Jerry Apps

Aldo Leopold Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:28:00 +0000

Last Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at the Lake Geneva Library’s Aldo Leopold Celebration. Leopold, who died April 21, 1948, is best known for his book, A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, published after his death in 1949. The library looked out on the lake, a special place for the celebration.

I have an original edition of A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC and read from it often. Fitting for the season, Leopold wrote this about spring: “One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring.”

With Leopold, I look forward each spring to the geese flying high overhead in long V’s as they wing their way to their summer nesting grounds. I enjoy seeing them in the daytime, listening to their calls as their flocks sometimes spread from horizon to horizon. I especially enjoy hearing them on a still spring night, confidently moving north, announcing spring. Sometimes, if the moon is full and the sky is clear, I will see them flying in the moonlight. What a treat it is.

What are your first signs of spring? The return of the sandhill cranes? Bird song in the morning? The blush on a weeping willow tree? Pussy willows in the marshes? Click on comment and let us know.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: To value the land and the natural world demands an appreciation that goes deeper than knowing, deeper even than understanding—to the level that involves not only the head but also the heart.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Oakwood Retirement Center, Madison, April 6, 3:00 p.m. (The Good Old Days?)

Fox Cities Book Festival, April 13, 7:00 p.m., Menasha Public Library. (Blue Shadows Farm and Ames County Novels)

Hatch Public Library, Mauston, April 14, 1:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

Nature Book Bash, Saturday, April 17, 5:00 p.m. Wisconsin Rapids Community Theater at Rapids Mall in Wisconsin Rapids. (Old Farm)

Walworth-Big Foot Prairie Historical Society, banquet, April 22, 6:00 p.m. Walworth. Place to be announced. (One-Room Country Schools)

UW-Madison, Day on Campus: Food Summit, April 23, 2010. Memorial Union. Keynote speaker: 11:00 a.m. George McGovern. 3:00 p.m. A Brief Look at Wisconsin’s Agricultural History (Apps)

Kiel Public Library, April 28, 7:00 p.m. (Ames County Novels, featuring Blue Shadows Farm)

WEAC-Retired, April 30, 10:45-11:45 & 1:10-2:10. Sheraton Madison Hotel. (Stories From the Land)

Discover Wisconsin: March 6-7

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:24:00 +0000

On a warm day last November, a production crew from the TV-Series, “Discover Wisconsin” stopped by my farm for a few hours. They asked me to be part of a program they planned called “Booked into Wisconsin.” (The program will air March 6 & 7 on TV stations throughout the upper Midwest. See the station listing at the end of this blog.)

Program host, Stephanie Klett interviewed me about my Ames County Novels, a series of historical fiction books I have written about the history of agriculture in central Wisconsin. Four novels so far comprise the series, “The Travels of Increase Joseph,” “In a Pickle,” “Blue Shadows Farm,” and soon to be published, “Cranberry Red.” All are published by University of Wisconsin Press and are or will be available in book stores and can be ordered directly from my website.

Here is a brief rundown of each novel:

1. The Travels of Increase Joseph (Time Period: 1850-1900) Published in 2003 & 2010.

The Travels of Increase Joseph tells of the first settlers coming to central Wisconsin in 1852, settling Ames County and naming their village Link Lake. These settlers followed an unusual preacher, Increase Joseph Link, from New York State to Wisconsin. Increase Joseph, tossed out of Harvard College for his liberal thinking, preaches, “The land comes first.” The novel emphasizes the environmental challenges of the time, with many applications to today’s situation.

2. In a Pickle: A Family Farm Story (Time Period: 1955) Published in 2007.

This novel takes place in Ames County in 1955, when nearly every small farmer in the western part of the county grew a small patch of cucumbers. The book focuses on the forces that caused many small family farmers to leave the land.

3. Blue Shadows Farm (Time Period: 1866-present time) Published in 2009.

Blue Shadows Farm follows three generations of the Starkweather family as they try to make a living on a farm in the Link Lake Community of Ames County. It is about connecting to the land both past and present. A contemporary sub-plot concerns environmental education in the schools and the importance of children having first hand contact with nature and the out-of-doors.

