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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h

Winter comes to the Ice Age Trail


Due to my frugal/cheap nature, I was one of the last humans to give up my dumb phone from Tracfone in favor of a smart phone  I still cheaped out, buying the least expensive iPhone, an SE (small edition).  I justified my lesser spending on the basis that it fits better in my hand and pocket (which it does).  Even I have to admit, however, that I really like some of my apps that were not previously available to me with the old flip phone.

One of the features that I recently discovered was the default “health” app, which combines with the pedometer app to keep track of my steps/mileage.  I don’t believe the pedometer is completely accurate, but it’s close enough.  What I immediately determined was that there were quite a few days when I just wasn’t getting off my butt.  As a result, I set 10,000 steps per day as a goal. 

That works out to be about 4-5 miles, and I frequently exceed that by quite a bit.  The major benefit to me is that I no longer have very many days when I don’t get in the 10,000 steps.  If it’s 3 pm., and I’m still “in the red”, I make every effort to get enough steps in to get “into the green” and make the confetti rain in the app.  Kind of silly, I know, but the app keeps me from sedentary days, especially helpful when it’s wet or cold.

The main gun deer hunting season is over, so I am back at my regular hikes on the Ice Age Trail.  Today, I ambled from the the Lodi Cannery property off Hwy 113 to the bluff overlooking the Lodi Marsh.






I don’t generally hike with a hiking stick or poles, but I change that up during the winter when the trail is snowy or icy.  I use a pair of cross-country ski poles that I kept after giving up cross-country skiing.  The poles definitely give me more of an upper body workout on the uphills and provide balance for moving more rapidly on the downhills.

Frankly, I love this time of year for hiking. There are so many positives.  I rarely see anyone else hiking.  No bugs.  I don’t get too hot or cold.  I burn lots of calories.  Plus, cold air is so wonderful to breathe.  There is a freshness to the air that one doesn’t encounter in the summer.  The dry prairie winter colors are amazing to me.


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