Ski Stories From Yesterday

We had several steep little hills on our home farm, perfect for sledding and skiing, especially skiing. My dad made my first pair of skis out of barrel staves, the curved slats from wooden barrels that were about three feet long. He nailed a thin strip of leather onto each stave for my rubber boots. I was maybe four or five years old, so I didn’t mind much that my barrel stave skis were clumsy and performed poorly on hills. They served just fine on the level, sort of like snowshoes.

When I was seven or eight, my grandfather Witt made for me my second pair of skis from two five-foot strips of birch wood that he steamed over a teakettle to bend up the front ends. He also nailed a strip of leather across the middle of each of them to accommodate my four-buckle rubber boots. They were wider than barrel staves, and with the turned up ends I could sail down the hills as well as any kid with “store-bought” skis. Unfortunately, the skis that grandpa made did not have grooves cut in the bottom to keep them going straight. If the snow was packed, I would as likely go sideways as straight ahead—an added benefit I pointed out to my friends who had “better” skis.

By the time I was ten, I received a pair of factory-made skis for Christmas. They were seven feet long, still with but one strip of leather to hold my now six-buckle rubber boots, and with two grooves on the bottom of each for superior control and steering. My dad bought them at Hotz’s Hardware in Wild Rose—each ski somewhere along the way had lost its mate. One ski was black, the other brown. Dad painted the brown one black so they, with some minor differences, became a pair. With my new skis, I skied to school, skied a trap line each morning, skied to neighbors, and of course skied at skiing parties the neighborhood kids organized. Somewhere in my shed at the farm I still have one of these old skis. I broke its mate when I hit a stone, or maybe when I got tangled up in a wire fence I tried to cross. The remaining ski, once more alone, has many stories to tell.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: As we grow older we tend to forget things that happened and remember things that didn’t.

UPCOMING EVENTS
January 6, 2011, 5:30 p.m. Lacrosse Library Friends dinner meeting.

Christmas Memories

Some Christmas memories:

I remember Christmas morning with a stack of presents under the tree that couldn’t be opened until the morning milking was done.

I remember receiving socks and mittens that my grandmother knitted and a new pair of skates, the kind that clamped on the bottom of my shoes and were tightened with a key.

I remember oyster stew for supper on Christmas Eve, every year—a tradition in the family that went back for several generations. We continue to eat oyster stew on Christmas Eve today.

I remember Christmas dinner, with aunts, uncles and cousins, and a table spread with food like I only saw when the threshing crews came.

I remember walking a mile to the neighbor’s with a small present and a freshly baked pie, because we knew the neighbor’s wife had passed away and he and his daughter were alone on Christmas day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL. Any Christmas stories to share?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It often takes only a little more effort to move something from good to great.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 6, 2011, 5:30 p.m. Lacrosse Library Friends dinner meeting.

Country School Christrmas Program

Practicing for the Christmas program at our country school began shortly after Thanksgiving break. It was serious business as the school Christmas program was one of the main social events of the year in our central Wisconsin farm community. Everyone attended, parents, relatives, and neighbors, no matter if they had children attending the school or not. Every student performed on the stage, from the youngest first grader, to the oldest, eighth grader.

I remember my first program; I was five years old in first grade, all decked out in a new flannel shirt and newer bib overalls, and scared out of my wits. The school room, lighted with two gasoline lamps, and overheated with a big wood burning stove, was filled with people—standing room only.

It was my turn to “say my piece” a little ditty about winter, as I recall. I had memorized it and memorized it again. I recited it to our cows, and to the chickens when I helped with chores. No complaints. I recited it to my mother who nodded her approval—I did not share it with my twin brothers. What did they know about good performance, they were only three years old?

I did what Miss Piechowski told me: stand up straight, keep my hands out of pockets, use my outside voice—and stare at the stovepipe in the back of room. That was my secret weapon to avoid forgetting my lines when my fellow students crossed their eyes and stuck out their tongues, trying to unnerve me so I would.

It worked. I remembered. I said my piece. Everyone clapped. And I have been searching for stovepipes to stare at ever since.

CHECK THIS OUT: Want to learn more about fictional Ames County, Wisconsin? Go to my website, www.jerryapps.com, and learn about my four novels, all based in this special county. The first is The Travels of Increase Joseph and the most recent is Cranberry Red.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: (From an old country school reader): All that you do, do with all your might. Things done by half, are never done right.

UPCOMING EVENTS
December 13, 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red. (December 4 appearance canceled because of snow.)

December 16, 7:00 p.m. Stoughton Library. (Previous week’s program canceled because of weather).

January 6, 2011, 5:30 p.m. Lacrosse Library Friends dinner meeting.

Wish Book

It was truly a wish book. The days after Thanksgiving my brothers and I waited patiently for its arrival in our rural mailbox. The book was of course the Sears, Roebuck Christmas Catalog, first published in 1933.

There was no other book like for it, especially for farm kids who lived miles from a city and probably had never been in a department store. The wish book contained page after page of toys, everything from Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys to dolls, books, BB guns, and board games of every type.

My brothers and I took turns paging through the catalog, making our choices for Christmas presents. What we hoped Santa would bring. My mother said we could pick out one toy from the catalog, and one other practical thing such as a sweater, a pair of mittens, or maybe a winter cap with fancy ear flaps.

One Christmas I chose a book called FUN FOR BOYS, edited by William Allan Brooks. I must have gotten it in about 1944 and it still has an important place on my bookshelf. I remember how thrilled I was on Christmas morning to tear open the package with my special book and read through its Table of Contents: “The Secrets of Cartooning,” “How to Identify Aircraft,” (German, Japanese and U.S. as we were in the midst of World War II), “Building Model Planes,” “How to Train Your Dog,” “How to Handle a Rope Like a Cowboy,” “Building a Powerful Physique,” and “The Fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu” (As taught to marines, soldiers and G-Men).

The final chapter included eight pages of recommended books for boys beginning with THE DEERSLAYER by James Fennimore Cooper, including A SON OF THE MIDDLE BORDER by Hamlin Garland (a Wisconsin author), THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER and THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN both by Mark Twain, ADVENTURES OF BUFFALO BILL by William F. Cody, EARLY MOON by Carl Sandburg and many more.

I spent many hours poring over this special book—I still find it interesting today, more than 66 years later.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The best thing you can do when it’s snowing is to let it snow.

CHECK THIS OUT: Listen to an online interview about my new novel, CRANBERRY RED. Go to: http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/le_sgmt.php?segmentid=6674

WUWM: Lake Effect - Cranberry Red

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 9, 7:00 p.m. Stoughton Library.

