and not mentally there. I felt bad and entertained at the same time. What can I say, I am a horrible person...


This was our view from the Ramada! We went swimming in the pool and it was great! But, how many cheap hotels have you been to like this?


Well, on the way back to Chicago we detoured to Dixon, Illinois, the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. So, I had to have my picture taken with this man. The day this was taken just happened to be the day that excerpts from his diary were released.


I'm not freak dancing President Reagan. I'm climbing the statue. But, I wish it were freak dancing...


Reagan's boyhood home.


The Berlin Wall. Did the German's write on the Berlin Wall or was it CIA agents? HEY CIA! THE GERMANS WRITE IN GERMAN, NOT ENGLISH.


You know, Ronald Reagan and his ideals make sense to me now after seeing this car. Just like Dick Cheney made sense to me after seeing the shithole he came from (Cheyenne, Wyoming).


Nice billboard coming in from the Chicago suburbs.


This about sums up the vacation. Me with Mrs. Grant, Ulysses S. Grant, and Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for spending your entire afternoon seeing what I did last week. Love ya all.

Mike!