A farm, left, just off Northland Avenue.
ON THE NORTHERN EDGE of Appleton or maybe its the southern edge of Grand Chute, Wisconsin (I examined maps and cannot determine which), lies a farm place with two vintage silos, a barn, a collection of aging outbuildings and even an old windmill.
The place, a rural oasis separated from busy commercial Northland Avenue by a cornfield, has intrigued me since I first spotted it three years ago.
What I hadn’t noticed, though, until my last trip to Appleton, were the cows grazing in a pasture just across the street from a residential area.
This is the thing I love about Wisconsin. This state appreciates rural. You’ll find barns and silos, corn and cows seamlessly blending into urban settings. And the mix doesn’t feel awkward or patronizing or out of place.
It feels, oh, so right in this state tagged America’s Dairyland.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
looks and sounds like a wonderful place 🙂
I really do like the Appleton area. And I’ve learned lots about Wisconsin culture (beer, brats, cheese and Packers) since my second daughter moved there.
I know how fond you are of the prairie. I share some of that fondness, but WI is really where it is at for me and the subject I like to photograph. The cheese, brats & beer are especially of interest to me. I concur, Appleton is a great area.
I love that we photographers all have a fondness for a certain place. You, Dan, photograph any environment well whether rural or urban. I always learn from your photos.
I’ve noticed that seeming seamlessness of town and country on our frequent drives from the Twin Cities to my husband’s hometown of Oconomowoc. Wisconsin is a beautiful place.
I agree 100 percent with your assessment of Wisconsin.
You should see it where I live. The mountains meet the desert valley with forests and mountain lakes in between. There are cows and wild horses within and outside the city limits as well as deer, coyotes and bears. Makes for an interesting place to live at times, especially with wildlife migrations and hibernations! Happy Weekend:)
What a diversity of geography. And what great photo ops and ops for you to adventure.
I should take a pic of the wild horse crossings – have flashing lights! The bears have been pretty active here and have had some fatalities too, which is always sad:(
Wild horse crossings, yes, please.
Wild Horses are like deer, where you see one there is probably more – the reason for horse crossings here!
Oh, OK. Hitting a horse would be worse than hitting a deer. Fire-arms deer hunting season opens this weekend in Minnesota.
Growing up on the farm I did not care for deer hunters with firearms on our property or in the ditches of our property, since we had animals as well as humans moving about.
I don’t recall many deer hunters when I was growing up. My dad hunted pheasants, but that was it. I am thankful for the deer hunters because the deer population is out of control and that makes it dangerous for drivers. There’s a bow hunting deer hunt coming up next weekend at the local nature center.
My parents lived east of Superior for a few years – I really enjoyed the time I spent with them there. Of course the north shore is gorgeous, so that helped make it lovely!
That part of Wisconsin I haven’t explored. Yet.
It’s lovely – beautiful rivers and some waterfalls and, of course, Lake Superior! I’ve not been to the Madeline Islands but I have been to Bayfield, with reminds me of Door County.
What a lovely image, Audrey. My father used to work in Racine, Wisconsin. He said it was very beautiful in summer with all the lakes but the winters! Very, very cold xx
Oh, yes, Racine, which is located on Lake Michigan, likely would be quite cold in the winter, just like Minnesota. Racine is several hours south of where my daughter lives.
Happy to hear you have a connection to the Midwestern U.S.