I went biking. Kinda.

As I've mentioned before, I don't bike. However, I live in a city surrounded by bike enthusiasts. Two of those enthusiasts are my good friends, Scott and Elysha, who recently visited The Cargo Bike Shop and invested in a highly coveted WorkCycle Kr8 like this:

Why yes, this is a bike with a giant bucket.

Elysha has been biking around town sporting a bucket filled with two children, groceries, library books, and an assortment of other things that fit in its spacious compartment. And by "spacious compartment," I meant this: large enough to hold an adult.

So, it happened: I went on a bike ride, but I was not pedaling the bike. Instead, I sat in a bucket and Elysha pedaled me around her Near East Side neighborhood.

Always wear a helmet! 

I got in the bucket and we were ready to go:

Side view of the contraption.

And we were off! Here are videos of the ride from two perspectives:

We made it back safely!

Elysha's celebratory reaction to me riding in a bike.

Now that this has happened, it gives me a new answer to the common Madison question, "Do you bike?" Thanks to my biker friends, I can now say, "I don't bike, but I have been pedaled around in a bucket."

Turkey traffic jam: a story in photos.

I heard the stories and saw the photos, but we never crossed paths until today. That's right: I finally encountered the famed urban turkeys of Madison, WI. My fascination started when my friend Scott (he lives under a mile away) took a photo of them in his front yard. It was then that I knew I needed to meet the turkeys, take a turkey selfie, and write about these unique feathered friends.

Today's turkey selfie.

Madison's turkeys are city-dwelling birds who freely (and at times irreverently) roam streets and neighborhoods. My friend Elysha recently saw them chase her mailman. It's a feisty bunch.

Through the Turkeys of Madison, WI Facebook group, I watched their travels and learned about their favorite local places. It was in this group where I learned that the turkeys are fond of the drive thru at the Schenk's Corners branch of Monona State Bank. When I passed the bank on my way home today, there they were: the fab 4 in all their glory.

I wasn't the only person who stopped to photograph the birds. I may have been the only one to take 34 photos, though. I'll take you through some highlights (click photos to enlarge):

The fab 4 took a leisurely walk to the bank drive thru.

They did some preening, strutting, and fluffing.

There wasn't enough excitement at the bank, so they headed into the street. 

An ambulance came and they refused to move. Sirens and horns meant nothing to the turkeys. 

Then, the traffic came. 

And the traffic stopped.

And a kind civilian shooed the turkeys out of the way. 

Nice guy. All the turkeys made it safely to the sidewalk.

As I walked back to my car, the turkeys returned to the street and blocked a bus. They refused to move, so the bus had to back up and go around them. Turkeys own the neighborhood!

I really couldn't have asked for a better first turkey encounter. Hopefully I will see them more often, take more photos with them, and capture video footage of local gobbling. This city is weird.

Feeding the addiction: my first trip to The Crafty Fair.

I have lived in Madison for 3.5 years, and it took me just that long to discover that there's an annual craft fair in my neighborhood. Seriously? Seriously.

On Sunday, I made the first of what will likely be an annual November trip to the Goodman Community Center to check out The Crafty Fair. As a craft addict, it was pure heaven. Football game? Don't need it. Two rooms filled with crafts, crafts, and more crafts is my idea of a rocking weekend.

Earring display paired with hand-knit accessories.
I love a good mannequin head.

If you've been wanting to truly drop an F-bomb, now is your chance.

It was a great place to meet local crafters, including Milwaukee-based Plushzilla (makers of the clever F-bombs above). In a room surrounded by local, handmade goodies, it was really tough to nail down a purchase.

My friend Elysha went for this Wisconsin-shaped cutting board. 

Love at first sight: I took home this gorgeous print.
I swoon when an impulse purchase matches my bedroom.

Browsing through handmade jewelry, toys, cosmetics, artwork, soaps, and home decor? Check. The Crafty Fair had it covered. And all less than a mile away from my home! I will never miss it again.

Diary of a chicken farmer: part 2.

As stated previously, I spent 2 weeks as a backyard chicken farmer while Cory and Ryan were honeymooning. The major perk: eggs.

A sampling of eggs from the backyard chickens.

And since they enjoyed the cucumber so much (see my previous post), I figured I'd feed them some garden tomatoes:

Well, it was a fun gig, but now I'm off chicken duty. I'll be sure to visit them, though. Nugget and I bonded-- she likes a good neck scratching.

Diary of a chicken farmer: part 1.

First of all, big congrats to Cory and Ryan on their wedding!

Picture perfect, eh?

While my friends are honeymooning in Indonesia, I'm taking care of their animals and plants. I assured them that their cat and chickens would be in great hands, but I made no guarantees about the plants (I've been watering them every few days, but this isn't my area of expertise).

Caring for Cory and Ryan's pets goes as follows:

Step 1, check on Leisha.

A lovely Persian, indeed.

Step 2, gather the eggs.

Raki's present: a large brown egg.

Step 3, let the chickens out.

Raki and Nugget are best buds.

Step 4, tend to them. This means water, feed, and of course, treats:

Step 5, get the chickens back into the coop. This involves shooing them with a broom and a rake.

Doing my best farmer pose.

Overall, it's a pretty fun gig. The fresh eggs and garden veggies are a nice perk, too!


For my first post on Cory and Ryan's chickens, click here.

My friends have backyard chickens, and it's normal.

As I've previously stated on this blog, it's perfectly normal (and legal) for Madison residents to have up to four chickens in their backyards. My friends Cory and Ryan welcomed me into their yard last Sunday to explore their coop and bond with the gals. I had met the chickens before, but I do think we did more bonding this time.

