My son, Steve and I headed for the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota last week. In search of fish and some solitude. The solitude we found. The fish story later.
While we weren’t looking for it, we found fall—lurking just over the border in Canada. We were but a couple miles from our neighbor to the north and it sent a biting northwest wind south that dropped nighttime temps into the low 30s with little warming during the day. The birch trees turned more yellow each day we were there. The loons seemed a bit anxious, no doubt making preparations for their long migration south. Fall was clearly in the air.
And the fish? Well, we always bet about which of us is more successful fishing. Whoever is buys breakfast for the other guy in Grand Marais on the day we come out.
This year Steve won. He caught the first fish, the largest fish, and the most fish. He also caught the only fish, which was a small mouth bass about 15 inches long.
I enjoyed the solitude—and the beginnings of fall. Please don’t ask about the big ones I brought up to the canoe but didn’t land.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Fishing is always good; sometimes the catching less so.
CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:
--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.
--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.
WRITING WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS:
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.
September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, Muir Knoll, UW-Madison Campus.
September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor: Council of Rural Initiatives. Before the dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.
September 29, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin Book Festival. Quivey’s Grove (between Madison and Verona). Barns of Wisconsin and Cranberry Red.
October 1-2, Midwest Booksellers, St. Paul. Barns of Wisconsin, Cranberry Red
October 7, 7:00 p.m. Next Chapter Bookstore, Mequon. Horse Drawn Days
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Wild Grapes
Sometimes you hear about animals doing crazy things. I want to tell you about a plant that’s been on a rampage. It’s a wild grape vine. With all the rain in central Wisconsin, the wild grapes have been growing, growing, growing. In some cases to the tops of trees near the trail by the pond.
For many years, grape vines have grown on the east and south sides of my old pump house. Built in 1912 and still standing tall, the pump house serves mostly as a woodshed these days. Not satisfied with growing on the outside of the pump house, a grape vine has decided to look around inside the building. So it snuck in, through an open space where the roof connects to the walls.
Not knowing at all how wild grapes look at the world—some days I can’t figure out how I see the world—the grape vine must have decided that not all is so hunky-dory in a dark, old, musty, bat-filled pump house, now woodshed. So it searched for a way out, which it found in a crack above the door. When you approach the pump house, you see a grape vine hanging over the door, green, happy and growing. Where to next, I wonder for this traveling plant?
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Nothing succeeds like excess.
CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:
--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.
--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.
September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, Muir Knoll, UW-Madison Campus.
September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor Council of Rural Initiatives. Before dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.
For many years, grape vines have grown on the east and south sides of my old pump house. Built in 1912 and still standing tall, the pump house serves mostly as a woodshed these days. Not satisfied with growing on the outside of the pump house, a grape vine has decided to look around inside the building. So it snuck in, through an open space where the roof connects to the walls.
Not knowing at all how wild grapes look at the world—some days I can’t figure out how I see the world—the grape vine must have decided that not all is so hunky-dory in a dark, old, musty, bat-filled pump house, now woodshed. So it searched for a way out, which it found in a crack above the door. When you approach the pump house, you see a grape vine hanging over the door, green, happy and growing. Where to next, I wonder for this traveling plant?
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Nothing succeeds like excess.
CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED book launches:
--Barns and Noble Madison West, September 21, 7:00 p.m.
--Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose, Sunday October 24, 1:00 p.m.
Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble West, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.
September 24, 3:30 p.m. Robert Gard Story Tellers Circle dedication, Muir Knoll, UW-Madison Campus.
September 25, 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration, Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, WI. Sponsor Council of Rural Initiatives. Before dance, presentation BARNS OF WISCONSIN.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Threshing Days
Can you believe it? E-mails and even phone calls from those wanting to share with me the “proper” way to shock grain, the subject of last week's blog. Lots of memories associated with grain harvesting in yesteryear.
Someone asked me what happened after the grain was shocked. Threshing (separating the grain from the straw) came next, a highlight of the year for a farm kid. A threshing machine worked its way though the neighborhood, spending a day or more at each farm. All the neighbors helped with the threshing task, and for a kid, what fun it was. As an eight or nine year old, you shoveled the oats to the back of the oat bin. One task for three or four sturdy neighbors was to carry bag after bag of the freshly threshed oats from the threshing machine to the granary’s oat bins, so the shoveling job was never ending.
By the time you were twelve, you’d earned the dubious honor of sitting on the shaking and shuddering and very dusty threshing machine, working the handles and ropes to steer the straw blower so that a decent straw stack resulted. An important job, for a properly made straw stack would shed water.
By age 13, you graduated to spike pitching, meaning you helped load the oat bundles from the shocks onto horse-drawn wagons that toted the unthreshed grain to the threshing machine.
And if you did all of these previous jobs to satisfaction, by age 14 you moved up to the most glorious of all jobs, driving a team of horses on a bundle wagon and pitching off the load of bundles into the ever hungry maw of the machine. Anyone who could pitch off a load of bundles without missing a beat, and without plugging the threshing machine because you didn’t space the bundles properly had moved from childhood to manhood. A right of passage for a farm kid of my generation.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember when work was fun?
CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED is appearing in the bookstores. Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.
WRITING WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.
Someone asked me what happened after the grain was shocked. Threshing (separating the grain from the straw) came next, a highlight of the year for a farm kid. A threshing machine worked its way though the neighborhood, spending a day or more at each farm. All the neighbors helped with the threshing task, and for a kid, what fun it was. As an eight or nine year old, you shoveled the oats to the back of the oat bin. One task for three or four sturdy neighbors was to carry bag after bag of the freshly threshed oats from the threshing machine to the granary’s oat bins, so the shoveling job was never ending.
By the time you were twelve, you’d earned the dubious honor of sitting on the shaking and shuddering and very dusty threshing machine, working the handles and ropes to steer the straw blower so that a decent straw stack resulted. An important job, for a properly made straw stack would shed water.
By age 13, you graduated to spike pitching, meaning you helped load the oat bundles from the shocks onto horse-drawn wagons that toted the unthreshed grain to the threshing machine.
And if you did all of these previous jobs to satisfaction, by age 14 you moved up to the most glorious of all jobs, driving a team of horses on a bundle wagon and pitching off the load of bundles into the ever hungry maw of the machine. Anyone who could pitch off a load of bundles without missing a beat, and without plugging the threshing machine because you didn’t space the bundles properly had moved from childhood to manhood. A right of passage for a farm kid of my generation.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember when work was fun?
CHECK THIS OUT: CRANBERRY RED is appearing in the bookstores. Learn all about cranberry growing, county agent work, and what happens when research goes amuck. UW Press is the publisher of this, my fourth novel, in the Ames County series.
WRITING WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 6-10, Research trip, Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Northern Minnesota.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
September 21, 7:00 p.m., Barnes and Noble, Madison, Launch of Cranberry Red.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Shocking Grain
At Stonefield Village, a Wisconsin Historical site near Cassville, I was talking to a group about the early history of farming last Saturday. Several retired farmers were in the audience and the questions got around to shocking grain and the proper way to do it.
Shocking grain does not mean attempting to scare it or holding an electrified wire to it, as one young person said to me recently. Shocking grain means standing the recently cut grain bundles on end so they will dry and withstand any rain showers that may come by before threshing day, when the grain is hauled to the threshing machine and the kernels and the straw are separated from each other.
It seems in different parts of the Midwest, shocking grain was done differently, enough so that when a group of farmers gathered, they argued about the proper way to do it. Arguments similar to those where a farmer would proclaim the virtues of an International tractor and his neighbor would do the same for John Deere, with neither backing down one engine pop.
In my neighborhood, the shocks contained five pairs of bundles, with no bundle placed across the top. In other parts of the state, shocks included seven pairs of bundles with a bundle or two on top.
What was important, as it turned out, was that no matter how a shock was constructed, it should stand against the wind, and shed water if necessary. Grain shocks should also be things of beauty—to look at when the work was done, and allow one to say “Don’t those grain shocks look nice.”
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Do it right the first time.
CHECK THIS OUT: A revised edition (all new photos, about 25 percent new and updated material) of BARNS OF WISCONSIN is now available in book stores. My son, Steve, did the photo work.
WRITING WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
Shocking grain does not mean attempting to scare it or holding an electrified wire to it, as one young person said to me recently. Shocking grain means standing the recently cut grain bundles on end so they will dry and withstand any rain showers that may come by before threshing day, when the grain is hauled to the threshing machine and the kernels and the straw are separated from each other.
It seems in different parts of the Midwest, shocking grain was done differently, enough so that when a group of farmers gathered, they argued about the proper way to do it. Arguments similar to those where a farmer would proclaim the virtues of an International tractor and his neighbor would do the same for John Deere, with neither backing down one engine pop.
In my neighborhood, the shocks contained five pairs of bundles, with no bundle placed across the top. In other parts of the state, shocks included seven pairs of bundles with a bundle or two on top.
What was important, as it turned out, was that no matter how a shock was constructed, it should stand against the wind, and shed water if necessary. Grain shocks should also be things of beauty—to look at when the work was done, and allow one to say “Don’t those grain shocks look nice.”
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Do it right the first time.
CHECK THIS OUT: A revised edition (all new photos, about 25 percent new and updated material) of BARNS OF WISCONSIN is now available in book stores. My son, Steve, did the photo work.
WRITING WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Writing Workshop
I spent a delightful week teaching a writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. People attended from Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, all interested in turning their memories into memoirs. Seventeen writers gathered each morning to write stories from such prompts as: “I wish someone had told me . . .” and “Ten things that annoy me. . .” They drew house plans for homes where they grew up, triggering memories of smells, sights, and sounds.
They listened to country music that told a story. They wrote about people who made a difference in their lives and turning points that sent in them in new directions. They discussed journaling and how to do research for their stories. They laughed; they hugged and sometimes there were tears as not all memories are pleasant ones. But at week’s end, in the midst of the hottest and most humid seven days that Door County remembered in some time, they wrote their stories—wonderful stories that came from the heart.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If an idea does not first sound absurd, then there is no hope for it. Source--Albert Einstein.
CHECK THIS OUT: Just received an advance copy of CRANBERRY RED, the fourth novel in my Ames County Series. Should be in bookstores in a week or so. Go to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details. Amazon.com also has a cover photo and description.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days and Barns of Wisconsin.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
They listened to country music that told a story. They wrote about people who made a difference in their lives and turning points that sent in them in new directions. They discussed journaling and how to do research for their stories. They laughed; they hugged and sometimes there were tears as not all memories are pleasant ones. But at week’s end, in the midst of the hottest and most humid seven days that Door County remembered in some time, they wrote their stories—wonderful stories that came from the heart.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If an idea does not first sound absurd, then there is no hope for it. Source--Albert Einstein.
