Lilacs

Pa didn’t like lilacs.  Said he didn’t like how they smelled.  So we had none on our farm.  But a long row of lilacs grew along the entire southern fence surrounding our country school.  The lilac bushes were tall and thick and during the last weeks of school in May the bushes were covered with beautiful, sweet smelling, lilac flowers.  Our teacher always had a fresh bouquet on her desk each day, their fragrance turning the lingering smoky smell in the school room after a long winter into the sweet smell of spring.

So I've always liked lilacs, and when we bought Roshara in 1966, I was pleased to find a long row of them growing near the remnants of the farm buildings.  The Coombes family, who owned the farm previously, must have liked lilacs for they planted three kinds: dark purple, lavender and a very tall growing white variety.  Best we could determine they were planted in 1912, when the Coombes family constructed the farm buildings.  Now, more than a hundred years later, we have a big bouquet of lilacs on the cabin table, their sweet smell crowding out the lingering smells of wood smoke after a long winter.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Take time to smell the lilacs.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  I received an update on enrollments in my writing class (Saturday, June 21) at The Clearing.  There remain a few openings and it is still time to sign up. Go to this link for further information. http://theclearing.org/current/classes_workshop_description.php?id=3

If that doesn’t work write or call The Clearing:
12171 Garrett Bay Rd, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
(920) 854-4088.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 20, Wausau Historical Society, 10:00 a.m. Presentation. Stories from the Land.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

July 12-19. Writing Retreat, Rhinelander, WI.

July 23.  Jacksonport Historical Society, Mr. G’s, 6:00 p.m. Jacksonport, WI. Horse Drawn Days

July 26, Wild Rose Historical Society, Book Signing 10:00 - 2:00.

July 29, Ephraim Historical Foundation. 7:00 p.m. Barns of Wisconsin.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story).

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

               

Whip-poor-will

I heard the whip-poor-will calling last night.  On the hillside above the pond.  The sound echoing across the valley.  The mysterious bird of the evening calling its name over and over again.  Sometimes ten, fifteen or more times without stopping.

Dad always said the bird was calling, “Plant your corn.  Plant your corn.”  That’s what we were doing yesterday, Steve, Natasha and I.  Planting sweetcorn kernels in our garden.  Several long rows.  Also a row of ornamental corn.  Ornamental corn is not much for eating—but sure fun to look at.  Sometimes we must be reminded that looking is as important as eating. 

We also set out the tomato plants and mulched them with straw, forty-five or fifty of them. We planted a couple rows of squash, half a row of pumpkins, half a row of cucumbers and probably too long a row of zucchini. A couple rows of green beans.  A row of beets. A short row of gourds, and an even shorter row of dill.  Dill has such a wonderful smell when you rub its leaves between your fingers.

Potatoes are about half up.  Radishes are on a tear.  Lettuce is looking good.  Cabbage and broccoli plants alive and well.

Rain predicted in the next day or so.  Warm weather here—finally.  Garden needs both.  Lots of rain.  Lots of sunshine. All in all, looking good for the 2014 season.  But way too early to make any predictions. 

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  What is more fun than working in a garden on a warm, sunny day.

 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  There are still openings for my one-day (June 21) writing class at The Clearing in Door County.  Go to this link for further information. http://theclearing.org/current/classes_workshop_description.php?id=3

If that doesn’t work write or call The Clearing:
12171 Garrett Bay Rd, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
(920) 854-4088.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 20, Wausau Historical Society, 10:00 a.m. Presentation. Stories from the Land.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

July 12-19. Writing Retreat, Rhinelander, WI.

July 23.  Jacksonport Historical Society, Mr. G’s, 6:00 p.m. Jacksonport, WI. Horse Drawn Days

July 29, Ephraim Historical Foundation. 7:00 p.m. Barns of Wisconsin.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story).

