Long Night...

...but ultimately good.  

The Walker, right wing cabal?

Basically, a good day for the country, and quite a good day for Wisconsin. In Wisconsin science will be back, public schools will no longer be under attack, the MNR will be reconstituted, millions of Federal Affordable Care dollars will no longer be rejected, the UW system will get a whole new set of regents, giant polluters will be held accountable, water will once again be considered valuable, roads will be fixed, modern transportation systems will be developed, solar and wind energy will come out of repression….and that sort of thing. And, the change was achieved in spite of millions of Koch dollars, and a sickening amout of nastiness, spent trying to stop it.

Hats, coats, and gloves the order of the day. Cold northwest wind. Could this be the onset of winter? A little snow in the forecast here later in the week, and seven inches or more possible on Manitoulin.

What a Night

The most important outcome, the House, as source of happiness. Disappointment in the Texas, Florida, and Georgia tases. Still in agony over the Wisconsin governor outcome. 

Eight Pounds of Sloppy Joe...

...to Democratic HQ,  then to a rally for Tammy and Tony (Senator Tammy Baldwin & Gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers) at the University, then home for a mad-dash backyard rake and mow ahead of the next rain event. And we did it—the last of the heavy leaves are crammed into the trailer, covered with plastic, and ready for swift delivery to the compost site Saturday morning, which we can’t miss if we don’t want to provide these leaves a home for another year. Raining hard now, and a big cool-down forecast.

Foul Weather

Difficult drive to Milwaukee in heavy rain, stiff crosswind, and near zero visibility, as Kate and Will were returned to the rental agency. And this after a morning of waffles and ping-pong!

Quite a variety of species here

Dark now, of course, as we have moved into the dark phase of the year, and yet the rain and wind continue—sometimes a light drizzle, and sometimes a heavy splattering, sometimes with hail.

Actually not feeling bad about missing today’s iceboat swap meet in Williams Bay.

It’s Saturday Night...

 ...and afternoon too. 

Trailer-full of leaves to the compost site. Water slide, lazy river, and water volleyball at the Aquatic Center. Ping-pong and poker. All topped off with Mary Poppins. Totally supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Screen Time

Sit a bit, type a few words, stare at the screen, type a little more. That pretty much sums it up for today, although Pax and I got in a couple of decent outings. Sue and I also got in a little pruning, and hoisted a hefty number of leaves into the trailer in anticipation of tomorrow’s trip to the compost site.

Load two of three.

BTW, a new big thing on social media is taking a photo of yourself voting. We missed out but think it is a great idea, if not illegal. 

Feels Like November

Oh, right, it is. 

Low gray clouds over a penetrating chill.  Sue down south doing her guardian work. Pax and I navigating the sidewalks around here, and grocery shopping.

Gongoozling

More on that in a minute.  

The new backyard apple tree. Can’t seem to resist planting trees.

So, gongoozling is the odd habit of watching English narrowboats as they ply the canals of the UK. Narrowboats are odd things in themselves, typically 50 to 55 feet long but only about 6.5 feet wide—with saloon, galley, head, bedroom, etc., all stretched out like a long hallway. The boats have to be narrow to navigate the narrow canals and the many, many locks on the English canal system. At present, there are about 30,000 of these not-inexpensive craft floating in ditches and trenches 

Anyway, we were introduced to a vlog (video blog) by John (way back when we were on Island time) produced by a semi-retired, middle-aged English bloke who seems to have made cruising the canals a big part of his life’s work. And, as you can see from the screen shot above, I am up to episode 113 (which is I think only a small fraction of the sum total).

So let’s think about this. The typical vlog is, I would guess, about 12 minutes long. Using some form of higher math—12 times 113 equals 1,356 (minutes) which when converted, equals about 22 and a half hours. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WASTE OF TIME!

And the sad thing is, every night, after dinner, when we think it might be fun to watch something but can’t come up with anything watchable, we watch another two episodes, and that is very much like watching grass grow. Narrowboats cruise along the canals at the breakneck speed of 2 to 3 miles per hour. This relaxed pace becomes obvious when, in the vlog, you see a jogger whip past on the towpath, in a blur.

One episode was devoted to opening up the day’s mail (a few packages potentially useful to cruising). Another focused on changing the engine oil. But perhaps most memorable of all was the episode on marine toilets.

Why do we continue to watch this!? Well, let’s think about it.

It’s mindless. It’s calm. It comes at you in clever and cultured English. It’s more watchable than just about anything else.  It’s the perfect antidote to all the spirit-crushing news.

So, recommendation for anyone getting tired of watching paint dry: cruisingthecut.co.uk

And now I’m concerned that when the last trick-or-treater has left, we are going to be left with nothing to watch but episodes 114 and 115.

Raking Before Rain

Got the heavy load of back-yard oak leaves concentrated into 3 piles, awaiting trailer for removal to compost site. Nice, warm day, until about 4 p.m., which is the start time of the Whitewater City Market, at which I was planning to pick up something suitable for supper. Then thunderstorms, which not only rattled Pax but washed out the market.

See today’s earlier blog, below, for a moving letter from Captain Sullenberger.

Message from "Sully"

Moving op-ed in the Washington Post.

We Saved 155 Lives

Leaves and Bikes

Fine day for yard work and two-wheeled vehicles.  

Just hoping that enough Americans are awake enough and concerned enough to vote to save our country from its slide into totalitarianism. The future hangs in the balance.