December 11, 10 to 2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend.

December 13, 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red. (December 4 appearance canceled because of snow)

Snow at the Farm

First snow at the farm. On the grass and in the shaded places. Not enough to be inconvenient. Not enough to shovel or even sweep. But snow nonetheless. Not especially beautiful as first snows can be—but merely white stuff mixed in with the browns and greens. A not so subtle reminder of winter that waits like a bully to pummel a victim, sending a light jab to garner attention.

Fourteen degrees this morning as a cold, late November sun reluctantly crawls out of the east. Weather person says low forties today. Enough warmth to melt the snow and send winter back north, at least for a bit. But winter will return as it always has. Those of us living in the north would have it no other way. Some of us anyway.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If you put all of your eggs in one basket, be sure to keep your eye on the basket.

CHECK THIS OUT: Listen to an online interview about my new novel, CRANBERRY RED. Go to: http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/le_sgmt.php?segmentid=6674

WUWM: Lake Effect - Cranberry Red

UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

December 9, 7:00 p.m. Stoughton Library.

December 11, 10 to 2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend.

The Hunter and the Crow

Second morning of deer season. Foggy, misty, 32 degrees. I’m sitting on a wooden bench overlooking my prairie. I see a world of browns, tans and greens—the browns and tans from the dead grass and wildflowers. The greens from the pine trees—those that I planted, and those that grew on their own—red pine, white pine, jack, pine and Scotch.

Not a sound, profound quiet. No movement of wild creatures—they know better on a day like this. They stay hunkered down, out of the weather, different from their blaze orange fellow creatures who try not to let a little mist and fog, and cold and damp change their plans.

Then I hear it, to the west, in those few acres I call my oak woodlot, the sound of a lone crow. Just one. Out in the weather. Just me and a brave crow--I’d like to think the bird is brave, but maybe it’s as crazy as I am.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Change is not always progress.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

December 9, 7:00 p.m. Stoughton Library.

December 11, 10 to 2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend.

Corn Harvesting

The big corn combines are mostly silent now, the corn crop harvested. How different harvesting corn when I was growing up. Then, we cut the standing corn with a corn binder pulled by a team or horses. Once cut, my dad, brothers and I stood the corn bundles into corn shocks that marched across the cornfield like so many Indian tepees.

After a few weeks, a corn shredder arrived at the farm, a smaller version of a threshing machine. The corn shredder (perhaps better called a corn husker) removed the ears of corn from the stalks and cut up the stalks that were blown into our barn for later use as bedding for our cows. The yellow ears of husked corn tumbled into a wagon. When the wagon was full, we forked the cobs into the corn crib.

Corn shredding involved several of the neighbors, just as did threshing. It took a couple of weeks for the corn shredder to make the rounds of the neighbors, tending to each farmer’s corn crop, and leaving the corn fields with rows of corn stubble. With good fall weather, the naked corn fields were plowed down in preparation for the following year’s oat crop. No successive crops of corn on the same field which is often the case today.

The corn combine has made the process of corn harvesting considerably easier—but I miss seeing the corn shocks, true symbols of fall. (Travel in Amish country and you can still see them).


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 16, 7:00 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Cranberry Red

December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

December 9, 7:00 p.m. Stoughton Library.

December 11, 10 to 2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend.

National Farm Toy Show

They came from throughout the country, from Canada and several other countries. They gathered at Dyersville, Iowa, a little town west of Dubuque. Farmers mostly, those who still worked the land, and those who were retired but knew the stories of farming and farm life. Often three generations together, grandparents, mom and dad, and the grandkids. Looking at toy tractors and swapping “I remember when stories.” So many stories, nonstop stories from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon.

I sat behind a table piled high with my books as folks stopped by to chat. Their caps identified them—John Deere, Allis Chalmers, International Harvester, Oliver. Their caps told me which tractor was their choice and the source of their stories. Their sweat shirts carried on their infatuation with a certain kind of tractor: “Real friends don’t allow their friends to drive red tractors.” (A John Deere tractor lover for those who don’t know about the friendly competition between red (International) and green (John Deere) tractors.

One little boy—lots of kids of all sizes and ages attended—wore a shirt with the words “I was born in a barn” plastered across the front.
“Were you really born in a barn?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said smiling. His mother was smiling, too.

Other sweatshirt messages: “Real men use duct tape,” “My tractor’s my first love,” and “Still plays with tractors.”

A cute little boy’s sweat shirt said: “Dirt Rocks.” Another little boy’s shirt: “I move dirt.”

Some 10,000 plus folks attended the event—most of them walked by my table at one time or another. I even signed a book or two.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Always remember, as through life you roll, to keep your eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.

CHECK THIS OUT: Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio on November 9, Larry Meiller show, 11:45-12:30. Discussion of my novel, Cranberry Red.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 9, Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio, 11:45-12:30, Cranberry Red.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

November 16, 7:00 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Cranberry Red

December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

Windstorm

The weather bureau said, “High Wind Warning.” Batten the hatches. Tie things down. Find your flashlight. Prepare for the worst.

It came out of the west. A stiff breeze at first, then stronger gusts and by mid-afternoon on the first day of the storm a freight train sound roaring through the tree tops, screaming around building corners. Worrying roof shingles. Seventy mile an hour gust recorded on the UW campus in Madison.

Tree limbs sheared off, trees uprooted, diseased trees smashed to the ground. Power outages here, there and everywhere throughout the Upper Great Lakes, through Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin. Something to talk about. Stories to tell. Memories of previous storms to recount.

Two days of wind. So powerful. Mother Nature’s way. A periodic reminder of who is really in charge.

THE OLD TIMER REMEMBERS THIS OLD GERMAN SAYING: Let’s all stick together; everybody for himself.

CHECK THIS OUT: Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio on November 9, Larry Meiller show, 11:45-12:30. Discussion of my novel, Cranberry Red.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells, Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin.

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.

November 9, Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio, 11:45-12:30, Cranberry Red.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

November 16, 7:00 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Cranberry Red

December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

More Potato Harvest

“So what did you do with all those potatoes?” someone asked me after reading my last week’s tale about potato digging, potato picking and country school potato vacation.

At noon, and again at the end of a harvest day, we loaded the filled potato crates on our steel-wheeled wagon pulled by trusty Frank and Charlie, our Percheron draft horses. We stored the potatoes in two places, in bins in the cellar of our farm house and in our potato cellar, a little building built into the side of the hill just west of our chicken house.

