A last fling with Milwaukee’s shoreline was the plan, to be topped off nicely with some fresh fish and local beer. But September 4 began with a clap of thunder and the accompanying rain pelted on, no end in sight. There would be no swimming, no freckles, no fish. 

Not to be entirely foiled by the weather, however, Plan B was decided en route. We settled on a trio of bio domes just outside the city. New scenery, plenty of greenery and some relief from the incessant rain. 

It seemed a particularly fitting hideaway for the day as well.

The fourth was my birthday, and to be surrounded by growing things in their varying stages of maturity and blossom was more accurate a representation of the current chapter than I could have imagined. 

Quiet in the effort of their growing, I could relate to the domes’ inhabitants.