The Bars Are Open

I spent some time this past week getting the Scamp ready for camping.  Temperatures in the twenties seem to be done for the year.  For me, that meant installing a new water pump, running some fresh water through the plumbing system, and clearing a clog in the kitchen sink.

While my head was underneath the rear seat bench and the kitchen cupboards, most of the Wisconsin Supreme Court had their heads up somewhere else.  The conservative majority voted 4-3 to invalidate Wisconsin's safer-at-home order.  There is no back-up order. The Republican Legislature wanted a work week's delay to negotiate a new order with the Democratic Governor, but the conservatives on the court said, nope.  

Did I mention that one of those justices was voted out of office this spring?  His replacement isn't scheduled to start yet, so his vote was the deciding one. The newly elected justice isn't allowed to vote yet. Not all of the conservatives went along with the right wing judicial activism.  Justice Brian Hagedorn refused to vote along with his fellow conservatives, writing a scathing dissent:

"The rule of law, and therefore the true liberty of the people, is threatened no less by a tyrannical judiciary than by a tyrannical executive or legislature,” Hagedorn wrote. “Today’s decision may or may not be good policy, but it is not grounded in the law.”

Immediately after the majority's decision was announced, bars started opening in Wisconsin--many of them abandoning social distancing.  It is true that Julia's optometry school friends accused her of being in the photos of crowded bars that went viral from Wisconsin. It is not true that we will be in the bars anytime soon. 

Also, as soon as the order was set aside, Annie's Campground near Gresham, Wisconsin posted that things were back to "real normal."  Annie took the further step to ban masks in campground buildings.

"Here's the line up for May 15-17: Beautiful Weather!!!!! Masks are NOT allowed in the buildings for safety sake. They are viewed as a robbery in progress and will be handled that way. 

 

Friday night fish fry, fisherman's platter, shrimp, homemade pizza, pub mix, specialty drinks at bar $3 (Sanitizer and Summer's Not a Bummer Hummers), and more appetizers. 

 

Saturday: 0900-noon is @Starla's Concealed Carry class at the pavilion, no equipment needed... she is a fantastic instructor..."

 

There are very few virus cases in the Gresham area--yet.  Wisconsin's petri dish experiment will undoubtedly now include people from hot spots in Chicago and Milwaukee joining in with like-minded people in northern Wisconsin.  You have to be careful what you wish for.

Some of Wisconsin's larger urban areas immediately implemented their own stay-at-home orders.  Madison's order doesn't expire until July.  Here in Columbia County, no order is in effect.  Some people are complaining that many businesses are not immediately re-opening, but apparently not everyone thinks that things are back to the real normal yet.  Cases are back on the increase, even in Columbia County, due in part to increased availability in testing. 

 

We continue our boring lives here, scanning the interwebs for chances to get away in the Scamp.  National forests, state parks, and the Kickapoo Reserve remain closed.  There are a few municipal and county parks opening up campgrounds, but they aren't an upgrade from my spot on the top of the hill at home.  

 

The view outside the Scamp windows shows that my fruit trees are blooming.

 

Apple Tree

Cherry Tree

 

For my outings, I took a road trip about an hour away to pick up my monthly fresh milled flour and some eggs.  We played around with the idea of joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) share for weekly fresh vegetables this summer, but decided that the cost was more than we wanted to pay.  We'll have a small vegetable garden instead.  After having trouble accessing flour for my weekly sourdough bread, I did come across a CSA for fresh milled flour from organic heirloom grains.  The monthly cost wasn't too bad, and it gives me a chance to take a drive once per month to a different part of Wisconsin.

 

 

On the way back, I stopped near Prairie du Sac for eggs from pasture chickens.  The lady had some duck eggs for me to try as well.  They were surprising good, so I'll be getting more of those next time.  The price was the same as chicken eggs ($3/dozen), but the yolks are much bigger and richer.  

Justin celebrated his 20th birthday this week.  We had a small party in the driveway with strawberry shortcake.  Julia's dad and stepmom were also in attendance.

 Julia goes back to work one day per week, starting Monday.  The plan is to go to two days per week in June.  I had a bad virus nightmare this week. Hopefully,  nothing similar happens during waking hours.

