Minnesota Prairie Roots

The Goodman Community Center expanded into the former Madison Brass Works building along the bike trail.

PLACE REVEALS ITSELF in the details.

Sunflowers brighten the Atwood Community Gardens.

Put me in a location, like the Atwood Neighborhood on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin, and I will focus on the nuances. The seemingly little things that, when connected, define this as a neighborhood rooted in art, in the outdoors, in a genuine care for one another.

This is one busy bike path, frequented by all ages.

All of this I surmised simply by walking along Atwood area residential streets and past businesses and by following the Capital City State Trail for several blocks.

Flowers, oh, so many flowers…

My post today takes you back to the bike path, to those details that caused me to pause with my camera as bikers zipped past me. To photograph the flowers.

An artsy sign in the community garden.

Inspiring graffiti.

Madison’s capitol is depicted in this manhole cover art.

And the signs—always the signs, the aged brick buildings and, yes, even the manhole covers.

A little seasonal fun added to the Atwood Community Gardens.

And resident garden skeleton.

Cow art by the Goodman Community Center and right next to the bike trail.

What I observed pleases me as a creative, as an appreciator of aged architecture, as a nature lover and as a human being who values respect for others.

Colorful flowers thrive, including this zinnia.

The natural beauty of the Atwood Neighborhood appeals to me.

Spotted in a window of a residence along the bike trail.

The spirit of the Atwood Neighborhood appeals to me, too. With its earthiness. Its embracing of differences. Its sense of neighborhood pride. Its art. I feel comfortable here. Welcome. And that, my friends, is more important than ever in these times of upheaval, discontent, frustration and disconnect.

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Note: Like anywhere, no place is utopia, and that includes the East Side of Madison. While visiting my son, who lives in the Atwood Neighborhood, I learned of a recent daytime “shots fired” along his street. He didn’t tell me about this, of course, not wanting to worry his mom. There have been other similar incidents. Does this concern me? Yes. But then I think of my neighborhood in Faribault, considered small town to many, but not to me. In the 36 years I’ve lived here, my section of town has seen violence also. In 1999, a young man was stabbed to death within blocks of my home. We’ve also experienced drive-by shootings only blocks away. Not recently. No matter where you live, no place is fully safe. But, of one thing I am certain. We each have within us the capacity to shine lights of hope in our neighborhoods, to be decent and kind and caring.

Please check back soon for more posts from this section of Madison, Wisconsin.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling