But there is no picture – don’t get excited. I wasn’t able to get the wolf’s permission. I just thought that would be a good way to get started telling about today in Door County.
More rain than we thought. Colder than we thought. We started our day with breakfast at White Gull Inn, Fish Creek. Most of us tried the Limpa toast with chopped cherry jam and it did live up to its reputation. Our plan was to visit a few stores and galleries during the rainy, windy and cold part of the day and try to hike in the afternoon. Turns out that was an excellent plan.
I got my souvenir shopping over at the first tourist store we went to. There are so many of them, and they are all attractive. They’re full of T-shirts and sweatshirts with place names, and of course, Door County is on all of them. I found my hiker medallions for Peninsula State Park, which I knew we would be hiking later in the day (and a sweatshirt, gloves and extra waterproof jacket because I was really cold).
We went to Edgewood Gallery next and spent an hour looking at all kinds of sculptures, paintings and jewelry. Many of the sculptures were large, outdoor pieces placed along landscaped paths. Pictures are better than words…
One of the many sculptures
The price tag
My favorite, the raven has a bowl full of agates!
It hadn’t rained and was starting to warm up so we had a quick lunch in one of our motel rooms. I think everyone on this trip really enjoys our camaraderie, especially the time spent talking over meal times. Last night we covered our progressive deafness and hearing aides. Today it was dementia, ALS and MRI panic attacks. You can probably guess our age range. Actually, I am the oldest and feel a little like an imposter among them, but I’m here and that’s what counts.
We all wanted to get out on a hike, so we did the Hemlock Trail at Peninsula State Park. Here is where we saw the Grey Wolf. It was fairly close and crossed the path ahead of us. It turned and looked at us long enough that we could tell it wasn’t a deer or a dog. Then it disappeared into the woods on the other side – an uncommon sighting. What a great place with excellent views of the bay, and beautiful cedar forests. The observation tower at the end was quite an impressive structure. It had a long winding ramp that climbed above the canopy and ended at the top of the tower.
Both sides of the trail are covered with Lilly of the Valley. I’ve never seen so much of it.
Eagle Observation Tower
Ramp leading from the observation tower (like a zip line for old folks)
Back at Pine Grove Resort the sun finally came out.
Every day winds down with what is called a debriefing. We were talking about why it was called that when it’s really more like a happy hour. It doesn’t matter. Today it’s going to be at the pool and hot tub.
We have dinner reservations at a very nice restaurant at 7. I don’t know if I’ll feel like writing after we get back so I’m signing off here. More tomorrow.
Yes, I get to take a vacation. It means I get to travel someplace of my choice, for the express purpose of seeing a place I have not seen before, not staying with relatives and on a budget that is predetermined and saved for. It’s so nice.
Door County is in my home state, Wisconsin, but on the opposite side from where I live. I’m still getting the geography straight, but in general I know that it’s on a peninsula with Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other.
It took us over 6 hours to travel here from Hayward. We started at 9 and stopped for lunch at Rib Mountain State Park. The sign at Rib Mountain said it was the highest point in Wisconsin – 1940 ft. above sea level. That doesn’t seem very high, but at the top of the observation tower the view was WOW! This was in spite of the rain, and the wind gusting to 40 mph every now and then. I say lunch, but what I mean was that I ate an avocado and a yellow bell pepper, in the car in the parking lot. We did stop at Starbucks at the bottom of the mountain. We needed to warm up. It’s cold, in the 50’s, uncharacteristic of this time of year.
I am traveling with my friend Lisa, and four other hiking buddies from the Birkie Girls Hiking Group. We are in three cars, trying to keep each other in sight on the road, and not get too separated .
This dog statue was at the distillery, I don’t know why. I didn’t have permission yet to post pics of my friends, so you get the dog instead.
Further up the road we stopped in at Door County Distillery, which is famous for beverages made with cherries, or maybe just tasting like cherries. The countryside here is full of wineries and distilleries and restaurants that serve local fare. Since the big lake is here all around us there is a nautical feel about the place. Lots of fish themed places, seagulls sitting in the fields, and boat decor.
