Bites and Lights

We did indeed get a heap of snow last Sunday night. Terry estimated 8”. 

Monday morning on the patio

The deck

The automated emergency notification system called just before 10:00 p.m. to tell me the College would be closed on Monday. It was a wasted snow day for me—I don’t have any classes on Monday this semester. Also, I had my annual wellness check-up Monday morning, so I had to go out anyway. I borrowed the Subaru for the trip to Crystal Lake. The roads were terrible from my house to Harvard, somewhat better from Harvard to Woodstock, and fine from Woodstock to Crystal Lake. My nurse practitioner said everything looked good and sent me back home.

Thursday evening, Mom and Dad took Terry and me to the Rotary Gardens in Janesville, WI for their “Taste of Chocolate Bites and Lights,” a fundraising event for members and/or donors with exclusive viewing of the Holiday Light Show. Mom and Dad have wanted to go see the lights for some time, but were not keen on going when it was open to the public because of the crowds and the difficulty of getting on and off the shuttle bus from remote parking.

Arriving at the Rotary Gardens

We weren’t sure what to expect for food. Was it just chocolate? Would there be enough to call it supper? Would we have to stop for a burger on the way home?

We left our house at 4:00 and arrived at 4:45. The event didn’t start until 5:00, but Hilda said the doors opened at 4:30. We went in and sat at a table while the entertainers did sound checks and the caterers put the last minute touches on the buffet.

Promptly at 5:00 we went to the buffet. I suspected that a cheese producer was a major sponsor. There was A LOT of cheese on the buffet--cubed, sliced, and melted into dips. Some of the cheese platters had sliced salami and/or pepperoni as well. I started at the end with the pulled beef sliders and was too full to eat any more by the time I saw what was on the other end, which was a number of garnishes (onions, bacon bits, cubed chicken, jalapeno peppers, shredded cheese) for pans of mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. There were a number a large, empty martini glasses at that end as well. Dad saw people filling them with mac and cheese. My favorite thing was soft pita wedges and a cheesy (of course) spinach dip.

The bites of chocolate were on a side table. They were provided by a high-end chocolatier from Madison. There were dark chocolate covered truffles in several flavors including ginger/lemongrass (which did not appeal to me, not being a fan of lemon grass), espresso, and raspberry. There were also dark chocolate covered caramels sprinkled with sea salt. I picked one of the less salty ones. Three tiers of pot de chocolat in tiny plastic martini glasses sat at one end of the table. I took one at random, thinking they were all the same. It was mocha, which tasted good, but I worried that I would be up all night from the caffeine.

I finished eating before anyone else. Having dressed for cold weather, I was getting quite warm inside. I excused myself and went outside to take pictures. Just outside the door, a sign directed me to stay between the luminaries. The luminaries were ½ gallon plastic milk jugs with colored lights inside.

Milk jug luminaries line the path

Right by the building was a tree in blue lights surrounded by light simulating lily pads.

Tree with blue lights surrounded by green lily pad lights

A herd of plywood deer stood on the lawn.

Deer (reindeer?) on the lawn

In the various gardens, the lights were densely clustered for a spectacular display. I overheard two people discussion whether there were 500,000 lights or 800,000. Either way, it was an impressive number of lights.

Trees covered with lights

Shrubs with lights

Walkway covered in magenta lights

I passed a man (probably a volunteer) who was adjusting the lights on the luminaries. “That’s a lot of cords,” I said.

“A-cord-ing to you!” he replied.

“HA!”

We were so lucky with the weather. It was dead calm. The ducks on the pond quacked quietly. The reflections on the water were spectacular.

Bridge and ice skater sculptures reflected in the pond

More reflections (with ducks to the left)

Reflections on water are kind of like sunsets--can't have too many pictures

I soon found myself alone. What an incredible treat that was. So peaceful. No sound except distant traffic noise from the Interstate. Given that the Garden’s website says they got 46,000 visitors last year, my solitude among the lights was a rare and precious experience.

I caught up with the volunteer again as he was explaining to a couple how they got the strings of lights high in the trees. He pointed to the top of the lights, where there was a piece of wood (possibly a dowel) connected to three strands. For anything they can’t reach with the bucket truck, an archer shoots a weighted arrow attached to fish line into the trees. They hook the board with the lights to the fish line and hoist it up. This picture gives you an idea of how often they did that.

Hundreds of lights strung from the trees by bow and arrow

Eventually, I met both Mom and Dad and Terry. I walked with Terry a little while, then he went back inside. I found Mom and Dad and walked back with them. They sat down to rest in a little gazebo. I like the first picture best, but the second one shows the lights across the water better.

Mom and Dad take a break in a gazebo

Mom and Dad with lights in the background

While Hilda did some shopping in the gift shop, Terry and I waited by the chocolate table. “Did you have some of the orange chocolate mousse?” he asked. “I had two.” He pointed to a sign behind the three tiers of pot de chocolat. Orange was the middle tier.

“I had the mocha. I didn’t know there was orange!” Dang it. I would have liked orange way better, but if I had another one now, I’d make myself sick.

It was a lovely evening. We got home about 8:00. Terry sat in his chair and turned on the TV while I was getting my jammies on. “New Orleans is in Texas,” he announced.

I found this news unexpected but not impossible. With the climate changing, sea levels rising, and hurricanes gaining power, it is only a matter of time before New Orleans washes up somewhere. After a few more seconds of contemplation, I realized that what Terry meant was that the New Orleans Saints were playing the Cowboy in Dallas. That was almost as surprising. The NFL has been playing football on Thursday nights since 2006, yet week after week, it fails to be on my radar. When will I get used to it?

A warm front came through Friday night. It’s been raining pretty much nonstop since then. Pretty dreary. How long before the next flood? The snow is all gone except where the deepest drifts were. When I was doing the chicken chores this morning, Carmella tore into the coop, closely followed by Madeline. Carmella ran to the corner behind the waterer and dropped a huge night crawler. She pecked at it a couple times, then picked it up and ran out again. And ran in again, and out again. Night crawler keep-away is one of the hens’ most favorite games. I did not expect that the ground was frozen enough for the worms to be active. I was wrong.