#madison-wi — Public Fediverse posts

The summer break is ending in not so many days, and I'll be back to work.

I'm delighting in passing the remaining time off mostly watching clover growing out back and occasionally watering stuff.

I've been stunned by a few realizations over the summer. All things that sound remarkable dull, but that I was none the less stunned by.

First, that summer vacations are really nice and I think I'll plan on working my current or any similar campus related job for the rest of my life so I can always have summers off.

This was my first actual vacation (I turn 49 in a few months) in my life... I've always just had jobs that ran year round and never took a break before.

Second, I realized that (especially after having taken over the landscaping and gardening and futzing out back) I'm living in the exact apartment building I *hope* to be able to stay in for the rest of my life (It turns 50 this year and I think it'll do another 50+ just fine).

I moved here because it was one of two places I could find out of season last winter after my housemate/landlord had died. This is a really awesome *little* efficiency unit with a full bath and kitchenette and a really cool mix of folks in other units.

The other available option was a 10'x10' room in a boarding house.

Which brings me to the third stunning realization:

I don't actually know a single person that I actually dislike in this city. I'm sure there are jerks here, I'm sure there's even some tRump voters here somewhere.. but I've never met one that I know of. I can't think of a single person in this city that I know that isn't *basically* nice.

Now I'm not especially social... in fact, I'm pretty especially not social (not anti, just.. not). So I don't know *tons* of people.

But I don't know anyone I really actually dislike, let alone hate, in #MadisonWI and I've lived here since 2019.

That's just... weird.

I'm 100% certain that has never been the case anywhere I've ever lived prior to here.

Luther

#lutherallison #birthday #blues #chicagoblues #jazz #music #musicsky #musiciansky #madisonwi The "Soul Fixin' Man," Luther Allison, was born on this date in 1939. Born in Arkansas, he moved to Chicago in '51 and hung around Chicago blues greats like Howlin' Wolf and Freddie King. After a blistering set at the Ann Arbor Blues Fest in 1972, Motown Records came calling and he became one of the very few blues artists on the label.

https://robinbannks.com/2026/08/17/luther/

Quick new infrastructure video: Before/after comparison of the Lakeshore path around the Limnology building. It took almost a year to build, but it's a nice improvement. See for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCExblUqi0

#UWMadison #MadisonWI #BikeTooter

If you're in #MadisonWI and into watching bike racing: Come over to Friends Applaud and watch the final stage of the #TourDeFranceFemmes today. Starts at 9 AM.

https://www.friendsapplaud.com/

#WatchTheFemmes

Meanwhile, outside #madisonwi, daughter spotted a raccoon tail tip....napping zone

@oldmapgallery I believe Mexica people migrated southward from Cahokia in #stlouis or Aztlan. I believe #madisonwi was ancient necropolis, & location of geyser volcano Thunderbird that erupted around 1200AD, which explains Uto-Aztec languages that followed westward terrestrial animal migrations & quicker travels with canoes down river that went inland. I believe the Alongquin & Sioux language families originate from southeast like Iriquoian. Had families with the remnant. https://pueblosoriginarios.com/norte/bosques/mississipiana/mississipiana.html

I find it odd that pretty much every single person I know (or don't know) has commented about the speeds I tend to travel at on my #ebike. The most common thing I hear is "Man you're always FLYING on that thing".

But I live in a city. The speed limit is 25 MPH. That's pretty much standard in the United States.

I travel at the same speed as the rest of the traffic which tends to be just over 25 MPH.

Going any slower would be uncomfortable -- and less safe -- because I'd be going slower than the rest of traffic and cars would be steadily passing me (on my blind side for the most part).

I can't picture *anyone* traveling at any other speed on a class III ebike, but apparently they do?

IDK, it's starting to feel very silly every time I hear it and I hear it constantly.

#ebikes #cycling #madisonwi #bikes

So I went rogue.

With an electric chain saw.

I spent Saturday & Sunday attacking two evergreens, and to a lesser extent a few hardwoods at the back of the property.

This is an area behind a 24 unit apartment building that I kinda liked a lot but which maintenance cared nothing for, used as a place to pile branches and stuff and had unnecessarily weed-whacked in late spring.

