Sunday, February 26, 2012

An Aging Old Man Winter

Old man winter is showing his age. This year he seems content to spend most of his time napping on the couch rather than periodically hurling blizzards at us and trying to frost our systems with days-on-end below zero weather.

Besides that he appears to have given up what little hold he had on the 2011-2012 season. I saw a robin last week; others have seen bluebirds and sandhill cranes. These creatures appear to have accepted the demise of what winter we’ve had in anticipation of an early spring.

But be careful. Old man winter may be old, but like some old people I know, he can be unpredictable and even at times a little crotchety. Just because old man winter is getting on in years doesn’t mean he lacks power—at least I, for one, don’t think so.

CHECK THIS OUT: March 6, 7:00 p.m. at Barnes and Noble West in Madison Ruth and I’ll be launching GARDEN WISDOM. Ruth has prepared some great door prizes ranging from her famous home-made grape jelly, to her even more famous zucchini bread.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You haven’t got it until you get it.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 6, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble-West, Madison. Launch of Garden Wisdom.

March 9-11. Canoecopia, Alliant Center, Madison. (Trade show for all things canoeing) I am speaking at 4:30 on Friday, March 9 and at 2:30 on Saturday, March 10. Steve will share Boundary Waters photos as part of Saturday’s presentation.

March 11, 2:00 p.m. Book talk and signing, Arcadia Bookstore, Spring Green. (Garden Wisdom)

March 17, 10-2:00 p.m. Rock River Gallery and Coffee House, Jefferson. (Garden Wisdom)

March 24. Central Wisconsin launch of Garden Wisdom at Patterson Memorial Library Wild Rose. Dinner at six. Contact the library for reservations: 920-622-3835. Presentation and book signing to follow.

March 31-April 1. Morton Arboretum (Thornhill Education Center), Chicago area. Presentation on vegetable gardening, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on March 31. Sunday, April 1, 1:30-3:30 features a vegetable gardening workshop, with tips on planting and caring for a vegetable garden. Additionally, Ruth will discuss preparing vegetables and fruits for canning and freezing.

April 12, 7:00 p.m. Mcmillan Library, Wisconsin Rapids. Garden Wisdom

April 13, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcasting at Fox Cities Book Festival. Garden Wisdom.

April 13, 2:00 p.m. Fox Cities Book Festival, Neenah. Garden Wisdom

April 14, 10 a.m.-12 a.m., AAUW, Lacrosse, WI (Stories from the land)

April 15, 12:30 p.m. -2:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, LaCrosse (Garden Wisdom)

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Wisconsin Agriculture

As some of you know, I’m writing a book on the history of Wisconsin Agriculture. I thought it might be interesting to share where our state ranks today in its agricultural production. How does Wisconsin fare—in comparison to all the states in our several agricultural pursuits?

More than half of Wisconsin’s agricultural income comes from its dairy industry—so we truly are a dairy state. But the state is also a national leader in several other agricultural areas.

Wisconsin’s Ranking:

Milk Production—2 (California leads)
Milk Cows—2 (California leads)
Cheese Production—1 (2.6 billion pounds—25 % of nation’s production)
Milk Goats—1
Mink Pelts—1
Corn for silage—1
Oats—2 (Minnesota leads)
Cranberries—1 (60% of nation’s production)
Potatoes—3 (Idaho leads)
Cherries—5 (Michigan leads)
Maple Syrup—4 (Vermont leads)
Mint for oil—6 (Washington leads)
Carrots for processing—2 (Washington leads)
Sweet Corn for processing—3 (Minnesota leads)
Green Peas for processing—3 (Minnesota leads)
Snap Beans for processing—1
Cucumbers for pickles—5 (Michigan leads)

So be proud, Wisconsinites, our state not only has a rich agricultural heritage, but a powerful agricultural presence in 2012.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If someone calls you a cheesehead, smile and say, “thank you.”

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 6, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble-West, Madison. Launch of Garden Wisdom.

March 9-11. Canoecopia, Alliant Center, Madison. (Trade show for all things canoeing) I am speaking at 4:30 on Friday, March 9 and at 2:30 on Saturday, March 10. Steve will share Boundary Waters photos as part of Saturday’s presentation.

March 11, 2:00 p.m. Book talk and signing, Arcadia Bookstore, Spring Green. (Garden Wisdom)

March 17, 10-2:00 p.m. Rock River Gallery and Coffee House, Jefferson. (Garden Wisdom)

March 24. Launch of Garden Wisdom at Patterson Memorial Library Wild Rose. Dinner at six. Contact the library for reservations: 920-622-3835. Presentation and book signing to follow.

March 31-April 1. Morton Arboretum (Thornhill Education Center), Chicago area. Presentation on vegetable gardening, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on March 31. Sunday, April 1, 1:30-3:30 features a vegetable gardening workshop, with tips on planting and caring for a vegetable garden. Additionally, Ruth will discuss preparing vegetables and fruits for canning and freezing.

April 12, 7:00 p.m. Mcmillan Library, Wisconsin Rapids. Garden Wisdom

April 13, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcasting at Fox Cities Book Festival. Garden Wisdom.