We arrived in Ephraim around 4 pm and checked into Pine Grove Resort just in time for chocolate chip cookies, cheese and crackers and wine in the front lobby. They are generous and the rooms are very nice. We have a small balcony with a view of the bay.
After a brief conclave in our leader’s room, we set out for a nearby eating place in Sister’s Bay. It was recommended by our hotel manager as being reasonably priced and well liked by locals. Sisters Bay Bowl had a small bowling alley with half a dozen lanes. No one was bowling but the restaurant was full, as was the bar.
My steak meal. The waiter was nice and I gave him a good tip.
We had a great meal, with pleasant, friendly service. I think everyone liked their food. We were hungry. Lisa and I split a piece of cherry pie with ice cream. I have made a goal of having something with cherries in it every day because this is cherry country if nothing else. The cherry trees do have blossoms on them even though it feels like winter here.
Back to our rooms for a few minutes of watching news before bed. I was hoping for a better weather report for tomorrow, but no. It will still be cold and wet, but we are here to hike – outside if possible, inside galleries and shops if not.
Thinking twice usually means that the second thought negates the first. But not always.
Today it was warm, for March anyway. It was fifty degrees at the height of the day. The roads are bare and dry. I got a brand new bike back in December, and it had never been out of the house. I thought to myself “you should go for a bike ride”. My second thought was “yes, do it because you’ve been a slug all winter and need to get moving.” I had a few more cautious thoughts as well, mainly because it’s an e-bike. I’ve read the instructions several times and forgotten them several times as well. The “on”, “off” and a dozen other button pushes are a little complicated and take some getting used to.
Danger, danger, slushy ice ahead. Yes, this bike has a display screen. Technology strikes again.
So, even though it’s supposed to start snowing tomorrow night, I decided to go around Hayward on the bike path. A few circles around the parking lot seemed to go well. The bike has several different modes but I decided the one closest to OFF would be sufficient. Every time I did a turn on the pedals, the motor kicked in. So easy, so quiet. I wondered how I was going to get any exercise.
One shady part of the path had some slushy ice and snow which I could not avoid going over. My “old lady” caution had not kicked in yet and I did have a moment of panic. The bike slipped and I was on my way down. Thankfully, the step through frame let me get my feet on the ground and save myself from a fall. I really don’t want to wreck this bike before I’ve gotten some miles on it. And that is part of the pressure of having a nice bike. I worry that I’ll run into something and wreck it, or it will get stolen.
The bike path is from 6 – 10 miles long, depending on whether I take the short cut through town. I had just taken the direction of the longest route, when it started to rain. I was already cold, but the thought of being cold, and wet, was worse, so I turned back.
Going through town is a little freaky for me because there are more cars. There are lots of intersections and lights, pot holes and other obstacles along the route. There is a lot to watch out for. One convenient feature of the bike is the throttle. It’s like a gas pedal and makes it easy to get going. When the green light goes on at an intersection, I can mount up and quickly get through . One inconvenient feature of the bike is also the throttle. It sometimes kicks in a little enthusiastically when I’m not expecting it. I know I will get used to that with experience. Hopefully I don’t wind up in front of a moving car first.
I made it home in good shape. But I now know that 50 degrees is still a little cold to be going 15 miles an hour. I should have worn a snowsuit. I didn’t get much exercise either. The only energy expended was the calories I burned to keep from freezing.
I know it’s going to be winter for a few more weeks yet. Today was simply a nice little window into the coming spring. Now, no matter what happens, I can say I had at least one ride on the new bike.
I need to give the bike a cool, descriptive name. It’s brand is Aventon. Suggestions welcomed…
Riding around Hayward, not in a car, but on a bike – that was my joyride yesterday. It was a relatively slow ride, not a race of any kind, and I took care to be noticing everything. It was a great way to tour a small town. I’ve always loved Hayward, but I kind of “fell in love” over again. I’m pretty sure you would like Hayward too.
Many changes have taken place in our town since I was a child. Of course, one of them was the paved bike path I started on. It follows the perimeter of the business and residential districts, starting very close to my condo, and circles around to end up at the starting point again 12.5 miles later. I probably put in a few extra miles going through quiet streets, just looking at houses and yards because that’s what I like to do.