Cory and Ryan have four chickens: Blondie (a Cochin), Nugget (also a Cochin), Raki (a Columbian), and Mountain (a mystery breed). There are a ridiculous amount of chicken breeds out there.

Cory's dad helped them build a gorgeous deck and an impressive coop for their feathered friends:

Exterior view.

Running area.

Interior view.

Side door.

Blondie demonstrates her mastery of the ladder (and yes, all of Cory and Ryan's chickens do respond to  "Here, chick chick chick!").

Ryan and I followed Blondie into the coop...

She was keeping an egg nice and warm.

I found it really interesting that Nugget, Raki, and Mountain lay eggs, but rarely sit on them. Meanwhile, though Blondie rarely lays eggs, she constantly protects the other chickens' eggs while they run around elsewhere. She has a job!

Ryan fetched the egg. Nice work, Blondie!

All of the chickens are used to humans and quite friendly, so they didn't mind that I filmed their snack time:

That's right, chickens like yogurt. And don't worry, Blondie ended up joining in:

And after all that yogurt, it was time to snack on an orange:

Left to right: Raki, Nugget, and Mountain.

I know that I had an exciting evening, but I'd say the chickens had a pretty great one as well: yogurt, oranges, and free roam of the yard. And of course, Cory and Ryan wouldn't let me leave empty handed:

My loot: fresh eggs and peppers from the garden.
Raki lays big dark eggs, Mountain lays big light eggs, and Nugget lays little light eggs.

Oh, and here's the best part: when Cory and Ryan go on their honeymoon next month, I get to cat sit AND chicken sit! Stay tuned for more posts on my egg-gathering adventures. Wisconsin rules.

It's that time again: my 3rd chicken coop tour.

Any time before May of 2011, I never would have imagined myself saying this phrase:

On Saturday, I went on a walking tour of neighborhood chicken coops for the third time.

For me, one Saturday of my summer will always be devoted to thee Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association's Tour Des Coops. In Madison, it's legal to keep up to 4 chickens in a backyard, and local residents just love showing off their coops.

The Jones family (aka Scott, Elysha, Abby, and Clementine) and I took a leisurely walk down the bike path to get to the tour, which was smaller this year (only 6 homes). But still, I had the usual goal: snuggle a chicken.

Commemorative artwork from the 2011 Tour Des Coops (my first visit).

It didn't take us long to find some fresh eggs. 

And it also didn't take long for me to make a friend: Kuna, a 2-year-old Australorp chicken:

Kuna was quite talkative and did a lot of clucking.

Pretty girl, eh?

She had just finished laying this egg. Nice one, Kuna!

She lived in a well-decorated coop with some friends, like this gal.

Abby (a chicken coop rookie) had a great time feeding Kuna and her friends.

And soon, we were off to more coops! 

These 3 identical chickens stuck together, so I bonded with their cat instead.

Big Red posed while enjoying a snack.

It was getting pretty hot, so after our chicken coop fix, we grabbed some snacks at the Willy Street Co-Op and headed home via Jenifer Street. Of course, this meant walking by Andrea's house and seeing her latest sidewalk creation:

Ryan Gosling and a dog in sidewalk chalk: picture perfect.

As always, never a dull moment.

For my first Ryan Gosling chalk post, click here.

For my recap of the 2012 Tour Des Coops, click here.

For my recap of the 2011 Tour Des Coops, click here.

Unusual things I've seen in Madison: part 4, Ryan Gosling in chalk.

I stopped by my friend Andrea's house last Wednesday and wound up finding yet another unusual thing in Madison.

Sighting #6: Ryan Gosling in chalk on a Jenifer St. driveway.

Drawn by Andrea Miller, Hannah Stern, Nina Reynolds, and Veronica Sandoval
(photo by Veronica, of Paper Robot Design)

Andrea is a metal sculptor and a high school art teacher. In an effort to inspire her students while studying portraiture, she recruited her neighbors to help her bring Ryan Gosling to life in their driveway. The result is at once lovely and humorous (I think Andrea did a particularly good job on the eyes).

Never a dull moment!
For more of Andrea's work, click here.
For more of Veronica's work, click here.
For an amusing Ryan Gosling Tumblr, click here.

Unusual things I've seen in Madison, part 3: Ella's Deli.

I'll continue my series of unusual things with a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience.

Sighting #5: Ella's Deli

I've lived in Madison for a year and a half, and I can't believe it took me this long to blog about Ella's Deli. Opening on E. Washington Avenue in 1976, it is, to say the least, quite the spectacle. Decorated in a lively mix of vintage toys and interactive displays, the atmosphere is whimsical and full of life: definitely more than just a place to grab a bite. Classic cartoons soar across the ceilings, lighted wall displays blink in bright colors, and the tables are equipped with nostalgic activities (magnetic mustache drawing or pushing a button to activate a train, for example). The carousel outside is the icing on the cake, making the magical world of Ella's Deli a place where kids (and kids at heart) keep coming back.

Since the majority of the displays are constantly in motion, lighting up, or both, it's a tad difficult to photograph, but I did my best to document this rare kitschy gem:

Flying Mighty Mouse.

Polar bears surrounding the ice cream menu.

Magnetic drawing table.

Flying Popeye.

Flying Superman.

A lil' band playing a tune.

And just to prove that Ella's Deli in fact serves food,
here are the fried pickles (recommended by my coworker, Libby).

Click here for unusual things, part 1.
Click here for unusual things, part 2.