The Seasons They are a Changin'

Come gather 'round, people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'"

(Bob Dylan,"The Times They are a Changin')

Spring is busting out all over Wisconsin, and you can see it in the changed behavior of people.  At least, that's true in our rural county, where corona virus cases have not dramatically increased over the last couple of weeks. Columbia County has increased from 27 cases to 32 cases in the last week or so and has held steady at one death for at least a month. Lots of people are out and about, not wearing masks, hoping that everything goes back to normal soon.  On the other hand, the state of Wisconsin has seen increasing deaths:  from 24 on April 1st to 374 on May 7th. 

The Democratic governor extended the shelter in place order until May 26th.  The Republican Legislature is working to get that order overturned.  With a conservative majority, the Wisconsin Supreme Court seemed sympathetic to the Republican arguments.  The Chief Justice commented that the recent outbreak in Green Bay is among meatpacking employees, not "regular folks."    

As for me, I'm not encouraged much by the politicians or judges on either side of the aisle. That isn't to say that politics and policy aren't important.  I was a political science major before law school.  I'm very much aware of how money and power influence laws and policy.  Policy decisions will influence the final death count.  Political choices will partly determine who will be the winners and losers in the future economy. 

I haven't seen any evidence that an effective treatment or vaccine is coming anytime soon.  Without a cohesive national policy, a lot is being left up to the individual states and individuals themselves.   On a personal level,  Julia has decided to go back to work for one day per week in mid-May.  Eye health is important. A number of precautions will be taken to keep patients and doctors safe.  I don't see any way that it's going to be as safe as sheltering in place, but she feels like it's time to get back to work.  She is still scheduled to retire at the end of December.  That day can't come soon enough for me.  I can easily live on a little bit less in retirement.  But I don't think it's about the money for her.  Julia just isn't quite ready to be done with work.

 Hike on the Ice Age Trail

Wisconsin State parks are open again for day use.  That lets some of the pressure off of other trails.  This week, we went back to Slack's Road and hiked to the Merrimac Ferry and back again.  We didn't pass anyone on the trail and saw only two other hikers and no other dogs. 

Wild flowers are making appearances with the warming weather.   The orioles, grosbeaks and hummingbirds are also back.

Wood Violets

Dutchman Breeches

My personal prediction is that things are going to get much worse before they get better, as we start to open up again.  But you know what?  The geese don't care about my predictions. And neither does Callie.  Nature just keeps going on, as though nothing has changed.  Being in nature makes me feel better--at least for awhile.

Humans can't necessarily see what's just beyond the bend, but we are blessed/cursed with the intelligence to plan for it.  Hope is a positive emotion but not a plan.  We live in interesting times. 

Moving Around

This week was a spectacular week for travel.  First, we traveled to Whitewater, Wisconsin to move Justin out of his dorm room.  We were supposed to have done that back in mid-March, but we received an exception because Justin is high-risk.  Mixing him in with a bunch of college students, recently returned from spring break, and their families, as everyone rushes to move home, wouldn't have been a good idea.

So we were able to move out with no one else around this week.  It's not like they needed the dorm room.  The place was deader than a graveyard. Justin is taking an online class this summer.  We have no idea if the dorms or the school will open in the fall.  Refunds for the food service plan and dorm rental have been slow.  The university is in tough financial shape. 

Yesterday, Allie and I drove to Milwaukee to start moving stuff out of her apartment.  Allie's lease is up at the end of July, but she didn't bring home enough underwear and socks to make it until then.  As it turns out, we brought home a little more than I was expecting:  six big tote boxes, a large suitcase and assorted other containers.  Poor Callie barely had room in the bench seat of the truck to crouch on the way home.

Early in the week, we had some cold nights, but we still spent some time outdoors.  The DNR is reluctantly allowing small warming or cooking fires with a prohibition against all other burns. A small warming fire was just enough to take the edge off, along with S'mores.

Keeping a close eye on the Fire

Allie burning a marshmallow

You wouldn't like it.

Today's excitement was a grocery run for curb-side pickup at a large Sun Prairie supermarket, Woodman's.  We were running out of some hard-to-find items that aren't available locally, including the frozen fruit mix that I use for our morning smoothies and my Kombucha.

Yes, I'm still making fermented tea on a weekly basis.  I gave up on the ginger flavoring, which required making a ginger syrup from diced ginger and sugar.  Our local store was out of ginger for weeks, so I started substituting a few frozen berries from the berry mix.  The process is a lot easier and provides the Kombucha with a lovely flavor and color.