Farm houses in those days did not have basements, but had dirt floor cellars. Because we had no furnace and heated the house with wood stoves, the cellar was always cool.

The separate potato cellar structure, built mostly underground, was where most of the potatoes were stored. The upper part was for machinery storage, the cellar was divided into several potato bins.

We stored the potatoes until the prices would climb a bit, usually in late winter, and then we would sort them with a hand-cranked potato sorter, bag them and tote them to Wild Rose where the potato buyers operated big warehouses.

Of course we ate potatoes, three times a day, fried potatoes for breakfast, boiled potatoes for dinner, and often baked potatoes for supper.

Potatoes along with cucumbers and green beans were our cash crops, providing a little extra money to supplement the bi-monthly milk checks from our small dairy herd.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Nothing grows without roots.

CHECK THIS OUT: Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio on November 9, Larry Meiller show, 11:45-12:30. Discussion of my new novel, Cranberry Red.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 28, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library.

October 30, 9-4:00, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County.

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells, Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin.

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.

November 9, Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio, 11:45-12:30, Cranberry Red.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

November 16, 7:00 p.m. Reedsburg Library, Cranberry Red

December 2, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Cranberry Red.

December 4, 10:30-2:30. Dregne’s Scandinavian Gifts, Westby. Book signing for Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days, and Cranberry Red.

Potato Harvest

When I was growing up, mid-October was potato harvesting time. During those years we planted twenty acres of potatoes,sometimes more. We planted them by hand, cultivated them with a one-horse walking cultivator, and spent untold hours hoeing out the weeds the cultivator missed.

Come October and potato harvest time, our country school, along with all the country schools in central Wisconsin closed two weeks for potato vacation. Some vacation. Every chilly vacation day morning we loaded wooden potato crates on our steel-wheeled wagon pulled by Frank and Charlie our trusty draft horses.

We distributed the potato crates every few yards across the field, and Pa and a hired man began digging. Each used a six-tine barn fork and backed their way across the field, each digging two rows while my two brothers and I scrambled to pick the big white potatoes into pails that when full we dumped into the potato boxes.

It was back breaking work, but the smells of new potatoes and freshly turned soil were pleasant ones. And besides that, we earned a handsome one cent a bushel for the potatoes we picked, more than most of the kids in the neighborhood who received no pay whatever for their efforts. I purchased my first .22 rifle with potato picking money.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Everybody has a story to tell.

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launch:

Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 19, 6:30 p.m. Rhinelander Public Library, Horse Drawn Days

October 23, 6:00 p.m. Oregon Public Library. Living a Country Year.

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Cranberry Red

October 28, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library.

October 30, 9-4:00, Writing Workshop, The Clearing.

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells, Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin.

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

Old World Wisconsin

It’s harvest time on the farm. Time to bring in the crops. It is so today as it has been since pioneer days.

I spoke at Old World Wisconsin this past weekend, during the midst of their “Autumn on the Farms” celebration. Old World Wisconsin, a Wisconsin Historical Society site, is located near Eagle, not far from Milwaukee. It is a Wisconsin treasure; a place where visitors can see what farm life was like in the 1800s, when Wisconsin agriculture was in its infancy. It’s also a place to learn about Wisconsin’s ethnic roots. Visitors can see German, Norwegian, Polish, Yankee, African-American, Finnish and Danish farmsteads, plus visit a blacksmith shop, an old fashioned country store, church, a one-room country school, an early town hall and much more.

At Old World Wisconsin this past weekend, visitors could see everything from oxen at work, to draft horses plowing. They could witness sausage making, weaving demonstrations, rope making, timber framing, candle dipping, horseradish grating, and more.

Oh, they could also hear me talk about my new books, HORSE DRAWN DAYS and BARNS OF WISCONSIN.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Some advice he recently heard. “Write down all of your experiences, even when you don’t have any.”

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launch:
Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 15, Local History Conference. Lake Geneva, WI

October 16, 12:00 noon, Muskego Library, Muskego. Horse Drawn Days

October 19, 6:30 p.m. Rhinelander Public Library, Horse Drawn Days

October 23, 6:00 p.m. Oregon Public Library. Living a Country Year.

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Cranberry Red

October 28, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library.

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells, Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin.

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

Midwest Booksellers

We were in St. Paul this past weekend, attending the Midwest Booksellers Association trade show. An annual event for librarians, booksellers, publishers and authors to mingle and share ideas and stories. Folks from as far away as North Dakota and Missouri and all points in between.

Everyone was mostly optimistic about the book business, but some pessimism, too. Like farmers, book people look ahead, tomorrow will be a better day, next year will be a better year.

Saw many old friends, made many new ones. A special treat—viewing fall colors along the way. How beautiful the trees in the North these early October days—the red and yellow maples, the sparkling yellow aspens, the bright red sumac. An artist’s array of colors against a clear blue sky, with all the haze and humidity blown south.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Books have long been wonderful Christmas presents. They still are.

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launch:

--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 7, 7:00 p.m. Next Chapter Bookstore, Mequon. Horse Drawn Days

October 9-10 Old World Wisconsin, 2:30 each day. On Saturday, Horse Drawn Days and on Sunday, Barns of Wisconsin.

October 15, Local History Conference. Lake Geneva, WI

October 16, 12:00 noon, Muskego Library, Muskego. Horse Drawn Days

October 19, 6:30 p.m. Rhinelander Public Library

October 23, 6:00 p.m. Oregon Public Library. Living a Country Year.

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Cranberry Red

October 28, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library.

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

Robert Gard

Last Friday I had the opportunity to participate in the dedication of the Robert E. Gard Memorial Storyteller’s Circle at Muir Knoll on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, a quiet place on a high hill that looks out over Lake Mendota.

Bob was a storyteller, a historian, a folklorist, an author of more than 30 books, and many other things. He worked for the University of Wisconsin’s extension program when I first met him. I always enjoyed his folksy way of writing and his concern for the land. He helped me publish my first book, THE LAND STILL LIVES, and assisted me with several other writing projects. He had a gentle way of encouraging people to do their best, demanding but in a quiet, friendly way.

Bob was a Kansas farm boy, a lover of the prairie. In a newspaper piece published in 1986, he wrote, “[T]he roots of man and the roots of grass were much the same. Both must have the land to nourish them . . .”

Bob Gard died in 1992; I miss him.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Quoting from THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH: “It’s the land. I’m talking about the land and how we must take care of it or we shall all perish.”