CHECK THIS OUT: Just received an advance copy of CRANBERRY RED, the fourth novel in my Ames County Series. Should be in bookstores in a week or so. Go to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details. Amazon.com also has a cover photo and description.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days and Barns of Wisconsin.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days, Barns of Wisconsin and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm and Barns of Wisconsin.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
September 18-19, Creekside Books, Cedarburg, WI. Barns and Horse Drawn Days.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
August Three Sisters Report
Reconciliation? Accommodation? Sister love? No matter. The three sisters in my garden are finally learning to live together and to depend on each other. For those who may have forgotten about the tiff going among my corn, pole beans and squash—the three sisters of Native American garden lore—all seems to have been forgiven.
The corn is now shoulder high, tasseled out and allowing (maybe even encouraging) the pole beans to shinny up its stalk. The squash although suffering from too much rain—can you even imagine too much rain on our sandy garden soil—is doing a reasonable job of shading out the weeds. But alas, there is still no sign of any edible squash developing.
The pole beans are first with produce, long skinny pods hanging everywhere. Corn ears are forming as well. My three sisters experiment may amount to something yet.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Try to do more for others than they do for you.
CHECK THIS OUT: IN A PICKLE (second novel in Ames County Series) now available in audio format. Got to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
The corn is now shoulder high, tasseled out and allowing (maybe even encouraging) the pole beans to shinny up its stalk. The squash although suffering from too much rain—can you even imagine too much rain on our sandy garden soil—is doing a reasonable job of shading out the weeds. But alas, there is still no sign of any edible squash developing.
The pole beans are first with produce, long skinny pods hanging everywhere. Corn ears are forming as well. My three sisters experiment may amount to something yet.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Try to do more for others than they do for you.
CHECK THIS OUT: IN A PICKLE (second novel in Ames County Series) now available in audio format. Got to www.uwpress.wisc.edu, and click on Fall 2010 Catalog for details.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 21, 1:00 p.m & 3:00 p.m. R.R, Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville. Horse Drawn Days.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Bodie
Bodie is a dog. A seven- month old Wheaton Terrier. He is tan, has a cute face and looks something like a Teddy bear. He lives with my son Jeff, wife Sandy and their kids, Christian, Nick, and Libby in Eagle-Vail, Colorado, in the mountains.
Bodie and his family were in Wisconsin this past week, at a cabin on Lake George near Rhinelander. Bodie went swimming and hiking. Bodie ate a lot, and napped a lot.
Bodie showed off a unique part of his developing personality. Much to everyone’s surprise, he demonstrated that he has literary tendencies. He likes novels. One day we caught him chewing on the cover of the paperback edition of my novel, THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH. What more could an author ask—a dog that likes to read. And novels? Wow.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Never stop reading. Read books, all kinds of books, fact and fiction, usual and unusual, and ordinary books written by local people with a story to tell and a message to share.
CHECK THIS OUT: THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH, (UW Press) the first novel in my Ames county historical fiction series is now in paperback. Buy at your favorite bookstore, or order off my website.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 21. Railroad Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Bodie and his family were in Wisconsin this past week, at a cabin on Lake George near Rhinelander. Bodie went swimming and hiking. Bodie ate a lot, and napped a lot.
Bodie showed off a unique part of his developing personality. Much to everyone’s surprise, he demonstrated that he has literary tendencies. He likes novels. One day we caught him chewing on the cover of the paperback edition of my novel, THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH. What more could an author ask—a dog that likes to read. And novels? Wow.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Never stop reading. Read books, all kinds of books, fact and fiction, usual and unusual, and ordinary books written by local people with a story to tell and a message to share.
CHECK THIS OUT: THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH, (UW Press) the first novel in my Ames county historical fiction series is now in paperback. Buy at your favorite bookstore, or order off my website.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 21. Railroad Days, Stonefield Village, Cassville.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Black-Eyed Susans
With all the rain in central Wisconsin in recent weeks, my prairie has the tallest, thickest grass and the most wild flowers I remember since we began restoring it back in the late 1960s.
Black-eyed Susans have taken center stage for the past couple weeks, they are abundant, they are tall, and they are making a statement this year. For those who may not know, the Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is daisy-type flower, yellow with a brown center. It grows about two to three feet tall. And it likes my sandy, gravely, rather poor prairie soil.
Black-eyed Susans are native to the United States and they take care of themselves—I have not planted one Black-Eyed Susan seed since we began our prairie restoration. They come back year after year, some years more than others.
If you keep track of states and their official flowers, it is Maryland that has claimed the Black-Eyed Susan, since 1918.
More prairie reports later—along with the status of my garden’s three sisters who continue to duke it out.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: All gardeners know better than other gardeners.
CHECK THIS OUT: For those who read the Wisconsin State Journal, look for a review of Horse Drawn Days in the Sunday edition (July 25).
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Black-eyed Susans have taken center stage for the past couple weeks, they are abundant, they are tall, and they are making a statement this year. For those who may not know, the Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is daisy-type flower, yellow with a brown center. It grows about two to three feet tall. And it likes my sandy, gravely, rather poor prairie soil.
Black-eyed Susans are native to the United States and they take care of themselves—I have not planted one Black-Eyed Susan seed since we began our prairie restoration. They come back year after year, some years more than others.
If you keep track of states and their official flowers, it is Maryland that has claimed the Black-Eyed Susan, since 1918.
More prairie reports later—along with the status of my garden’s three sisters who continue to duke it out.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: All gardeners know better than other gardeners.
CHECK THIS OUT: For those who read the Wisconsin State Journal, look for a review of Horse Drawn Days in the Sunday edition (July 25).
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Three Sisters Still Fighting
For those waiting breathlessly for more about how the three sisters are getting along: They aren’t. Talk about sisters competing with each other. Sister pole bean is so far the bully of the bunch; she has crawled to the top of the stake I pushed in the center of the little garden mound,and has stuck her sticky tendrils a good 18 inches in the air beyond the end of the pole. Searching for an unknown something to latch onto.
Not to be out competed (if that’s a word), sister squash now has leaves a foot across, already has several yellow blossoms, and is also trying to crawl up the center pole, mixing it up with sister pole bean. I’ve never seen anything like it. What a vegetable competition.
Alas, meek and mild sister corn, now about half as tall as the center stake, seems to have accepted defeat in the sister competition. Where will it end? Why can’t the sisters get along—they are supposed to. That’s what I read somewhere. Not only are they supposed to get along, they are supposed to help each other. Care for each other. Look out for each other. Not in my three-sister garden. Cutthroat competition goes on. And may the best sister win.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can count the seeds in an apple, but the number of apples in a seed will remain forever a mystery.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long writing workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Not to be out competed (if that’s a word), sister squash now has leaves a foot across, already has several yellow blossoms, and is also trying to crawl up the center pole, mixing it up with sister pole bean. I’ve never seen anything like it. What a vegetable competition.
Alas, meek and mild sister corn, now about half as tall as the center stake, seems to have accepted defeat in the sister competition. Where will it end? Why can’t the sisters get along—they are supposed to. That’s what I read somewhere. Not only are they supposed to get along, they are supposed to help each other. Care for each other. Look out for each other. Not in my three-sister garden. Cutthroat competition goes on. And may the best sister win.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can count the seeds in an apple, but the number of apples in a seed will remain forever a mystery.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, October 30. There is still room in my day-long writing workshop. Contact: The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
September 13, 10:00 a.m., Attic Angels Retirement Center, Madison. Horse Drawn Days.
September 14, noon, Waupaca Library, Waupaca, WI. Ames County Novels.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Ducks or DUKWs
The discussion at the Fourth of July family picnic the other evening got around to the ducks at Wisconsin Dells, and plans to take a tour on them. I pointed out that the folks at the Dells spelled the name of the vehicles incorrectly and that the correct spelling was DUKW. For the reaction I got, you’d think I’d spelled Wisconsin backwards.
The reason I knew the correct spelling is when I was in the U.S. Army Reserve (Transportation Corps) back in the late 50s and early 60s, we had these strange (I thought them strange at the time) vehicles in my battalion. They traveled on land as well as in water. I know that many of you have longed to know this important information, but the letters DUKW are not an acronym, as is so much the case with the U. S. army. The D refers to a vehicle designed in 1942; the U means “Utility-amphibious,” the K refers to front-wheel drive, and the W means two powered rear axles.
The army used DUKWs to transport equipment and troops from ships to shore—each could haul 2 ½ tons of equipment, or up to 12 soldiers. They are 31 feet long, a little over eight feet wide and 7 feet tall. Not exactly a fishing boat. The DUKW fleet’s greatest fame came during D-Day, June 6, 1944, when DUKWs helped bring troops and equipment ashore during that famous battle in WW II. So now you know.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: (He remembers what someone told him) Those who have a fifth on the Fourth have trouble going forth on the fifth.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new paperback edition of THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH (University of Wisconsin Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing From Your Life Workshop.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council.
Ames County Novels.
The reason I knew the correct spelling is when I was in the U.S. Army Reserve (Transportation Corps) back in the late 50s and early 60s, we had these strange (I thought them strange at the time) vehicles in my battalion. They traveled on land as well as in water. I know that many of you have longed to know this important information, but the letters DUKW are not an acronym, as is so much the case with the U. S. army. The D refers to a vehicle designed in 1942; the U means “Utility-amphibious,” the K refers to front-wheel drive, and the W means two powered rear axles.
The army used DUKWs to transport equipment and troops from ships to shore—each could haul 2 ½ tons of equipment, or up to 12 soldiers. They are 31 feet long, a little over eight feet wide and 7 feet tall. Not exactly a fishing boat. The DUKW fleet’s greatest fame came during D-Day, June 6, 1944, when DUKWs helped bring troops and equipment ashore during that famous battle in WW II. So now you know.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: (He remembers what someone told him) Those who have a fifth on the Fourth have trouble going forth on the fifth.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new paperback edition of THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH (University of Wisconsin Press) is now available. Check my website: www.jerryapps.com
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing From Your Life Workshop.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council.
Ames County Novels.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Three Sisters Progress
A few weeks ago I wrote about planting a “three sisters’ garden.” Three sisters refers to planting squash, corn and beans together in a mound. A Native American way of gardening. Corn in the center. Then climbing beans next to the corn and squash around the outside. The beans are supposed to climb up the corn; the squash are expected to shade out any weeds that may grow.
