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.

Active Winter

We had a very slow start to the winter–hardly any snow or cold through the end of 2018.  January and February have been a different story.  We’ve had more than our share of snow, cold, and freezing rain.  The snowbanks on the long, steep driveway are too high for my atv snowblade to be effective.  No matter, I can’t use the atv anyway because there’s glare ice on the steepest part of the driveway up by the pole shed.  I had trouble getting uphill even in four-wheel drive, and I had trouble maintaining control  going downhill (where 4 wheel drive becomes 4 wheel slide).

People in warmer climates probably wonder how we survive.  In fact, many people thrive.  Recently, we had 50 mph winds to go with the icy roads which weren’t responding to salt application because it was too cold.  Julia and I went snowshoeing across from the Lodi Marsh.

We then celebrated our stroll in the woods with a Wisconsin tradition:  drinking beer.  Sun Prairie, a growing community just outside Madison, recently saw the opening of two new brewpubs.  The first one was called Right Bauer and is definitely the only euchre-themed brewpub that I’ve ever been in.  On Thursdays, the owner’s dad presides over Euchre night, which is open to players of all abilities.  We got on the email list and will definitely be back.  The beer was very good.  I also appreciate it when a brewpub isn’t afraid to have guest taps from its competitors.  To me, that shows confidence.  In this case, the confidence was well-earned.

Next, we walked around the corner to the other place, Full Mile Beer Company. This place was packed with people. We snagged two of the last seats and sat back to enjoy wood-fired pizza and some of their beer.  Unfortunately, my pizza’s sauce was bland and a little too thick for my taste.  My Vienna pilsner placed its emphasis on crispness rather than malt. It was well-executed; I just prefer a maltier Vienna.  Julia’s beer, which was a milkshake IPA, was very good.  We’ll be back to give them another chance and perhaps try some different things.

Today, Callie and I went snowshoeing at Gibraltar Rock.  It was a beautiful winter day.  There were a lot of branches down–probably from the recent high winds.  One large branch in particular blocked the trail and created some acrobatic moments as I went down the steep hillside with Callie and then back up to avoid the tangle.  The views at the top were amazing.

By the time I finished the second long uphill in the loop, I had my coat open, gloves off, and hat off.  It’s only cold when you’re not moving.  By the way, the fox in the header photo was walking along the rock wall in our back yard and following rabbit tracks.

A Night at the Library

First, some background.  I’m a librarian’s son.  In fact, my mother was my high school’s librarian for many years.  Our family also spent lots of time at libraries.  In fact, my father, who is well into his 80’s, is so addicted to going to the Cedar Rapids library that he will venture out in all kinds of weather, walk to the bus stop, and board the city bus to make the trip across town to the library.

Personally, I’m a heavy user of our small local library.  It’s unusual for me not to have a book or two checked out.  While my father loves to buy and own books, I don’t have much use for books that I’ve already read.  I see no reason to buy a book when my tax dollars already support a library where I can borrow it for free.  If I really want to read it again, I’ll just borrow it again.

So when I heard that our local library was in financial trouble and was holding a community forum to discuss its future, I was immediately interested  A well-educated public is the key to a well-functioning democracy.  The idea that our local library was broke and may need to cut services got my attention.  In the back of my mind, warning lights and sirens were going off:  “It’s a meeting.  You don’t like meetings  You don’t do well at meetings.”

At different times of my life, people have approached me to be part of public boards or church committees,  For several years, I was the education reporter for the local newspaper and covered the local school board meetings. I have a fair amount of experience in attending meetings.  I suffered through church deacon meetings for a couple of years before crying uncle.

While I had high hopes for last night’s library meeting, I was ready to raise a white flag about half-way through.  There were a couple of real issues.  The library board got itself into trouble by supporting and promoting the idea that having two full-time co-directors with benefits was sustainable.  It was easy to overlook the growing budget deficits because both directors were really nice people who were great at their jobs.  I know them both, and it’s true. After burning through most of the library’s reserves, the board decided to end the co-director positions and post a single job opening for director.  Both great people aren’t there anymore, and a new director has been hired.  That change will theoretically put the library on sounder financial ground. But that issue wasn’t up for debate; an informational statement was made.

The second big issue, and the real elephant in the room, is how the library’s revenue is obtained. Over 200k is provided through county and municipal tax dollars.  The local township has contributed a flat 6k for a number of years.  The county (outside the township) and the city account for almost 30k in circulation items.  The township accounts for 21k in circulation items.  You don’t have to be a math wizard to determine that these  numbers aren’t fair.  As a town resident, I want my township to do a better job supporting the library.  But that issue wasn’t up for debate; an informational statement was made, and we were advised that very smart people were working on the library board to address that issue.  In fact, quite a few people at the forum wanted to talk about that issue, but discussion was abruptly cut off.

The remaining 60 minutes of the 90 minute forum was spent in small groups where we were asked what we liked about the library and what we would like the library to improve upon.  This is where I was reminded that we live in a very divided nation.  There were about as many visions for the library as there were people in the room.  Lots of people wanted to make sure that the library fit their ideas (serve kids, teens, parents, seniors, etc).   Paraphrasing, some of the conversations went like this:

Patron 1:  We need to make the library more attractive to teens.
Patron 2:  I don’t care about your teens.  I don’t have any children.  I want more programs for seniors.
Patron 3:  We need to make the library more open, more reliant upon technology, less money spent on books.
Patron 4.  We need more books.  I like the feel of a book.  I don’t own a Kindle. Don’t take away any books.

