…with Tom and Mary, at their place in Fort.
They have sold about 80 copies so far, mostly through their long-established personal networks. Success is inspiring. Per aspera ad astra.
Above, the old water tower in Fort Atkinson—almost as old as the famous Whitewater tower. Fort’s tank was decommissioned some years ago, but water in the Whitewater tower is still flowing through taps in town, including ours.
…in Cedarburg, along with an outing to Port Washington.
…in the dark
—Rainy dawn.
Chicago style hotdogs overlooking Williams Bay. Material purchased to complete perimeter of fence around the garden.
Haiku by Jack Kerouac.
…making for an archetypal spring day.
And, in the wisdom department…
• The trouble with learning from experience is that you never graduate.
• Keep looking until you see something.
• If you don’t change directions, you’re going to end up where you’re headed.
• The trick to success is to know when you have enough and then stop to appreciate it.
Early morning rain, mid-morning rain, afternoon rain—all welcome, but still enough dry time for walks and bike rides.
Carry -out dinner across the street with our little neighborhood, thoroughly vaccinated, pod.
…a little spring cleaning.
A big year for violets
Garage cleared, scraped, swept, hosed, dried, and rearranged. Ten minute downpour thirstily soaked up by the parched land, and now everything greening rapidly.
Pax and I watered some of the growing things around the yard.
Walnuts
That, along with a walk or two, voting, and some errands, pretty much sums things up.
As of now, all members of the extended family over 10 are vaccinated. Phew.
A few flashes and several distant rumbles last night—enough to worry Pax—but ultimately, no rain.
Several storm windows swapped for screens. Catfish for dinner, and then basketball.
…with Becca, et al.
Definite transition from chilly to very warm.
Nies team here until after noon, though I had to leave for about 2 hours to man a table at an event for the Grocery Company. Need I mention world famous waffles? Made today entirely by Ellie and Maddie.
James, Ben, Maddie, Ellie, and Bri here while Becca recuperating at home from tonsillectomy.
Easter egg hunt, baking, biking, back yard play, etc, along with dinner featuring honey baked ham.
Last time we met with friends Bob and Cathy was in March, 2020, at Yerkes Observatory. We were new to the idea of masks and social distancing. Today, a long walk to view sculpture in a park and then on the way home a stop for a Guinness at McNally’s(on the patio).
For dessert after lunch we had homemade Dutch baby.
…blowing away on a cold north wind.
But the daffodils remember warmer days and know better days are coming.
To Cedarburg to connect up with Abby, Katy, and Will as they swept down from their northern spring break for Will’s casting call.
…right here in the back yard. When we sit out on the back patio of an evening we share the space with sparrows, juncos, downy woodpeckers, chickadees and cardinals. Not to mention squirrels, our resident chipmunk, and the occasional rabbit, at a distance.
Earlier today, a gaggle of white pelicans on the Rock River.
A wonderful bird is a pelican.
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak.
Food enough for a week,
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.
—Ogden Nash
…and hang on to your hat.
A mostly enjoyable semi-hemi-bi-annual chore, always interesting. The most amazing thing is the contrast between the vast input and the very different and very small output three years later.
In the wind department—another vast blast, but this time from the direction just opposite of yesterday’s gale, and, being from the south, bringing the warmest temperature in many months.
…March winds. Cold and eye-watering up wind, delightful down, jarring from the side—when riding.
…otherwise known as CRISPR. An ancient way for bacteria to fend off and immunize themselves against viruses—and now the basis of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system that has given us the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
All of which is the basis of the new book I’m reading, The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson. A bit of a mix of People Magazine and Scientific American. The pure science is fascinating. The competition to commercialize and the patent wars, not so much. The bio-ethics or gene editing and designer babies stuff mind bending.
I think the last few chapters could be the best part—where RNA meets Covid 19. We’ll soon find out.
…part 3. The chickens are fine! No bumble foot! Just poopy foot. And after a clean-up and a good soak in chlorhexadene all is well.
…you check them out. Apparently today’s chickens have bumble-foot, a bacterial infection, and need to be returned to the vendor. Moral: ???
Last night’s blog included a photo of the baby chick tub at the local True Value, where I went to grab a bag of potting soil for my 30 shagbark hickory seeds. Little did I expect that anyone would find the photo to be of interest.
However, Abby, the chicken expert, noticed it, and immediately asked me to go buy some. Apparently covid has disrupted the baby chicken supply, and chicks are hard to come by. Her standing order has been pushed back into late April.
So at 8 a.m. this morning I was at the hardware store shopping for birds. I bought four of them. I think I bought two buff orpingtons, one ameraucana, and one silver-laced polish—though the last one was supposed to be a silver wyandotte, or something like that.
Next step was to keep them alive and deliver them to the chicken farm in Cedarburg.
Note: the birds were alive and chirping when delivered.