Spring has sprung

It's been a long time since our last posting. There's really no good reason. Perhaps it had something to do with the winter. The cold, the shorter days, and oh yeah...the 101 inches of snow we had here in Madison this winter. Don't get me wrong...I like snow as much as the next guy, and probably even more. I recall the first snowfall of this past winter. It was on December 1st and I believe I said something like "It's snowing! Awesome!". Four months and 100+ inches of snow later, I was saying something like "It's snowing...Awesome....". Sometimes punctuation can make all the difference.

Things have been in bloom here lately and Jenelle and I took the opportunity this morning to head over to the Madison Farmer's Market. It is really one of my favorite parts of Madison. There are dozen of vendors selling all sorts of items, and the location on the Capitol Square can't be beat. It has become a bit of a tradition for Jenelle and I to start it off with breakfast at Gotham Bagels, a great little bagel shop just off of the Square. They definitely seem to have the best bagels in town, but I suppose that isn't hard when the alternatives seem limited to Bruegger's and Einstein Brothers. But beyond the food, I think I like the atmosphere the best. I don't know the history behind the store, but I'm pretty sure it was founded by at least one true New Yorker, and I feel like I can appreciate (and pronounce) the names of many of the items on the menu, such as the Long-Guy-Land or the Massapequa.

After a great breakfast, we headed out to the Square to see what items were for sale. Typically, the Farmer's Market has a bunch of stands where they sell flowers, plants, vegetables, baked good, and of course cheese (this is Wisconsin, after all). There are also some slightly unusual things at the Farmer's Market, yet they retain some kind of small-town charm that probably adds to the experience. I tend to keep an eye out for some of the signs at the stands, such as this one or this one. Even better are some of the salespeople as well. Today we saw a guy selling donuts that appeared to be lifted from a Dr. Seuss book, as well as a man peddling his honey.