Here’s a progress report. With lots of rain and plenty of warm weather, everything came up, almost at the same time. The corn really needed to have a head start on the beans, which it did not have. The beans are growing wildly, throwing out their climbing tendrils with nothing to latch onto. The corn, wimpy and slow, seemed overwhelmed by the exuberant beans. The squash is growing as squash does this time of the year, slowly.
We weeded the little mound a couple of times, couldn’t wait for the squash. And we cheated a little, too. I stuck a four-foot long stick right dab in the middle of the mound for the wildly thriving beans. Within a day the beans found the stick and seem much happier with something to cling to. The corn, struggling, seems a little put off by what I had done. If corn thinks, it’s probably wondering why I didn’t have a little more patience and wait for it to grow taller so it could accommodate the beans. So far the three sisters are not getting along too well. But I guess most sisters have spats from time-to-time.
More about the experiment later.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The shortest distance between two points is often not the point.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Go to my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days and more.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle and more.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
Here’s a progress report. With lots of rain and plenty of warm weather, everything came up, almost at the same time. The corn really needed to have a head start on the beans, which it did not have. The beans are growing wildly, throwing out their climbing tendrils with nothing to latch onto. The corn, wimpy and slow, seemed overwhelmed by the exuberant beans. The squash is growing as squash does this time of the year, slowly.
We weeded the little mound a couple of times, couldn’t wait for the squash. And we cheated a little, too. I stuck a four-foot long stick right dab in the middle of the mound for the wildly thriving beans. Within a day the beans found the stick and seem much happier with something to cling to. The corn, struggling, seems a little put off by what I had done. If corn thinks, it’s probably wondering why I didn’t have a little more patience and wait for it to grow taller so it could accommodate the beans. So far the three sisters are not getting along too well. But I guess most sisters have spats from time-to-time.
More about the experiment later.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The shortest distance between two points is often not the point.
CHECK THIS OUT: A new edition of BARNS OF WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) is now available. Go to my website: www.jerryapps.com for details and ordering information.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days and more.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle and more.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
August 25, 7:00 p.m. Bailey’s Harbor Town Hall, Door County Environmental Council. Ames County Novels plus Old Farm.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wild Roses
Almost by accident I found several wild rose bushes growing on a hillside on the back part of my farm. I was driving my Gator along the prairie trail and my eye caught a spot of pink among the grasses that grew there. I had not seen wild roses here before; the last plants I saw grew alongside the trail to the pond, and had been snuffed out by the over competitive buckthorn that grows everywhere these days.
I discovered not only one wild rose bush, small and rather fragile, but perhaps a dozen. And several were in bloom. For those not familiar, the wild rose flower has five petals, light pink in color. They have a wonderful, quiet, but distinctive aroma. No other rose compares, at least not in my judgment.
Wild roses have a special place on my farm, for the township where my farm is located is called Rose, and the nearest village is Wild Rose. Some claim both the township and the village were named after the wild roses found growing here. Others say, no doubt correctly, that these places were named after Rose, New York in Wayne County, where many of the settlers in this area had first lived.
The wild rose is state flower for Iowa and for the Province of Alberta in Canada. Alas, Wisconsin chose the wood violet as its state flower, missing an opportunity to give this native flower a bit more glory.
To see a photo of a wild rose, go to my son, Steve’s blog: http://steveappsblog.com/?p=547
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Tall trees don’t always provide the most shade
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
I discovered not only one wild rose bush, small and rather fragile, but perhaps a dozen. And several were in bloom. For those not familiar, the wild rose flower has five petals, light pink in color. They have a wonderful, quiet, but distinctive aroma. No other rose compares, at least not in my judgment.
Wild roses have a special place on my farm, for the township where my farm is located is called Rose, and the nearest village is Wild Rose. Some claim both the township and the village were named after the wild roses found growing here. Others say, no doubt correctly, that these places were named after Rose, New York in Wayne County, where many of the settlers in this area had first lived.
The wild rose is state flower for Iowa and for the Province of Alberta in Canada. Alas, Wisconsin chose the wood violet as its state flower, missing an opportunity to give this native flower a bit more glory.
To see a photo of a wild rose, go to my son, Steve’s blog: http://steveappsblog.com/?p=547
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Tall trees don’t always provide the most shade
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 11, 10:30-2:30, The Pickle Station, Saxeville, WI. In a Pickle.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
August 4. 10:30 a.m. Flying Farmers Meeting, Holiday Inn, Fond du Lac. Stories from the Land.
August 8-14, The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. Writing Class.
August 22, 11:00-3:00, Barnes and Noble, Racine, WI. Horse Drawn Days and more.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pioneer Days
Want to learn more about pioneer days in Wisconsin, 1850s to 1900? My novel, THE TRAVELS OF INCREASE JOSEPH (University of Wisconsin Press) is now available in paperback. Here are two reviews for the book to give you some idea of its contents:
Like all of Jerry’s books, Travels is steeped in meticulous research, but this time Jerry has let his imagination have at the facts. We follow the career of Increase Joseph Link from the time he gets drummed out of theology school until his death. His calling to preach comes in the form of a literal lightning bolt and leads him to form the church of the Standalone Fellowship, based on teachings contained in a mysterious red book the preacher keeps with him at all times and never lets anyone else read. When not preaching a gospel of God, man, and the land, pastor Link peddles a cure-all tonic (the recipe also remains his secret, but I'm betting on a high alcohol content) that sells for "50 cents, or two for a dollar." It's a wonderful read and an education in Wisconsin history and the formation of America. I highly recommend it. Marshal Cook
The Travels of Increase Joseph by Jerry Apps is a superbly crafted historical novel of a pioneer preacher who came to the wildlands of Wisconsin in 1852 with his small gathering of followers, the Standalone Fellowship. Supporting the Fellowship by selling his special curative tonic, and delivering oratory and with powerful messages that are nothing short of spellbinding, Joseph Link dared to speak out as he journeyed and his words and ideas made an impression that stayed. The Travels of Increase Joseph is a most thoughtful and wonderfully entertaining read. Jerry Apps writes with vibrant character and has a penchant for making Wisconsin history come alive. Midwest Book Review.
Check your local bookstore, or order from my website, www.jerryapps.com.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The land comes first. It’s the land; we must learn to listen to it, and take care of it.
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
Like all of Jerry’s books, Travels is steeped in meticulous research, but this time Jerry has let his imagination have at the facts. We follow the career of Increase Joseph Link from the time he gets drummed out of theology school until his death. His calling to preach comes in the form of a literal lightning bolt and leads him to form the church of the Standalone Fellowship, based on teachings contained in a mysterious red book the preacher keeps with him at all times and never lets anyone else read. When not preaching a gospel of God, man, and the land, pastor Link peddles a cure-all tonic (the recipe also remains his secret, but I'm betting on a high alcohol content) that sells for "50 cents, or two for a dollar." It's a wonderful read and an education in Wisconsin history and the formation of America. I highly recommend it. Marshal Cook
The Travels of Increase Joseph by Jerry Apps is a superbly crafted historical novel of a pioneer preacher who came to the wildlands of Wisconsin in 1852 with his small gathering of followers, the Standalone Fellowship. Supporting the Fellowship by selling his special curative tonic, and delivering oratory and with powerful messages that are nothing short of spellbinding, Joseph Link dared to speak out as he journeyed and his words and ideas made an impression that stayed. The Travels of Increase Joseph is a most thoughtful and wonderfully entertaining read. Jerry Apps writes with vibrant character and has a penchant for making Wisconsin history come alive. Midwest Book Review.
Check your local bookstore, or order from my website, www.jerryapps.com.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The land comes first. It’s the land; we must learn to listen to it, and take care of it.
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
July 29, 7:00 p.m. Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI. Horse Drawn Days.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield
Wisconsin Historical Society’s Stonefield Village, near Cassville, celebrated Horse Drawn Days this past Saturday. People toured the agricultural museum of horse-drawn farm implements, watched a farrier shoe horses, rode a horse-drawn carriage, saw a log cutting demonstration, and observed broom making.
Watching Randy Moshead and his three-horse team plow a small field in front of the museum delighted those who came to the day-long event. Children and adults gathered to watch Randy’s team pull a one bottom riding-plow that turned over ribbons of black soil. Slowly and deliberately the team worked and by day’s end much of the field was plowed.
A comment heard from those who watched, “How quiet it is when horses pull a plow.” Indeed, no roaring engines, no smell of diesel fumes, just the occasionally soft jingle of a harness chains and an even softer commands from the driver.
The Saturday event took many of us back to the days when horses pulled the plows, when the sounds were those of the birds and the soft spring breezes, and the smells were those of freshly turned soil and horse sweat. And no one was in a hurry.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you farm with horses, you are never alone.
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Watching Randy Moshead and his three-horse team plow a small field in front of the museum delighted those who came to the day-long event. Children and adults gathered to watch Randy’s team pull a one bottom riding-plow that turned over ribbons of black soil. Slowly and deliberately the team worked and by day’s end much of the field was plowed.
A comment heard from those who watched, “How quiet it is when horses pull a plow.” Indeed, no roaring engines, no smell of diesel fumes, just the occasionally soft jingle of a harness chains and an even softer commands from the driver.
The Saturday event took many of us back to the days when horses pulled the plows, when the sounds were those of the birds and the soft spring breezes, and the smells were those of freshly turned soil and horse sweat. And no one was in a hurry.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When you farm with horses, you are never alone.
CHECK THIS OUT: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Jerry-Apps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Whip-poor-wills
I heard whip-poor-wills calling at the farm the other night. Just after the sun went down, on a still evening without another sound. Their calls echoed through the valley below our cabin, a haunting call that reminded me of my growing up years on the farm.
We usually heard the first whip-poor-wills in late May, after the grass had greened up, the oat crop was lush and growing, and we had the corn ground ready for planting. Pa said the whip-poor-wills were calling, “Plant your corn, plant your corn.” It sounded like that as the seldom seen night birds called their name over and over, sometimes a dozen or more times in a row.
When we heard the whip-poor-wills the other night, my son, Steve said that it was one of his favorite sounds at our farm when he was a kid. It was one of my favorite sounds when I was a kid as well.
THE OLD TIMER SAW THIS ON A T-SHIRT. “I was born with nothing and I have most of it left.”
