Selecting a Christmas Tree

Over the years we have planted about 12,000 red pine trees that are now of various heights and diameters at our farm near Wild Rose.  In addition to the many that we planted, many more have self-seeded.  We have about five acres of self-seeded white pines, and here and there throughout the farm self-seeded Scotch and jack pine grow.

Each year for many years we have selected our Christmas trees from this collection—and what a task it is.  You’d think picking out a couple trees, one for Ruth and me, and one for Sue and Paul would be an easy task.  It is not.  We do no shearing of our pine trees—thus they grow naturally and often imperfectly.  Imperfectly for those who want a straight, fully branched, dark green, just the right height tree.

Last Saturday my daughter, Sue and I had the onerous and enormous responsibility of selecting this year’s trees.  It was a cool clear day and we faced the task with seriousness, as well as enjoying tramping around from tree to tree:  “How about this one?  How about that one?”

Finally, we settled on two Scotch pines that appeared to meet most of the requirements for a suitable Christmas tree.  Sue, a woodswoman as she calls herself, sawed off one and then the other tree.  We loaded then on the back of our John Deere Gator and chugged off down the trail by the pond and up the hill on our way to the cabin.  Arriving at the cabin, we proceeded to load the trees into the pickup—and discovered we had but one tree.  Back on the trail to find the one that had fallen off.

It was a great day.  I've not yet heard how successful we were.  That information usually comes later—after the trees are decorated.  I’m hopeful.

SPECIAL EVENT:  December Monday, December 3, 6:30, Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Central Wisconsin launch of TAMARACK RIVER GHOST, my latest novel, with a setting in central Wisconsin.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Decision making can be a bugger, especially when selecting a Christmas tree.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 28, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 1, 10:30-2:30 Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. 10:30-2:00 p.m. Presentation at

11:00. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

December 2, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 3, 6:30 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Dinner and book launch for “Tamarack River Ghost.”  Call 920-622-3855 for reservations.

December 5, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio.  Tamarack River Ghost.

December 8, 9:30-11:30, Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library, Garden Wisdom. Sponsored by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

December 15, 11:00 -12:30. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum, Downtown Madison.  Book Signing.

Deer Hunting

Not once since I was old enough to buy a hunting license have I missed  a deer season in Wisconsin.  Not that I’m much of a hunter anymore; I am not.  But the idea of being with family for this annual ritual compels me to return to the woods on these days before Thanksgiving looking for the illusive ten-point buck, which is the standard, high-ranking achievement for the deer hunter.  Anything less, say a fat six-pointer evokes little praise.

I suspect there are a growing number of us, with many years of deer hunting experience, who continue not because of the thrill of bagging a big deer (most will take one if the opportunity presents itself) but of the hunt itself.  The Saturday night chili supper at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Wild Rose. Chatting with nephews seldom seen during the rest of the year.  But above all, for me at least, the opportunity to sit in the woods on my farm, with giant oaks all around me and a view of my pond in front of me, and the quiet.  Oh, how I appreciate the quiet with no cell phones chirping, no traffic roaring in the background, and no door bells dinging.

After an extremely busy fall of speaking and book signings, I needed these few days of escape.  Deer hunting is my excuse.

SPECIAL EVENT:  December Monday, December 3, 6:30, Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Central Wisconsin launch of TAMARACK RIVER GHOST, my latest novel, with a setting in central Wisconsin.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Find time to seek a quiet place from time to time.  It’s good for the soul.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 28, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 1, 10:30-2:30 Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. 10:30-2:00 p.m. Presentation at 11:00. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

December 3, 6:30 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Dinner and book launch for “Tamarack River Ghost.”  Call 920-622-3855 for information.

December 5, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio.  Tamarack River Ghost.

December 8, 9:30-11:30, Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library, Garden Wisdom. Sponsored by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

December 15, 11:00 -12:30. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum, Downtown Madison.  Book Signing.

Wisconsin Book Festival

To those who proclaim that the book is dead, they need only to have attended the Wisconsin Book Festival to know how wrong they are.  A program of the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Wisconsin Book Festival, held this year November 7-11 at various sites in and around Madison, attracted scores of authors and hundreds of readers from near and far.

On Saturday, I had the privilege of the introducing Jim Draeger and Mark Speltz, authors of “Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars & Breweries.”  The event was held at Le Tigre Lounge off Midvale Blvd. in Madison--and people were literally spilling out the door—all thirsting for a bit of “Bottoms Up” (and a cool brew or two as well).

On Sunday, afternoon, during the last time period of the five-day show, author Kristy Athens of Portland, Oregon and I shared a stage at the Overture Center in Madison for a program called “With Our Hands in the Dirt.”  She discussed her new book, “Get your Pitchfork on: The Real Dirt on Country Living,” and I talked about my book, “Garden Wisdom.”  We were privileged to have Wisconsin’s own, Larry Meiller, host of Wisconsin Public Radio’s Larry Meiller show, to introduce us.  With a cold rain making the afternoon a bit miserable, book readers listened, chuckled, and raised great questions during our nearly one and a half hour session. 

Really no need to say it, but books and book-reading continue to be important in the lives of many.  May it ever be so.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Books do not scold when you blunder, laugh when you are ignorant, or hide when you seek them.

CHECK THIS OUT: Tune in your Wisconsin Public TV station on November 28, 7:00 p.m. for the inaugural showing of “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.”