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launch:

--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.

Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 29, 5:30 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival. Quivey’s Grove (between Madison and Verona). Barns of Wisconsin and Cranberry Red.

October 1-2, Midwest Booksellers, St. Paul. Barns of Wisconsin, Cranberry Red

October 7, 7:00 p.m. Next Chapter Bookstore, Mequon. Horse Drawn Days

October 9-10 Old World Wisconsin, 2:30 each day. On Saturday , Horse Drawn Days and on Sunday, Barns of Wisconsin.

October 12, 5:30-8:00 Apple Blossom Books, Oshkosh.

October 15, Local History Conference. Lake Geneva, WI

October 16, 12:00 noon, Muskego Library, Muskego. Horse Drawn Days

October 19, 6:30 p.m. Rhinelander Public Library

October 23, 6:00 p.m. Oregon Public Library. Living a Country Year.

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Cranberry Red

October 28, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library.

November 3, 3:15 p.m. Wisconsin Library Association, Wisconsin Dells

November 5-7, National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa.

November 13, 9:30 a.m. Sheboygan Falls Library, Horse Drawn Days.

Final Three Sisters' Report

I’ve reported several times on the progress of the three sisters’ garden project that I tried this summer. I mentioned how the sisters—corn, squash and pole beans—rather than helping each other as they were supposed to, got into a serious competition over which one was best, especially early in the growing season. The corn was supposed to support the pole beans and the squash was supposed to stifle weed growth with its broad leaves and sprawling vines.

The pole beans got off to the best start, the corn struggled, and the squash, once it got going, did well. By mid-summer the sisters seemed to be getting along or perhaps better said, putting up with each other. This summer’s growing season was far from normal. It rained and rained and rained, and it was hot, hot, hot.

By late August a mildew attacked the squash, and alas, killed it dead. One day it looked great with promise, a week later a brown, dead vine remained. The corn, never very energetic struggled on, but continued to be out done by the bush beans.

Final report. A good crop of beans, one tiny ear of corn, and no squash. I wonder if the Native Americans, who reported to have great success with this garden strategy, had the occasional crop failure—or was it just me? I would like to blame it on the weather. My other garden squash did poorly as well and my sweet corn was well below average. But I did have a good bean crop. Was this the year of the bean? A gardener knows there is always next year.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It’s not over until it’s over, except when it is.

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:

--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.

--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.

Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. University of Wisconsin Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

WRITING WORKSHOPS:

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.

September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, School of Education, UW-Madison Campus.

September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor: Council of Rural Initiatives. Before the dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.

September 29, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival. Quivey’s Grove (between Madison and Verona). Barns of Wisconsin and Cranberry Red.

October 1-2, Midwest Booksellers, St. Paul. Barns of Wisconsin, Cranberry Red

October 7, 7:00 p.m. Next Chapter Bookstore, Mequon. Horse Drawn Days

Fall on The Way

My son, Steve and I headed for the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota last week. In search of fish and some solitude. The solitude we found. The fish story later.

While we weren’t looking for it, we found fall—lurking just over the border in Canada. We were but a couple miles from our neighbor to the north and it sent a biting northwest wind south that dropped nighttime temps into the low 30s with little warming during the day. The birch trees turned more yellow each day we were there. The loons seemed a bit anxious, no doubt making preparations for their long migration south. Fall was clearly in the air.

And the fish? Well, we always bet about which of us is more successful fishing. Whoever is buys breakfast for the other guy in Grand Marais on the day we come out.

This year Steve won. He caught the first fish, the largest fish, and the most fish. He also caught the only fish, which was a small mouth bass about 15 inches long.

I enjoyed the solitude—and the beginnings of fall. Please don’t ask about the big ones I brought up to the canoe but didn’t land.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Fishing is always good; sometimes the catching less so.

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:

--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.

--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.

Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

WRITING WORKSHOPS:

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS:


September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.

September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.

September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, Muir Knoll, UW-Madison Campus.

September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor: Council of Rural Initiatives. Before the dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.

September 29, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival. Quivey’s Grove (between Madison and Verona). Barns of Wisconsin and Cranberry Red.

October 1-2, Midwest Booksellers, St. Paul. Barns of Wisconsin, Cranberry Red

October 7, 7:00 p.m. Next Chapter Bookstore, Mequon. Horse Drawn Days

Wild Grapes

Sometimes you hear about animals doing crazy things. I want to tell you about a plant that’s been on a rampage. It’s a wild grape vine. With all the rain in central Wisconsin, the wild grapes have been growing, growing, growing. In some cases to the tops of trees near the trail by the pond.

For many years, grape vines have grown on the east and south sides of my old pump house. Built in 1912 and still standing tall, the pump house serves mostly as a woodshed these days. Not satisfied with growing on the outside of the pump house, a grape vine has decided to look around inside the building. So it snuck in, through an open space where the roof connects to the walls.

Not knowing at all how wild grapes look at the world—some days I can’t figure out how I see the world—the grape vine must have decided that not all is so hunky-dory in a dark, old, musty, bat-filled pump house, now woodshed. So it searched for a way out, which it found in a crack above the door. When you approach the pump house, you see a grape vine hanging over the door, green, happy and growing. Where to next, I wonder for this traveling plant?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Nothing succeeds like excess.

CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:

--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.

--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.

Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.

September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.

September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, Muir Knoll, UW-Madison Campus.

September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor Council of Rural Initiatives. Before dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.

Threshing Days

Can you believe it? E-mails and even phone calls from those wanting to share with me the “proper” way to shock grain, the subject of last week's blog. Lots of memories associated with grain harvesting in yesteryear.

Someone asked me what happened after the grain was shocked. Threshing (separating the grain from the straw) came next, a highlight of the year for a farm kid. A threshing machine worked its way though the neighborhood, spending a day or more at each farm. All the neighbors helped with the threshing task, and for a kid, what fun it was. As an eight or nine year old, you shoveled the oats to the back of the oat bin. One task for three or four sturdy neighbors was to carry bag after bag of the freshly threshed oats from the threshing machine to the granary’s oat bins, so the shoveling job was never ending.

By the time you were twelve, you’d earned the dubious honor of sitting on the shaking and shuddering and very dusty threshing machine, working the handles and ropes to steer the straw blower so that a decent straw stack resulted. An important job, for a properly made straw stack would shed water.

By age 13, you graduated to spike pitching, meaning you helped load the oat bundles from the shocks onto horse-drawn wagons that toted the unthreshed grain to the threshing machine.

