Refreshing Morning

 

Dave's corn field

After last week's hot and humid weather, I was graced this morning with 58 degrees and a beautiful sky during the early morning walk.  The hardest-working-75-year-old-farmer that I know doesn't have the highest production corn field in the area, but it looks mighty pretty this morning. The bit of fog rising up is from a tributary of Spring Creek, which it meets in Lodi in another mile.

Lodi: Better marketing

When I started the coffeeshop around 2004, the local Chamber of Commerce wanted me to sign up for membership.  It was quite expensive for my shoestring budget so I declined.  I couldn't really see any benefits to my shop.  Lodi's downtown has struggled for many years.  Many, if not most people, do their shopping in Madison, thirty minutes away.

Back then, the Chamber marketed Lodi as a peaceful valley with full service banking and a grassy airstrip. 

The Ice Age Trail Alliance installed new signs this week just off of Main Street.  While the Appalachian Trail is blazed with white stripes, the Ice Age Trail is blazed with yellow stripes.

Much better. Makes me proud to live in the Lodi Valley.  It sure isn't the grassy airstrip or full service banking.  

In other matters, Julia tested positive for Covid and is nearly recovered after experiencing mild symptoms.  I have tested negative twice, and keeping my fingers crossed.  The Scamp in the driveway makes an excellent place to hide from viruses.

Some Rent is Better than No Rent

 

The Mills Block building on Lodi's Main Street was built in 1895 and has a storied past.  This photo is from today, and you can see that it's currently for rent again.  The vacant left side  is where I operated my coffeeshop.  The roaster was in the back.  A Mexican restaurant is currently on the right side.  When I was there, it was a Chinese restaurant and later a bar. 

The building has historically had trouble keeping tenants. That worked in my favor to negotiate and write a one-sided long term lease with escalating but still cheap rent, including all utilities.  I made the argument that some rent was better than none.  Once I was established, I could afford to pay a little more.   

The coffeeshop stuck around for about 12 years--seven years after I sold it.  When the lease expired, new owners wrote a new lease with much higher rent payments.  Subsequent tenants have struggled.  Some rent is better than no rent, especially in a small town where vacant buildings languish.   

I went out for breakfast with a friend who told me that the building is for sale again.  One of the potential new owners has restoration plans. I hope it works out. I have fond memories of the space.

I was always an early riser, but it was here that I arrived at at 5:15 a.m. every morning for five years.  I officially turned on the open sign at 6 a.m.  On warm summer days, I would leave the front and back doors open and turn the commercial kitchen fans on high to bring in the cool fresh air.

Often guys would start trickling in around 5:45 a.m. to sit at what they called "the smart table."    The smart table was actually a cluster of tables near the cash register and consisted of mostly middle-aged to older  guys and a few women.   They would buy bottomless cups for $2 and solve problems, globally and locally, for the rest of us. 

Mike

Last Friday night, Julia and I went down to the local antique shop where one of my friends' artwork was being sold off to support the Ice Age Trail.  The artist, Saheed, was a coffee shop customer who I later grew to know quite well.  When I first met him at the Roxbury Tavern, he introduced himself as "Mike".  I asked him about his accent, and he said that it was German.  

It turned out that he was Iranian and afraid of anti-Iranian biases in our country so called himself Mike. Even with good friends, he would softly say that he was Persian. We shared a love for good coffee, beer, and hiking.  He was one of the few customers who was invited to join me when I was roasting coffee in the back of the coffee shop. Saheed loved to watch the process.

 

The shorter one-story building to the right was the roastery; the taller one to the left was a bar.  Historically, they were connected.  The coffee roaster is long-gone, but you can still see the roaster's smokestack at the far right of the building.  It was a custom Class A chimney that cost as much as the old roaster.  It's not connected to anything now. 

It wasn't until Saheed invited me to his home that I learned he was an artist.  Saheed's house was full of sculptures with vivid colors.  He didn't make art for money; he made art because it gave him pleasure.  For work, Saheed worked many years at an industrial valve manufacturer.  He lived simply and kept up a beautiful garden.  When one of his neighbors went on vacation, he always volunteered to take care of their gardens.  