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 13, Barnes and Noble Book Store, Madison West. 7:00 p.m. Launch of “Tamarack River Ghost.”

November 14, Columbus, Wi Public Library. 6:00 p.m. “Tamarack River Ghost”

 November 15, 7:00 p.m. Brown County Central Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI. Showing of “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” Wis. Public TV.   Free to the public. Reception with cider and cookies. Apps will speak and take questions from the audience following the show.

November 28, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 1, 10:30-2:30 Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. 10:30-2:00 p.m. Presentation at 11:00. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

December 3, 6:30 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Dinner and book launch for “Tamarack River Ghost.”  Call 920-622-3855 for reservations.

December 8, 9:30-11:30, Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library, Garden Wisdom. Sponsored by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

December 15, 11:00 -12:30. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum, Downtown Madison.  Book Signing.

November 13 Jerry Apps Book Launch

A special invitation to all:

Launch of Tamarack River Ghost at Barnes and Noble West Madison, Tuesday, November 13, 7:00 p.m.

Another installment of the Ames County Series of books with a Wisconsin base--and this time a contemporary issue facing the good citizens of Ames County who live in the Tamarack River Valley.

Making Wood

The old oak tree stood maybe 40 feet tall, one of the sentinel trees on the side hill back of the cabin.  A couple years ago the tree died; no one knew why.  The bark had fallen from the upper branches and were bleached white from the summer sun.  But the tree remained sturdy and strong—and had become a prime candidate for firewood to feed our every hungry wood stove that warms our cabin and cooks our food during the cool days of fall and the long, cold days of winter.

Making wood has become a fall-day tradition for many years at the cabin.  The family gathers and together we, cut, split and pile the wood on the outside of the woodshed where it dries for the winter.  The wood we burn this season was cut a year ago—well seasoned and dry firewood is not only safer to burn (far less danger of chimney fires) but it also is easier to start and burns better.

Steve handles the chainsaw these days; Paul is in charge of the cant hook—which helps to prevent the chainsaw from pinching when the tree is down.  Once the tree is sawed into chunks, I haul them to the shed with the tractor and there, with a log splitter, Steve and grandson, Ben slice the big chunks into cook stove size pieces while Paul hauls the split wood with the tractor to the woodshed where he not only stacks the wood but makes the stack look like an artist’s work.

Daughter Sue and Ruth prepare an enormous noon meal for the hungry wood cutting crew and the work continues throughout the afternoon until the wood is all piled.  I am reminded of the wood cutting bees we had on the home farm when I was a kid.  When the neighbors came to help slice the oak logs into manageable hunks.  In those days there were no chain saws, and no mechanical wood splitters.   Just two-man cross cut saws, axes, and splitting mauls.  All hand labor.  Except for Guy York’s circle saw that made the rounds of the neighbors, slicing long oak logs into manageable chunks of wood—the work we do these days with a chainsaw.   The good old days? 

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Daughter Sue said it.  “Bacon never tastes better than when it is prepared on a wood burning cook stove.”

Upcoming Events

November 7, 5:30 dinner.  Platteville Historical Society, Platteville, WI. “Garden Wisdom.” 1^st English Lutheran Church, 215 W. Pine St., Platteville.

November 11,  5:15 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival, Madison, Overture Center,

“Garden Wisdom.”

November 12, 10:00 a.m. Radio show, WBEV-AM, Beaver Dam. Brenda Murphy Show.  “Tamarack River Ghost.

November 13, Barnes and Noble Book Store, Madison West. 7:00 p.m. Launch of“Tamarack River Ghost.”

November 14, Columbus, Wi Public Library. 6:00 p.m. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

 November 15, 7:00 p.m. Brown County Central Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI. Showing of “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” Wis. Public TV.   Free to the public. Reception with cider and cookies. Apps will speak and take questions from the audience following the show.

November 28, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 1, 10:30-2:30 Fireside Bookstore, West Bend, WI. 10:30-2:00 p.m. Presentation at 11:00. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

December 3, 6:30 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Dinner and book launch for “Tamarack River Ghost.”  Call 920-622-3855 for reservations.

December 8, 9:30-11:30, Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library, Garden Wisdom. Sponsored by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

December 15, 11:00 -12:30. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum, Downtown Madison.  Booksigning.

Upcoming Events

November 7, 5:30 dinner.  Platteville Historical Society, Platteville, WI. “Garden Wisdom.” 1^st English Lutheran Church, 215 W. Pine St., Platteville.

November 11,  5:15 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival, Madison,”Overture Center, “Garden Wisdom.”

November 13, Barnes and Noble Book Store, Madison West. 7:00 p.m. Launch of “Tamarack River Ghost.”

November 14, Columbus, Wi Public Library. 6:00 p.m. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

 November 15, 7:00 p.m. Brown County Central Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI. Showing of “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” Wis. Public TV.   Free to the public. Reception with cider and cookies. Apps will speak and take questions from the audience following the show.

November 28, 7:00 p.m. “Jerry Apps: A Farm Story.” State-wide broadcast on all Wisconsin Public TV stations.

December 1, 10:30-2:30 Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. 10:30-2:00 p.m. Presentation at 11:00. “Tamarack River Ghost.”

December 3, 6:30 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose.  Dinner and book launch for “Tamarack River Ghost.”  Call 920-622-3855 for reservations.

December 8, 9:30-11:30, Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library,  Garden Wisdom. Sponsored by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.