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

               

May 17

Two hundred years ago, on May 17, Norway gained its independence.  So every May 17, those with Norwegian heritage celebrate Syttende Mai (Norwegian for May 17).  Wisconsin’s major Norwegian settlements were Stoughton and Westby.  And both places have major Syttende Mai celebrations.

This year, as I have done for many years, I traveled to Westby and signed books for several hours at Dregne’s Scandinavian gifts, one of the largest and best such gift shops in the state. Such fun it was to talk to the folks who came by my book display—the occasional one saying something to me in Norwegian.  My reply is usually a smile and a “Huh, what did you say?”

Syttende Mai is a homecoming for many families.  I talked with a man from Rochester, MN.  “I grew up here,” he proudly announced.  I talked with a woman from Rochester, New York.  “My family has roots here.”  Of course people from LaCrosse, Viroqua, LaFarge, Holmen and many other nearby communities were well represented

Lunch from Borgen’s Café—a great place for Norwegian food—is always a treat.  Visiting with my longtime friend, Howard Sherpe, author and woodcarver extraordinaire, and Westby native, is always fun.  My daughter, Sue, came along and saw many of the goings on from a kiddie’s tractor pull, to a rosemaling demonstration.

 It was a cool but sunny day—a great day for a celebration.  A great day for those with Norwegian backgrounds.  Also, a pretty good day for those of who claim German as our heritage.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Hats off to the Norwegians.

 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:  I learned this past week that there are still openings for my one-day (June 21) writing class at The Clearing in Door County.  Go to this link for further information. http://theclearing.org/current/classes_workshop_description.php?id=3

If that doesn’t work write or call The Clearing:
12171 Garrett Bay Rd, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
(920) 854-4088.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 20, Midvale Community Lutheran Church.  11:30 a.m.. Presentation, Limping Through Life.

June 20, Wausau Historical Society, 10:00 a.m. Presentation.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4

.

July 12-19. Writing Retreat, Rhinelander, WI.

July 23.  Jacksonport Historical Society, Mr. G’s, 6:00 p.m. Jacksonport, WI. Horse Drawn Days

July 29, Ephraim Historical Foundation. 7:00 p.m. Barns of Wisconsin.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story).

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

               

Tomatoes

Occasionally someone will ask me about my favorite garden vegetable.  It’s a tough question to answer.  But having said that, tomatoes rank right up near the top.  I probably should also mention potatoes.  Rather than being a favorite, potatoes are a necessary crop, a dependable, not anything fancy crop that three families enjoy well into the winter.

Back to tomatoes.  We all like tomatoes.  Fresh tomatoes. Tomato soup.  Salsa.  Tomatoes in salad.  Tomato juice.  I grow lots of them. From forty or fifty tomato plants we usually harvest three or four bushels of tomatoes—and it seems the call is for even more.  So this year I have started 75 tomato plants.  As of this day they are about four inches tall and doing well.  I’m about to transplant them from their tiny little germination cells to larger pots so they can grow and toughen up and be ready putting into the garden at the end of the month. (I've learned the hard way not to set out tomato plants at my farm until after Memorial Day—too often they have frozen.)

For the curious, the varieties I have growing this year are:

Cupid Hybrid (66 days, a cherry tomato)

Ultimate Opener Hybrid (57 days.  A new variety)

Momotaro Hybrid (75 days and new for me this year A popular Japanese variety.)

Celebrity Hybrid (70 days)

Martino’s Roma (70 days)

Better Boy Hybrid (75 days—main crop tomato)

Manx Marvel (a non-hybrid medium-size tomato from the Isle of Man).  I grew Manx last year and saved seeds—every seed germinated.  Last year I had great luck with my Manx—very tasty tomato.