And if you did all of these previous jobs to satisfaction, by age 14 you moved up to the most glorious of all jobs, driving a team of horses on a bundle wagon and pitching off the load of bundles into the ever hungry maw of the machine. Anyone who could pitch off a load of bundles without missing a beat, and without plugging the threshing machine because you didn’t space the bundles properly had moved from childhood to manhood. A right of passage for a farm kid of my generation.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember when work was fun?


CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED is appearing in the bookstores. Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.

WRITING WORKSHOPS:

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.

September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.

Shocking Grain

At Stonefield Village, a Wisconsin Historical site near Cassville, I was talking to a group about the early history of farming last Saturday. Several retired farmers were in the audience and the questions got around to shocking grain and the proper way to do it.

Shocking grain does not mean attempting to scare it or holding an electrified wire to it, as one young person said to me recently. Shocking grain means standing the recently cut grain bundles on end so they will dry and withstand any rain showers that may come by before threshing day, when the grain is hauled to the threshing machine and the kernels and the straw are separated from each other.

It seems in different parts of the Midwest, shocking grain was done differently, enough so that when a group of farmers gathered, they argued about the proper way to do it. Arguments similar to those where a farmer would proclaim the virtues of an International tractor and his neighbor would do the same for John Deere, with neither backing down one engine pop.

In my neighborhood, the shocks contained five pairs of bundles, with no bundle placed across the top. In other parts of the state, shocks included seven pairs of bundles with a bundle or two on top.

What was important, as it turned out, was that no matter how a shock was constructed, it should stand against the wind, and shed water if necessary. Grain shocks should also be things of beauty—to look at when the work was done, and allow one to say “Don’t those grain shocks look nice.”

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Do it right the first time.


CHECK THIS OUT: A revised edition (all new photos, about 25 percent new and updated material) of BARNS OF WISCONSIN is now available in book stores. My son, Steve, did the photo work.

WRITING WORKSHOPS:

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.

Writing Workshop

I spent a delightful week teaching a writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. People attended from Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, all interested in turning their memories into memoirs. Seventeen writers gathered each morning to write stories from such prompts as: “I wish someone had told me . . .” and “Ten things that annoy me. . .” They drew house plans for homes where they grew up, triggering memories of smells, sights, and sounds.

They listened to country music that told a story. They wrote about people who made a difference in their lives and turning points that sent in them in new directions. They discussed journaling and how to do research for their stories. They laughed; they hugged and sometimes there were tears as not all memories are pleasant ones. But at week’s end, in the midst of the hottest and most humid seven days that Door County remembered in some time, they wrote their stories—wonderful stories that came from the heart.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If an idea does not first sound absurd, then there is no hope for it. Source--Albert Einstein.



CHECK THIS OUT: Just received an advance copy of CRANBERRY RED, the fourth novel in my Ames County Series. Should be in bookstores in a week or so. Go to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details. Amazon.com also has a cover photo and description.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days and Barns of Wisconsin.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.

August Three Sisters Report

Reconciliation? Accommodation? Sister love? No matter. The three sisters in my garden are finally learning to live together and to depend on each other. For those who may have forgotten about the tiff going among my corn, pole beans and squash—the three sisters of Native American garden lore—all seems to have been forgiven.

The corn is now shoulder high, tasseled out and allowing (maybe even encouraging) the pole beans to shinny up its stalk. The squash although suffering from too much rain—can you even imagine too much rain on our sandy garden soil—is doing a reasonable job of shading out the weeds. But alas, there is still no sign of any edible squash developing.
The pole beans are first with produce, long skinny pods hanging everywhere. Corn ears are forming as well. My three sisters experiment may amount to something yet.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Try to do more for others than they do for you.

CHECK THIS OUT: IN A PICKLE (second novel in Ames County Series) now available in audio format. Got to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS


August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

Bodie

Bodie is a dog. A seven- month old Wheaton Terrier. He is tan, has a cute face and looks something like a Teddy bear. He lives with my son Jeff, wife Sandy and their kids, Christian, Nick, and Libby in Eagle-Vail, Colorado, in the mountains.

Bodie and his family were in Wisconsin this past week, at a cabin on Lake George near Rhinelander. Bodie went swimming and hiking. Bodie ate a lot, and napped a lot.

Bodie showed off a unique part of his developing personality. Much to everyone’s surprise, he demonstrated that he has literary tendencies. He likes novels. One day we caught him chewing on the cover of the paperback edition of my novel, THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH. What more could an author ask—a dog that likes to read. And novels? Wow.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Never stop reading. Read books, all kinds of books, fact and fiction, usual and unusual, and ordinary books written by local people with a story to tell and a message to share.


CHECK THIS OUT: THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH, (UW Press) the first novel in my Ames county historical fiction series is now in paperback. Buy at your favorite bookstore, or order off my website.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 21. Railroad Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

Black-Eyed Susans

With all the rain in central Wisconsin in recent weeks, my prairie has the tallest, thickest grass and the most wild flowers I remember since we began restoring it back in the late 1960s.

Black-eyed Susans have taken center stage for the past couple weeks, they are abundant, they are tall, and they are making a statement this year. For those who may not know, the Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is daisy-type flower, yellow with a brown center. It grows about two to three feet tall. And it likes my sandy, gravely, rather poor prairie soil.

Black-eyed Susans are native to the United States and they take care of themselves—I have not planted one Black-Eyed Susan seed since we began our prairie restoration. They come back year after year, some years more than others.

If you keep track of states and their official flowers, it is Maryland that has claimed the Black-Eyed Susan, since 1918.

More prairie reports later—along with the status of my garden’s three sisters who continue to duke it out.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: All gardeners know better than other gardeners.


CHECK THIS OUT: For those who read the Wisconsin State Journal, look for a review of Horse Drawn Days in the Sunday edition (July 25).

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

Three Sisters Still Fighting

For those waiting breathlessly for more about how the three sisters are getting along: They aren’t. Talk about sisters competing with each other. Sister pole bean is so far the bully of the bunch; she has crawled to the top of the stake I pushed in the center of the little garden mound,and has stuck her sticky tendrils a good 18 inches in the air beyond the end of the pole. Searching for an unknown something to latch onto.

Not to be out competed (if that’s a word), sister squash now has leaves a foot across, already has several yellow blossoms, and is also trying to crawl up the center pole, mixing it up with sister pole bean. I’ve never seen anything like it. What a vegetable competition.

