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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 4h

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There are more than 200 statues! I first came here in the late 1960s with my dad, who was friends with Fred Smith. Very happy to see that the site is getting professional upkeep and restoration work.

Horse head and shoulder with a beer bottle "mane."

Detail of the mane, revealing truly ancient molded clear glass Blatz beer bottles.

Detail of the wagon driver with the gas pump crown.

Horse wearing a tin "hat" that reads "Hi Ho Silver."

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 4h

Saving the best for last from our North Central Wisconsin getaway: Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips!

Fred was a retired lumberjack who opened a tavern outside of town in 1948. His works are concrete decorated with broken barware and beer bottles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiscons... 1/2

Glass and concrete figures of oxen, horses, dogs and people. The tall figure represents Paul Bunyan, and another shows a man driving a wagon while wearing a vintage Standard Oil gas pump crown on his head.

Rear view of figures, in the foreground is a horse hitched to a iron band "harness."

Two clydesdales with concrete hames and telephone wire insulators as manes

Detail of a piece titled "Double Wedding" showing the occupants drinking Rhinelander Beer "shorties" and whiskey.

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

Cool Bike Art @coolbikeart1.bsky.social · 22h

Rex bicycle
The idea behind the small third wheel was to create a suspension system for a more comfortable ride

Rex Bicycle Co, Chicago
1898

Photo of bicycle with an unusual frame and a extra, small wheel at the rear. The saddle rests on a tube that's suspended over the rear (big) wheel, and is stabilized by the small wheel that follows it.

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 22h

@schellbrewer.bsky.social I think the Grain Belt sign might have gotten a tune-up the other day? I saw a couple trucks with cranes or a cherry picker parked by it.

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 22h

Long overdue if true!

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 1d

And the colors seem rather muted.

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

David @archaeomather.bsky.social · 1d

Maple leaves above us at lunchtime

Looking up into the crown of a maple tree.

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 1d

Fact: Mikhail Gorbachev visited the Twin Cities June 3-4, 1990 and on Oct. 15, 1990 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 1d

I grew up one county over, but I have never even *heard* of this place before this week.

The Dells of the Eau Claire River. Not anywhere near Eau Claire, but closer to Wausau. www.marathoncounty.gov/Home/Compone...

Looking downstream, a flowing stream a middle jutting rock.

A single-span stone and concrete bridge over the river.

Another downstream view, rock cliffs along the river bank.

Looking upstream at a meandering river flanked by fall color.

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 1d

🎵A Kwik Trip to the mooooon on gossamer wings,
Just one of those things...🎶

Taken in Merrill, Wisconsin Tuesday night.

Two elements. In the lower left foreground and out of focus, a gas station canopy sign for Kwik Trip. In the upper right and in sharp focus, the full Harvest moon.

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 2d

I've been to Madison. I've seen that face.

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 2d

So, the statuary came first? Makes sense. I was wondering how all that added to the rural titty bar experience.

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 3d

NPR reporter says fires in Colorado burned an area "the size of Atlanta." #toosoon

Colorado ranchers struggle to rebuild thousands of miles of fence after wildfires

Ranchers in Colorado are struggling to rebuild thousands of miles of fence lost to big wildfires this summer, which can cost $20,000 per mile.

www.npr.org

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 3d

www.audubon.org/magazine/eve...

Every Year This Wisconsin Museum Hosts the Best Modern Bird Art in the World

The annual “Birds in Art” show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the biggest, most impressive exhibition yet. Take a behind-the-scenes tour...

www.audubon.org

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Reposted by Vic Thorstenson

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 5d

“Every Year This Wisconsin Museum Hosts the Best Modern Bird Art in the World”
The annual “Birds in Art” show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the biggest, most impressive exhibition yet:
www.audubon.org/magazine/eve...

Every Year This Wisconsin Museum Hosts the Best Modern Bird Art in the World

The annual “Birds in Art” show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the biggest, most impressive exhibition yet. Take a behind-the-scenes tour...

www.audubon.org

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 3d

YOU AND ME BOTH BUDDY.

Sign in county park reads "This Park Possesses Dangerous Natural Features"

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 3d

If you like #birds you gotta get to Wausau for the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum's 50th Anniversary Birds in Art show going on now through January 4.

This is another of those great regional museums, uniquely specializing in avian art. www.lywam.org/exhibitions-...