With seven different varieties, my cautious self doesn't depend on only one; we should have at least a couple varieties that do well.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When I’m not doing something else, I’m watching my tomatoes grow.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT for those interested in enrolling in my one-day writing workshops at The Clearing in Door County.  The dates are June 21 and November 1—both Saturdays.  Each will be followed by a book signing.  Click on the following link for further information.  http://theclearing.org/current/classes_workshop_description.php?id=3

If that doesn’t work write or call The Clearing:
12171 Garrett Bay Rd, Ellison Bay, WI 54210
(920) 854-4088.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 14, Yahara River Writers Award Ceremony UW-Madison. Union South, Keynote speaker.

May 17, Dregne’s Gift Shop, Westby.  Book signing. 10:00 – 2:00

May 20, Midvale Community Lutheran Church.  Noon. Presentation, Limping Through Life.

June 20, Wausau Historical Society, 10:00 a.m. Presentation.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps A Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, (which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story).

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

               

Garden Season Begins

The rain stopped.  The clouds moved away and the sun came out.  This past weekend, the tree planting team shifted to garden mode.  Steve on the tractor disking and smoothing.  Natasha with the old wooden marker, laying out the rows.  Sue and Paul with hoes.  And an enhancement to the garden crew, grandsons Josh and Ben, doing what needed doing.

By early afternoon, with the temperature in the 60s and sun still bright in a clear blue sky (no one could remember such a day so far this spring) the early garden crops were in the ground.  A row of red potatoes, two long rows of yellow onions, ten rows of late potatoes, a row of peas, a partial row of lettuce, a few yards of collard greens, a partial row of radishes mixed with carrots.

And now we wait.  For warmer temperatures, maybe even a brief warm rain for the seeds to germinate.  For the potatoes and onions to show green above ground. The beginning of another garden season.   This will be our 46^th year of gardening at Roshara, our Waushara County farm.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The smell of freshly turned soil is the smell of spring.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT for those interested in enrolling in my one-day writing workshops at The Clearing in Door County.  The dates are June 21 and November 1—both Saturdays.  Each will be followed by a book signing.  Click on the following link for further information.  http://theclearing.org/current/classes_workshop_description.php?id=3

If that doesn’t work write or call The Clearing: 

12171 Garrett Bay Rd, Ellison Bay, WI 54210

(920) 854-4088.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 6, Noon. UW-Madison Retirement Association, UW-Madison Arboretum Auditorium.

May 10, Noon. Madison Area Polio Survivors.  Monona Garden Family Restaurant

May 14, Young Writers Awards Meeting, UW-Madison.

May 17, Dregne’s Gift Shop, Westby.  Book signing.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

Weather Challenges Tree Planters

 A stiff east wind with a temperature in the high 30s greeted this year’s tree planters at Roshara.  Two teams braved the cold and wind and the occasional spit of rain mixed with ice pellets—Steve and Natasha, and Paul and Sue.  I drove the tractor with the plow, making furrows through the thick sod to make planting a bit easier, but not more comfortable.

 We had but 300 little Norway Pines to plant, trees to replace those that died in the drought from a few years ago.  Those that survived the dry weather are now four feet tall, some even taller.  If the rains continue, these newly planted ones will do well in the bottom of the furrow away from the competition of grass.

The cold wind seemed even colder as we worked on top of a sandy, gravely hill—but there was no complaining as we all knew the weather forecast of heavy rains coming for the afternoon.  Planting trees in a downpour of cold rain, although good for the trees, challenges even the most committed tree planters.  By noon 300 trees were in the ground, and an hour later the skies opened and the rain fell in buckets—a perfect situation for newly planted trees. 

The tree planters ate lunch around the old wood burning cook stove in the cabin, watching the rain splash against the cabin windows, and thankful for their good luck.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: One is never too old to plant a tree.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 29, Noon Luncheon, Historical Society Foundation. By invitation.

May 3, Wisconsin Dells.  District Rotary meeting. 

May 6, Noon. Retired UW-Madison Retirement Association

May 10, Noon. Madison Area Polio Survivors.  Monona Garden Family Restaurant

May 14, Young Writers Awards Meeting, UW-Madison.

