there's no place like gnome.

We spent the first weekend in August camping at a new-to-us state park: Blue Mounds State Park, between Madison and Dodgeville. (Fun fact: the only WI state park that has a pool – and a super nice pool at that.) We adore the drift less region of Wisconsin and were charmed to find this was in it.

The weather was delightful; no need for the air conditioning all weekend. It felt like fall was upon us and it was absolutely wonderful. We had fires at night and had to wear sweatshirts. Sign me up for more of that. (It’s me. I’m the girl who is absolutely over 90 degrees.)

We hiked, exploring the park, and spent time exploring some nearby towns. Mount Horeb was particularly enjoyable. (It felt like Wisconsin’s version of Decorah – my beloved college town in NE Iowa.) We had lunch outside a cafe and walked, looking for trolls. We learned that Duluth Trading Company is headquartered in Mount Horeb, so we stopped at the store. (Dog-friendly! Einstein shopped for skivvies.)

We also visited The Shoe Box, a giant shoe store that was part of more than one childhood family trip. (Also dog-friendly! The dogs were troopers as Dave found a new pair of running shoes.)

This state part has music in their amphitheater every Saturday night in the summer. We went to check it out but didn’t stay too long; Einstein was a nervous nellie. But we were there long enough to get caught in the Instagram story of Midwest Munchers. (I had spotted them sitting across the aisle.) Can you see Einstein staring at you?

Afterwards we went to the Mount Horeb Culver’s and met their troll.

Other summer happenings:

We went to a Kenosha Kingfish game with some friends and it was super fun. It was a stormy night but somehow the storms just skirted the stadium.

The dahlias have started to bloom! Finally! Slowly but with lots of buds to watch. Turns out I have these teeny tiny purple pompon ones that I didn’t even realize I bought! I am so tickled by them. And the larger ball dahlias, also pictured below. They rank pretty high too.

We’ve done a little kayaking and have had one day at the beach. Masterpiece’s Sanditon on the PBS app has my television attention and we started making our own yogurt in the Instant Pot to go with our homemade granola. So, you know, life is pretty exciting. Let’s see what the second half of August brings.

The tomato hornworm.

Gross.

Gross.

Gross.

These green giants will decimate a tomato plant if not found promptly. I’ve had them in the past. Two. Maybe three in a season.

I picked 16 (SIXTEEN!) off my tomatoes tonight alone.

Now, when I say ‘picked,’ don’t be fooled. I don’t touch them. Heavens no. I cut the branch they are on and delicately take the branch to dispose of these green gross things. Removing hornworm + pruning all in one step. (That’s what I tell myself.)

There was one that was the biggest I’ve ever seen – the size of my middle finger, I swear to the tomato gods.

They look very similar to the tobacco worms we confronted in the tobacco fields as kids. You know, the ones my Dad would throw at me while working in the fields. Turns out those are considered hornworms too.

I didn’t love those then, and I don’t love these now.

Gross.

Gross.

Gross.

The things we do for fresh tomatoes.

(Apparently they turn into a moth that’s an important night pollinator or whatever so I don’t kill them. I just move them far away from my tomatoes with their own personal little tomato branch. A snack for the trip. Plus, killing them? Ew. I don’t want to imagine that squish.)