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. 

Sick

Yeah, I got sick around Easter.  In different times, it would be no big deal. I don't get sick very often, but it happens. Fever, chills, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, upset stomach and runny nose.  Blech.

Unfortunately, many of these symptoms are associated with the conrona virus.  I was mildly concerned, but I never thought that I had corona virus.  This felt too much like other bugs that I've caught.  If testing was widely available, I could run down to the doctor's office and find out.  However, there's still a shortage of tests.  Public health guidelines are to stay home and self-isolate unless your situation is really bad (difficulty breathing).

The good news is that I haven't had any breathing issues, and my fever went away after a couple of days.  I stayed on Tylenol for most of the week, so I wasn't positive if the fever went away on its own or if it was the Tylenol.  Now I need 3 days of no fever (without Tylenol) , seven days since onset of symptoms, and a decline in symptoms.  If the fever doesn't return, I should be good to go on Sunday.

To protect Justin and the rest of the family, I moved up to the Scamp.  My little electric heater has kept it mostly comfortable during some cold temperatures.  Callie the crazy dog has been good company and has kept her eye on me day and night to make sure that I stay isolated.

During my staycation, I read "Call of the Wild," binged on downloaded episodes of Bosch and the Wire, and slept a lot.  Those tv shows are really good, but "Call of the Wild" is timeless.  It's available for free at the internet archive. It's especially recommended for anyone with a dog like Callie.

I returned to my long walks on country roads on Wednesday.  I rarely see anybody.  This is a stream in the marsh near my house. When I first looked at it, I saw two decent-sized trout. My friend Jon (now deceased) told me there were trout in this stream, but I never saw proof until this week.

I'll probably start splitting wood again this weekend.  On a hill like we have, leaning trees sometimes pull up by their roots and fall.  That happened this week to an oak.

The domino effect changed five other trees.  The tangle is probably too dangerous to mess with at this point, but gravity will eventually bring them all down to create more potential firewood.  My chainsaw can be very patient.  There are less dangerous downed trees in my woods to process.

Nature has many lessons for us. When a tree falls in the forest, it doesn’t really matter if anyone hears it.  But there is often collateral damage.

Closed

Sunrise from our Hill

My favorite local places to hike are:  Gibraltar Rock (less than ten miles away) and Devil's Lake (less than thirty miles away by way of the Merrimac Ferry).

Yesterday, Governor Evers closed those two locations, along with dozens of other state parks and state natural areas in southern Wisconsin.  This was not unexpected.  State public lands have been flooded with people seeking outdoor opportunities but who were not practicing social distancing.  In fact, the record crowds of people, together with closed bathrooms, limited garbage service and no added staffing, resulted in increased vandalism and litter.

I've been staying away because it was all too predictable, given human nature.  The Lodi Marsh remains open, as far as I know.  We've been hiking there about once per week early on weekday mornings to avoid crowds.

Lodi Marsh

Unfortunately, Callie has had a couple of hostile encounters with other dogs there.  One was an off-leash pit bull that the owner had no control over, even after we walked fifty feet off the trail to avoid it.  Another was an on-leash bigger dog that its owner wasn't able to control.  The dog literally dragged her owner 30 yards to get into Callie's face.  Callie's behavior has improved dramatically since she joined our family, but she doesn't tolerate other dogs in her face.

Australian cattle dogs are part Australian dingo, and she seems to have received more than her fair share of that part.  Sometimes, I think Callie must be swearing at the other dogs in dog language.  She definitely brings out the worst in other dogs.  The only dog that she tolerates is Elvis the service dog.  Callie seems to think that Elvis is a docile cow tied to Justin's power wheelchair. 


The best place to walk has turned out to be on the country roads east of my house.   The old dairy farm roads are almost always empty of traffic and people. 

After a five mile walk in the morning, we work on the firewood project in the afternoon.  This involves cutting down dead trees, bucking the downed trees into rounds, and rolling the rounds down the hill (we call it firewood bowling).

Then we pile the rounds into the splitting pile, split the rounds into firewood, and stack the firewood  on pallets.  Each year, we move seasoned firewood (1-3 years old, dependent on species) from the outside storage area into the pole shed for the coming winter.

There's still plenty of work to do outside while social distancing. With temperatures in the 20's and 30's for the next 7 days, we will still be burning last winter's firewood to keep the house toasty.