May 17, Dregne’s Gift Shop, Westby.  Book signing.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

               

Sights and Sounds of Spring

Roshara’s pond is alive with the sights and sounds of spring, even though about three inches of new, unwelcome snow fell last Sunday evening, making the landscape look once more like winter.  But not the pond.  The ice is out and the migrants are back.  I counted twenty-five ducks, mostly mallards and wood ducks.  They lifted from the cold, black water with a flurry of pounding wings and loud quacking. 

I spotted a sandhill crane standing in shallow water on the other side of the pond.  When it saw me, it flew up, protesting my presence with its loud, prehistoric and unforgettable call.  It flew once around the pond, checking me out as it flew overhead so low I could hear the swishing of its wings.  Then it headed toward the north end of the pond and landed.  A pair of sandhills have nested there for many years.

 Hugging the east side of the pond, I glimpsed a pair of Canada geese, swimming slowly, but not attempting to fly.  Do they have a nest nearby?  Probably.

Although the landscape is winter-like—the pond is alive with spring.  Now for some warmer weather; it was eight degrees at the farm on Tuesday morning.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Short people are the last to feel the rain and the first to drown.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 24, 6:00 p.m. Walworth and Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, Lake Lawn Resort, Delevan, WI. Dinner.  Breweries of Wisconsin.

April 29, Noon Luncheon, Historical Society Foundation. By invitation

.

May 3, Wisconsin Dells.  District Rotary meeting. 

May 6, Noon. Retired UW-Madison Retirement Association

May 10, Noon. Madison Area Polio Survivors.  Monona Garden Family Restaurant

May 14, Young Writers Awards Meeting, UW-Madison.

May 17, Dregni’s Gift Shop, Westby.  Book signing.

June 21, Writing Workshop, The Clearing, Door County 9-4.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

The Importance of Public Libraries

It wasn’t long ago that the word was: public libraries will soon all close.  The internet will provide whatever it is you need to know. Libraries will join livery stables, ice boxes and buggy whips as artifacts of history.

But as Mark Twain once said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” This is certainly true of libraries, which are alive and well and booming in popularity.

In the past several years, I have spoken at 92 libraries, the smallest of the small to gigantic, multi-floor institutions.  This past week I spoke at the Kiel and the Sun Prairie Libraries.  This past year I spoke at the Fitchburg, Shorewood (Milwaukee), Poynette, Frederic, Waupun, Plainfield, Reedsburg, Trempealeau, Wild Rose, Wisconsin Rapids, Boscobel, Mineral Point, Waupaca, Mt. Horeb, Green Bay, UW—Madison (Memorial), Park Falls, Brillion, Grafton, and Baraboo libraries.

Each of these libraries, although many with challenging budgets, are vibrant places for learning and where the community can gather.  Every librarian I have talked to, and I’ve talked to many, say they have never been busier.

Of course, like all of our public institutions, our libraries need our continued support, and for the “libraries are dead” folks—you are wrong. Communities love their libraries, and depend on them.   

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: If you haven’t done so recently, visit your local library.  Lots going on there these days.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 24, 6:00 p.m. Walworth and Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, Lake Lawn Resort, Delevan, WI. Dinner.  Breweries of Wisconsin.

April 29, Noon Luncheon, Historical Society Foundation. By invitation.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org

What to Make of April

April is a cruel month.  The month that doesn’t know if it’s winter or spring.  One day warm and sunny, the next day cold and snowy.  A month of indecision.  A month that Mother Nature plays with, taunts with hints of the coming spring, then brings back reminders of the winter we’d so much like to forget. 

 April keeps us northern folks humble and thankful for that occasional day when the temperature hits 60 and maybe even a little more.  April keeps us looking ahead.

The changes are coming.  The robins have been here for a while, singing their hearts out.  The cardinals have been whistling, and the sandhill cranes are calling—and yes, the wild turkeys are gobbling, searching for mates, not waiting for the weather to calm down and be pleasant.