April 13, 2:00 p.m. Fox Cities Book Festival, Neenah. Garden Wisdom

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Potato Lover's Month

Did you know that February is National Potato Lover’s Month? I sure didn’t. When I was growing up on a farm, every month was potato month. In fact, it was the rare meal, whether it was breakfast, dinner or supper that we didn’t eat potatoes in some form—boiled, mashed, baked, fried, in soup, in a casserole, in a stew—we grew a lot of potatoes and we ate a bunch of them, too.

We called potatoes by a variety of names: spuds, taters, even Murphies (apparently some connection to the Irish who were known for their potatoes). My brother Darrel, a great lover of potatoes as a kid, was nicknamed Murph, which he seldom goes by these days.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, that helps promote the various national promotions, says the average American eats 126 pounds of potatoes each year, which is a good thing as Wisconsin produces 2.2 billion pounds of potatoes making it third in the nation after such potato giants as Idaho and Washington State.

So forget about calories (a medium size spud only has 110), and dig in. Who can’t love a potato, whether its potato lover’s month or not?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If all you have left in the pantry is potatoes, you still have plenty to eat.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 6, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble-West, Madison. Launch of Garden Wisdom.

March 9-11. Canoecopia, Alliant Center, Madison. (Trade show for all things canoeing) I am speaking at 4:30 on Friday, March 9 and at 2:30 on Saturday, March 10. Steve will share Boundary Waters photos as part of Saturday’s presentation.

March 24. Launch of Garden Wisdom book at Patterson Memorial Library Wild Rose. Dinner at six. Contact the library for reservations: 920-622-3835. Presentation and book signing to follow.

March 31-April 1. Morton Arboretum (Thornhill Education Center), Chicago area. Presentation on vegetable gardening, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on March 31. Sunday, April 1, 1:30-3:30 features a vegetable gardening workshop, with tips on planting and caring for a vegetable garden. Additionally, Ruth will discuss preparing vegetables and fruits for canning and freezing.

April 12, 7:00 p.m. Mcmillan Library, Wisconsin Rapids. Garden Wisdom

April 13, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcasting at Fox Cities Book Festival. Garden Wisdom.

April 13, 2:00 p.m. Fox Cities Book Festival, Neenah. Garden Wisdom

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Red Wing Water Cooler

A five gallon Red Wing water cooler sat on the edge of the sink at the Chain O’ Lake country school that I attended for eight years. An older student filled it each morning with water carried from the pump house just south of the school building, an every morning task no matter if it was 80 degrees or minus 20. The school building had no indoor plumbing, so carrying water was one of the many daily duties we students helped with.

At home a water pail sat at the edge of the kitchen sink, filled each day in the same manner as at school, except at home we drank from a dipper that hung on the side of the water pail.

The dull gray Red Wing water cooler was much, much fancier than a water pail. A shiny curved metal tube came out of the bottom of the cooler, and ended at a little metal bowl hanging over the sink. By pushing a button, water burst up from the bowl a couple of inches or more, depending on how much water there was in the cooler. As we might say today, how cool it was to be able to drink water this way.

This weekend we visited Red Wing, Minnesota and toured the former manufacturing plant for Red Wing Pottery, an enormous four-story brick building near the Mississippi River. Red Wing Pottery goes back to the 1870s, and some pottery is still made in Red Wing but on a much more limited scale and not in this old historic building. In addition to antique stores, and numerous shops and several restaurants, one can tour the pottery museum on the second floor of the building.

I have never seen so many pottery crocks, water coolers and assorted dinnerware. I couldn’t believe it when I learned that water coolers similar to the one at our country school now sell for between $1,600 and $2,000 dollars on the antique market. “And when one comes in, someone immediately buys it,” the woman at the antique store said.

I can picture that old schoolhouse water cooler in my mind as clearly as the first day I saw it in 1939. My memory is worth at least $2,000 I am telling myself.


THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sometimes I don’t see as well as I think I remember.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

February 10, Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. 6-8 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, signing copies of Garden Wisdom.

February 11. Janesville, Holiday Inn, noon luncheon speaker, FFA Alumni meeting.

February 12, Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison, 1-4 p.m. Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, signing copies of Garden Wisdom.

March 6, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble-West, Madison. Launch of Garden Wisdom.

March 9-11. Canoecopia, Alliant Center, Madison. (Trade show for all things canoeing) I am speaking at 4:30 on Friday, March 9 and at 2:30 on Saturday, March 10. Steve will share Boundary Waters photos as part of Saturday’s presentation.

March 24. Six p.m. dinner followed by presentation and book signing. at Patterson Memorial Library Wild Rose. Garden Wisdom.

March 31-April 1. Morton Arboretum (Thornhill Education Center), Chicago area. Presentation on vegetable gardening, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on March 31. Sunday, April 1, 1:30-3:30 features a vegetable gardening workshop, with tips on planting and caring for a vegetable garden. Additionally, Ruth will discuss preparing vegetables and fruits for canning and freezing.

April 12, 7:00 p.m. Mcmillan Library, Wisconsin Rapids. Garden Wisdom

April 13, 11:00 a.m. Larry Meiller Show, Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcasting at Fox Cities Book Festival. Garden Wisdom.

April 13, 2:00 p.m. Fox Cities Book Festival, Neenah Public Library. Garden Wisdom