I later learned that Saheed was a wealthy man, but due to U.S. laws, he was unable to access that wealth in Iran for many years.  Something changed after he retired, but money didn't change Saheed. 

My daughter has a special memory of Saheed during a local race that she was running as a high school senior.  She could hear footsteps from behind, and then soon ahead of her.  Saheed was 70 years old and had just passed her by like she wasn't moving.  

He was a runner, biker, and hiker.  In the years just before the pandemic, he started having knee issues and stopped running.  Then the memory issues began, and later speech failed him. During the pandemic, his safety became a concern to family and friends.  He would drive places and not remember how to get home and was unable to talk when people asked if he was okay.  "I just can't get the words out," he complained to me when he was still talking.

Saheed no longer remembers who or where he is.  Saheed's daughter moved him to a memory care place in the Milwaukee area, where she lives.  His house in Lodi has been sold; only the artwork remained.  By the time we arrived to the event, all of the ones that I liked were already sold.  That's okay.  The Ice Age Trail will benefit, and my memories of him will remain.

Morning Hues

Callie would happily go along on Meetup hikes.  Unfortunately, she does not play well with others, and I knew that one of the hikers was bringing a large dog.  

As a compromise (yes, Callie negotiates), we got up early and hiked 2.5 miles in the dark before the sun came up.  

 

This is the intersection of Columbus and Main Street in Lodi.  It's a strange place.  Highway 113 (Main Street) northbound is to the right, while southbound is to the left.  Main Street has the right-of-way and has no stop signs.  Columbus Street ends at Main Street and has a stop sign. There is a slight bend to the left as one moves northbound on Main Street.  

Without explanation, northbound drivers often stop even though there is no stop sign.  This confuses the the drivers on Columbus Street who sometimes then pull out from the stop sign without having the right-of-way.  

To make matters even more confusing, there was a long time tradition in Lodi for southbound drivers to do a U-turn in the middle of the intersection in order to pull around and park on the east side of Main Street.  My coffeeshop customers often did this.  At least one police chief tried to stop the practice, but that did not go over well, so the custom continued.  

Despite all of the confusion, I've never seen an accident here.  People are moving at less than 25 mph, so  traffic manages to sort itself out.

That little pink blast of colors from the sunrise was gone in just a few minutes.  The rest of the day was cold and overcast.  Eight people ventured out for the Meetup hike in Middleton, Wisconsin.  I usually like to hike alone, but I've been forcing myself to get out into more social situations, as it's clear that some of my social skills have deteriorated during the pandemic.  

It was a good small group of mostly older people like myself.  We put in six miles on the paved trail running along Pleasant Branch Creek in Middleton.  Temps were in the low 30's, and the hike took about two hours, including a break at the half-way point.  Rain and Snow is expected for the next three days.

More Parks Along the Creek

The clouds vacated overnight to leave cold, blue, sunny skies.  Yes, that's an improvement.

After getting Justin up and going, Callie and I walked to town with a mission to take a photo of Veteran's Park, the third of Lodi's parks along Spring Creek.  As I walked down Main Street, I saw a fourth park that I forgot about.  Kinda obvious, really.

It's easy to miss between the Spring Creek restaurant and the Chamber of Commerce's small block building.  This time of year, Spring Creek Park is  barred off to prevent public access.  No, that's not a pandemic thing.  The park only gets used during late spring,summer and early fall.  In the winter, the city doesn't shovel or salt the steps or the platform, so the park is closed. 

For a quarter, a dispenser gives you a handful of shelled corn to feed the ducks.  On the far left center, close to the building, you can see some art created and installed by my friend Dean.  The City wanted something loosely representing cranes.  Sandhill cranes have made a big comeback in this area, although they are more likely seen and heard in the marshes outside of Lodi.  

The final park along Spring Creek is Veteran's Memorial Park.  Before going back to college for his MFA degree, Dean was an Air Force master sergeant.  He designed and installed the Veteran's Memorial Park sign.

Veteran's Park doesn't get much use (except on holidays), but it is the only park in Lodi that has the Ice Age Trail going through it.  Lodi is one of the few Ice Age Trail towns.  The trail runs straight down Main Street.  The Ice Age Trail is a national trail.  Others include the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail.    Because it passes through lots of private land, many segments of the Ice Age Trail have yet to be completed.