The spring flowers, the tulips and the daffodils, are poking their heads into April, not too sure how fast they should grow.  Waiting like the rest of us for warmer days and spring temperatures.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Enough already for winter.  Let’s get on with spring.

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing

.

April 8, 6:30 p.m. Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay. Old Farm.  Book signing to follow presentation.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life. Book signing to follow presentation.

April 24, 6:00 p.m. Walworth and Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, Lake Lawn Resort, Delevan, WI. Dinner.  Breweries of Wisconsin.

April 29, Noon Luncheon, Historical Society Foundation. Farm stories. By invitation.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.orgA

Deer in the Rain

Out of the cold, late March gloom of a rainy afternoon the deer came, single file, walking with heads down, seven of them.  Walking slowly through the slush and snow, walking along my driveway a hundred yards or so from my cabin window.  Looking for spring.  Big deer first, then mid-size ones and finally a little, skinny one in the rear.  All walking slowly, but surviving and with the promise of warmer weather this weekend, hoping they will once more find something to eat on this cold, rainy day (if indeed deer are able to hope).

                The fields and forests at Roshara remain snow covered, two feet or more.  So are the trails that wind through the property.  The ponds are still frozen.  Everything waits for some warmer weather, at least enough warmth to melt the snow and thaw the ice

                I heard a sandhill crane call yesterday.  What a surprise for the sandhills to find their nesting spot on the edge of my pond still frozen and snow- covered.  I wondered about the call—maybe it was one of “What am I doing here when my accommodations are far from ready?”  Or maybe just a string of cuss words in bird language.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Getting into something is usually easier than getting out of it.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion of film and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, 6:30 p.m. Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay. Old Farm.  Book signing to follow presentation.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life. Book signing to follow presentation.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Garden Thoughts

This is for all the vegetable gardeners out there.   I am a bit reluctant to say anything about the coming garden season for fear I will encourage what already looks like a late spring.  For the winter lovers, a few more days of enjoying snow, ice, and temps around zero seems to be in the offing.

This is dangerous to mention I know—but remember 2012, just two years ago?  The temperature in mid-March soared into the mid-eighties and I planted radishes, carrots, lettuce—set out cabbage plants—and even planted some early potatoes.  That’s right.  Mid-March.  This year we’ll be lucky if we can see the ground by mid-March, and who knows when the soil will warm enough for planting.

Oh, I must also say, that as the gardening season in 2012 went on, the early start really didn't help much—in fact probably cut into my vegetable yields.  That was the year of almost no cherries and limited apple yield for the blossoms quickly appeared and froze during a cold April.

It’s a good time to order seeds and think spring as you study the pages of beautiful vegetables and avoid looking out the window.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Keep the faith.  There will be a gardening season.  Patience is a wonderful virtue this time of year.

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 1:  Tune in Wisconsin Public TV on Tuesday, March 4, 7:00 p.m. for a showing of A FARM WINTER WITH JERRY APPS.

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER 2: No more blogs until the end of March.  I’m off to a writing retreat where there is limited Internet connection.  My email will continue to work for those who want to keep in touch. jwapps@tds.net

COMING EVENTS:

March 5-March 25, Writing retreat, Indian Shores, Florida.

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, 6:30 p.m. Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay. Stories from the Land.  Book signing to follow presentation.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact the library for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Talking About Yesterday's Winters

Just back from a showing of “A Farm Winter” at the Gard Theater in Spring Green with a book signing that followed at Arcadia Bookstore.  About one-hundred people at the theater watched the film, then most walked across the street for more stories and lots of questions. 

“Tell me about those big Diesel snowplows that took all night to plow a mile of concrete hard snow.”

            “I want to hear the rutabaga story when you grew all those rutabagas and they spoiled in your cellar.”

            “Say something more about the importance of neighbors and the value of community when you were a kid.”