Alas, meek and mild sister corn, now about half as tall as the center stake, seems to have accepted defeat in the sister competition. Where will it end? Why can’t the sisters get along—they are supposed to. That’s what I read somewhere. Not only are they supposed to get along, they are supposed to help each other. Care for each other. Look out for each other. Not in my three-sister garden. Cutthroat competition goes on. And may the best sister win.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can count the seeds in an apple, but the number of apples in a seed will remain forever a mystery.

CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long writing workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.

September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.

September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.

Ducks or DUKWs

The discussion at the Fourth of July family picnic the other evening got around to the ducks at Wisconsin Dells, and plans to take a tour on them. I pointed out that the folks at the Dells spelled the name of the vehicles incorrectly and that the correct spelling was DUKW. For the reaction I got, you’d think I’d spelled Wisconsin backwards.

The reason I knew the correct spelling is when I was in the U.S. Army Reserve (Transportation Corps) back in the late 50s and early 60s, we had these strange (I thought them strange at the time) vehicles in my battalion. They traveled on land as well as in water. I know that many of you have longed to know this important information, but the letters DUKW are not an acronym, as is so much the case with the U. S. army. The D refers to a vehicle designed in 1942; the U means “Utility-amphibious,” the K refers to front-wheel drive, and the W means two powered rear axles.
The army used DUKWs to transport equipment and troops from ships to shore—each could haul 2 ½ tons of equipment, or up to 12 soldiers. They are 31 feet long, a little over eight feet wide and 7 feet tall. Not exactly a fishing boat. The DUKW fleet’s greatest fame came during D-Day, June 6, 1944, when DUKWs helped bring troops and equipment ashore during that famous battle in WW II. So now you know.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: (He remembers what someone told him) Those who have a fifth on the Fourth have trouble going forth on the fifth.

CHECK THIS OUT: A new paperback edition of THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH (University of Wisconsin Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing From Your Life Workshop.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council.
Ames County Novels.

Three Sisters Progress

A few weeks ago I wrote about planting a “three sisters’ garden.” Three sisters refers to planting squash, corn and beans together in a mound. A Native American way of gardening. Corn in the center. Then climbing beans next to the corn and squash around the outside. The beans are supposed to climb up the corn; the squash are expected to shade out any weeds that may grow.

Here’s a progress report. With lots of rain and plenty of warm weather, everything came up, almost at the same time. The corn really needed to have a head start on the beans, which it did not have. The beans are growing wildly, throwing out their climbing tendrils with nothing to latch onto. The corn, wimpy and slow, seemed overwhelmed by the exuberant beans. The squash is growing as squash does this time of the year, slowly.

We weeded the little mound a couple of times, couldn’t wait for the squash. And we cheated a little, too. I stuck a four-foot long stick right dab in the middle of the mound for the wildly thriving beans. Within a day the beans found the stick and seem much happier with something to cling to. The corn, struggling, seems a little put off by what I had done. If corn thinks, it’s probably wondering why I didn’t have a little more patience and wait for it to grow taller so it could accommodate the beans. So far the three sisters are not getting along too well. But I guess most sisters have spats from time-to-time.

More about the experiment later.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The shortest distance between two points is often not the point.

CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Go to my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days and more.

July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle and more.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.

Wild Roses

Almost by accident I found several wild rose bushes growing on a hillside on the back part of my farm. I was driving my Gator along the prairie trail and my eye caught a spot of pink among the grasses that grew there. I had not seen wild roses here before; the last plants I saw grew alongside the trail to the pond, and had been snuffed out by the over competitive buckthorn that grows everywhere these days.

I discovered not only one wild rose bush, small and rather fragile, but perhaps a dozen. And several were in bloom. For those not familiar, the wild rose flower has five petals, light pink in color. They have a wonderful, quiet, but distinctive aroma. No other rose compares, at least not in my judgment.

Wild roses have a special place on my farm, for the township where my farm is located is called Rose, and the nearest village is Wild Rose. Some claim both the township and the village were named after the wild roses found growing here. Others say, no doubt correctly, that these places were named after Rose, New York in Wayne County, where many of the settlers in this area had first lived.

The wild rose is state flower for Iowa and for the Province of Alberta in Canada. Alas, Wisconsin chose the wood violet as its state flower, missing an opportunity to give this native flower a bit more glory.

To see a photo of a wild rose, go to my son, Steve’s blog: http://steveappsblog.com/?p=547

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Tall trees don’t always provide the most shade

CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.

August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.

August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.

August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.

Pioneer Days

Want to learn more about pioneer days in Wisconsin, 1850s to 1900? My novel, THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH (University of Wisconsin Press) is now available in paperback. Here are two reviews for the book to give you some idea of its contents:

Like all of Jerry’s books, Travels is steeped in meticulous research, but this time Jerry has let his imagination have at the facts. We follow the career of Increase Joseph Link from the time he gets drummed out of theology school until his death. His calling to preach comes in the form of a literal lightning bolt and leads him to form the church of the Standalone Fellowship, based on teachings contained in a mysterious red book the preacher keeps with him at all times and never lets anyone else read. When not preaching a gospel of God, man, and the land, pastor Link peddles a cure-all tonic (the recipe also remains his secret, but I'm betting on a high alcohol content) that sells for "50 cents, or two for a dollar." It's a wonderful read and an education in Wisconsin history and the formation of America. I highly recommend it. Marshal Cook

The Travels of Increase Joseph by Jerry Apps is a superbly crafted historical novel of a pioneer preacher who came to the wildlands of Wisconsin in 1852 with his small gathering of followers, the Standalone Fellowship. Supporting the Fellowship by selling his special curative tonic, and delivering oratory and with powerful messages that are nothing short of spellbinding, Joseph Link dared to speak out as he journeyed and his words and ideas made an impression that stayed. The Travels of Increase Joseph is a most thoughtful and wonderfully entertaining read. Jerry Apps writes with vibrant character and has a penchant for making Wisconsin history come alive. Midwest Book Review.

Check your local bookstore, or order from my website, www.jerryapps.com.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The land comes first. It’s the land; we must learn to listen to it, and take care of it.

CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.

Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield

Wisconsin Historical Society’s Stonefield Village, near Cassville, celebrated Horse Drawn Days this past Saturday. People toured the agricultural museum of horse-drawn farm implements, watched a farrier shoe horses, rode a horse-drawn carriage, saw a log cutting demonstration, and observed broom making.