CHECK THIS OUT: http://twitter.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org. P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
We usually heard the first whip-poor-wills in late May, after the grass had greened up, the oat crop was lush and growing, and we had the corn ground ready for planting. Pa said the whip-poor-wills were calling, “Plant your corn, plant your corn.” It sounded like that as the seldom seen night birds called their name over and over, sometimes a dozen or more times in a row.
When we heard the whip-poor-wills the other night, my son, Steve said that it was one of his favorite sounds at our farm when he was a kid. It was one of my favorite sounds when I was a kid as well.
THE OLD TIMER SAW THIS ON A T-SHIRT. “I was born with nothing and I have most of it left.”
CHECK THIS OUT: http://twitter.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org. P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus.
Ames County Novels.
July 10, 10:30-2:30. Bramble Books, Viroqua. New location: 213 S. Main Street, Viroqua. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Bears
Bears have lived in Wisconsin for hundreds of years, mostly in the north, in the big woods of the North Country. But in recent years they’ve begun moving south, into the central regions of the state, and more recently into the southern counties. The DNR estimates suggest from 22,000 to 40,000 black bears living in our state.
This past week a bear was spotted in Waunakee, just north of Madison. And recently bears have been spotted at Wisconsin Dells, Portage, and near Oshkosh. People are curious, a bit nervous and somewhat unsettled about bears moving into populated areas. Some suggest a bear is just a big dog. They are not. A male bear will weigh from 250-350 pounds and more and the females 120-180 pounds and more.
June and July is the mating season for bears, so they are on the prowl, looking for food, searching for love, and often creating quite a nuisance besides getting themselves killed on the highways. The DNR suggests: take down your bird feeder, be careful with garbage and never feed a bear. Oh, and don’t crowd up close to one for a photo. Remember, they are wild animals and should be treated as such.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To know what you believe, you’ve got to know what you don’t believe.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. Week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus. Ames County Novels.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
This past week a bear was spotted in Waunakee, just north of Madison. And recently bears have been spotted at Wisconsin Dells, Portage, and near Oshkosh. People are curious, a bit nervous and somewhat unsettled about bears moving into populated areas. Some suggest a bear is just a big dog. They are not. A male bear will weigh from 250-350 pounds and more and the females 120-180 pounds and more.
June and July is the mating season for bears, so they are on the prowl, looking for food, searching for love, and often creating quite a nuisance besides getting themselves killed on the highways. The DNR suggests: take down your bird feeder, be careful with garbage and never feed a bear. Oh, and don’t crowd up close to one for a photo. Remember, they are wild animals and should be treated as such.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To know what you believe, you’ve got to know what you don’t believe.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. Week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” The class is full, but you can put your name on a waiting list. There is still room in my day-long workshop, Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days.
June 18, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. SE Wisconsin Festival of Books, UW-Waukesha campus. Ames County Novels.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Three Sisters Garden
Long before white people arrived in this part of the world, numerous Indian tribes grew gardens. The three most popular garden crops grown were corn, squash and beans—crops that became known as the “Three Sisters.” The crops were grown together in close proximity. In a mounded circle about two to three feet across, the Indians planted several corn seeds in the center. Pole-type beans were planted a few inches away from the corn seeds, and squash seeds were planted around the outside of the mound.
The pole beans climbed up the corn stalks and the squash rambled around the mound, shading out weeds. The three crops worked together rather than competed with each other, which is more often the case in a garden.
I’m planning to try an experiment with Three Sisters in my garden this year. We’ll see what happens.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If it’s not bothering you, leave it alone.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
The pole beans climbed up the corn stalks and the squash rambled around the mound, shading out weeds. The three crops worked together rather than competed with each other, which is more often the case in a garden.
I’m planning to try an experiment with Three Sisters in my garden this year. We’ll see what happens.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If it’s not bothering you, leave it alone.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30. The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days book, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Historical Fiction Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
June 16, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Larry Meiller Show. Horse Drawn Days
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Sandhill Cranes at the Pond
Daughter Sue, Paul and our grandsons, Josh and Ben, stood on the shore of our pond last week, enjoying the beautiful day. Grandson Ben decided to go exploring and soon discovered he’d come too close to a sandhill crane nest. The birds began calling, then one of them displayed the classic dropped wing act to feign injury to lure an intruder away from the nest. As we watched they called again and again, their calls echoing through the valley. When Ben retreated, the sandhills calmed down. They usually hatch two little ones—I’ll keep watch for them.
For several years a pair of sandhill cranes has nested at our pond. What beautiful birds they are. They stand up to five feet tall with a wingspan of five to six feet. Mostly gray, they have red foreheads and long dark beaks. But perhaps most memorable of all is their call, a throaty, trumpeting, prehistoric sound that once heard is never forgotten. No other bird has a call like it, not even close.
Big blue herons are the other big birds we sometimes see at the pond. Both the sandhills and the big blues have long spindly legs and both may be seen wading in the water. One easy way to tell herons and cranes apart is how they fly. Cranes fly with their necks outstretched; herons fly with their necks tucked back. The big blue heron’s calls are dramatically different too, the big blue heron makes a kind of croaking sound, nothing speculator about it at all.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is simpler when you plow around the stump
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
For several years a pair of sandhill cranes has nested at our pond. What beautiful birds they are. They stand up to five feet tall with a wingspan of five to six feet. Mostly gray, they have red foreheads and long dark beaks. But perhaps most memorable of all is their call, a throaty, trumpeting, prehistoric sound that once heard is never forgotten. No other bird has a call like it, not even close.
Big blue herons are the other big birds we sometimes see at the pond. Both the sandhills and the big blues have long spindly legs and both may be seen wading in the water. One easy way to tell herons and cranes apart is how they fly. Cranes fly with their necks outstretched; herons fly with their necks tucked back. The big blue heron’s calls are dramatically different too, the big blue heron makes a kind of croaking sound, nothing speculator about it at all.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is simpler when you plow around the stump
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
May Snow
Snow in May. The mean side of winter showing its face once more. It comes in the night with big fluffy flakes floating out of a dirty gray sky. Hiding the recently mowed lawns, gathering on the newly emerged leaves and flower buds, covering the vegetable garden with a late, cold coat of white.
A robin sits in the spruce tree in front of the cabin this chilly, snowy May morning. Its feathers fluffed; it has an angry look in its eyes. The robin’s attitude is as chilly as the morning. The robin represents the thoughts and feelings of most creatures this May day.
What happened? What went wrong? Why would Mother Nature allow winter to throw a sucker punch? It’s just not right.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Rain in May is a barn full of hay. Snow in May is . . .a surprise.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 16, 2:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
A robin sits in the spruce tree in front of the cabin this chilly, snowy May morning. Its feathers fluffed; it has an angry look in its eyes. The robin’s attitude is as chilly as the morning. The robin represents the thoughts and feelings of most creatures this May day.
What happened? What went wrong? Why would Mother Nature allow winter to throw a sucker punch? It’s just not right.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Rain in May is a barn full of hay. Snow in May is . . .a surprise.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 16, 2:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations with horses and horse drawn equipment.
June 15, 12:00 noon. Wis Historical Society Museum on the Square. Horse Drawn Days.
July 13, 7:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Central Wis. Launch of Horse Drawn Days.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Rhubarb
We pulled some rhubarb this week, and just in time, too. It was starting to bolt. Some of the stalks had grown more than three-feet tall with leaves the size of elephant ears.
I have many memories of rhubarb as we had a big patch on the home farm. When the rhubarb was ready we knew that spring had surely arrived with no turning back. No winter relapses.
My mother made rhubarb sauce—sour and unappealing. But my dad assured us we must eat it as it “purified the blood” after a long dreary winter. So we did, but not without complaint.
Ruth made rhubarb crisp. Not even a distant relative of rhubarb sauce for rhubarb crisp is tangy--sweet, providing our first taste of spring.
Rhubarb Crisp
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 cup flour
¾ cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Add butter or margarine to the flour mixture until crumbly.
Press about half of flour mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add water and vanilla. Cook this sugar water mixture over medium heat until clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add rhubarb to the sugar-water mixture coating the rhubarb.
Pour rhubarb over crust. Place remaining flour crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations of horse drawn equipment.
I have many memories of rhubarb as we had a big patch on the home farm. When the rhubarb was ready we knew that spring had surely arrived with no turning back. No winter relapses.
My mother made rhubarb sauce—sour and unappealing. But my dad assured us we must eat it as it “purified the blood” after a long dreary winter. So we did, but not without complaint.
Ruth made rhubarb crisp. Not even a distant relative of rhubarb sauce for rhubarb crisp is tangy--sweet, providing our first taste of spring.
Rhubarb Crisp
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 cup flour
¾ cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Add butter or margarine to the flour mixture until crumbly.
Press about half of flour mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add water and vanilla. Cook this sugar water mixture over medium heat until clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add rhubarb to the sugar-water mixture coating the rhubarb.
Pour rhubarb over crust. Place remaining flour crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
JERRY IS NOW ON FACE BOOK: http://www.facebook.com/jerryapps
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” And a day-long workshop on Saturday, October 30.
The Clearing Folk School www.theclearing.org
P.O. Box 65 | 12171 Garrett Bay Road | Ellison Bay, Wisconsin 54210 Toll Free: 877.854.3225 | clearing@theclearing.org Monday - Friday 8-4
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
June 8, 7:00 p.m. Launch for Horse Drawn Days, Barnes and Noble West Madison.
June 9, 10:30 a.m. College Days, UW-Madison campus. Ames County Series.
June 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horse Drawn Days at Stonefield Village, Cassville, WI. Discussion of book and demonstrations of horse drawn equipment.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Rainy Day
Raindrops on the windows this dark and dreary morning. Raindrops drumming on the roof. Sounds of April. Sounds of spring. Much needed rain for the gardens and fields, for the animals and birds, for the little trees I planted a couple weeks ago that desperately need water to survive.
Growing up on a sandy farm I learned to never ever say a bad word about rain. No matter if it interrupted spring planting, or challenged a daughter’s wedding party. Like the land itself, rain was, is and forever will be a necessity of life.
So on a rainy day like this one, put on your old ratty Filson hat, your well worn raincoat and hike in the rain like you did when you were a kid. Walking in the rain is special.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A rainy day is a glorious day.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
Growing up on a sandy farm I learned to never ever say a bad word about rain. No matter if it interrupted spring planting, or challenged a daughter’s wedding party. Like the land itself, rain was, is and forever will be a necessity of life.