            Retired farmers, present day farmers, city folk, small town people—all gathered on a sunny, but chilly winter day to talk about winter during the old days, not necessarily the good old days, but the old days. A time when there was no indoor plumbing, houses were heated with wood stoves and the laundry was hung out to freeze dry on wire clothes lines strung out behind the house.  A time on cold winter nights when the family gathered around the wood stove and read books and played games and kids did their homework with the dim light of a kerosene lamp.  Lots of stories, many memories.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Stories are a connecting link between people and across generations.

COMING EVENTS:

March 5-March 25, Writing retreat, Indian Shores, Florida.

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay.  Details to be announced.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact them for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Country School Valentine's Day

With the Christmas break a distant memory and the brief celebration of Lincoln’s birthday but a couple days previous, at our country school we all looked forward to Valentine’s Day.  For several days at school we had worked on making valentines for our mothers out of paper doilies and red construction paper.  Back in late January, the Sears sales catalog arrived in our mailbox.  Several pages in that slim publication were devoted to Valentines.  Slim little cards with colorful puppies, kittens, hearts, flowers and statements of love and affection. They came in packages—assortments of maybe twenty or more of these little cards proclaiming in large print and small, “Be My Valentine!”

My task, once the cards arrived, was to decide which one to give to Jim, to Dave, to Mildred, Joyce, and Nita.  To Bob and Marvin.  To Lyle and Dick.  To Darrel and Donald, my twin brothers. And all the other students attending our school. One card for every student.  Choices to make.  Big decisions. Few of the cards were the same, so I had to decide who should receive which one.

On the teacher’s desk stood a big box decorated with red hearts.  All of the cards were deposited in the Valentine box, waiting for February 14 and the Valentine’s Party planned for that afternoon.

Students’ mothers were invited to the party, bringing treats—home-made cookies of many kinds—chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar. As we ate cookies, our teacher opened the Valentine box and distributed the valentines.  Each of us got a valentine from every other student.  Most of them were “store bought” but several homemade as some families couldn't afford the fancy ones from the Sears catalog.

We enjoyed them all. Enjoyed the little celebration with our mothers.  And probably most of all, enjoyed the break in winter.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Valentine’s Day was more than Valentines.

COMING EVENTS:

February 23, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green.  Showing of Winter on the Farm with questions and discussion.  Followed by book signing of THE QUIET SEASON. Sponsored by Wisconsin Public TV and Arcadia Bookstore.

March 5-March 25, Writing retreat, Indian Shores, Florida.

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay.  Details to be announced.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life.

Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

The library now has available both of Jerry’s DVDs, A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps and Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Also available are several of Jerry’s book including The Quiet Season (on which the DVD A Farm Winter is based), as well as Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old Farm, which are related to the DVD Jerry Apps a Farm Story.

Contact them for prices and special package deals.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

2014 Garden Expo

It was a cold and blustery Saturday with the temperature stuck a few degrees above zero and snowflakes falling as they had every third day or so in recent memory, making for slippery driving.  And they came, thousands of them, winter-weary folks searching for a hint of spring.  It was Wisconsin Public TV’s  Garden Expo held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison (I still call it the fairgrounds) that brought out cabin-fevered thousands.

These master gardeners, novice gardeners, wanna be gardeners, and one-time but no longer gardeners all gathered out of the cold and snow to talk gardening, to gather a new idea or two, perhaps buy some trinket to hang on their garden fence or prop up in their dining room.  People were buying windmills made out of soup spoons, one-time shovels cut in a rather decorative way—but now only hinting at their original purpose.  People carried pussy willows and arms full of assorted tangled stems (looked like brush to this old farm boy) and smiling at their purchase.  I was smiling, too, as I have acres of this kind of “decorative wood stem" growing at my farm.