Watching Randy Moshead and his three-horse team plow a small field in front of the museum delighted those who came to the day-long event. Children and adults gathered to watch Randy’s team pull a one bottom riding-plow that turned over ribbons of black soil. Slowly and deliberately the team worked and by day’s end much of the field was plowed.

A comment heard from those who watched, “How quiet it is when horses pull a plow.” Indeed, no roaring engines, no smell of diesel fumes, just the occasionally soft jingle of a harness chains and an even softer commands from the driver.

The Saturday event took many of us back to the days when horses pulled the plows, when the sounds were those of the birds and the soft spring breezes, and the smells were those of freshly turned soil and horse sweat. And no one was in a hurry.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you farm with horses, you are never alone.

CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.

June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

Whip-poor-wills

I heard whip-poor-wills calling at the farm the other night. Just after the sun went down, on a still evening without another sound. Their calls echoed through the valley below our cabin, a haunting call that reminded me of my growing up years on the farm.

We usually heard the first whip-poor-wills in late May, after the grass had greened up, the oat crop was lush and growing, and we had the corn ground ready for planting. Pa said the whip-poor-wills were calling, “Plant your corn, plant your corn.” It sounded like that as the seldom seen night birds called their name over and over, sometimes a dozen or more times in a row.

When we heard the whip-poor-wills the other night, my son, Steve said that it was one of his favorite sounds at our farm when he was a kid. It was one of my favorite sounds when I was a kid as well.

THE OLD TIMER SAW THIS ON A T-SHIRT. “I was born with nothing and I have most of it left.”

CHECK THIS OUT: http://twitter.com/jerryapps


WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org. P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.

June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.

June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.

June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.

July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

Bears

Bears have lived in Wisconsin for hundreds of years, mostly in the north, in the big woods of the North Country. But in recent years they’ve begun moving south, into the central regions of the state, and more recently into the southern counties. The DNR estimates suggest from 22,000 to 40,000 black bears living in our state.

This past week a bear was spotted in Waunakee, just north of Madison. And recently bears have been spotted at Wisconsin Dells, Portage, and near Oshkosh. People are curious, a bit nervous and somewhat unsettled about bears moving into populated areas. Some suggest a bear is just a big dog. They are not. A male bear will weigh from 250-350 pounds and more and the females 120-180 pounds and more.

June and July is the mating season for bears, so they are on the prowl, looking for food, searching for love, and often creating quite a nuisance besides getting themselves killed on the highways. The DNR suggests: take down your bird feeder, be careful with garbage and never feed a bear. Oh, and don’t crowd up close to one for a photo. Remember, they are wild animals and should be treated as such.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To know what you believe, you’ve got to know what you don’t believe.

JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. Week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.

June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.

June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus. Ames County Novels.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

Three Sisters Garden

Long before white people arrived in this part of the world, numerous Indian tribes grew gardens. The three most popular garden crops grown were corn, squash and beans—crops that became known as the “Three Sisters.” The crops were grown together in close proximity. In a mounded circle about two to three feet across, the Indians planted several corn seeds in the center. Pole-type beans were planted a few inches away from the corn seeds, and squash seeds were planted around the outside of the mound.

The pole beans climbed up the corn stalks and the squash rambled around the mound, shading out weeds. The three crops worked together rather than competed with each other, which is more often the case in a garden.

I’m planning to try an experiment with Three Sisters in my garden this year. We’ll see what happens.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If it’s not bothering you, leave it alone.

JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.

June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.

June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

Sandhill Cranes at the Pond

Daughter Sue, Paul and our grandsons, Josh and Ben, stood on the shore of our pond last week, enjoying the beautiful day. Grandson Ben decided to go exploring and soon discovered he’d come too close to a sandhill crane nest. The birds began calling, then one of them displayed the classic dropped wing act to feign injury to lure an intruder away from the nest. As we watched they called again and again, their calls echoing through the valley. When Ben retreated, the sandhills calmed down. They usually hatch two little ones—I’ll keep watch for them.

For several years a pair of sandhill cranes has nested at our pond. What beautiful birds they are. They stand up to five feet tall with a wingspan of five to six feet. Mostly gray, they have red foreheads and long dark beaks. But perhaps most memorable of all is their call, a throaty, trumpeting, prehistoric sound that once heard is never forgotten. No other bird has a call like it, not even close.

Big blue herons are the other big birds we sometimes see at the pond. Both the sandhills and the big blues have long spindly legs and both may be seen wading in the water. One easy way to tell herons and cranes apart is how they fly. Cranes fly with their necks outstretched; herons fly with their necks tucked back. The big blue heron’s calls are dramatically different too, the big blue heron makes a kind of croaking sound, nothing speculator about it at all.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is simpler when you plow around the stump

JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.


The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4


UPCOMING EVENTS

May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.

June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

May Snow

Snow in May. The mean side of winter showing its face once more. It comes in the night with big fluffy flakes floating out of a dirty gray sky. Hiding the recently mowed lawns, gathering on the newly emerged leaves and flower buds, covering the vegetable garden with a late, cold coat of white.

A robin sits in the spruce tree in front of the cabin this chilly, snowy May morning. Its feathers fluffed; it has an angry look in its eyes. The robin’s attitude is as chilly as the morning. The robin represents the thoughts and feelings of most creatures this May day.
What happened? What went wrong? Why would Mother Nature allow winter to throw a sucker punch? It’s just not right.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Rain in May is a barn full of hay. Snow in May is . . .a surprise.

JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.


The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4


UPCOMING EVENTS

May 16, 2:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)

May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.


June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.

July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.

Rhubarb

We pulled some rhubarb this week, and just in time, too. It was starting to bolt. Some of the stalks had grown more than three-feet tall with leaves the size of elephant ears.

I have many memories of rhubarb as we had a big patch on the home farm. When the rhubarb was ready we knew that spring had surely arrived with no turning back. No winter relapses.

My mother made rhubarb sauce—sour and unappealing. But my dad assured us we must eat it as it “purified the blood” after a long dreary winter. So we did, but not without complaint.

Ruth made rhubarb crisp. Not even a distant relative of rhubarb sauce for rhubarb crisp is tangy--sweet, providing our first taste of spring.

Rhubarb Crisp

4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 cup flour
¾ cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Add butter or margarine to the flour mixture until crumbly.
Press about half of flour mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add water and vanilla. Cook this sugar water mixture over medium heat until clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add rhubarb to the sugar-water mixture coating the rhubarb.
Pour rhubarb over crust. Place remaining flour crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.


The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4


UPCOMING EVENTS

May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)

May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)

May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)

June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.


June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.

