Tree house at the intersection of Yahara Place and Dunning Street, along the shore of Lake Monona. It even comes with its own trampoline.

I followed this dedicated paddler down to to the lake shore to see if he would really be able to find enough open water to put his canoe it, and what do you know, he could.

This wind-blown snow at the edge of Squaw Bay on Lake Monona has been built up into a layered crust sturdy enough to bear my weight when I cross it on a pair of skis. I could easily ride across the thinnest layers, but broke through the thickest layers, about four inches deep. Skiing across it became a tedious exercise in climbing back on top of the crust after breaking through.

The snow on Squaw Bay was much easier to break a trail through, not layered and crusted over like this at all.

A view of downtown Madison from the farthest edge of Lake Monona.

A Morning Walk in Monona

This sentinel is keeping watch over the shore line of Lake Monona from his perch atop a stump at Graham Park.

The city of Monona is confined to a peninsula jutting into the lake from the eastern shore. Mammoth houses stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore, blocking sight of the lake from the road almost totally.

One of the nice things about Monona, however is the public access to the shore guaranteed by a string of small parks. My walk along Winnequah Road this morning took me past Graham Park and Frostwoods Beach.

Here's another view of the shore, looking north, from the beach at Frostwoods Park.

Monona's Sylvan Shores

I took a walk this morning to see if I could find out who was playing their stereo loud enough to wake me at six-thirty. I ended up on the shore of Lake Monona at Frostwoods Park, where the sun was just beginning to shine down on this idyllic early-morning scene. This is what they pay the big bucks to wake up to.

All the noise, by the way, was coming from the Monona Terrace, where the Iron Man was getting underway. From the opposite shore of the lake I could just make out a couple thousand people teeming across the terrace. The near-calm on the lake must have been perfect for carrying the sound all the way to Monona, five miles away, where I could clearly hear the announcer and the background music.

The view from the western shore of Lake Monona while biking into work yesterday morning.

I snapped these photos on my bike ride around Lake Monona today:

Spot the penguin:

Tenney Locks

The birds on Paterson St

A perfect day over Lake Monona

Sailboats docked on the lake near John Nolen Drive

By the Shores of Beautiful Lake Monona

A flock of ducks on the lake ice caught my eye, so I risked crossing Monona Drive on foot (note: Don't do it!) to snap a photo of them but they all flew away as I approached. Not stealthy enough, I guess.

This stump looked rather photogenic, though, so I thought I'd try it out.

Steam curled up from the surface of Lake Monona in the frigid temps yesterday morning, even after the sun had been up for several hours.