4. Cranberry Red (Time Period: the present.) Publication date: Fall 2010.

Isaac Osborne University (a for-profit institution) discovers a new chemical called “Cranberry Red” that promises to drastically improve cranberry growth. It also claims that consuming these treated cranberries will prevent heart disease, reduce brain damage from strokes, and ward off Alzheimer’s. Ben Wesley, the Research Application Specialist for Osborne University, must sell the new substance to cranberry growers in Ames County and other Wisconsin Counties. However, the chemical has not been tested adequately, and Wesley remains apprehensive about promoting the substance since research results seem limited and overstated. While the chemical does all that the University claims it will do, it also creates some disturbing side-affects,

The story focuses on the push and pull of big businesses’ need for fast profit, a community’s need for safety, and how people can be caught in the debate of balancing efficiency with morality.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Great truths are often revealed in fiction.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:00 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

DISCOVER WISCONSIN SCHEDULE: MARCH 6-7

The Discover Wisconsin – America's Dairyland "Booked Into Wisconsin" episode will air throughout the upper Midwest on the following stations during the times noted below:

Wausau WAOW TV 9 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.

Wisconsin (Statewide) FSN - Wisconsin
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block

Baraboo WRPQ TV 43
Saturdays 1:30 PM & Mondays 10:00 PM

Cedar Rapids/Dubuque IA KFXA 28 (FOX)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.

Chicago Comcast SportsNet
Saturdays 10:00 a.m.

Eagle River WYOW TV 34 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.

Eau Claire WQOW TV 18 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.

Green Bay WFRV Ch 5 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 p.m

Hibbing, MN WIRT TV 13 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.

La Crosse WXOW TV 19 (ABC)
Sundays 5:00 p.m.

Madison WKOW TV 27 (ABC)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.

Milwaukee WITI TV 6 (FOX)
Sundays 9:00 a.m.

Minneapolis/MN FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Block

Rochester/Austin FSN - North
Saturdays 10:00 a.m

Rockford WIFR TV 23 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:30 p.m.

Superior/Duluth WDIO TV 10 (ABC)
Sundays 5:30 p.m.

Tomah, WI WIBU - TV
Mondays 5:00 p.m

Upper Michigan - Escanaba, MI WJMN Ch 3 (CBS)
Saturdays 6:00 CST/7:00 EST

Spring in the Air

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:26:00 +0000

I’m sitting by my wood stove, looking out over my snow covered fields and enjoying a cup of coffee. I’ve finished plowing my driveway—it has taken me an hour. The sun is bright, the outside temperature is warm (in the mid-thirties) and the snow is piled high, higher than I remember for most winters. It’s a fine winter day.

But I’ve had enough. I’m ready for spring. I thought I could feel spring in the air while I plowed, maybe I did. But spring is a fickle season. A teasing hussy. One moment she shows a little of herself, then runs away to hide while old man winter once more huffs and puffs and continues to show who is in charge.

I watch a doe deer walk down the hill just beyond the cabin. She appears to have wintered well, so far anyway. She looks toward the cabin, her head high and ears flicking. I’ll bet she’s also looking forward to spring.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Learn how to leave some things alone.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

Cardinal Song

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:22:00 +0000

I heard a cardinal call this morning. The sun was but a hint of red in the east, the wind was down and the temperature hung at zero. The male cardinal sang his song of love on this cold Valentine’s day.

I wait for the cardinal’s song each year, for when I hear it I know we’ve turned the corner on winter and spring hides just around the corner. Well maybe not quite that close.

We’ve had as many as five cardinal pairs at our feeder all winter. Splashes of red against a landscape of white. Now in mid-February, they and I patiently wait for spring. These red birds feel the seasonal change coming and announce it boldly with their calls. Scientists tell us increasing daylight triggers their calling. No matter what causes it, at this time in winter I welcome any hint of spring.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Life is like a river. There are twists and turns, quiet spots and rapids, deep pools and shallow flats. But a river is always moving. Always the same but always different. Like life itself.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

Warm Weather Search

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

We went looking for warmer weather last week. First stop, Tampa, Florida. No warm weather there—temperature barely made it to 50 degrees. Next to Key West, Florida. Fifties there as well. Person at the museum in Key West said it was one of the coldest winters on record. Cold killed many tropical plants.

Next stop Belize—getting warmer. In the 70s. Then to Honduras. Down right hot and muggy. Mid 80s. And finally to Costa Maya, Mexico. High 80s, humidity in the 90s. A reminder of Wisconsin in July. Way too hot.

Back home. Snowing. Twenty-six degrees. Beautiful winter day. At heart we are winter people, although it was fun to walk around with sleeves rolled up and the sun shining hot on our backs for a few days.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Stand in a snowstorm and watch snowflakes accumulate on your sleeve. Each snowflake is different, each one special—a reminder of nature’s creative magnificence.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

Wood Burning Cook Stove

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:24:00 +0000

At my cabin, I cook and heat the place with a wood burning cook stove. It’s a fine old stove, a Home Comfort made by the Wrought Iron Range Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The company made cook stoves from 1864 to 1940. Salesmen sold them all over the country, especially in the Midwest.