June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations of horse drawn equipment.

Rainy Day

Raindrops on the windows this dark and dreary morning. Raindrops drumming on the roof. Sounds of April. Sounds of spring. Much needed rain for the gardens and fields, for the animals and birds, for the little trees I planted a couple weeks ago that desperately need water to survive.

Growing up on a sandy farm I learned to never ever say a bad word about rain. No matter if it interrupted spring planting, or challenged a daughter’s wedding party. Like the land itself, rain was, is and forever will be a necessity of life.

So on a rainy day like this one, put on your old ratty Filson hat, your well worn raincoat and hike in the rain like you did when you were a kid. Walking in the rain is special.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A rainy day is a glorious day.


WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.

October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.


UPCOMING EVENTS

April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)

May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)

May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)

May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)

Early Garden Planting

We planted our early garden crops last week. Potatoes, both white and red, radishes, carrots, peas, and a long row of onions. I’ll plant more early crops next week, lettuce and beets, but will hold off with the tender crops, the tomatoes and peppers, until the end of May. Too often I’ve been fooled by the warm days of early spring when I set out my tomatoes early and saw them die with a late spring frost.

I have planted a vegetable garden at Roshara every year since 1967. Each gardening year has its mysteries and challenges, its joys and disappointments. Gardening seems a lot like life in those respects.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can bury a lot of troubles digging in your garden.


WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.

October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.


UPCOMING EVENTS

April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)

April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)

April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)

May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)

May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)

May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)

Tree Planting at Roshara

We planted trees at the farm this weekend. Two-hundred of them. All Red Pine, six to 12 inches tall. We’ve planted trees every spring as long as we’ve owned Roshara, so we have trees now more than 40 years old, and that tall, too. Beautiful trees that sway in the wind and remind me of when we planted them--Ruth, our three toddlers and me. Doing the work by hand. With a shovel to cut a slit in our sandy soil.

We planted trees by hand this weekend, too: Paul, Steve, Natasha, Kristin and me. Mostly easy work for this energetic crew that enjoyed a sunny day, a cool breeze, and the wonderful smell of pine trees.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Planting a tree is planning for a future.


WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.

October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm).

April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)

April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)

April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)

Spring Charges In

Spring came charging in on a southwest wind this past week, sending winter sulking away to the north to lick its melting ice and disappearing snow. Eighty degrees my thermometer at the farm said as I cut black locust brush that tries to smother out the pines I planted two years ago. I worked and rested, drank water and worked some more. But so much more to do—and, I learned yesterday that my new replacement trees are ready for planting.

Like it was when I was growing up the farm, after weeks of anticipation, of waiting and hoping, spring, arrives. And the work comes all at once. But, as my dad said, work is good for you. And I must say, I do enjoy stretching my muscles and swinging my brushcutter, even though, at day’s end my back, shoulders, and arms tell me to take it easy, that I’m not a kid anymore.

THE OLDTIMER SAYS: Never have any problems raising your kids provided there is plenty of work for them. A tired kid is a good kid.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.

October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 6, 3:00 p.m. Oakwood Retirement Center. Madison, April 6 (The Good Old Days?)

April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm.

April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room School)

April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)

April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)

April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)

Brother's Walk

My brother, Don, who lives near Wild Rose, wrote this after his morning walk last week.

Here’s what is happening on the farm: I saw about 30 swans flying and honking, saw lots of geese,too.

Two tom turkeys gobbled to my new crow call. Snow is about gone. Saw lots of deer tracks, one big one.

The pond is still frozen but the edges are open. I think the beavers are still there. I saw two huge snapping turtles. Sandhills are bugling everywhere.

Is spring early this year?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Cherish the memories of yesterday. Dream big dreams about tomorrow. Live happily today.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14. Call 877-854-3225. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30 at The Clearing.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)

Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)

Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)

Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)

UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)

Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)

Writing Your Story

For those who tuned in my program on Wisconsin Public Radio last week (Larry Meiller Show at 11:00 a.m.), I promised to share some storytelling tips. Program host Jim Packard’s asked: “What are the elements of a good story.”
--People
--Action
--Conflict
--Suspense
--A sense of time and place
--A beginning, middle and an end.

Everyone has a story to tell of childhood years, first jobs, military service, life-changing events and never told secrets. These are the stories that your children and grandchildren will cherish, and additionally will add a special addition to the history of your community when you file your stories at your library or local historical society. Oh, if you’re wondering. It’s never too late to begin writing your stories.

First day of spring! Says so right on the calendar. But I when I look outside this morning, my daffodils and tulips are but little green spears poking through two inches of snow. Mother Nature obviously doesn’t read the calendar. Patience. Patience. It’s still March.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: In spring we shake loose the shackles of winter and make big plans and think big thoughts. We celebrate what has passed and look forward to the future with joy and hope.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.

A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))

Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)

Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)

Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)

Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake, Delevan. (One-Room Country Schools)

UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)

Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)

Feet Touching The Ground

When I was still teaching, we interviewed a young man from Florida for a position in our department. We talked to him in January when we had a couple feet of snow on the ground, and after spending a day with him, I asked him if would like to come work for us in Wisconsin. I’d noticed he seemed uncomfortable all the time he was here, and I couldn’t put my finger on his concern.

His answer told all. He said, “I don’t think I could work in a place where my feet wouldn’t touch the ground for three months of the year.” He was referring to our snow-covered landscape.

My feet touched the ground this week as our snow has mostly disappeared. Can there be a surer sign of spring? Several readers responded to my request for signs of spring. Here are a couple of them.

“We saw our first robin last week and our tulips and daffodils on the south side of the house are about three inches up. Always love your observations about nature and the seasons. I can tell that like me, you are longing for spring. I look forward to hearing the birds start singing at four in the morning, from the comfort of my bed of course.” Sharon of Plymouth

“A recent morning as I was getting into my car, a cardinal was carrying on nearby with such jubilation I had to smile! In spite of the chilly wind, his frisky notes held such positive hope of the nearly spring. I couldn't help but grin to myself. We in the Midwest don't appreciate the cardinals’ cheery songs. I've heard people in Texas express such joy when they've seen or heard a rare cardinal!” Kay Moore

Interested in a good story? Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio next Thursday, March 18 at 11:00. Larry Meiller and I will be doing another session on Wisconsin stories and story-telling. Got a story to share? Call in.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The coming of spring, so much like all of life, is two steps forward and one step back.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.

A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))

Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)

Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)

Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)

Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake. (One-Room Country Schools)

UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)

Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)