So on a rainy day like this one, put on your old ratty Filson hat, your well worn raincoat and hike in the rain like you did when you were a kid. Walking in the rain is special.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A rainy day is a glorious day.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Early Garden Planting
We planted our early garden crops last week. Potatoes, both white and red, radishes, carrots, peas, and a long row of onions. I’ll plant more early crops next week, lettuce and beets, but will hold off with the tender crops, the tomatoes and peppers, until the end of May. Too often I’ve been fooled by the warm days of early spring when I set out my tomatoes early and saw them die with a late spring frost.
I have planted a vegetable garden at Roshara every year since 1967. Each gardening year has its mysteries and challenges, its joys and disappointments. Gardening seems a lot like life in those respects.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can bury a lot of troubles digging in your garden.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
I have planted a vegetable garden at Roshara every year since 1967. Each gardening year has its mysteries and challenges, its joys and disappointments. Gardening seems a lot like life in those respects.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You can bury a lot of troubles digging in your garden.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
May 3, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Local History Expo, Sheboygan County Area Historical Community, Range Line Inn, 170 Range Line Road, Kohler. (6:00 p.m. presentation, Old Farm a History.)
May 16, 1:00 p.m. Glenwood City Historical Society, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 615 Maple Street, Glenwood City. Call 715-796-560 for further details. (Old Farm: A History)
May 20, 11:00 a.m., Southern Lakes Retired Teachers, 616 Droster Avenue, Burlington. (One-Room Schools)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tree Planting at Roshara
We planted trees at the farm this weekend. Two-hundred of them. All Red Pine, six to 12 inches tall. We’ve planted trees every spring as long as we’ve owned Roshara, so we have trees now more than 40 years old, and that tall, too. Beautiful trees that sway in the wind and remind me of when we planted them--Ruth, our three toddlers and me. Doing the work by hand. With a shovel to cut a slit in our sandy soil.
We planted trees by hand this weekend, too: Paul, Steve, Natasha, Kristin and me. Mostly easy work for this energetic crew that enjoyed a sunny day, a cool breeze, and the wonderful smell of pine trees.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Planting a tree is planning for a future.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm).
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
We planted trees by hand this weekend, too: Paul, Steve, Natasha, Kristin and me. Mostly easy work for this energetic crew that enjoyed a sunny day, a cool breeze, and the wonderful smell of pine trees.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Planting a tree is planning for a future.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm).
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room Schools)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Spring Charges In
Spring came charging in on a southwest wind this past week, sending winter sulking away to the north to lick its melting ice and disappearing snow. Eighty degrees my thermometer at the farm said as I cut black locust brush that tries to smother out the pines I planted two years ago. I worked and rested, drank water and worked some more. But so much more to do—and, I learned yesterday that my new replacement trees are ready for planting.
Like it was when I was growing up the farm, after weeks of anticipation, of waiting and hoping, spring, arrives. And the work comes all at once. But, as my dad said, work is good for you. And I must say, I do enjoy stretching my muscles and swinging my brushcutter, even though, at day’s end my back, shoulders, and arms tell me to take it easy, that I’m not a kid anymore.
THE OLDTIMER SAYS: Never have any problems raising your kids provided there is plenty of work for them. A tired kid is a good kid.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 6, 3:00 p.m. Oakwood Retirement Center. Madison, April 6 (The Good Old Days?)
April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm.
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room School)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
Like it was when I was growing up the farm, after weeks of anticipation, of waiting and hoping, spring, arrives. And the work comes all at once. But, as my dad said, work is good for you. And I must say, I do enjoy stretching my muscles and swinging my brushcutter, even though, at day’s end my back, shoulders, and arms tell me to take it easy, that I’m not a kid anymore.
THE OLDTIMER SAYS: Never have any problems raising your kids provided there is plenty of work for them. A tired kid is a good kid.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
August 8-14. My week-long workshop at The Clearing in Door County. “Writing From Your Life.” Contact www.theclearing.org or call 877-854-3225 for registration information.
October 30. Day-long writing workshop at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 6, 3:00 p.m. Oakwood Retirement Center. Madison, April 6 (The Good Old Days?)
April 13, 7:00 p.m. Menasha Public Library, Fox Cities Book Festival (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 14, 1:00 p.m. Hatch Public Library, Mauston. 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall, Nature Book Bash (Old Farm.
April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth-Big Foot Historical Society Banquet. (One-Room School)
April 23, 3:00 p.m. UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit. Memorial Union. (A brief look at history of Agriculture in Wisconsin)
April 28, 7:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels.)
April 30, 10:45 & 1:10, WEAC Retired, Sheraton Madison Hotel (Stories from the land)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Brother's Walk
My brother, Don, who lives near Wild Rose, wrote this after his morning walk last week.
Here’s what is happening on the farm: I saw about 30 swans flying and honking, saw lots of geese,too.
Two tom turkeys gobbled to my new crow call. Snow is about gone. Saw lots of deer tracks, one big one.
The pond is still frozen but the edges are open. I think the beavers are still there. I saw two huge snapping turtles. Sandhills are bugling everywhere.
Is spring early this year?
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Cherish the memories of yesterday. Dream big dreams about tomorrow. Live happily today.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14. Call 877-854-3225. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30 at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
Here’s what is happening on the farm: I saw about 30 swans flying and honking, saw lots of geese,too.
Two tom turkeys gobbled to my new crow call. Snow is about gone. Saw lots of deer tracks, one big one.
The pond is still frozen but the edges are open. I think the beavers are still there. I saw two huge snapping turtles. Sandhills are bugling everywhere.
Is spring early this year?
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Cherish the memories of yesterday. Dream big dreams about tomorrow. Live happily today.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14. Call 877-854-3225. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30 at The Clearing.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Writing Your Story
For those who tuned in my program on Wisconsin Public Radio last week (Larry Meiller Show at 11:00 a.m.), I promised to share some storytelling tips. Program host Jim Packard’s asked: “What are the elements of a good story.”
--People
--Action
--Conflict
--Suspense
--A sense of time and place
--A beginning, middle and an end.
Everyone has a story to tell of childhood years, first jobs, military service, life-changing events and never told secrets. These are the stories that your children and grandchildren will cherish, and additionally will add a special addition to the history of your community when you file your stories at your library or local historical society. Oh, if you’re wondering. It’s never too late to begin writing your stories.
First day of spring! Says so right on the calendar. But I when I look outside this morning, my daffodils and tulips are but little green spears poking through two inches of snow. Mother Nature obviously doesn’t read the calendar. Patience. Patience. It’s still March.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: In spring we shake loose the shackles of winter and make big plans and think big thoughts. We celebrate what has passed and look forward to the future with joy and hope.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake, Delevan. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
--People
--Action
--Conflict
--Suspense
--A sense of time and place
--A beginning, middle and an end.
Everyone has a story to tell of childhood years, first jobs, military service, life-changing events and never told secrets. These are the stories that your children and grandchildren will cherish, and additionally will add a special addition to the history of your community when you file your stories at your library or local historical society. Oh, if you’re wondering. It’s never too late to begin writing your stories.
First day of spring! Says so right on the calendar. But I when I look outside this morning, my daffodils and tulips are but little green spears poking through two inches of snow. Mother Nature obviously doesn’t read the calendar. Patience. Patience. It’s still March.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: In spring we shake loose the shackles of winter and make big plans and think big thoughts. We celebrate what has passed and look forward to the future with joy and hope.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.(Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake, Delevan. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Feet Touching The Ground
When I was still teaching, we interviewed a young man from Florida for a position in our department. We talked to him in January when we had a couple feet of snow on the ground, and after spending a day with him, I asked him if would like to come work for us in Wisconsin. I’d noticed he seemed uncomfortable all the time he was here, and I couldn’t put my finger on his concern.
His answer told all. He said, “I don’t think I could work in a place where my feet wouldn’t touch the ground for three months of the year.” He was referring to our snow-covered landscape.
My feet touched the ground this week as our snow has mostly disappeared. Can there be a surer sign of spring? Several readers responded to my request for signs of spring. Here are a couple of them.
“We saw our first robin last week and our tulips and daffodils on the south side of the house are about three inches up. Always love your observations about nature and the seasons. I can tell that like me, you are longing for spring. I look forward to hearing the birds start singing at four in the morning, from the comfort of my bed of course.” Sharon of Plymouth
“A recent morning as I was getting into my car, a cardinal was carrying on nearby with such jubilation I had to smile! In spite of the chilly wind, his frisky notes held such positive hope of the nearly spring. I couldn't help but grin to myself. We in the Midwest don't appreciate the cardinals’ cheery songs. I've heard people in Texas express such joy when they've seen or heard a rare cardinal!” Kay Moore
Interested in a good story? Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio next Thursday, March 18 at 11:00. Larry Meiller and I will be doing another session on Wisconsin stories and story-telling. Got a story to share? Call in.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The coming of spring, so much like all of life, is two steps forward and one step back.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
His answer told all. He said, “I don’t think I could work in a place where my feet wouldn’t touch the ground for three months of the year.” He was referring to our snow-covered landscape.
My feet touched the ground this week as our snow has mostly disappeared. Can there be a surer sign of spring? Several readers responded to my request for signs of spring. Here are a couple of them.
“We saw our first robin last week and our tulips and daffodils on the south side of the house are about three inches up. Always love your observations about nature and the seasons. I can tell that like me, you are longing for spring. I look forward to hearing the birds start singing at four in the morning, from the comfort of my bed of course.” Sharon of Plymouth
“A recent morning as I was getting into my car, a cardinal was carrying on nearby with such jubilation I had to smile! In spite of the chilly wind, his frisky notes held such positive hope of the nearly spring. I couldn't help but grin to myself. We in the Midwest don't appreciate the cardinals’ cheery songs. I've heard people in Texas express such joy when they've seen or heard a rare cardinal!” Kay Moore
Interested in a good story? Tune in Wisconsin Public Radio next Thursday, March 18 at 11:00. Larry Meiller and I will be doing another session on Wisconsin stories and story-telling. Got a story to share? Call in.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The coming of spring, so much like all of life, is two steps forward and one step back.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
My week-long writing workshop at The Clearing in Door County for 2010 is set for
August 8-14.
A one-day, Saturday writing workshop is scheduled for October 30.
Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm))
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m., Village Supper Club, Delevan Lake. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Aldo Leopold Celebration
Last Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at the Lake Geneva Library’s Aldo Leopold Celebration. Leopold, who died April 21, 1948, is best known for his book, A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, published after his death in 1949. The library looked out on the lake, a special place for the celebration.
I have an original edition of A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC and read from it often. Fitting for the season, Leopold wrote this about spring: “One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring.”