We need to bring our thoughts and prayers to the voting booth.  

Wind and Wet

Not a nice day. Luckily, the seven little tricksters went out in costume last night in Oconomowoc.  

And here is the sacrilegious older trickster: 

And, here is the whole team.  

Feeding the Canvassers

Last Saturday breakfast, and today lunch—pulled beef sandwiches, various salads, and chips. Calling potential voters and knocking on doors is not all that fun, so good food is essential.  

Tempted to stay and chow down, but instead went for a walk along a Kettle Moraine esker.  

Votamos, Nous avon’s votè, We voted

I highly recommend watching the speech Obama gave today in Milwaukee. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-obama-to-campaign-for-wisconsin-democrats

We also helped out with costuming in Fox Point. Mimi made the Lego Joker costume from scratch.

Out To Lunch

Actually, out to dinner with the Russo’s, long time Batavia friends, whom we haven’t seen in a long time. 

Chilly, cloudy day. Got the garden tilled, and tanked up on 10 gallons of the world’s finest water at the Kettle Moraine ever-flowing well south of town. Can’t have good coffee without good water. 

Squash Soup

Homegrown, with onion, garlic, one apple, and lentils.  

Here’s hoping it tastes good.

UPDATE:  Chicken broth, of course, and half a cup of sherry—overall very high YUM factor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extremely important election just days away. 

Affordable healthcare, decent support for public schools, respect for the environment, protection of Medicare; also facts, science, truth, honesty, decency, fairness—all are on the ballot.

Here in Wisconsin:
Sentate: Tammy Baldwin
Governor: Tony Evers
Attorney General: Josh Kaul
Secretary of State: Doug LaFollette
State Treasurer: Sarah Godlewski

Each office is important in bringing our state back to health.

AND…there is the need to vote for the right person in each U.S. congressional district! (Here in Wisconsin’s 5th district, hope springs eternal that the ancient Republican toad will be put out to pasture.)

In Wisconsin, why not vote  early? Just go to the Municipal Clerk’s office. Early voting lets you vote when it is convenient for you, and insures you won’t miss out if schedule difficulties arise on Election Day.

Early voting has started in Wisconsin and continues until November 2. Actual election day is November 6

If not registered, you can, in Wisconsin, register to vote in person up until Election Day. You can register to vote in person at the Municipal Clerk's office up until 5:00 p.m. or close of business (whichever is later) the Friday before Election Day (in this case, November 2). You also can register to vote in person at your polling place on Election Day.

Please talk with everyone you know, and make sure they are going to vote.

I just wish I could vote for Beto in Texas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Thomas Friedman says in the New York Times:

So, this year: No third party, no Green Party, no throwing up our hands and saying, “They’re all bad.” All of that’s for another day. For today, in these midterm elections, vote for a Democrat, canvass for a Democrat, raise money for a Democrat, drive someone else to a voting station to vote for a Democrat. It’s the only hope to make America America again.

Nothing else matters. Pass it on.

String of Pearls

Day after perfect day. 

The Rock River, above, is still out of its banks,  but rapidly returning to its normal fall state.  

Pax and I, having business in Fort, walked some of it and just a little of the Glacial River Trail.  

And this evening I had the opportunity of talking Ellie to riding lessons where she rode like a champ, including one stretch bare back. 

What Is So Rare As A Day In October?

Bright and chilly for an hour-long big loop walk in the morning; then sunny and warm for a bike/run to the prairie in the late afternoon. (Some chores interleaved between the two.)

The willow holds on to its green.

Rather liked this poem, and it is interesting to note that thanks to people like George Church this lost species is being brought back into existence.

Song for the Woolly Mammoth

Lauren Moseley

When glaciers trapped a third of Earth’s water and drained the Bering Strait, humans
journeyed to this land where wind swept the steppes of snow, exposing grass

that would be plucked by mammoth trunks and ground by washboard teeth.
Up to thirteen feet, their tusks curved helically and would intertwine if they went on

a little longer. The beasts’ dense hair—brown, blonde, or ginger—swung like a skirt
about their flanks. I want to rest my head against that shaggy coat, to crane

my ears, to be protected from the giant short-faced bear. I want to be
their baby, wrap my trunk around my mother’s, watch the wild horses of Beringia

canter across the steppes in tawny, fine-boned movements. The thick fat
under my hair keeps me warm when the sun goes low, and I grow into

an eight-ton bull, pierce the ice with my tusks and drink from glacial pools.
The wind is bitter, but my strongest features have grown bigger than my father’s.

When summer comes I must find a mate, and it only takes a few tusk locks to show
my strength. After our calf is born, I see upright creatures eyeing him from the mesa.

I will fling them against the icy mountains. They wear our hair as if it were
their skin. Still, I will live through many winters, through each warm season’s

hardheaded matches. I know the range that slopes like the hump on my back, sunsets
redder than the long-toothed cat’s gorging mouth, how musk oxen form a wall of horns

and still fall prey to the blade thrown. I know how many herds have fled, and the curves
of carcasses stripped to bone by men, wind, and time. I do not know that I am gone.

Fall Fun

With the big 5 at Busy Barns. Perfect day for it.  

Good fun.  Thanks to Mimi for some of the photos.

Winds-day

Fierce north wind, with ice pellets and a little snow.

But Ellie, Maddie, and Becca over for some afternoon fun, and then a sleep-over.

Mimi did pretty well, too.