Saturday, July 28, 2012

Lawn Grass and Patience


For more than a month my lawn has been the color of an Arizona desert.  What was once green grass turned brown and stayed that way as southern Wisconsin’s drought dragged on week after hot, dry week. Not a pretty sight. Walking on my lawn was like walking on egg shells. 

Those folks who had not experienced a long spell of hot, dry weather asked if their lawns were as dead as they looked, and wondered if they’d have to re-seed them.

“Wait," I said.  "Be patient.”

This week it rained—more than an inch.  And the dried up lawns once more began turning green.  Lawnmowers sputtered to life and the smell of freshly cut grass filled the air.

This may be a stretch—comparing lawn grass to human nature.  But when things go bad, lawn grass hunkers down and waits.  Patiently.

Not the worst approach for people who often quickly complain and want a quick fix when life tosses a curve ball at them. Sometimes a little patience will make all the difference.  The lawn grass doesn’t fret and fuss when it needs rain (at least not that I can tell).

A lesson here?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Whatever happened to patience?

CHECK THIS OUT:  You can preorder my new novel, TAMARACK RIVER GHOST (fifth in my Ames County Series) from Amazon.com.  See press kit at this link for information about the book: http://uwpress.wisc.edu/Presskits/Apps_RiverGhost.html

UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

September 7-8, Southwest Wisconsin Prairie Festival, Folklore Village, 3210 Co. Hwy. BB, Dodgeville, WI.  Keynote talk, Saturday, Sept. 8, 1:00 p.m. “People and the Prairie.”

October 13, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Thunder Storm


Off and on I watched the western sky as it turned from a hazy gray to the color of charcoal as the storm slowly organized and shifted east.

It was a hot steamy afternoon;  temperature in the nineties and humidity not far behind.  As the hours passed, the storm clouds continued moving, building, shifting, turning darker as they came closer.  The air was thick and clammy; “Will it rain?” someone asked, as the land thirsted for moisture after days of unrelenting heat and not a drop of water,

Now the rolling, tumbling, ominous angry clouds obscured the sun and the afternoon grew dark and darker.  I saw the first jagged flash of lightning and a few moments later heard the grumble and growl of thunder.  It had been weeks since I’d heard thunder and seen lightning—weeks of dry weather that turned green to brown.

Another flash of lightning, another louder boom from the heavens and I felt the first drops of rain, as large as quarters splattering on the dry soil. And then more ear-shattering thunder and sky-splitting lightning and a deluge of warm water poured from the sky, cascading off the building roofs, running across the parched lawns.  In its anger, the storm was giving up much needed, desperately needed rain.

And then, after but a few minutes, it was over.  The rain stopped.  The skies cleared, and the countryside smelled sweet and clean.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Enjoy a thunder storm, for it is nature’s way of getting our attention, as well as providing life-giving rain.

A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY:  Due to illness, two participants in my Clearing Writing Workshop scheduled for August 5-11 had to cancel.  So there are openings for two people.  Call The Clearing at 877-854-3225 or email them at Clearing@theclearing.org if you are interested in attending.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Dry Weather


The heat and dry weather continue; the corn crop withers; the pastures turn brown, and my lawn at the farm looks like an Arizona desert.  It’s a bit unnerving walking across grass that crunches under foot; it is like walking on crackers.

My prairie suffers, so do my trees.  Early goldenrods are showing now and then as they push forth a meager little reminder of what they would look like had the rains come more often.  The Black Eyed Susans are in bloom, but only an occasional one—not like a normal summer.

The big blue stem grass, with a root system that goes deep, remains green, but not luxuriant as in other years.  Mostly the prairie plants are dormant, waiting patiently for rain, hunkered down under the torrid sun that sends temperatures above one-hundred degrees for several days in a row.

The big woodlot beyond my cabin remains silent in the heat.  No birds flitting among the trees, no squirrels scampering along the trail.  They are all there, waiting, waiting for the rains to come.  Showing themselves in the early morning, and at sundown, when the temperatures moderate—but resting during the heat of the day.

              

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  It’s so dry that the Pine River only runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Friday, July 06, 2012

Temperature 104


Mark it down as crazy, or perhaps simply not knowing any better, but Steve, Natasha and I spent much of the Fourth of July holiday working in the family garden, weeding, hoeing, mulching—and sweating. In the shade, the cabin thermometer read 104. 

Every part of me dripped--my nose, my arms, my forehead—even the tips of my fingers (okay maybe not the tips of my fingers).  My shirt was soaked from the collar to the shirttail.  After an hour or so of hauling straw mulch for our 50 tomato plants, I must fess up to looking for a shady spot to rest, catch my breath and avoid drowning in my own sweat.  But Steve and Natasha motored on—hoeing, weeding, mulching, and drinking gallons of water—it seemed like gallons.

What fine weather for killing weeds.  Once out of the ground the weeds immediately died—similar to putting them on a hot woodstove. Our sandy, sun drenched garden soil indeed felt like the top of a hot woodstove.

On the plus side, the first planting of sweet corn is about ready for harvest.  The first fingers of zucchini have appeared, so have the first little cucumbers.  The beets I planted in March are the size of golf balls—tasty to eat at this size.  The early potatoes are about ready.  But the lettuce is sputtering—too hot for lettuce.

Of course we’ve been irrigating—lots of irrigating.  Without the water our garden would look like our lawn—golden brown.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Hot weather is time to slow down—but not stop. Doing something productive takes one’s mind off being uncomfortable.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 7-14.  Rhinelander. Writing Retreat—and vacation.

July 10, 7:00 p.m., Eagle River Public Library, Garden Wisdom.

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Two Weather Patterns


Ruth and I attended a wedding in Minneapolis yesterday, a beautiful outdoor event at a golf course that needed no watering as this part of the U.S. has gotten ample rains in the past few weeks, more than enough in some places such as Duluth where 10 inches fell at one time caused havoc.

According to the Minneapolis TV weather guy, that city set a record for rainfall for the month of June.  Contrast that with Madison, WI where our home city is setting an opposite record—less than a half-inch for June.

Driving to the Twin Cities the other day, we could see the change from dry grass and shriveled cornfields ending somewhere north of Black River Falls to a cornfield near Eau Claire that was shoulder high and the darkest of dark green.  Not so in southern Wisconsin where worries mount for a failed, or at least a meager 2012 corn yield.

 In central Wisconsin, we have been on the margin.  Some rain, but not enough.  I’m afraid without watering, our garden, which has been off to a great start, would whither away like the cornfields of southern Wisconsin.  

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Few things are dependable in this world, especially so the weather.

CHECK THIS OUT:  My one day workshop: “Writing  From Your Life,” October 13, 9-4. The Clearing, Door County. For more information go to. http://theclearing.org/current/index.shtml

UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 10, 7:00 p.m., Eagle River Public Library, Garden Wisdom.

August 5-11, The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.