With Leopold, I look forward each spring to the geese flying high overhead in long V’s as they wing their way to their summer nesting grounds. I enjoy seeing them in the daytime, listening to their calls as their flocks sometimes spread from horizon to horizon. I especially enjoy hearing them on a still spring night, confidently moving north, announcing spring. Sometimes, if the moon is full and the sky is clear, I will see them flying in the moonlight. What a treat it is.
What are your first signs of spring? The return of the sandhill cranes? Bird song in the morning? The blush on a weeping willow tree? Pussy willows in the marshes? Click on comment and let us know.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To value the land and the natural world demands an appreciation that goes deeper than knowing, deeper even than understanding—to the level that involves not only the head but also the heart.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
I have an original edition of A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC and read from it often. Fitting for the season, Leopold wrote this about spring: “One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring.”
With Leopold, I look forward each spring to the geese flying high overhead in long V’s as they wing their way to their summer nesting grounds. I enjoy seeing them in the daytime, listening to their calls as their flocks sometimes spread from horizon to horizon. I especially enjoy hearing them on a still spring night, confidently moving north, announcing spring. Sometimes, if the moon is full and the sky is clear, I will see them flying in the moonlight. What a treat it is.
What are your first signs of spring? The return of the sandhill cranes? Bird song in the morning? The blush on a weeping willow tree? Pussy willows in the marshes? Click on comment and let us know.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To value the land and the natural world demands an appreciation that goes deeper than knowing, deeper even than understanding—to the level that involves not only the head but also the heart.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)
Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)
Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)
Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)
UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)
Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)
WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Discover Wisconsin: March 6-7
On a warm day last November, a production crew from the TV-Series, “Discover Wisconsin” stopped by my farm for a few hours. They asked me to be part of a program they planned called “Booked into Wisconsin.” (The program will air March 6 & 7 on TV stations throughout the upper Midwest. See the station listing at the end of this blog.)
Program host, Stephanie Klett interviewed me about my Ames County Novels, a series of historical fiction books I have written about the history of agriculture in central Wisconsin. Four novels so far comprise the series, “The Travels of Increase Joseph,” “In a Pickle,” “Blue Shadows Farm,” and soon to be published, “Cranberry Red.” All are published by University of Wisconsin Press and are or will be available in book stores and can be ordered directly from my website.
Here is a brief rundown of each novel:
1. The Travels of Increase Joseph (Time Period: 1850-1900) Published in 2003 & 2010.
The Travels of Increase Joseph tells of the first settlers coming to central Wisconsin in 1852, settling Ames County and naming their village Link Lake. These settlers followed an unusual preacher, Increase Joseph Link, from New York State to Wisconsin. Increase Joseph, tossed out of Harvard College for his liberal thinking, preaches, “The land comes first.” The novel emphasizes the environmental challenges of the time, with many applications to today’s situation.
2. In a Pickle: A Family Farm Story (Time Period: 1955) Published in 2007.
This novel takes place in Ames County in 1955, when nearly every small farmer in the western part of the county grew a small patch of cucumbers. The book focuses on the forces that caused many small family farmers to leave the land.
3. Blue Shadows Farm (Time Period: 1866-present time) Published in 2009.
Blue Shadows Farm follows three generations of the Starkweather family as they try to make a living on a farm in the Link Lake Community of Ames County. It is about connecting to the land both past and present. A contemporary sub-plot concerns environmental education in the schools and the importance of children having first hand contact with nature and the out-of-doors.
4. Cranberry Red (Time Period: the present.) Publication date: Fall 2010.
Isaac Osborne University (a for-profit institution) discovers a new chemical called “Cranberry Red” that promises to drastically improve cranberry growth. It also claims that consuming these treated cranberries will prevent heart disease, reduce brain damage from strokes, and ward off Alzheimer’s. Ben Wesley, the Research Application Specialist for Osborne University, must sell the new substance to cranberry growers in Ames County and other Wisconsin Counties. However, the chemical has not been tested adequately, and Wesley remains apprehensive about promoting the substance since research results seem limited and overstated. While the chemical does all that the University claims it will do, it also creates some disturbing side-affects,
The story focuses on the push and pull of big businesses’ need for fast profit, a community’s need for safety, and how people can be caught in the debate of balancing efficiency with morality.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Great truths are often revealed in fiction.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
DISCOVER WISCONSIN SCHEDULE: MARCH 6-7
The Discover Wisconsin – America's Dairyland "Booked Into Wisconsin" episode will air throughout the upper Midwest on the following stations during the times noted below:
Wausau WAOW TV 9 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Wisconsin (Statewide) FSN - Wisconsin
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block
Baraboo WRPQ TV 43
Saturdays 1:30 PM & Mondays 10:00 PM
Cedar Rapids/Dubuque IA KFXA 28 (FOX)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Chicago Comcast SportsNet
Saturdays 10:00 a.m.
Eagle River WYOW TV 34 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Eau Claire WQOW TV 18 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.
Green Bay WFRV Ch 5 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 p.m
Hibbing, MN WIRT TV 13 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.
La Crosse WXOW TV 19 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.
Madison WKOW TV 27 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee WITI TV 6 (FOX)
Sundays 9:00 a.m.
Minneapolis/MN FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block
Rochester/Austin FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m
Rockford WIFR TV 23 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Superior/Duluth WDIO TV 10 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.
Tomah, WI WIBU - TV
Mondays 5:00 p.m
Upper Michigan - Escanaba, MI WJMN Ch 3 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 CST/7:00 EST
Program host, Stephanie Klett interviewed me about my Ames County Novels, a series of historical fiction books I have written about the history of agriculture in central Wisconsin. Four novels so far comprise the series, “The Travels of Increase Joseph,” “In a Pickle,” “Blue Shadows Farm,” and soon to be published, “Cranberry Red.” All are published by University of Wisconsin Press and are or will be available in book stores and can be ordered directly from my website.
Here is a brief rundown of each novel:
1. The Travels of Increase Joseph (Time Period: 1850-1900) Published in 2003 & 2010.
The Travels of Increase Joseph tells of the first settlers coming to central Wisconsin in 1852, settling Ames County and naming their village Link Lake. These settlers followed an unusual preacher, Increase Joseph Link, from New York State to Wisconsin. Increase Joseph, tossed out of Harvard College for his liberal thinking, preaches, “The land comes first.” The novel emphasizes the environmental challenges of the time, with many applications to today’s situation.
2. In a Pickle: A Family Farm Story (Time Period: 1955) Published in 2007.
This novel takes place in Ames County in 1955, when nearly every small farmer in the western part of the county grew a small patch of cucumbers. The book focuses on the forces that caused many small family farmers to leave the land.
3. Blue Shadows Farm (Time Period: 1866-present time) Published in 2009.
Blue Shadows Farm follows three generations of the Starkweather family as they try to make a living on a farm in the Link Lake Community of Ames County. It is about connecting to the land both past and present. A contemporary sub-plot concerns environmental education in the schools and the importance of children having first hand contact with nature and the out-of-doors.
4. Cranberry Red (Time Period: the present.) Publication date: Fall 2010.
Isaac Osborne University (a for-profit institution) discovers a new chemical called “Cranberry Red” that promises to drastically improve cranberry growth. It also claims that consuming these treated cranberries will prevent heart disease, reduce brain damage from strokes, and ward off Alzheimer’s. Ben Wesley, the Research Application Specialist for Osborne University, must sell the new substance to cranberry growers in Ames County and other Wisconsin Counties. However, the chemical has not been tested adequately, and Wesley remains apprehensive about promoting the substance since research results seem limited and overstated. While the chemical does all that the University claims it will do, it also creates some disturbing side-affects,
The story focuses on the push and pull of big businesses’ need for fast profit, a community’s need for safety, and how people can be caught in the debate of balancing efficiency with morality.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Great truths are often revealed in fiction.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
DISCOVER WISCONSIN SCHEDULE: MARCH 6-7
The Discover Wisconsin – America's Dairyland "Booked Into Wisconsin" episode will air throughout the upper Midwest on the following stations during the times noted below:
Wausau WAOW TV 9 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Wisconsin (Statewide) FSN - Wisconsin
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block
Baraboo WRPQ TV 43
Saturdays 1:30 PM & Mondays 10:00 PM
Cedar Rapids/Dubuque IA KFXA 28 (FOX)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Chicago Comcast SportsNet
Saturdays 10:00 a.m.
Eagle River WYOW TV 34 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Eau Claire WQOW TV 18 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.
Green Bay WFRV Ch 5 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 p.m
Hibbing, MN WIRT TV 13 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.
La Crosse WXOW TV 19 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.
Madison WKOW TV 27 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee WITI TV 6 (FOX)
Sundays 9:00 a.m.
Minneapolis/MN FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block
Rochester/Austin FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m
Rockford WIFR TV 23 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.
Superior/Duluth WDIO TV 10 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.
Tomah, WI WIBU - TV
Mondays 5:00 p.m
Upper Michigan - Escanaba, MI WJMN Ch 3 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 CST/7:00 EST
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Spring in the Air
I’m sitting by my wood stove, looking out over my snow covered fields and enjoying a cup of coffee. I’ve finished plowing my driveway—it has taken me an hour. The sun is bright, the outside temperature is warm (in the mid-thirties) and the snow is piled high, higher than I remember for most winters. It’s a fine winter day.
But I’ve had enough. I’m ready for spring. I thought I could feel spring in the air while I plowed, maybe I did. But spring is a fickle season. A teasing hussy. One moment she shows a little of herself, then runs away to hide while old man winter once more huffs and puffs and continues to show who is in charge.
I watch a doe deer walk down the hill just beyond the cabin. She appears to have wintered well, so far anyway. She looks toward the cabin, her head high and ears flicking. I’ll bet she’s also looking forward to spring.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Learn how to leave some things alone.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
But I’ve had enough. I’m ready for spring. I thought I could feel spring in the air while I plowed, maybe I did. But spring is a fickle season. A teasing hussy. One moment she shows a little of herself, then runs away to hide while old man winter once more huffs and puffs and continues to show who is in charge.
I watch a doe deer walk down the hill just beyond the cabin. She appears to have wintered well, so far anyway. She looks toward the cabin, her head high and ears flicking. I’ll bet she’s also looking forward to spring.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Learn how to leave some things alone.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Cardinal Song
I heard a cardinal call this morning. The sun was but a hint of red in the east, the wind was down and the temperature hung at zero. The male cardinal sang his song of love on this cold Valentine’s day.