I wound up taking most of the branches off of the two evergreens to let light in and give them nice shape and definition (they used to drape almost to the ground and the trunks were probably 20° less vertical). Since I didn't want evergreen stuff in the compost, I wound up filling the bottom third of the dumpster with compressed branches.

Treated the area under the evergreens with gypsum and put down a 1/2" layer of good aged compost, spreading thinner compost through the back.

Moved the compost pile into/onto a couple grow bins that had been abandoned back there years ago after cleaning them out.

Seeded the whole area with Outsider Pride Mini Clover - a low growing clover with white flowers.

Spending the days since watering and just sitting out back listening to #npr and watching stuff sprout.

Finally yesterday, one of the maintenance guys showed up. Said he'll let everyone know not to dump branches and stuff, and to leave the back alone and not worry about it -- to not mess with the back area unless necessary.

And he's buying me more clover seed.

I now have free reign to garden and landscape the back of the property. Maintenance Mike says it was never nice before, never had been landscaped intentionally... the building was built in 1976.

I was seriously expecting stern angry letters from the property management company for what I'd done.

But it went over beautifully and I now have a little park and lawn area to obsess over and permission to do whatever planting and landscaping I want.

#grarden #landscaping #trees #guerrillagardening #madisonwi #nomow

Really good reporting on recent discussions about no-turn-on-red in #MadisonWI
Includes a quote from yours truly. https://captimes.com/news/government/should-madison-reduce-where-drivers-can-turn-right-on-red/article_777a5c86-20ff-4d27-83d8-50af00539ee8.html

#VisionZero

The plant is a Bird's Eye Thai Chili. Plant and insect are in #MadisonWI.

No NextDoor, I do not think I will review reported posts this week.

#MadisonWI #SocialMedia

#Repost @etchaskej
Kiel Baitinger-Petersen mxrd3red Corey Ruiz in cold blood multiple minutes after he was initially st@bbed, which no longer institutes an active thrxxt which is probably why his fellow female officer used a txs3r and not her p!$t0l. Which means Kiel mxrd3red Corey. We need to demand justice for Corey Ruiz.

#coreyruiz #kielbaitingerpetersen #madisonwi #blacklivesmatter #justice

Take a visual tour of Madison through the lens of OpenStreetMap with Stephen Kennedy in this talk: https://youtu.be/JoyHqTdWBWk?si=rZretdCbpMnigg5W

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#SOTMUS2026 #StateoftheMapUS #OpenStreetMap #MadisonWI

No heat and no smoke means I can finally open up my house!

#MadisonWI #Weather

The King of Wands?

#StreetTarot #Madison #MadisonWI #Wisconsin #weed

Cassandra may have a second Celsius when she's sick on vacation. And she may drink it outside the Wisconsin capitol building.

#Madison #MadisonWI #Wisconsin

This week it's my turn to write the Madison Bikes newsletter. No terribly exciting city meetings, but a bunch of little news and events and good reads: https://www.madisonbikes.org/2026/07/franklin-ave-middleton-active-transpo-plan-midvale-closure-madtown-bmx-high-school-transportation-ambassadors-and-a-former-pro/

#MadisonWI

Just visited a super cool metaphysical shop in Madison, Wisconsin. (I think the neighborhood is called Maxwell? Seemed to be between the capitol and the university.) Mimosa Books & Gifts have an online shop and live crystal sales on Zoom: https://linktr.ee/mimosaspirit?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=24a27fe6-1f15-4d90-bf69-1ec84cba0c92

#crystals #tarot #Madison #MadisonWI

Welp, it was nice while it lasted.

#MadisonWI #Smoke #Weather #Wildfires

It was nice walking my dog and going to the Farmer's Market this morning without choking on smoke.

#MadisonWI #Smoke #Weather #WildFires

We took our dog for a walk. Well, that sucked.

#AirQuality #MadisonWI #Weather

Update: My son let her out and the smoke in. Currently sneezing. She seems unfazed

#DogsOfMastodon #Weather #MadisonWI