On my ride I started at what used to be my Grandfather Smith’s property, and the house where he raised his family.
Not too much later I rode past the house where my Grandfather Boone used to live, and the field where my mother and her brothers used to play.
I rode past three water towers. Except for the giant fish, I think maybe it’s our town’s mark of distinction to have three of them, although none of them are very attractive – a little rust, a little graffiti, lots of sirens and satellite dishes hanging on them.
The bridge over Hwy 27, near the Lake Hayward DamBridge on Hospital RoadNamekagon River crossings
I crossed the same river twice, and rode along it for long stretches. The Namekagon River valley is where Hayward is situated and I saw several smaller streams on their way to join the main river. Lake Hayward is the result of a dam on the Namekagon. The area grew as a logging town and for a while the lake was a collection point for logs. I rode past the water arena where lumberjacks still show their skills to the public, log rolling, climbing, chopping and sawing.
The raw materialLogs turn into these cuties.and a musky, of courseand other creative ideas.
I don’t know if this entrepreneur was ever a lumberjack but I am pretty much in awe of his skill with a chainsaw. I rode past his outdoor lot where he sells some amazing log art.
Is that Jack Link’s jet? I don’t know.
Near the end of my ride I went past Hayward’s airport. You could probably charter a plane to bring you to Hayward but there are no major airlines serving this town. Many of the planes, jets and helicopters belong to people wealthy enough to fly in and out, rather than drive the nearly three hours to Minneapolis or six hours to southern Wisconsin cities.
Riding a bike is a friendly way of getting around, similar to horse and buggy days when stopping to talk with someone you knew was common. I rode past the house of some friends and saw one of their kids outside fixing his car. I thought a minute, and then turned around and went up the drive to say hi. Why not?
Last stretch of the bike path leading home.
I have decided to ride bike more often this summer. It really is a pretty good way to get around for moderate distances. I thought that it might be my next challenge (gotta have a challenge…) to ride 100 miles a month, for the next four months, until it snows again. But today it is raining and I’m already losing my enthusiasm. Haven’t learned to love riding in the rain, yet.
I haven’t seem much of the geese since the tall grass around the pond was mowed. This pair and their young’un saw me coming this evening and high-tailed it into the pond. Most of the families have gone further into the wetland marsh.
June 25, 26
The weekend did not bring answers to the electrical problem in the garage. I unplugged the garage door opener one night and the fault still occurred. The only conclusion I can make is that none of my appliances are causing the problem. It’s going to be up to an electrician I’m afraid.
I went back to church on Sunday and it was good to be involved in the music. I am the oldest on the worship team – never thought that would be my badge, but I’ll take it. We have an eclectic pool of people to man the different instruments and lead. Teenagers, married middle-agers, seniors, even some middle school volunteers (because they are so good running slides on the computer). It feels like a privilege to worship with them.
The husband wanted to eat out again! We had lunch at Perkins and then went next door to get a DQ hamburger for Mom. The line for ordering was 10 cars long. That place is crazy ever since Covid started.
June 27
Major accomplishment today was getting my aunt (96 years old) and uncle (91 years old) to the doctor for wellness checks. I drove the 18 miles to their house, helped them get in their car, drove back 18 miles to the clinic with them. Their appointments were easy enough, but then we also had to stop at the pharmacy and get their Covid boosters. The return trip, another half hour there and half hour back home. I have to laugh at their car. I used to be worried about all the warnings of tire pressure being low, the loud clacking of the fan, the smell of decaying mouse, and the unpredictable door locks. Not any more. We just go.
June 28
More doctor appointments but this time it is for me and the husband. We lived in Florida for 30 years and need to get our skin checked for cancers. It turned out to be a little unnerving for me since she found six suspicious places on my face and used her “freeze” gun on them. It hurt but I can’t see that it did much to them. In addition she looked at my hands and decided to do x-rays and blood work to see if I had rheumatoid arthritis. I wasn’t expecting that.
