Serit arbores qvœ alteri secvlo prosint.*
There is no other reason to do what we do.
Wisconsin
Posts about Wisconsin.
Ok, Cut The Comedy*
After this past Spring I decided that I was going to have the Summer off.
But like a late night infommercial: THAT ISN’T ALL! THERE’S MORE!
See, I have had a full-time job since 14 legally and a little before that in reality. I have (had at this point) never had a Summer off. Never. Add to that that my best friend died and you get a really good recipe for needing to forgo responsibility for a while.
So this was going to be not only my Summer vacation, but I was going to spend most of it in a bottle. Yes, that’s right. I am an adult and have no work for three months, so… A Summer of near-constant drinking regardless of the time of day seemed like a GREAT idea. I had never done that. I had always been too busy and had too many responsibilities.
So I tried. Believe me, I tried. My friend Carrie called it a “forgotten Summer” when I told her what I planned to do. The thing is (and this is why I don’t drink in my regular life as a rule) I have such a high tolerance that I have never blacked out or forgotten anything because of booze. I may may terrible decisions, I may overreact to things, the hangovers may be unbelievable, but I remember every second of it.
So I have been walking around with beer in styrofoam cups (don’t worry, I don’t drive) drinking publicly for three months, feeling like I have been getting away with something and then drinking Cabernet or Burgundy from 4 p.m on and settling in with a nice Port before bed.
And now it needs to come to an end. Luckily I am actually looking forward to it. But it can’t go on.
After all, We aren’t in Wisconsin, dear.
*My mother’s catchphrase when we were supposed to go to bed and wanted to stay up and play and act like idiots.
Agriculture Blog Is Up And Running
Just finished setting up the Agriculture blog I have been wanting to get going for a while now: Rural Pursuits. You can click on the link or go to http://blog.tchad.ag.
Overall, I am happy with it. It does need just a little tweaking, but it is there. I have tons of things in the pipeline that I am writing – everything from Hedge Apples to Horses.
Ok, getting called away for real work now. Stay tuned.
R.I.P. Homie, R.I.P.
One of the dogs up at Getaway Farms died today.
Homer was one of those good old mixed breed 14 year old dogs that every farm needs.
This Summer Cyndi decided was going to be the “Summer of Homie”. She didn’t put any restrictions on him and let him do his thing. Luckily he went before the cold set in and the ground froze solid. It sounds morbid, but you have to think about these kinds of things when you are in zone 4.
RIP Homer.
I Am… SUPERMAN!
I have a Superpower. I don’t talk about it much in the city because I don’t get to use it very much in town.
But it really is a Superpower.
I have no dermatological response to this:
Nah-Nah-Na-Na-Nah
That, my friends, is Poison Oak and Poison Ivy. Plants I am not allergic to. It may not seem like much to brag about, but when you are in the woods with people who are allergic to it (and most people are, I have found) you may as well be bullet-proof and trying to catch rounds coming from the end of a 357. The reactions you get are the same.
So while anyone with me cowers and covers and runs from anything vaguely vine-y with three to five leaves, I am swinging from vines that would make them turn into oozing pustules of despair and regret.
Chiggers, on the other hand, are my kryptonite.
I’ve… Been Working On The Railroad…
Pretty soon the website for Rural Pursuits will be up and running, but in the meantime, I am helping my friend’s sister around her place.
Getaway farms is a great place that Greg’s sister runs by herself. Try managing 15 acres, 7 horses, a huge barn and a track and see how far behind you get.
One of the jobs we tackled yesterday was getting old railroad ties up and out of the ground in a corner of the yard that used to be garden and grading it back into lawn.
There were 15 of these damn things!
Here is the thing: When you tell me there is work to be done, I turn into a Real German®. Not the happy lederhosen wearing beer drinking German that you see at the Bierstube, but a hardcore task master that stays on task and WILL complete the job.
We were laughing together as we dug out chinese elms and maple trees. There was a little whining halfway through, but we powered through. At one point, she was ready to give up and go eat. I said: “Let’s finish this and then we can eat. Let’s power through. We get no comfort until the work is DONE!” To which she replied: “OK! OK! I know what happens to us Poles when we get under the thumb of a German!”
So the day went well – we worked in really humid windless conditions, changing clothes 2x because we couldn’t stay cool or dry, but we. got. it. done.
Needless to say, I don’t normally look like this after a day of work:
Done.
Gaul Reiten V. Riding Gauls
As I was riding today, I remembered part of an old WWII era joke I heard one of the old men at the VFW tell.
I always understood the German for horse as Pferd. I was doing something online and came across Gaul as an alternative.
And all of the sudden the half-remembered punchline of this forgotten joke made sense. It had to do with riding a Gaul (Frenchie) as if she were a Gaul (horse).
And there you have it. A joke I don’t really remember that I just figured out after a 20 year comic pause.
Reite Das Pferd /Nicht/ Das Pferd Wird Von Mir Geritten
I rode again today for the first time in a while…
Here we go!
My horse was Kayla, a chestnut Quarter Horse with (what seemed like) an even disposition. Even until we got out on the track, that is. She was pulling me this way and that and then started cantering to the barn.
View to the North as I got dragged along the track.
We eventually came to an understanding, but not before a couple of scares. Once we began to understand each other, we really had a nice time.
Riding in the practice field.
Like Cyndi was saying: Horses just want a leader. The herd mentality is strong and they need that direction. If they don’t get it, they assume it for themselves.
Out of the Gate!
So we rode for a while in the heat and it was really nice.
A lot of the time I will talk to myself in a kind of broken piginy German. In this case, I kept repeating “Reite Das Pferd! Nichts Das Pferd Wird Von Mir Geritten!” A real German would laugh at that, I think… They would rather see something like: “Gerittente Pferd” or something, but whatever. I use the word Tagleuchter too, so what do you want?
I know what you want. You want more pictures from Getaway Farms.
Well, here you go:
Just FYI For Your Next Trip To Wisconsin
These people can DRINK.
I mean they DRINK.
For real. I grew up with rabid teetotalers on one side and just as rabid alcoholics on the other* and have NEVER seen this much booze consumed.
So prep your liver before you come, cause they start early and run late.
*Why yes, extended family gatherings were very interesting, thank you.