People flocked to the seminars and workshops, listening, taking notes, asking questions.  Their minds away from the snow and cold.  Their minds wrapped around thoughts of spring and the smell of freshly turned soil, of putting a few seeds into the ground and thinking about newly pulled radishes, fresh-cut lettuce, shucked peas and then tomatoes, oh the delight of that first red, homegrown tomato.

So for a few hours on a blustery Saturday, people’s minds were thrust ahead to that season of the year called spring—when once again a garden can be planted.  And they were smiling and laughing and telling stories, and sharing what worked and what didn't work for last year’s garden or one they may have grown twenty years ago.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  Just the thought of gardening brings spring a little closer.

COMING EVENTS:

February 23, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green.  Showing of Winter on the Farm with questions and discussion.  Followed by book signing of THE QUIET SEASON. Sponsored by Wisconsin Public TV and Arcadia Bookstore.

March 6-March 25, Writing retreat, Indian Shores, Florida.

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay.  Details to be announced.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life.

For those interested in purchasing DVDS and Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps, DVD $20.00 shipping included (An hour-long documentary that has aired on public television.)

The Quiet Season by Jerry Apps $25.00 shipping included (Hardcover book about winter memories—A Farm Winter is based on this book.)

The Bundle: A Farm Winter DVD and The Quiet Season hardcover book - Save $5.00 only $40!

Order from:

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835

Tracks

The tracks came from the south, from the east, from the west through the break in the black willows that keeps the winter winds at bay.  And from the north, too, from the red pine plantation that is a couple hundred yards from the cabin.

            The tracks made by hungry deer converge at the bird feeder that hangs in a big spruce tree standing sentinel in front of the cabin.  Like spokes in a wheel, the tracks converge at the hub, deer hoping for a few seeds spilled by the birds and the red squirrels who visit the feeder many times a day.

            January has been a mean month for the critters at my farm with many days below zero, some days minus 15 and even minus 20 below.  These are real temperatures, not wind chill numbers.  February and March still loom ahead with more cold and snow.

            Winter challenges all nature’s creatures wintering in the north, searching for something to eat and a place out of the wicked wind.  And so the deer come, bucks and does and late fawns, following well-worn tracks in the snow, in search of leftovers at my bird feeder.  Taking winter a day at a time.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Winter with all its beauty can be, and often is, a dangerous time for wildlife.  

SPECIAL EVENT:

            I’ll be speaking and signing books at Garden Expo, Madison Alliant Center:

 Saturday, February 8, 2:15, Mendota 1-2; (Garden Wisdom), and book signing 4-5 p.m., Wisconsin Historical Society Press Booth, #920-921. 

Sunday, February 9, 10:15, Mendota 1-2; (Three-Sisters Garden).  Book signing 1-2 p.m., Wisconsin Historical Society Press Booth, #920-921.

ADDITIONAL COMING EVENTS:

February 23, 2:00 p.m. Gard Theater, Spring Green.  Showing of Winter on the Farm with questions and discussion.  Followed by book signing of THE QUIET SEASON. Sponsored by Wisconsin Public TV and Arcadia Bookstore.

March 6-March 25, Writing retreat, Indian Shores, Florida.

April 5, 7:30 p.m. Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton.  WPT Farm Story, discussion and book signing.

April 7, 7:00 p.m., Kiel Library.  Garden Wisdom presentation and book signing.

April 8, Heritage Hill Historic Center, Green Bay.  Details to be announced.

April 10, 6:30 p.m. Sun Prairie Library, Limping Through Life.

For those interested in purchasing DVDS and Books from the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fund raiser for them):

A Farm Winter with Jerry Apps, DVD $20.00 shipping included (An hour-long documentary that has aired on public television.)

The Quiet Season by Jerry Apps $25.00 shipping included (Hardcover book about winter memories—A Farm Winter is based on this book.)

The Bundle: A Farm Winter DVD and The Quiet Season hardcover book - Save $5.00 only $40!

Order from:

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division St.
Wild Rose, WI  54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.org
www.wildroselibrary.org
920-622-3835