Stoughton, McFarland, and Who Knows Where
November 5, 2023
These rather random photographs wrap up the souvenirs of my September visit to Wisconsin.
1 The concrete at the bottom of the wall covered in corrugated metal (see the October 24 post) is decorated with marks of some life form (I think), maybe mold. The flowering plants in front are a woodland species (Eupatorium rugosom, recently renamed Ageratina altissima, also known as white snakeroot) but seem perfectly happy in their semi-urban home.
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4 This could be the door shown in the older post’s first or second photograph—or another door in that wall altogether. Memory isn’t serving.
5 Across the street from the building with the corrugated wall is a repurposed building with remnants of its former life.
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7 During our Wisconsin visit we went to McDaniel Park, in McFarland, to pick up the long boardwalk of the Lower Yahara River Trail. I expected most of my photographs to be of plant life. But this is the only keeper shot of pure vegetation.
8 While the vegetation (white snakeroot again) was the focus of this photograph, what made it interesting was the riprap surrounding the plant.
9 What interested me the most was the rust variations where the guardrails met iron posts
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Romancing Reality 
I love your posts when they are rich in textures and patterns, Linda. You have a gift for seeing these when some folks would pass them by. Every one of these are outstanding and the series at the end is wonderful. Well done.
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November 5, 2023 at 9:51 PM
Thank you, Ken. I guess I am drawn to textures and patterns. Thanks for calling that a gift.
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November 11, 2023 at 3:11 PM
It’s good in your opening photo that you could combine wildflowers with your frequent subject of decaying manufactured objects and structures. The botanical reclassification you mentioned has had an effect down here, too, with Eupatorium havanense having become Ageratina havanensis. In #8, better riprap than riffraff.
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November 6, 2023 at 7:01 AM
Thanks, Steve. About riprap versus riffraff: I had written “riffraff” first, then thought “No, that doesn’t seem right.” Had to Google a bit to find the right word, and on the Google results page was a link to someone using “riffraff” to mean the rocks that stabilize shores. So I guess I’m not the only one to confuse the terms.
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November 11, 2023 at 3:13 PM
I’m curious about guardrail set; is the rust bleeding through the wood from the back? #11 is very interesting; the board on the right must have taken a hit and then that wood screw visible between the two boards…where did it come from?! And the old brick buildings with the faded advertising. Nice set, Linda.
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November 7, 2023 at 9:03 PM
Thanks, Mic. I had to go back and look at the original photos to try to figure out the rust bit. The iron posts are between the bolts. The bolts don’t go into the posts. The iron posts are pretty flat. Maybe there is a piece of wood in back of the post that the bolts attach to? I can’t tell from my photographs, and I never did look over the guardrail to see. I also can’t explain the wood screw. Maybe I need to go back.
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November 11, 2023 at 3:14 PM
I re-read what you wrote; these were railings along the board walk? If so, they might be a little lighter construction which might help answer some questions. In the end though, I think you might have to go back and take more photos.
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November 11, 2023 at 9:54 PM
Oh, well. If I have to. 😉
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November 11, 2023 at 9:56 PM
I recognized that wall from the previous photo right away…another name change! Snakeroot doesn’t grow around here. I do remember it as Eupatorium and will never learn the new name, seeing that many plant names I actually am in contact with on a daily basis have also changed their names. Do you think I can remember? Mostly not. You’ve heard about the changing common bird names, right? That will be easier and very interesting. I still struggle with Baltimore/Northern Oriole, also because I don’t see it anymore.
But the photos! I do really like the first photo, the closeups from that scene, and the wood in #4. #5 & 6 are my favorites, for that view all the way through the building, which you composed so well, and for the sheer beauty, grace and dignity of #6. That long rectangular format adds elegance. The series of five wood & rust photos makes a great statement together. Wow, you had perfect light for those – the detail and quiet colors are beautiful. Fine work! 🙂
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November 10, 2023 at 4:40 PM
And I could recognize these comments as coming from you, Lynn, even if you had not told me. I guess that the common name of snakeroot is given to many plants. I pretty much leave the Latin naming to David. When I asked him to ID the plant, he called it milkwort, but the images that came up in Google for milkwort didn’t match, so he gave me the Latin name Eupatorium rugosom. It took quite a bit more fussing around in Google to figure out that that was an obsolete name for Ageratina altissimo. Somewhere along the way we did see that another common name for this plant was indeed milkwort. Yes, I did hear about the changes afoot for common bird names. Seems the right thing to do, but all these changes are hard on people who are familiar with the old names. I’m glad you noticed the window within the window in #5. I thought that was pretty neat. Thanks for all your comments.
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November 11, 2023 at 3:16 PM
Yesterday’s New York Times opinion piece by Margaret Renkl makes a compelling argument for renaming. See https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/13/opinion/bird-names-colonialism.html?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20231114&instance_id=107689&nl=opinion-today®i_id=740067&segment_id=149976&te=1&user_id=da2a582a3b4a127115d98c8da1d44e3a
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November 14, 2023 at 11:09 AM