I wait for the cardinal’s song each year, for when I hear it I know we’ve turned the corner on winter and spring hides just around the corner. Well maybe not quite that close.
We’ve had as many as five cardinal pairs at our feeder all winter. Splashes of red against a landscape of white. Now in mid-February, they and I patiently wait for spring. These red birds feel the seasonal change coming and announce it boldly with their calls. Scientists tell us increasing daylight triggers their calling. No matter what causes it, at this time in winter I welcome any hint of spring.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is like a river. There are twists and turns, quiet spots and rapids, deep pools and shallow flats. But a river is always moving. Always the same but always different. Like life itself.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
I wait for the cardinal’s song each year, for when I hear it I know we’ve turned the corner on winter and spring hides just around the corner. Well maybe not quite that close.
We’ve had as many as five cardinal pairs at our feeder all winter. Splashes of red against a landscape of white. Now in mid-February, they and I patiently wait for spring. These red birds feel the seasonal change coming and announce it boldly with their calls. Scientists tell us increasing daylight triggers their calling. No matter what causes it, at this time in winter I welcome any hint of spring.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is like a river. There are twists and turns, quiet spots and rapids, deep pools and shallow flats. But a river is always moving. Always the same but always different. Like life itself.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Warm Weather Search
We went looking for warmer weather last week. First stop, Tampa, Florida. No warm weather there—temperature barely made it to 50 degrees. Next to Key West, Florida. Fifties there as well. Person at the museum in Key West said it was one of the coldest winters on record. Cold killed many tropical plants.
Next stop Belize—getting warmer. In the 70s. Then to Honduras. Down right hot and muggy. Mid 80s. And finally to Costa Maya, Mexico. High 80s, humidity in the 90s. A reminder of Wisconsin in July. Way too hot.
Back home. Snowing. Twenty-six degrees. Beautiful winter day. At heart we are winter people, although it was fun to walk around with sleeves rolled up and the sun shining hot on our backs for a few days.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Stand in a snowstorm and watch snowflakes accumulate on your sleeve. Each snowflake is different, each one special—a reminder of nature’s creative magnificence.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Next stop Belize—getting warmer. In the 70s. Then to Honduras. Down right hot and muggy. Mid 80s. And finally to Costa Maya, Mexico. High 80s, humidity in the 90s. A reminder of Wisconsin in July. Way too hot.
Back home. Snowing. Twenty-six degrees. Beautiful winter day. At heart we are winter people, although it was fun to walk around with sleeves rolled up and the sun shining hot on our backs for a few days.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Stand in a snowstorm and watch snowflakes accumulate on your sleeve. Each snowflake is different, each one special—a reminder of nature’s creative magnificence.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wood Burning Cook Stove
At my cabin, I cook and heat the place with a wood burning cook stove. It’s a fine old stove, a Home Comfort made by the Wrought Iron Range Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The company made cook stoves from 1864 to 1940. Salesmen sold them all over the country, especially in the Midwest.
I bought the stove in 1970, used of course. Let’s say it was one of the last stoves the company made, in 1940. The stove was but a youngster in 1970, a scant 30 years old. Today, 40 years later, the old stove is a senior citizen. But like a bunch of other 70 year olds I know, it’s going strong. It’s a little rusty here and there—but the grates are fine, the oven works and it burns wood today as well as it ever did.
And what a wonderful heat it provides. Sure, if you are in a hurry to cook something my old stove would probably send you to McDonald’s. But hurry is not what my cabin is about. My cabin is about slowing down—doing slow cooking, sometimes very slow cooking. But I must say, and I know it’s my opinion, homemade soup cooked on a wood burning stove is just about the best thing you could ever put on the table when the snow is piled high and temperature hangs down there around zero. I can smell it now.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Watch the sun set when the temperature is below freezing. The sky is steel blue that turns black as the sun sinks away and the thermometer plummets.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
I bought the stove in 1970, used of course. Let’s say it was one of the last stoves the company made, in 1940. The stove was but a youngster in 1970, a scant 30 years old. Today, 40 years later, the old stove is a senior citizen. But like a bunch of other 70 year olds I know, it’s going strong. It’s a little rusty here and there—but the grates are fine, the oven works and it burns wood today as well as it ever did.
And what a wonderful heat it provides. Sure, if you are in a hurry to cook something my old stove would probably send you to McDonald’s. But hurry is not what my cabin is about. My cabin is about slowing down—doing slow cooking, sometimes very slow cooking. But I must say, and I know it’s my opinion, homemade soup cooked on a wood burning stove is just about the best thing you could ever put on the table when the snow is piled high and temperature hangs down there around zero. I can smell it now.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Watch the sun set when the temperature is below freezing. The sky is steel blue that turns black as the sun sinks away and the thermometer plummets.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Walden
In mid-winter, during a string of cloudy, dreary days, with the snow piled high and the cold lingering on, I like to catch up on my reading. I often turn to the classics that I read many years ago. Henry David Thoreau’s, WALDEN is one of them.
Though his writing is sometimes difficult to grasp, Thoreau’s words, written in 1854, continue to resonate with me: “In Wilderness is the preservation of the world,” he wrote. Those words were important in Thoreau’s day; they are even more important today.
Thoreau lived for a time in a cabin in the woods on Walden Pond and wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
So I sit and read and ponder the layers of meaning in Thoreau’s writing, and their application to today’s frantic world.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen to the views of others, but trust your own as well.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Though his writing is sometimes difficult to grasp, Thoreau’s words, written in 1854, continue to resonate with me: “In Wilderness is the preservation of the world,” he wrote. Those words were important in Thoreau’s day; they are even more important today.
Thoreau lived for a time in a cabin in the woods on Walden Pond and wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
So I sit and read and ponder the layers of meaning in Thoreau’s writing, and their application to today’s frantic world.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen to the views of others, but trust your own as well.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)
UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.
Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Ice Skating
It warmed up this past week. A January thaw. When I was a kid, a January thaw meant ponds forming in the hollows at the farm, places for ice skating.
My two brothers and I each had a pair of clamp-on skates, the kind that you fastened to the bottom of your shoes. We bought them at Hotz Hardware in Wild Rose—50 cents a pair. Only problem with the clamp-on skates—they pulled the heels from your shoes. But that was a small price to pay for the fun we had.
I was not much of an ice-skater. My brother Don got quite good at it. But his twin brother Darrel, well he was a whiz of a skater. He skated forward, he could cross step, he skated backwards, he cross stepped backward. He skated circles around his twin and me.
We skated every day, after we got home from school and finished our chores. We skated until either another big snow buried our ponds, or spring finally arrived and they disappeared. In those days, winter was a time for fun. It still is.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A good story, even if lacking in facts, can help us to see the truth.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) January 19, noon, Blackhawk Country Club, Madison. (Telling Stories: Why and How?)
Radio interview, January 21, Public Radio, KBRW, Barrow, Alaska. (Story telling)
Oakwood East Community Center, Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Three chapters of Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old Farm)
My two brothers and I each had a pair of clamp-on skates, the kind that you fastened to the bottom of your shoes. We bought them at Hotz Hardware in Wild Rose—50 cents a pair. Only problem with the clamp-on skates—they pulled the heels from your shoes. But that was a small price to pay for the fun we had.
I was not much of an ice-skater. My brother Don got quite good at it. But his twin brother Darrel, well he was a whiz of a skater. He skated forward, he could cross step, he skated backwards, he cross stepped backward. He skated circles around his twin and me.
We skated every day, after we got home from school and finished our chores. We skated until either another big snow buried our ponds, or spring finally arrived and they disappeared. In those days, winter was a time for fun. It still is.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A good story, even if lacking in facts, can help us to see the truth.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) January 19, noon, Blackhawk Country Club, Madison. (Telling Stories: Why and How?)
Radio interview, January 21, Public Radio, KBRW, Barrow, Alaska. (Story telling)
Oakwood East Community Center, Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Three chapters of Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)
Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)
Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)
Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old Farm)
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Snowshoes
I bought a new pair of snowshoes a couple years ago, the kind with an aluminum frame and plastic webbing to provide support. Not at all like the snowshoes I’ve used for many years. These older ones have ash wood frames and leather mesh—and now hang on my cabin wall for decoration.
The other morning, when the temperature hung near ten degrees, I slipped into my fancy snowshoes and set off up the hill south of the cabin. It’s easy to criticize these new shoe shoes as lacking in good looks, historical foundation, or whatever else might tickle your critical fancy.
But they work and work well. Oh, did I say they weigh about half as much as my older model, and are only about a third as long. Anyone who knows anything about snow shoeing is aware of a lot of foot lifting when moving through deep snow—I appreciate the lighter weight and shorter length.
So I am faced, again, with questions: What of the new, no matter what it is, should I embrace? What of the old should I keep using and what should I set aside?
When it comes to snow shoes I’ve made up my mind.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take time to see the whiteness of fresh fallen snow that sparkles and glimmers and covers the grime and dirt of an earlier day. It’s nature’s way of hiding human clutter.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
The other morning, when the temperature hung near ten degrees, I slipped into my fancy snowshoes and set off up the hill south of the cabin. It’s easy to criticize these new shoe shoes as lacking in good looks, historical foundation, or whatever else might tickle your critical fancy.
But they work and work well. Oh, did I say they weigh about half as much as my older model, and are only about a third as long. Anyone who knows anything about snow shoeing is aware of a lot of foot lifting when moving through deep snow—I appreciate the lighter weight and shorter length.
So I am faced, again, with questions: What of the new, no matter what it is, should I embrace? What of the old should I keep using and what should I set aside?
When it comes to snow shoes I’ve made up my mind.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take time to see the whiteness of fresh fallen snow that sparkles and glimmers and covers the grime and dirt of an earlier day. It’s nature’s way of hiding human clutter.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Winter Quiet
The temperature slid to eight below zero during the night. Clear sky, no wind, and a bright sun greeted me when I stepped outside the cabin in the morning. Quiet. So quiet, until I began walking and heard the snow creaking loudly as only cold weather snow can.
I walked along my long driveway to the country road that was still ice covered and slippery. The winter sun, slowly sneaking above the horizon far to the southeast cast long shadows on the bluish-white, snow covered fields. The snow sparkled as if someone had scattered tiny little diamonds everywhere.
Arriving at the country road, I heard only the quiet of a cold January morning. I stood for a time listening and feeling the subtle warmth of the winter sun on my face.