I went home and spent the evening pulling weeds in Mom’s borders around her condo. There’s nothing like doing a job that really needs doing to calm me down. The border improved, one small weed at a time – and me, marveling that there were no mosquitoes, amused by the bullfrog sounding from the retention pond out back. So ended the day.
June 29
Fighting a headache all day. I read to the husband in the morning and we finished a book. Reading is not the best for headaches though.
Before it was filled in with dirt, this silo foundation was home to a large pig!
We have an historic silo foundation behind the barn. It has had various plantings in it and is also a graveyard for Scruffy, my brother’s dog who left us a couple years back. At times it’s been featured in family photos, and since we have a reunion coming up, I wanted to get it weeded and respectable looking. Once again, pulling weeds is therapy, this time for my headache. I feel such power, deciding which things stay and which things go. I might have made a good dictator.
RIP Scruffy.
I took the husband out for a wheelchair ride on our street after dinner. I’m glad that he is able to get outside, if only for a few minutes, but there is something about doing this that saddens me. It makes such a statement.
June 30
The last day of June, sob! A third of our summer is over.
The headache is still hanging around, so much so that I wondered if I was getting second Covid, long Covid, or whatever it is called when it comes back. But I had no fever and felt better after medication.
Spent some time with my client at New Life. She is a delightful young mom who likes to sit and talk, which I find very refreshing.
The only other redeeming thing I did today was clean up my closet a bit. Decided it might be safe to box up my winter socks – a fitting way to say goodbye to June.
The flowers change with the months. Daisies are still in style but the late summer blooms are starting already.
Life in the northwoods of Wisconsin, one week at a time, in the brief but beautiful summer.
The geese, always the geese…
June 12
I felt tired today, and with an attitude that I can’t quite find a name for. It made me a little less smiley everywhere I went, quieter, maybe a bit sharp in my inner talk and resigned to having to hold it in. No sense in letting impatience, crabbiness and frustration show when it would only make things worse.
Church, family brunch in the party garage, and then my friend Gwen and I got on bikes and rode the trails for 10 miles. That was the best part of the day. That, and the moon which I noticed as I was pulling the blinds shut before sleep.
June 13
Still tired. Still crabby (under cover). I wonder if this is my way of having Covid…. although it seems I would have at least one other symptom. It can’t be Covid this week because I have too many medical appointments for myself and others – precious appointments that we’ve waited forever to have.
At the follow up visit to my foot doctor I told her how the heel pain wasn’t changing all that much and she gave me a few more suggestions. She liked my new athletic shoes. I knew she wanted to see them but I wasn’t sure which shoes to show her. I have clean ones and dirty ones that I wear most of the time. In fact, I probably change shoes four or five times a day, trying to protect my sensitive feet outside and trying to protect the floors inside.
It’s laundry day. Not that I consistently do laundry on Mondays, but that I consistently do it when the baskets are full and there’s no more clean underwear.
Over at Walmart I discovered that I could edit the part of pictures that I wanted printed. Eureka!! For twelve more cents I got a better representation of Simba, one with a head. Mom and I made a collage of family pets for the reunion. We are quite the animal lovers.
What is he doing in the crock pot with half his head missing?!!I like this one better. At least he’s got ahead.
June 14
Big accomplishments today were returning a book to Delores, checking the garden, cleaning the garage, and moving furniture in the living room. Dennis is having trouble steering his walker – the path from the recliner to the bathroom has to be wider.
Fenced, mulched, watered and growing.
June 15
After watching an ad for apple cider vinegar gummies (can’t remember why this interested me) I decided to take some vinegar the last two mornings. I didn’t dilute it very much today and it about tore my throat out. I thought that was why I felt kind of sick with a bad headache.
Dennis had been waiting for days to get in to the chiropractor so I took him in the afternoon. I wore a mask and didn’t stay in the room with him but waited outside. Went to Walmart after and picked up a home Covid test.
I HAVE COVID, after more than two years of avoiding it. And it would have to be now, on the day I have a massage scheduled. Wonderful.
Here comes the ‘Rona virus I never wanted to have.
Spent the rest of the day cancelling my life for the next week or so.
