Sunday, July 10, 2016

Trails




            Trails have always intrigued me, from the days when I was a kid following a cow path a half-mile up the lane back of the barn, to today, when I follow the several trails  at my farm.  I recently wrote:

            When at my farm, I often follow my network of trails through the woods, along the flats and down the hills and around the many twists and turns.

            A trail is not for hurrying.  Despite how familiar the trail is to me now, there is always something new to see or hear as I wind my way along.  There are old friends: a deer bounding in front of me, the giant oak trees I dearly love, the views across the ponds, where I often spot a mallard or a wood duck or a family of Canada geese.

            As the seasons change, the views from the trails change, too, from the budding of the trees and the greening of the grass in spring to the rainbow of colors in fall to the naked maples in winter.

            Small side trails here and there lead to special views: a close-up look at the ponds; a trip to the prairie restoration.  Traveling my trails, which I regularly do, is one of the joys of my life. 

Excerpted from Whispers and Shadows: A Naturalist’s Memoir

The Old Timer Says:  Take time to travel a trail, and take your time when you do it.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  A second Clearing Writing Class is scheduled for Friday, October 28.  Call 920-854-4088 to Register.

Upcoming Events:

July 19, 11:00 a.m., Farm Technology Days, Snudden Farms, Lake Geneva, Walworth County. History of Wisconsin Agriculture.

August 9, 6:30 p.m. Winnebago County Historical Society.  Oshkosh Library.  History of Wisconsin Agriculture.

August 12, 9-4, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County. (Filled)

August 20, 10:30-11:30 am.  Waupaca Annual Arts on the Square.  Story telling.

August 22, 7:00 p.m., Twin Cities Public TV.  The Land With Jerry Apps.

August 30, 7:00 p.m. Milwaukee Public TV. The Land With Jerry Apps
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them): 

The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:
 Emmy Winner, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based on The Quiet Season book.)
 Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm books.)

 The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and Shadows.)
Also available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County. and Wisconsin Agriculture: A History.

Jerry’s newest books, Roshara Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide book for those who want to write their stories—are also available.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835




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