Packing for Madison

I'm writing this post early this morning because I know I will be too tired tonight after attending the rally in Madison.

I got up at 4:30 to prepare a fanny pack for my day's adventures.  I will need:

a camera
a small notebook
two pens
three pieces of paper towel (useful for so many things)
driver's license
one credit card
$20
cell phone
one roll of blue painter's tape
aspirin
lip balm
three granola bars in case I don't get any pizza.
bottled water

Finally, a photo of my grandson, to remind me why we are fighting.  Our children deserve good teachers and well stocked libraries.  

Taking Action (corrected)

I went to the library this afternoon and talked to the librarians who are worried about the budget bill proposed for the State of Wisconsin.  The Muehl Public Library could lose half its state funding.  One of the librarians could lose her job.  She doesn't make much money as it is and now this. 

I stopped at city hall and found bad news there, too.  Some of our men from the Department of Public Works could lose their jobs and to make the budget work, we'll probably limit garbage collection and other services.  Recycling could be discontinued, too. 

When I got home I thought about it and decided to finally take action.  I have to drive Heather and Jacynth around on Sunday after church, but tomorrow is mine to do with as I like.  I called around and found out there's a bus leaving for Madison at 9:00 a.m.  I placed my reservation.  Tomorrow I will be demonstrating with the likes of Jim Hightower and Tony Shaloub (Monk) and a parade of farmers in their tractors. 

Librarians and school teachers are heroes and should not be denigrated the way they have been by the Fox broadcasters and people that should know better.  There will be 100,000 of us letting those hard working public servants know how much we love them. 

Looking Forward to Spring

Every spring, usually at the end of March, our first flower blooms on the south side of the house along the exterior basement wall.   It's vinca, or periwinkle, which is an attractive dark green ground cover. By April the blue flowers are all over, but it is that first flower that I crave.

There is snow on the ground right now, but in three weeks, spring will have arrived.

I should survive until then.

Snow and spring to come

Another snowstorm hit Wisconsin last night, so we snuggled in with some good books, fresh baked blueberry muffins, and a cat that alternated laps.

I managed to get out in late afternoon for a final yoga practice with our adored instructor Farah.  She is moving to Boulder, Colorado.  For solace, I know that I will be there in July.  It is my hope that I can join her class there for a mid-tour break.  She does massage therapy as well, so I might schedule a session then.

Meanwhile, we know that the snow will be melting by next week.  Yesterday morning I heard the cardinals doing their territorial call which means they are beginning to nest, a sure sign of spring.  They are a far better indicator of spring than robins, who most years don't have a clue.

So we vegetate and try not to think of the idiot governor who is doing his best to destroy our schools and libraries.  

Touring with Heather and Jacynth

Jacynth and Heather wanted to get an early start because they were to meet somewhere before tonight's concert.  I am only the driver so had no idea where we were going.  We wound up in the countryside south of the little town of Gresham, to meet up with Susan, the Presbyterian pastor who had them do a church service three years ago.  We weren't doing a concert there this year but she still wanted to visit with them.

The family lives in an old log cabin that was moved onto the site log by log.  The interior was completely renovated in a most innovative way.  I wrote for Log Home Design Ideas for seven years and though I've seen many homes, I don't believe I've ever seen a house as charming.  We ate a dinner off a plank table and drank our tea off a wide variety of pottery. The stone fireplace was picture perfect and the wooden floors gleamed.  Tall windows looked out at the snow covered hills.

We talked about Wisconsin politics and reminisced about our good times in the United Kingdom.  We are all world travelers, it seems.

Her husband, Simon Levin, is a world class potter who took us around to see the kilns, his workshops, and his gallery.  We met his three apprentices, each of whom will go out in the world to create more beauty. I couldn't help myself and bought a mug for my morning cappuccino. It will remind me of a pleasant afternoon with pleasant people.

Tonight, we're at the Shawano Public Library.  As they perform before a sizable crowd,  I'm catching up on some of my writing projects.  In another half hour, I'll be back handling the "float" or change as I sell their CDs.

I wonder what adventures we'll have next.

The Cranes are Coming!

Freezing temperatures again tonight and there's yet another blizzard on its way, according to the forecasts, but a sandhill crane has been spotted at the south end of High Cliff State Park on the edge of Lake Winnebago. Spring is on the way.

We never saw cranes when I was a kid.  Neither did we see bald eagles or wild turkeys.  Now they are all over the place thanks to the work of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allied with federal programs and the work of the International Crane Foundation center at Baraboo, Wisconsin.

I'm help by volunteering for the annual Midwest Crane Count.,  I missed two years ago because of eye problems and last year when my knee went out.  Before that I participated for almost two decades.

This year I am in good health so signed up.  On April 16th, I will get up at 4:00 am and be sitting in the middle of a swamp as the sunrise, listening for the cranes' guard calls and the entwining calls that tell us counters that there's been a pairing.  When I first volunteered, those calls were rare, but these days the cranes are everywhere.  They are back big time.

Now we hope for a new call, the "whoop" of the whooping crane.  Maybe some day they will be everywhere as well, provided our elected officials behave themselves and don't sell off habitat.  I worry about that..

The Cranes are Coming!

Freezing temperatures again tonight and there's yet another blizzard on its way, according to the forecasts, but a sandhill crane has been spotted at the south end of High Cliff State Park on the edge of Lake Winnebago. Spring is on the way.

We never saw cranes when I was a kid.  Neither did we see bald eagles or wild turkeys.  Now they are all over the place thanks to the work of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allied with federal programs and the work of the International Crane Foundation center at Baraboo, Wisconsin.

I'm help by volunteering for the annual Midwest Crane Count.,  I missed two years ago because of eye problems and last year when my knee went out.  Before that I participated for almost two decades.  

This year I am in good health so signed up.  On April 16th, I will get up at 4:00 am and be sitting in the middle of a swamp as the sunrise, listening for the cranes' guard calls and the entwining calls that tell us counters that there's been a pairing.  When I first volunteered, those calls were rare, but these days the cranes are everywhere.  They are back big time.

Now we hope for a new call, the "whoop" of the whooping crane.  Maybe some day they will be everywhere as well, provided our elected officials behave themselves and don't sell off habitat.  I worry about that.. 

Lenten music

We're heading into Lent now.  The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is followed by Ash Wednesday and there we are.  This means I must spend some time in the choir library finding music for the season heading to Easter.  We started work on "Stand in Awe" this morning during our before church practice.

We have three choirs in our church.  I direct the chancel choir, which we fondly call the Keystone Choir, because we seem so disorganized as we run around like the Keystone Cops of the silent movies.  Somehow it all works out, mostly because almost everyone reads music. We can change directions easily so we adapt to whatever the pastor throws at us.

The more contemporary group is the Praise and Worship Band.  We sometimes work up anthems together, such as "Washed in the Blood of the Lamb" with antiphonal parts for the two choirs,  Randy on the guitar, Diana on the tambourine, and me on the autoharp.

Amy leads the Sunday School Choir.  She worries about their performances before the congregation but I tell her all that they have to do is be cute, and she says I am probably right.  The little ones suck their thumbs, sit down to examine their underwear, or hug each other.   From time to time, the kids do duets with the chancel choir.  Amy and I think we have found a chorus they can easily remember while the chancel choir sings the verses.

By the time Lent is over, spring will have arrived.  By Memorial Day, I'll be ready for a summer's vacation.