 

This afternoon, I spent a few hours driving Justin back to college and then returning home.  He wanted to watch the NCAA basketball tournament, and his sports cable package in the dorms is much better than our cable package (Hint:  we don't have a cable package). 

Parks Along the Creek

Today was a work day.  I was up early, making coffee and getting the wood stove going.  Justin is at home and doesn't sleep well in his home bed.  At school, he has a special hospital bed with a mattress that moves the pressure around so that he doesn't get bedsores.

Normally, he is a late sleeper, but he wasn't sleeping so I went through the process to get him up as soon as the wood stove fire was stable.  Julia got him showered, and then I got him dressed and transferred to the power chair.  

Callie is carefully tuned into the process.  She jumps up on Justin's bed and lays next to Justin like Justin's service dog used to do.  She knows to stay out of the way of the Hoyer lift and jumps down from the bed just before we finish.  

The sun didn't bother to fight the clouds this morning.  It was overcast and actively snowing during our walk.  Most of the early snow melted last night because the ground was warmer than freezing, but the temps dropped enough overnight that snow was starting to collect at the edges of the road and sidewalks.

Lodi has three city parks along Spring Creek.  Today, I took pictures at Haberman Park and Goeres Park which are next to each other and separated by Fair Street.  

I rarely see anyone at Haberman, except during the summer month(s).  The shelter is used for family outings and for free music concerts.  There are grills and an outdoor fireplace along the creek, but they literally overlook the gas station.  I've never seen anyone using those.  

Across the street is Goeres Park, which is heavily utilized during the summer.  There is a free swimming pool, baseball/softball fields, a playground, and walking paths. In the winter, there is an ice skating and separate outdoor hockey area on the other side of the park.

This afternoon, despite the chilly conditions, I'll be grilling teriyaki chicken breasts and asparagus.  Julia, Justin and Gretchen (Julia's step-mom) are playing cards.  Julia baked brownies for dessert.

Sun Tease

 

At 7 a.m., the sun fought valiantly against the overcast sky which has dominated for four days.  Unfortunately, the clouds won, and we had another day of cold temperatures, drizzle and sleet.  Snow squalls are a possibility tonight, along with wind gusts of up to 50 mph.  You would think that the wind would blow the clouds away, but there seems to be an unlimited supply this week in south-central Wisconsin.

Julia went to early morning boot camp while I slept in and then made spelt berry porridge for her return.  We source the spelt berries from a local farm/grain mill.  Preparation is about 45 minutes, but I much prefer the taste and texture of the spelt over oatmeal.

 

Callie badgered me into a five mile town walk immediately after breakfast.  Our route is getting a little old, so I detoured to the back side of Lodi's Main Street.

The structure over Spring Creek is currently a wine bar but was a popular restaurant when I owned the coffee business. The cooks would regularly come over for quad shots of espresso on their breaks. 

The wine bar owners put in a couple of glass floor tiles that allow customers to see the creek below through the floor.  The owners are getting old, and the building is for sale.  I would imagine it's a bit tricky because no land comes with the building.  No one that I know is quite sure how the original building permit was obtained.   One of my regulars at the coffee shop used to vaguely explain, "It's easier to apologize than to ask for permission." 

One Step Forward, One Step Back

I try to write one blog post per week when I'm not traveling.  That's easy when I'm planning something to do in the future.  All of our future air travel is on hold.  Although Wisconsin private businesses have started opening, public campgrounds have not.  Unlike western states, Wisconsin's opportunities for dispersed camping are very limited. 

I was really excited to learn that the Kickapoo Reserve in southwestern Wisconsin was going to open up for primitive camping without hookups. Then, shortly after Wisconsin citizens started going nuts hanging out at bars and music venues, southwestern Wisconsin had a flare-up of cases.  Kickapoo Reserve has indefinitely called off camping for the summer season. 

The other ball that I need to keep in the air is Justin.  While Allie is doing most of his care, the two sometimes don't get along that well.  There are also certain less pleasant aspects of Justin's care that we typically do for Allie.  Julia and I won't be able to travel together unless we can get Allie on board for doing everything required. 

