Well, crap. The snow is back.

The Return of the Cold Evil White Stuff

The cow on Atwood Ave is still dressed up for Saint Paddy's day.

Everybody needs a hobby, I guess.

Mother Fool's Coffee House
Willy Street, Madison WI

In times when few people knew how to read, business owners would hang a sign over their doors painted with a picture that depicted their trade, or a totem such as a horseshoe or barber pole, or both.

I don't know whether the good people at Mother Fool's hung this enameled coffee pot outside their door as a nod to that tradition, or because they left a pot on the hob and boiled it dry but were loathe to throw it in the trash. But I like it.

For as long as I've lived here -- only three years, not like I'm a life-long resident -- Mother Fool's has lent this exterior wall to people armed with cans of paint and an itch to express themselves. Regardless of whether you might characterize people who paint on the sides of buildings as graffiti artist or vandals, for the first year and a half I passed this building every morning on the way to work, I looked forward to seeing a smart social commentary rendered in an eye-catching style.

About six months ago, though, the style changed abruptly, and the graffiti wall at Mother Fool's has acquired all the visual charm of a bridge abutment in a railroad yard. I beg the management of Mother Fool's: Please find a new artist. Please. Pretty please.

Ironically, the opposite side of the building is chalked with graffiti from passers-by and is much more interesting.

Seen at St Vincent de Paul's thrift store this morning: a home entertainment system from a simpler time.

The body is plywood, the turntable is flocked with felt, the tone arm weighs close to a pound and it has just one speed.

I would have taken it home as a curiosity if they hadn't priced it at twenty-five dollars.

A sample of the decor at Mickey's bar at the top of Willy Street.

Cool artsy-fartsy lamp in the dining room of Lazy Jane's cafe.

Would this look good on my mantle piece?

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 might be a hallucination brought on by four cups of strong coffee drunk too early in the morning, although I've never had any luck photographing my hallucinations before this ...

... or it might be a collection of Curious George stuffed dolls on display at Lazy Jane's cafe. It is.

Uncle Wiggly, Emperor of Williamson Street, addresses the massed throngs from his balcony.

Seen on Willy Street: These antique items outside a store across the street from St Vincent de Paul's.

A close-up of the Louis Armstrong statue.

I want this Buddha so bad.

He's perched atop a display case inside Lazy Jane's cafe. If I could come up with a way of distracting every one of the dozen or so staff on duty behind the counter, I'd slip him under my coat and walk nonchalantly out the door with him, but I'm not that clever. Nor that amoral.

I've never seen a carved Buddha that captures the happiness on this guy's face. I'd put him on a pedestal in our front room just to make sure I could see the expression on his face every day.

Moldy Jam performing at the Dane County Farmer's Market today.

Seen at an auction: A Santa for everyone.

I especially like the Santa with the binoculars and the fatigue jacket. What's he supposed to be, an artillery spotter?

Seen at an auction today: A young boy's dream. Or even the dream of a middle-aged man who spends too much time playing with toys.