On my way back to the cabin, I stopped at the woodshed for an armful of wood, the cabin stove is ever hungry, more so on a below zero morning. Once in the cabin, I poured another cup of coffee and looked out at the diamonds on the snow. A pleasant way to start the day; a restful way to begin the new year.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen for the silence of winter, when the snow buries the land and the cold tightens its grip, turning breath into clouds and thickening ice on the lakes. There is great beauty in silence, something that we have little of these days.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 5. (Note date change)11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
I walked along my long driveway to the country road that was still ice covered and slippery. The winter sun, slowly sneaking above the horizon far to the southeast cast long shadows on the bluish-white, snow covered fields. The snow sparkled as if someone had scattered tiny little diamonds everywhere.
Arriving at the country road, I heard only the quiet of a cold January morning. I stood for a time listening and feeling the subtle warmth of the winter sun on my face.
On my way back to the cabin, I stopped at the woodshed for an armful of wood, the cabin stove is ever hungry, more so on a below zero morning. Once in the cabin, I poured another cup of coffee and looked out at the diamonds on the snow. A pleasant way to start the day; a restful way to begin the new year.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen for the silence of winter, when the snow buries the land and the cold tightens its grip, turning breath into clouds and thickening ice on the lakes. There is great beauty in silence, something that we have little of these days.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 5. (Note date change)11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Ice Fishing
The years I attended grade school and high school we spent Christmas vacations ice fishing. My brothers, dad and I would finish the morning barns chores and we were off to Mt. Morris Lake, east of Wild Rose a few miles.
We first chopped holes through the ice. Pa’s ice chisel was one that Arnold Christensen, the blacksmith in Wild Rose had made out of a Model T Ford axle. He’d sharpened one end and drilled a hole through the other. Pa pushed a length of leather shoe lace through the hole and tied it in a loop. We were not to use the ice chisel without looping the leather throng over our wrist as we knew of many ice chisels on the bottom of the lake.
Next was to set up our tip-ups, a device that we stuck down in the freshly chopped hole. It contained fish line that would play out if a fish took our bait—we used large minnows for bait. Sometimes other fisherman chided us that if we caught no fish, we could always fry up the minnows. They thought it was a big joke. Pa’s take was the bigger the minnow, the bigger the fish we would catch. The tip-up also had a little flag that would fly up if a fish grabbed the minnow.
With the tip-ups set, we walked to shore, started a little fire and sat watching the tip-ups a hundred yards or so out on the lake through a trickle of wood smoke. Several others fished as well, and we often invited them to join us by our smoky little fire. Each different person meant a new set of stories.
As I look back at those ice fishing years, the stories were nearly as important as the fish we caught. We also caught fish. A bunch of them.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Happy New Year. Every year is a good year, some are just better than others.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
We first chopped holes through the ice. Pa’s ice chisel was one that Arnold Christensen, the blacksmith in Wild Rose had made out of a Model T Ford axle. He’d sharpened one end and drilled a hole through the other. Pa pushed a length of leather shoe lace through the hole and tied it in a loop. We were not to use the ice chisel without looping the leather throng over our wrist as we knew of many ice chisels on the bottom of the lake.
Next was to set up our tip-ups, a device that we stuck down in the freshly chopped hole. It contained fish line that would play out if a fish took our bait—we used large minnows for bait. Sometimes other fisherman chided us that if we caught no fish, we could always fry up the minnows. They thought it was a big joke. Pa’s take was the bigger the minnow, the bigger the fish we would catch. The tip-up also had a little flag that would fly up if a fish grabbed the minnow.
With the tip-ups set, we walked to shore, started a little fire and sat watching the tip-ups a hundred yards or so out on the lake through a trickle of wood smoke. Several others fished as well, and we often invited them to join us by our smoky little fire. Each different person meant a new set of stories.
As I look back at those ice fishing years, the stories were nearly as important as the fish we caught. We also caught fish. A bunch of them.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Happy New Year. Every year is a good year, some are just better than others.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Christmas Secret
Ruth and I attended a Christmas program this week. Kids, mostly little ones, on a little stage reciting their lines, singing songs and reminding me of when I attended country school and we put on a Christmas program the last Friday before Christmas break.
I remember vividly my first Christmas program. I was five years old and in first grade (our school had no kindergarten). My first grade teacher, Theresa Piechowski, was firm but patient with me. She said that everyone in the school from first to eighth graders must “say their piece.” Meaning we had to memorize a little ditty about the Holiday season, stand on the makeshift stage in the front of the school and say what we’d been instructed to say.
I informed Miss Piechowski that I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to do this. She would have none of it. I was to stand on stage and say my piece and that was that.
When she noted how worried I looked, she took me aside and in a near whisper said, “I have a secret for speaking in front of a crowd.”
I was all ears. “When you stand on that stage,” she motioned to the rickety set of planks strung across some sawhorses. “You stand up straight. Take your hands out of your pockets, and talk with a loud, clear voice.”
So what was so secret about that, I wondered. But then she continued. “Do you see the damper on the stove pipe?” She was pointing to the woodstove that stood in the back of the school room.
“I see the damper,” I said, wondering when she was going to get around to telling me her secret for speaking to a group of relatives, neighbors and schoolmates who were as likely to stick their tongues out at me as cross their eyes when I stood on the stage.
“When you stand on the stage and begin talking, look at the damper. People will think you’re looking right at them, but you hardly will see them at all. And you’ll have no problems.’
Miss Piechowski was right. Today, when I speak to a group and I do often, I stare at some spot in the back of the room and all goes well. It’s my Christmas gift to all of you who have dry mouth and empty brains when called on to speak.
Merry Christmas.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: First things first, but not necessarily in that order.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
I remember vividly my first Christmas program. I was five years old and in first grade (our school had no kindergarten). My first grade teacher, Theresa Piechowski, was firm but patient with me. She said that everyone in the school from first to eighth graders must “say their piece.” Meaning we had to memorize a little ditty about the Holiday season, stand on the makeshift stage in the front of the school and say what we’d been instructed to say.
I informed Miss Piechowski that I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to do this. She would have none of it. I was to stand on stage and say my piece and that was that.
When she noted how worried I looked, she took me aside and in a near whisper said, “I have a secret for speaking in front of a crowd.”
I was all ears. “When you stand on that stage,” she motioned to the rickety set of planks strung across some sawhorses. “You stand up straight. Take your hands out of your pockets, and talk with a loud, clear voice.”
So what was so secret about that, I wondered. But then she continued. “Do you see the damper on the stove pipe?” She was pointing to the woodstove that stood in the back of the school room.
“I see the damper,” I said, wondering when she was going to get around to telling me her secret for speaking to a group of relatives, neighbors and schoolmates who were as likely to stick their tongues out at me as cross their eyes when I stood on the stage.
“When you stand on the stage and begin talking, look at the damper. People will think you’re looking right at them, but you hardly will see them at all. And you’ll have no problems.’
Miss Piechowski was right. Today, when I speak to a group and I do often, I stare at some spot in the back of the room and all goes well. It’s my Christmas gift to all of you who have dry mouth and empty brains when called on to speak.
Merry Christmas.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: First things first, but not necessarily in that order.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blizzard
The news people called it the biggest snowstorm since 1990. Fifteen inches and more in much of Wisconsin with wind to move it around, especially in rural areas. Shopping centers closed, colleges and universities shutdown, schools closed.
When I attended a country school, it never closed. Drifted roads, frigid temperatures, ice, electricity out—the school remained open. For the eight-years that I attended Chain O’ Lake School in the Town of Rose, Waushara County, I don’t recall a single day that it closed. Of course we all walked, some kids more than two miles one-way. During my early school years, the school didn’t have electricity, so a power outage somewhere didn’t matter. We did our lessons huddled around a big old rusty wood burning stove. If a blizzard raged during the day, the teacher might close things down a couple hours early so we could mush our way home before dark.
Big snowstorms made for good stories and fond memories—mostly. The down side was shoveling paths. Paths to the barn, to the granary, to the pump house, to the corn crib, to the straw stack, to the chicken house, to the woodshed, and of course to the outhouse for no one in our neighborhood had indoor plumbing in those days.
With the shoveling finished, out came the sleds and the skis. The fun side of winter. My grandfather made my first skis from birch wood. He steamed the wood so the ends turned up. But alas, he didn’t know how to make grooves in the bottom of the skis so I slid side-ways as often as I went forward down a hill. But great fun it was.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Enjoy the snow and pity those living in the southern climes who can’t look out a window and see the beauty of winter
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
When I attended a country school, it never closed. Drifted roads, frigid temperatures, ice, electricity out—the school remained open. For the eight-years that I attended Chain O’ Lake School in the Town of Rose, Waushara County, I don’t recall a single day that it closed. Of course we all walked, some kids more than two miles one-way. During my early school years, the school didn’t have electricity, so a power outage somewhere didn’t matter. We did our lessons huddled around a big old rusty wood burning stove. If a blizzard raged during the day, the teacher might close things down a couple hours early so we could mush our way home before dark.
Big snowstorms made for good stories and fond memories—mostly. The down side was shoveling paths. Paths to the barn, to the granary, to the pump house, to the corn crib, to the straw stack, to the chicken house, to the woodshed, and of course to the outhouse for no one in our neighborhood had indoor plumbing in those days.
With the shoveling finished, out came the sleds and the skis. The fun side of winter. My grandfather made my first skis from birch wood. He steamed the wood so the ends turned up. But alas, he didn’t know how to make grooves in the bottom of the skis so I slid side-ways as often as I went forward down a hill. But great fun it was.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Enjoy the snow and pity those living in the southern climes who can’t look out a window and see the beauty of winter
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
First Snow
It began with a few scattered flakes flying on a brisk northwest wind. Nothing to worry about the weather bureau said. No accumulation.
More snow by mid-afternoon, and a lot more snow by evening. Winter had arrived to cover up autumn, to leave behind a season and usher in a new one. A drab world of browns and grays turned to glimmering white.
For those who enjoy winter—a few of us sturdy souls remain—it is a time for rejoicing.
Time to look for snowshoes and cross country skis.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Words that you most likely hear are those spoken softly and not yelled.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, AND OLD FARM. See my website for details about these books. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.
December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
More snow by mid-afternoon, and a lot more snow by evening. Winter had arrived to cover up autumn, to leave behind a season and usher in a new one. A drab world of browns and grays turned to glimmering white.
For those who enjoy winter—a few of us sturdy souls remain—it is a time for rejoicing.
Time to look for snowshoes and cross country skis.
THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Words that you most likely hear are those spoken softly and not yelled.
WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, AND OLD FARM. See my website for details about these books. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.
December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.
January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)
January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm
January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.
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