It went on and on like this.  The people speaking up wanted to be heard, but no one wanted to listen to opposing viewpoints.  No one wanted to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.  The moderator stated that the purpose of the meeting was to gather opinions, and that everyone’s perspective was valuable.  Maybe, but to me it was like herding cats.  Once it became clear to me that the survival of the library was not at stake, I was ready to go.  I’m still willing to pay higher taxes to support the library, but I don’t want to see the sausage being made.

Belize: Day trip to Guatemala

As I mentioned in another post, San Ignacio is very close to the Guatemalan border.  Tikal, perhaps the most well-known Mayan ruin, is just across that border.  The process to get to Tikal wasn’t very difficult.

We signed up with PAK Tours, located in downtown San Ignacio, for the Tikal package.  PAK  basically took care of everything. I’ve read online that it’s cheaper to do it yourself, but with the tensions between the two countries, and reports of robberies/beatings of tourists traveling in this area of Guatemala, we decided that this would not be an area to cheap out on. Also, while there are many choices for tour guides, we do recommend PAK tours.  Our guide was respectful, knowledgeable, and a good communicator.  Our interactions/observations with other tour guides at Tikal were at times less favorable.

Early in the  morning, seven of us piled into a large Toyota van and drove the twenty minutes or so to the Guatemalan border.  All of the border crossing fees are paid by the PAK driver/guide as part of the tour package.  He escorted us through the Belize side where we received our passport departure stamps and then through the Guatemala side where we received our arrival stamps.  A Guatemalan driver waited with a different Toyota van to take us to Tikal.

On the way we stopped at a small store where free Guatemalan coffee was freshly brewed and offered to tour groups stopping by.  This was the only good cup of coffee that I had the whole trip, so I had several.  No sugar or cream needed.

Once we arrived at Tikal, we were on foot the rest of the way.  The first thing our guide said was that we would be walking about five miles with quite a few optional steps.  We are both capable of doing that with no problem, but not everyone on the van was in good shape, and some people chose not to walk all of the steps to the top of various buildings.  Due to the walk, grades, narrow jungle paths, and steps, this would not be an appropriate tour for everyone.

Within the first fifteen minutes of walking through the jungle, we saw our first howler monkeys.  As you might expect, they were really loud.  Apparently, they are known to poop on tourists, but we missed out on that experience.

One of the amazing things about Tikal is the size of the complex.  Multiple temples were planned and built in accordance with the rising and setting sun, along with true north and south.  From the jungle floor, one sees only the complex of temple, palace, and other buildings.

But from the top of specific temples, the entire conceptual plan becomes evident.  You get to see that only by climbing a thousand or so steps.

The howler monkeys were not our only encounters with nature on this trip.  At one of the plazas, we were visited by a Coati, which is a racoon-like mammal common in Guatemala.  Unfortunately, a French tourist chased it around the plaza, trying to get the perfect photograph.  Sometimes, I don’t like people very much.

The most exciting encounter that we had with nature occurred just off a well-traveled path on the way up to one of the palaces.  A small group of tourists were standing  in a half circle with their guide, focused upon something on the ground.  As we drew closer, we saw that it was a small snake.  The tourists’ guide (not our guide) began clapping at the snake to get it to move or perform or whatever.  It turned out to be a fer-de-lance.

We moved on quickly, hoping that the group of people would let the snake alone and get to wherever it wanted to get.  After taking in the views at the top of the palace, we returned the same way.  The small crowd had moved on, and we were on high alert, as this snake blends very well into the ground cover.  I wasn’t worried about the snake attacking us–more stepping on it inadvertently.  Further down the trail, we saw another guide about a dozen steps off the trail, quietly watching something on the ground.  “Fer-de-lance?” I asked.  He nodded silently.  “A second one?” I asked.  “Yes,” he answered. To his credit, he was just making sure that it moved away from where people were walking.

Our guide told us that thatched roofs are common in this region. As deforestation has increased, the workers harvesting palm tree leaves have needed to go deeper into the jungle to find materials.  These extremely poisonous snakes are usually found in the palm trees–sometimes by the workers.  “The cost of the labor has increased,” our guide said.  “This is very dangerous work now.”

I spent a lot of time looking at the ground for the rest of the Tikal tour.

Our Tikal trip was probably the highlight of our adventure in the Belize area.  We are back in Wisconsin now and enjoying some snow .  Julia is cross-country skiing.  Callie and I are snowshoeing.  Our journey to the tropics was a welcome respite, but we do enjoy our seasons.

The next scheduled trip is to take the Brew Hut south in April.  Yesterday, I had to use the heat gun to open up the Scamp’s door, which had frozen shut.  I replaced a troublesome electrical outlet, which seemed to also solve the problem with a fluorescent light on the same circuit.  There are still a few more repairs on my list.  Other than that, I’m hoping for milder weather in early April so that I can get the trailer down from a steep, ice-covered hill where it is stored.