So...we continue living in the moment. I take my country walks, split my wood, and have an occasional brew at the end of the day.

Vapor Trail IPA

My sourdough bread efforts have produced mixed results.  The pancakes have been outstanding.  Sometimes, the bread is great.  This week, it ended up going straight into the trash.  I guess I need to keep working at it.

Sourdough--It's Alive!

The highlight of the week was a trip to east-central Wisconsin where I did my first biking in over 25 years. I bought my Trek bike in 1983.  It was my first major purchase after college.  For awhile, I was a serious biker.  My friend Dave and I biked across the state of Wisconsin in 1988. On that ride, he met his future wife Ruth.  Dave, Ruth and Julia are still active bikers. 

I dragged my old Trek out of the pole shed last year and had it tuned up by a technician who was younger than the bike.  The higher-end bikes today are lighter, more expensive and supposedly better.  My Trek is steel-sturdy and managed to keep up with the newer bikes of Dave, Ruth and Julia.  We only did 16 miles, but that included some serious hills.  I still prefer hiking/walking, but I have to admit that it felt good to ride fast on the downhills.

Picnic after the Ride.  Dave isn't social distancing from his wife; he just got cold in the shade.

Dave says, "Steel is Real"

All Better

I have a faint recollection as a young child of my mother spraying Bactine on a skinned knee, saying, "All better now." Well, I don't know if my recent illness was coronavirus or not. I tend to think not.  But I'm all better now.

Life has settled into a routine, and it's not too exciting.  Five mile walk in the morning. Firewood processing in the afternoon.  I'm just trying to spend as much time outside as I can.  When I'm cooped up in the house too long with the revised family unit (4), I can go a little stir-crazy.

In the beginning of this shelter-in-place event, I was spending lots of time reading as much as I could about the virus and steps to combat the virus.  That was helpful in the beginning.  I like to educate myself  as much as possible about something like this.  Beyond a few important known facts, there is still a lot that nobody knows, especially for a virus that has changed everything for the entire world.

Now, I scan the news for new developments, but most days there really isn't anything new to learn.  This thing is going to take time.  Back when the kids were young and challenging, I used to make a lot of firewood to reduce stress.  I have a feeling that my piles of firewood are going to get a lot bigger this year. 

I go into Lodi about once per week to do our family grocery shopping.  Our grocery store doesn't offer delivery or curbside pickup.  The produce isn't always the freshest, and the inventory can be limited, but I can find enough for us to eat and the basic essentials for living.  I'm very grateful that the store exists.

 When we first moved to this area, there was a period of time when Lodi didn't have a grocery store.  The nearest store was more than fifteen miles away.

There's also something about shopping local in a small town.  On one of my recent trips to 'The Pig," I  put all of my week's groceries on to the conveyor belt and then reached into my pocket for a wallet that had been forgotten at home. When I told the cashier that I was going to have to run home to get my wallet,  the store manager rushed over and told the cashier that it was no problem because I was a long-time customer.  She told me to take my groceries home and then call in my credit card for payment.

The store manager knew my face, but didn't know my name or address or anything about me, except that I'm a regular shopper.  She didn't ask for my identification.  She trusted me to go home and then pay for my order over the phone.  When I called in with my credit card, I thanked her for her trust.  "Anything we can do to help," she responded.

That's the kind of place that Lodi can be. 

New Year: Optimization

My wife Julia turned 59 in December.  In some ways, she's in better shape now than she was in her 20's.  This year she has resolved to enter six races to celebrate her 60th year.

Julia has been listening to a podcast series about preparing for retirement.  One of the exercises is to pick a word theme for each year.  Julia has picked "transition."  I spent about two seconds on the idea and picked optimization, which is defined as "the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource."  In retrospect, I may have been hasty; my word seems harder.  

This morning, we hiked up Gibraltar Rock to celebrate the new year.  There is an organized hike this afternoon.  There will be hot chocolate and cookies.  Several hundred people (and many dogs) are likely to attend, so we beat the rush.  We saw only three other hikers and no dogs.  That's a good start for optimization. 

Christmas in Lodi, Wisconsin

After several weeks of weirdly warm temperatures, including a 50 degree Christmas, winter has returned, delivering a fresh coat of white.  Today, we saw a winter wonderland. 