I bought the stove in 1970, used of course. Let’s say it was one of the last stoves the company made, in 1940. The stove was but a youngster in 1970, a scant 30 years old. Today, 40 years later, the old stove is a senior citizen. But like a bunch of other 70 year olds I know, it’s going strong. It’s a little rusty here and there—but the grates are fine, the oven works and it burns wood today as well as it ever did.

And what a wonderful heat it provides. Sure, if you are in a hurry to cook something my old stove would probably send you to McDonald’s. But hurry is not what my cabin is about. My cabin is about slowing down—doing slow cooking, sometimes very slow cooking. But I must say, and I know it’s my opinion, homemade soup cooked on a wood burning stove is just about the best thing you could ever put on the table when the snow is piled high and temperature hangs down there around zero. I can smell it now.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Watch the sun set when the temperature is below freezing. The sky is steel blue that turns black as the sun sinks away and the thermometer plummets.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6, 10:30 a.m. (Old Farm and Ames County novels.)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

Walden

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:55:00 +0000

In mid-winter, during a string of cloudy, dreary days, with the snow piled high and the cold lingering on, I like to catch up on my reading. I often turn to the classics that I read many years ago. Henry David Thoreau’s, WALDEN is one of them.

Though his writing is sometimes difficult to grasp, Thoreau’s words, written in 1854, continue to resonate with me: “In Wilderness is the preservation of the world,” he wrote. Those words were important in Thoreau’s day; they are even more important today.

Thoreau lived for a time in a cabin in the woods on Walden Pond and wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

So I sit and read and ponder the layers of meaning in Thoreau’s writing, and their application to today’s frantic world.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen to the views of others, but trust your own as well.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oakwood East Community Center, Madison. Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old
Farm)

UW-Baraboo, “Add Learning to Your Life” workshop for those 55 and older. March 25, 11:30 a.m. (Stories From the Land) Call 608-355-5234 for further information.

Westfield Public Library. March 31, 12:45-1:30. (Ames County Novels)

Ice Skating

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:17:00 +0000

It warmed up this past week. A January thaw. When I was a kid, a January thaw meant ponds forming in the hollows at the farm, places for ice skating.

My two brothers and I each had a pair of clamp-on skates, the kind that you fastened to the bottom of your shoes. We bought them at Hotz Hardware in Wild Rose—50 cents a pair. Only problem with the clamp-on skates—they pulled the heels from your shoes. But that was a small price to pay for the fun we had.

I was not much of an ice-skater. My brother Don got quite good at it. But his twin brother Darrel, well he was a whiz of a skater. He skated forward, he could cross step, he skated backwards, he cross stepped backward. He skated circles around his twin and me.

We skated every day, after we got home from school and finished our chores. We skated until either another big snow buried our ponds, or spring finally arrived and they disappeared. In those days, winter was a time for fun. It still is.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: A good story, even if lacking in facts, can help us to see the truth.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) January 19, noon, Blackhawk Country Club, Madison. (Telling Stories: Why and How?)

Radio interview, January 21, Public Radio, KBRW, Barrow, Alaska. (Story telling)

Oakwood East Community Center, Saturday, February 13, 9:30 a.m. (Three chapters of Delta Kappa Gamma—Educational fraternity) (Stories from the One-Room School)

Eau Claire Farm Show, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, March 3, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. (Stories From The Land)

Aldo Leopold celebration, Lake Geneva Public Library, March 6 (time to be announced). (Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm)

Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center, Madison, WI, Sunday, March 21, 1:30 p.m. (Old Farm)

Snowshoes

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:04:00 +0000

I bought a new pair of snowshoes a couple years ago, the kind with an aluminum frame and plastic webbing to provide support. Not at all like the snowshoes I’ve used for many years. These older ones have ash wood frames and leather mesh—and now hang on my cabin wall for decoration.

The other morning, when the temperature hung near ten degrees, I slipped into my fancy snowshoes and set off up the hill south of the cabin. It’s easy to criticize these new shoe shoes as lacking in good looks, historical foundation, or whatever else might tickle your critical fancy.

But they work and work well. Oh, did I say they weigh about half as much as my older model, and are only about a third as long. Anyone who knows anything about snow shoeing is aware of a lot of foot lifting when moving through deep snow—I appreciate the lighter weight and shorter length.

