As you drive along the Mississippi river near Lacrosse, Wisconsin you will pass along the blue stone cliffs that line the river bank. There is barely room for the highway between the cliffs and the river’s edge. You must stop and get out of your car to see the cliffs in their full glory.

The foliage that grows on the cliff face ranges from full-grown trees to shrubs and small plants, and were carefully chosen by nature to fit harmoniously into this picture. Being Wisconsin and being Fall every single color imaginable was trotted out for your amazement. For those among you who have to say “Those colors aren’t real. He must have Photoshopped that.” You’re right I did. I didn’t add any colors but I sure as hell enhanced that red. It was more than red enough but there was something about the way it contrasted with the blue of the stone that I loved, so I kept bringing out more red and more red, and more until there you have it. Red. Like tons of it. I was younger then. And besotted with the incredible range of colors that are so different from my home in the west. I take full responsibility for it. So to those of you purists out there who feel somewhat vindicated that you called me on the red and some of the other colors too, I can only say ” Yeah, I did it, Deal with it.” If you can’t and it just makes you crazy I say “OK you’ve made your point . Move along here. There’s nothing more to see. Thanks for stopping by.”

After looking at this picture for years, it was actually taken back in 2003, it dawned on me that it looked like calligraphy. The red plants forming the Kanji that says something undecipherable. A message from Mother Nature herself. Maybe it says something like “Beauty resides here, look and be in awe” or perhaps “Red is the color of love and life and good fortune. Be at one with it.”  or possibly “Return Hotel Bicycles to rack on Red street, or Tremble and Be Ashamed.” We’ll never know as this particular phrase has never been translated. I’m going with the first one, I think, the beauty resides here, one. That works the best for me.