Goodbye 2019.  Hello 2020.

Deer Season Approaches

In the early morning, it's time to reload the wood stove.  Callie stayed far away from the stove when she first joined the family.  Now, I find myself dragging her hot body back when the stove starts pumping heat out into the room.

As soon as Julia leaves for work, Callie begs to go outside to play ball, no matter what the weather is.  After an hour or so of being inside again, she starts nagging me to go on our long walk/hike for the day.  Callie keeps me from being a lazy slug when the weather isn't the best.

Today, we had all kinds of weather during our hike at Gibraltar Rock.  We started off with light flurries, followed by rain, and then finished with sleet.  It was a typical gray November day.

It's been awhile since I posted on the blog.  I've been busy moving posts from the wordpress blogging site to the blogger platform.  I anticipated that it would take longer, but I've now finished that process and am over here on blogger for the long haul.  If you are interested in receiving notifications to new blog posts, you are encouraged to sign up at the top of the page.

We had company over the weekend.  Dave and Ruth drove over from Milwaukee.  We spent some time at a new-to-us brewpub in Madison:  the Rockhound Brewing Company on South Park Street.  Good beer, good company  It doesn't get better than that. Later, we went to the Night Market near the state capitol.

Earlier in the week, Julia and I went for a snowy hike at Lake Kegonsa State Park, followed by malted beverages and nachos at the Waypoint Public House.

I also had a nice hike on the Fern Glen Segment of the Ice Age Trail.  It's about an hour in/out hike up and down hilly woods.  We added some length with a road walk at the south end.  There's also a side trail to Susie's Rock.  Lodi is known for Susie the Duck.  Susie is a fictitious duck on Main Street where ducks on the dole congregate for seed corn distributed by humans from a vending machine. 

On the other hand, Susie's Rock is a quiet place in the woods where area resident Susan Groves like to sit back in the late 1800's.  I prefer the rock.

 

Opening Day for gun deer season starts this Saturday morning.  I'll be off the trails for ten days after that, limiting my exercise to city paths.  I also have a new project brewing that I will write about.  Thanks for reading.

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.

The Ice Age Trail–Lodi Marsh Segments

First light gave every impression of another wonderful day during our recent February thaw.  However, the weather is going to change after today so I  made an early decision to hike without driving very far.  Fortunately, I live in an area with terrific day hiking possibilities.  Ten minutes after hopping into the car, I was on the Ice Age Trail-Lodi Marsh Segment.

This trail is accessed at the Robertson Parking Lot on Lodi Springfield Road just a few miles outside Lodi, Wisconsin.  The 1.5 mile loop climbs up and down ridges overlooking the Lodi Marsh.   There is a mix of prairie and woods with views looking across the scenic Lodi Valley towards the Baraboo Hills.

A short distance from the parking lot, there is a steep set of steps/trail off to the right leading down to the above spot at the edge of the marsh.

Feeding the pool is a bubbling spring.  People do fill up containers of drinking water here.  I’ve had water straight from springs before, but I’ve not sampled this one.

After completing this short hike, I cross the road to the 3.2 mile Eastern Lodi Marsh Segment.  The trail turns muddy and then icy in the shaded woods.  Later, I emerge on higher, dry ground.

Continuing across the top of the ridge, I pass a beautiful log home, and continue beyond until I reach this mileage marker sign.

Knowing that the remaining two miles into Lodi would be a muddy and icy downhill through the shaded woods, I opt for calling it a day and head back to the car, hiking about 5 miles total today.

At least two people from Lodi have thru-hiked the entire Ice Age Trail–a distance of over 1,000 miles. Much of the route is road walking, as the hiking trail part of it hasn’t been completed.  While hiking this winter, I ran into a young man attempting to be the first person to ever complete a winter thru-hike.  This was during a period of below zero weather.  He confessed to spending a few overnights indoors but was looking forward to spending the next night outside, as the forecast called for a warming trend to single digits.

The Ice Age Trail is maintained by volunteers.  When I owned my coffeeshop, the local trail organization met at my place for monthly meetings.  If you are interested in getting involved or just want to learn more, visit the  Ice Age Trail Alliance.