The good thing is that after testing, Mom is negative for the virus. She has to be able to keep her appointment on Friday or she won’t be seen until January 2023!
June 16
Second day of headache, even though I’m throwing everything I’ve got at it. The fever is making my eyes hurt. Had I been well, both the husband and I would have had doctor’s appointments today, skin checks. I would also have seen my client at the Resource Center.
I got my SoloStove cleaned out and packed in its case for the bonfire night at church, which I won’t be going to. Emailed around to find another keyboard player for Sunday worship, which I also won’t be going to. Cancelled a visit with my cousin from Indiana which would have been on Saturday.
Spent a lot of time going back and forth from my recliner to the bed, trying to sleep/rest. My neighbor brought chicken soup for us.
Dennis doesn’t seem to have any symptoms and I hope he doesn’t get it. I try to spend as little time around him as possible, but meals are hard. I didn’t want to cook supper so asked him if he wanted a shake. He looked disappointed and didn’t answer for a while, then said “You know I don’t really like steak all that much any more.” We got that figured out to our great relief and satisfaction.
June 17
I slept pretty good last night. The headache has changed and is no longer continuous. It’s now periodic sharp stabs of pain in the temples, and somehow I prefer that. I’m coughing now and still have a low grade fever. I have little interest in productive activity – it’s the recliner and the bed for naps.
Den (brother) took Mom to EauClaire for her appointment with the eye specialist.They did a biopsy and won’t know for several days whether basal cell carcinoma is confirmed or not. They did tell her that this surgery takes a hospital stay and it is not something to look forward to, but might be necessary.
It seems like there are a lot of unpleasant surprises lately and it makes me wonder what we are doing right that makes the family such a target.
June 18
I am determined to be more normal today, and it is working. A beautiful morning outside where I had my breakfast on the patio. Mom came over to sit with me a while and we caught up on each other’s news of the last four days since I’ve been isolating. She doesn’t feel real well and thinks she has Covid too, even though she had a negative test a couple days ago. She told me that if she dies of Covid, we should wait and have her memorial during the family reunion in August. That way she would have some people at her event. Always the practical one… At this point there is no reason to think she won’t be alive and well in August.
I picked flowers. This is what June looks like in Wisconsin.
Grass is getting tall and wild chives are blooming.Daisy timeThe second variety of lilacs, late bloomersAnd the iris and hawkweed.
A couple of weeks ago I went for a short hike on one of my favorite trails. It’s called a snowshoe trail because it is used primarily in the winter when walkers are asked to stay off groomed ski trails. Our northern summers are short but most of the vegetation that grows here has learned to grow fast and furiously, even in the forest.
The path through the mature woods was great – leafy, shady, very little undergrowth. Now and then there would be a tree down across the path from a storm, but nothing I couldn’t step over or go around. Since the path doesn’t show much wear from foot traffic in the summer, there are also plastic ribbons tied on trees and branches to mark the way.
But trouble started when I got to a section of forest that had been clear cut sometime in the past few years. Smaller trees, mostly birch and poplar, and all kinds of underbrush, stumps, and rotting logs made the path harder to find and harder to navigate.
Then I got to the blackberry thicket. Canes as thick as my thumb were bending over the path at eye level, lots of them, as well as smaller thorny new growth underneath them. I can’t be sure but I think the huge thorns actually moved out to grab me as I tried to lift them out of the way and pass through. It got worse the further I went, until I was too deep in to want to go back the way I had come, but could not see the end of it ahead either. Had it not been for the orange ties, I would have thought I had lost the path completely. My arms were bleeding. I was getting mad. I did eventually connect with a groomed bike path and made my way out.
I was thankful nothing was chasing me. If I had been a rabbit, that is where I would have gone to be safe from anything bigger. I vaguely remembered stories about Peter Rabbit and brambles, with new understanding.
That is when I began to plot revenge. I have a string trimmer but couldn’t see that being too effective on the thick, woody canes. I needed a machete, which I remembered from my days living in Florida. Machetes are everyday yard tools there. To my delight, my neighbor who is a retired surveyor had a machete and was nice enough to lend it to me.
Oh yeah, and a holster to go with it.
