Spring Breakout

Spring has finally started to arrive in south-central Wisconsin.  It’s maple sap/syrup weather when nights dip below freezing, and the days warm up into the 40’s and 50’s. I’ll be on the look-out for good deals on syrup at the smaller farmers’ markets later this summer, as we are all out after having stocked up a couple of years ago at $12/quart.


There’s been some good ice fishing during the last week or so, but that season has run its course with the ice breaking up. And the birds have started to migrate in large numbers. The sandhill cranes began arriving several weeks ago–even with temperatures falling below zero.  Now, the swans have arrived.  Today, on my walk with Callie, the snow geese were out–dozens of the black-tipped winged birds soaring above the Wisconsin River.

Justin is home for spring break.  He seems generally in good spirits and has re-committed to college.  Justin has spent much of this week catching up after missing a week of school while fighting depression.  He will be back to school next Sunday.

Allie has returned from Mexico with the end of her spring break.  People worry about the dangers of Mexico, but the worst thing that happened to her was a bad sunburn.  There are all kinds of dangers, but we tend to underestimate those dangers right at home and overestimate the ones in other countries.

The snow and ice around the Brew Hut is nearly gone.  I’ve been making some minor repairs and improvements. The powered tv antenna was stuck in the on position, draining the battery, so I swapped out that failed part.  A broken drawer underwent a redesign, and turned into a deep shelf.  The black tank got a new cap. A broken strap holding up the gray tank outlet was replaced.  A propane tank leaky hose was swapped out for one that works.  I upgraded my outdoor cooking stove from a one- burner butane stovetop to a Classic Coleman two-burner propane stovetop.  A burner valve died on the Scamp cooktop–discontinued model without parts.  I’ll operate with one burner inside for awhile until I figure out a solution.

I’m feeling more optimistic about my planned trip south in April with the Brew Hut.  Since I’m a pessimist and don’t want to jinx it, I’ll put the odds at 50/50.  Callie says I’m a Debbie Downer.

Late Winter Thaw

We don’t live in an area known for floods.  I’ve lived here for over twenty years, and there have been a couple of times for minor flooding where the creek overflows.  I guess there’s a reason that FEMA talks about a 100-year floodplain.  Spring Creek runs through downtown Lodi.  With a substantial snow base and temperatures quickly rising into the 50’s, that little trout stream jumped its banks and caused big problems for people.

Streets were closed; power was lost; and houses were damaged.  We live halfway up a big hill, so if our house ever floods, we’ll need an ark to escape.  My friend Dean has a property that he believes was erroneously placed in the flood plain (along with the high insurance premiums).  His place also stayed high and dry.  When the power went out, he was off to buy a generator to keep the sump pumps going.  The pumps started back up again, and he was good, although his neighbor with lower elevation had water pouring into that building.  With most of the snow gone, the temperatures dropped over the next couple of days, and the waters receded.

On Friday, we had date night in Madison.  First, we stopped at Working Draft Beer Company.

Julia had the hazy IPA, while I sipped a Black IPA.  We then went down the street to Poke Poke. Poke is a style of food that has finally come to the Upper Midwest.  Tasty, but on the expensive side when ordering at the counter and served in a cardboard bowl.  We were home early in time for an evening fire.

On Saturday morning, we headed over to Sauk City and visited Julia’s Dad.  His sense of humor is definitely back.  He said the fish at the nursing home was so tough that he couldn’t cut it with a knife, and that a couple of his acquaintances at the nursing home got “sprung” last week.  No date on his return home, but it’s more important that Julia’s dad gets the physical therapy that he needs and rebuilds his strength post-stroke.

We will be going to Whitewater to bring my son Justin home tomorrow for his Spring Break.  My daughter Allie is off traveling in Mexico on her spring break, so I’ll be back in charge of Justin’s care-giving while he’s home. We should have a better idea of how he’s doing and what his plans are before he is due back at school at the end of March.

For many reasons, this has been a long winter.  I’m looking forward to spring.

Curve Balls

I played a lot of baseball when I was young.  I played just about every position, but mostly catcher.  It wasn’t my favorite sport, but it was probably the sport that I excelled at most in a team setting.  On one of my most memorable days, I stole second base easily–so easily that I decided to go into the base standing up instead of sliding. 

For whatever reason, the catcher decided to throw late anyway, and the ball sailed high a bit.  The second baseman didn’t think the throw was coming either, so he was not in position to catch the ball.  Instead, my nose did, breaking in the process and gushing out huge amounts of blood.  As they loaded me up in the ambulance, I thought, “That was unexpected.”

This week, life threw another one of those curve balls.  My adult son Justin, who already has a full plate of medical diagnoses, including life-threatening Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, was hospitalized for previously undiagnosed mental health issues. I thought that I already experienced all of the suckiness of hospitals, but the locked-down psychiatric ward presented a new level. 

Everyone agreed that he needed to be there, but I just kept thinking, “what more could happen to this kid?”

We’re taking things day-by-day.  He is getting the medicine and therapy that the doctors think he needs. In hindsight, this was probably a long time coming and explains certain behaviors and perceptions.  We just weren’t prepared for it–kind of like that baseball to the nose.

In the meantime, Elvis the service dog isn’t allowed to stay with Justin at the hospital when I am not present, so I am playing UN peacekeeper at home between the docile Elvis and the aggressive, jealous Callie.  For hospital visits, Elvis comes with me, while Callie stews at home in her crate.  Julia’s father-in-law Gene, who had a stroke just before Christmas, has been home and back to the hospital by ambulance several times.  He is convalescing at an area nursing home with the hope to transition eventually to home, but even he agrees that their current house needs to be sold in favor of more accessible living.  Gene has good days and bad days.

I am still hoping for a trip south in the Brew Hut in early April, but there are a lot of balls up in the air right now.