A Little Break

We had a little break this weekend at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  The weather was cooler, so I was able to test out our furnace, change the filter and put some new batteries in the thermostat.  We also brought in the succulents on our front porch and deadheaded most of the perennials.  I do not plant any annuals up here anymore because there is no watering going on when we are not up here.  Even a few perennials didn't make it this year because of the heat, but overall, most of the plantings look better than at home.

The Vera Jameson Sedum and Nepeta Walkers Low look much more vivid in my Wisconsin Garden than back at home.

This is also supposed to be Vera Jameson, but since planting a couple of years ago, it has always had a different look.  Vera Jameson always looks better either hanging over something or planted in front of other plantings just peeking out.

Sedum Autumn Joy

Rudbeckia, Knockout Roses and the Juniper that fell over last winter (seems to have recovered)

We even got in a little kite flying

On Sunday, we made our way to Elkhorn to the Walworth County Fair.  The fair dates back to 1850 and is everything you can imagine about an old fashioned county fair, rides, philly cheese steaks, corn dogs, cotton candy, homemade lemonade and even the church hall diner (where we ate).

Lots of horse races

The vintage church dining hall where we had lunch

We had come to the fair two years ago but it was so hot we could barely move through the congested aisles of concessions.  I remember lots of funnel cakes, my daughter riding a camel, a man carving beavers out of wood and my grandchildren posing on a fire engine.  This year, it was all about looking for the scariest ride, the tornado, silver streak, tilt a whirl, bumper cars, fireball and the octopus.

My favorite as a child, much to my mother's dismay, I came home with lots of goldfish!

Picture perfect veggies competing for a ribbon

Pastry ribbons, the one in the middle won first prize.

Crafts everywhere!

Pumpkin judging

This one won the blue ribbon

What a departure from my everyday life, miles and miles of farmland and open fields, a pristine blue sky and even though we saw many locals pulling out their BlackBerrys, there is still a feeling of the simple life.  I am not sure I could live there full time, but it is certainly a relaxing break from the daily treadmill of city life.

Life In The Slow Lane

I don't mean to imply that it is a negative to live life in the slow lane, but it is certainly a change of pace for a Chicago girl to go to Wisconsin for Memorial Day weekend.  We usually go to our Lake Geneva home with my daughter and her family, mostly because my husband and son-in-law like to play golf while we sit around and wait for them to come home!  The children love it up there because my granddaughter rides horses and begs to go riding each and every visit.

I do have a garden in Wisconsin, but it is very waterwise with dianthus firewitch, coneflowers, daylilies, sedum, salvia, coreopsis, lavender and my lovely Knockout roses (which get eaten each year by the Japanese Beetles).  I will put in some Gaillardia Arizona Sun which seem to hold up throughout the summer without a lot of watering.  I know mulching will be part of our weekend as it was pretty sparse the last time we visited.  Also, they had tied up that fallen arborvitae, but it is not a permanent solution.

I have a beautiful Chanticleer Pear by the deck which seems to be the perfect spot for a smaller tree between two townhouses. 

We will probably go to Wall Mart, Home Depot and Target as these are the go to places in Lake Geneva.  The town is bustling and difficult even to get to on route 50 - we take a back road and avoid all of that confusion.  If you remember what I have mentioned before, it is music, motorcycles and cars all weekend.

The best thing about it is that no matter how old you are, you are always young when you visit Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!