After my arms healed up, I returned to the woods. I was filled with energetic indignation. My resolve to clear that path was so strong I completely ignored the possibility of cutting my own leg open and bleeding to death. I approached the offending area, swinging right and left until I began to feel blisters coming where my hand gripped the knife. When I downed the biggest canes, I had to throw them aside and deal with the thorns again, but I won! The path got cleared. I tied new orange ribbon markers. I felt powerful.
I know this is a weird story, but it’s true, and it’s an example of how anger fuels resolve and can actually be a positive force. There’s a lot of anger out and about these days, and some of it can be used for good. But please notice that not once did I think about burning the forest down. I love the forest and I want to be in it. So do a lot of other people. Now others can go along that path safely with me.
However, if in the future, you’re out hiking in my part of the country, be careful of blackberry thickets which can be deadly. Also, if you see ahead of you an old, bloodied person with a machete, you might want to hang back a little.
Time is a very strange commodity. I always think about this with birthdays and anniversaries, and of course with the turning of the year. When time is gone, it’s really gone and we have no control over its passing. It’s so impersonal. Yet we do have control over what we do with the present moment.
I was thinking about that over the last weekend when my brother posted a writing to all of us siblings. It was about not postponing the things we want to do thinking we will always have time to do them later. Being in your 50’s, 60’s, and yes (gulp) 70’s, we should begin realizing that there’s not a lot of “later” left.
I was especially considering that when I went outside on Friday, New Year’s Day, to take a walk in the snow. It was a perfect snow day. There were a couple of snowmobiles being noisy out in the wetlands. Seeing them zip around made me remember the days when I used to ski, and how much easier that was than plodding around in my boots. I wanted to ski again but wondered whether it was a bit too risky. If I fell and broke something it would really impact others in my life. Recent experience had made that pretty clear.
My skis, my boot, my thumb.
Talking it over with God, in my mind, drew my attention to fear and how it could keep joy away. I’m not sure it was all God’s doing, but I found myself bravely walking into New Moon Ski Shop. It conveniently adjoins our wetland property. More surprisingly I found myself walking out with skis, boots and poles. Three days of skiing have not only been very fun, but I also have not fallen even once. There are no hills to speak of, and the poles are there for balance. It is great exercise and will make my long winter much more bearable. I am so glad I did not leave this for a “later” time that probably wouldn’t have come.
Time is a construct that God understands much better than I do. I believe he wants me to respect and value the time he’s giving me, and he’s not against creative enjoyment of it. I’m so grateful for that. I love the line from the life story of Eric Liddell “I believe God made me for a purpose but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure.” I’m not a world class skier, but I know what it is like to feel God’s pleasure when I’m out on my skis, in his world, being grateful. It is anything but wasted time.
I have written much about the wetland property where I now live in Wisconsin, where I take frequent walks and do my communing with nature and peace of mind. Well, today there was a major change.
The marsh
One of the more prominent areas of our wetland is a huge marsh. It is bordered by higher ground and is composed mainly of cattails, water plants and sometimes water shrubs of some kind. There are usually waterways around the edges and sometimes small bays and extensions. The beaver lodge is in one of the waterways, close to the edge of the marsh.
The snow melt and the recent rains have raised the water level considerably. In some places water has started to cover our paths, and submerge our footbridges. The dams that the beaver have constructed are now completely underwater and I can’t see them. But the most amazing thing is that the marsh migrated last night.
Neighbor’s house and her new open waterway.
My brother got a call from a neighbor on the other side of the marsh. She told him that she suddenly had a beach where the marsh had been – open water. I had to go out and see what had happened. Evidently, wind and rain had done the job of loosening the marsh from the soil underneath and the whole thing moved north and west. The open waterway to the beaver lodge is now closed – it’s the path I took over the ice this winter when I checked on them. And other waterways that were wide, separating us from the marsh, are now narrowed to five or six feet.
The marsh now comes within five or six feet in an area that used to be open.
I wonder how many animals and birds had to re-orient themselves this morning. Nature is ever changing, sometimes delightful, sometimes catastrophic, but changing always.
I Just Have to Say... 