Saturday began cold and dreary with rain and wind. Several weeks ago we declared the day our
annual wood cutting day. A little “ornery”
weather, as my dad used to describe such a day, was not to interfere. And it didn’t. Steve and Natasha; Paul, Sue and Josh; plus
Madison friends Halley and Andrew all gathered at Roshara to cut wood for our
two wood burning stoves that heat our cabin.
Earlier I had selected a black oak tree that a spring
windstorm had torn apart. It was less
than a quarter mile or so from the cabin—which made hauling the cut wood
a little easier. Unfortunately, or maybe
the right words are “it usually happens,” the chainsaws—two of them recently
“tuned up” and sharpened started hard and one of them, I’ll not reveal the brand,
wasn’t up to cutting such a big tree.
Finally, after a little loss of religion and a sore arm from
too many pulls on the chainsaw rope, the big oak was cut into blocks, which
Natasha loaded onto the tractor’s frontend loader and I hauled to the
shed. There Paul and Josh, using my electric block splitter, cut the blocks into firewood size pieces. Sue, Halley and Andrew piled freshly cut
sticks against the side of the woodshed for the winter. We’ll let the wood cure for at least a year
before I burn it.
At noon we feasted on corn and potato chowder (Ruth prepared
it) freshly baked bread (thank you Andrew), cheese curds and chocolate
cake. By afternoon the rain stopped, and
by 3:00 p.m. the job was finished.
What a great day it was, the wonderful smell of freshly cut
oak wood, the opportunity for family to gather, tell stories of earlier wood
cutting days—we’ve done it every year for many years—and be outside on a cool,
albeit a little wet, October Saturday.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Making wood is one more way to bring
family together.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October
29, 7:00 p.m. Brown County Library, 515 Pine Stree. Premier of TV Documentary,”
The Land With Jerry Apps. “ Book signing, Whispers and Shadows.
November
1, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green. Ag History and Wisconsin Place Names
(a Robert Gard book).
November
5, 7:00 p.m. Baraboo Library, Whispers and Shadows.
November
7, Edgerton Book Festival, The Land (TV documentary) and Whispers and Shadows
November
10, 6:00 p.m. Wausau Public Library, Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November
12, 7:00 p.m. Bellville High School Auditorium with Bellville Public
Library. Wisconsin Agriculture: A
History
November
14, 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.
November
15, 9:15 Midvale Lutheran Church, The Land (TV documentary) plus discussion of Whispers and Shadows.
November
17, 7:00 p.m. Hotel Red (1501 Monroe Street- corner of Regent and Monroe,
Madison.) “Wisconsin Agriculture: A
History, a discussion with Doug Moe. Sponsored by Mystery to me Bookstore. Book signing to follow.
November
18, Preview of TV Documentary, “The Land With Jerry Apps” Wild Rose High School
Auditorium. Whispers and Shadows book
signing. (Time to be announced)
Purchase Jerry’s
DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin
(a fund raiser for them):
The
library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs, Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.
Also
available are several of Jerry’s signed books including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old
Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry
Apps a Farm Story). Also available is Jerry’s new novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County as
well as Whispers and Shadows and his
newest nonfiction book, Wisconsin
Agriculture: A History.
Contact
the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson
Memorial Library
500 Division Street
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