So I am faced, again, with questions: What of the new, no matter what it is, should I embrace? What of the old should I keep using and what should I set aside?
When it comes to snow shoes I’ve made up my mind.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take time to see the whiteness of fresh fallen snow that sparkles and glimmers and covers the grime and dirt of an earlier day. It’s nature’s way of hiding human clutter.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Winter Quiet

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:28:00 +0000

The temperature slid to eight below zero during the night. Clear sky, no wind, and a bright sun greeted me when I stepped outside the cabin in the morning. Quiet. So quiet, until I began walking and heard the snow creaking loudly as only cold weather snow can.

I walked along my long driveway to the country road that was still ice covered and slippery. The winter sun, slowly sneaking above the horizon far to the southeast cast long shadows on the bluish-white, snow covered fields. The snow sparkled as if someone had scattered tiny little diamonds everywhere.

Arriving at the country road, I heard only the quiet of a cold January morning. I stood for a time listening and feeling the subtle warmth of the winter sun on my face.

On my way back to the cabin, I stopped at the woodshed for an armful of wood, the cabin stove is ever hungry, more so on a below zero morning. Once in the cabin, I poured another cup of coffee and looked out at the diamonds on the snow. A pleasant way to start the day; a restful way to begin the new year.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen for the silence of winter, when the snow buries the land and the cold tightens its grip, turning breath into clouds and thickening ice on the lakes. There is great beauty in silence, something that we have little of these days.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 5. (Note date change)11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Ice Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:53:00 +0000

The years I attended grade school and high school we spent Christmas vacations ice fishing. My brothers, dad and I would finish the morning barns chores and we were off to Mt. Morris Lake, east of Wild Rose a few miles.

We first chopped holes through the ice. Pa’s ice chisel was one that Arnold Christensen, the blacksmith in Wild Rose had made out of a Model T Ford axle. He’d sharpened one end and drilled a hole through the other. Pa pushed a length of leather shoe lace through the hole and tied it in a loop. We were not to use the ice chisel without looping the leather throng over our wrist as we knew of many ice chisels on the bottom of the lake.

Next was to set up our tip-ups, a device that we stuck down in the freshly chopped hole. It contained fish line that would play out if a fish took our bait—we used large minnows for bait. Sometimes other fisherman chided us that if we caught no fish, we could always fry up the minnows. They thought it was a big joke. Pa’s take was the bigger the minnow, the bigger the fish we would catch. The tip-up also had a little flag that would fly up if a fish grabbed the minnow.

With the tip-ups set, we walked to shore, started a little fire and sat watching the tip-ups a hundred yards or so out on the lake through a trickle of wood smoke. Several others fished as well, and we often invited them to join us by our smoky little fire. Each different person meant a new set of stories.

As I look back at those ice fishing years, the stories were nearly as important as the fish we caught. We also caught fish. A bunch of them.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Happy New Year. Every year is a good year, some are just better than others.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Christmas Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Ruth and I attended a Christmas program this week. Kids, mostly little ones, on a little stage reciting their lines, singing songs and reminding me of when I attended country school and we put on a Christmas program the last Friday before Christmas break.

I remember vividly my first Christmas program. I was five years old and in first grade (our school had no kindergarten). My first grade teacher, Theresa Piechowski, was firm but patient with me. She said that everyone in the school from first to eighth graders must “say their piece.” Meaning we had to memorize a little ditty about the Holiday season, stand on the makeshift stage in the front of the school and say what we’d been instructed to say.

I informed Miss Piechowski that I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to do this. She would have none of it. I was to stand on stage and say my piece and that was that.

When she noted how worried I looked, she took me aside and in a near whisper said, “I have a secret for speaking in front of a crowd.”

I was all ears. “When you stand on that stage,” she motioned to the rickety set of planks strung across some sawhorses. “You stand up straight. Take your hands out of your pockets, and talk with a loud, clear voice.”

So what was so secret about that, I wondered. But then she continued. “Do you see the damper on the stove pipe?” She was pointing to the woodstove that stood in the back of the school room.

“I see the damper,” I said, wondering when she was going to get around to telling me her secret for speaking to a group of relatives, neighbors and schoolmates who were as likely to stick their tongues out at me as cross their eyes when I stood on the stage.

“When you stand on the stage and begin talking, look at the damper. People will think you’re looking right at them, but you hardly will see them at all. And you’ll have no problems.’

Miss Piechowski was right. Today, when I speak to a group and I do often, I stare at some spot in the back of the room and all goes well. It’s my Christmas gift to all of you who have dry mouth and empty brains when called on to speak.

Merry Christmas.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: First things first, but not necessarily in that order.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Blizzard

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:29:00 +0000

The news people called it the biggest snowstorm since 1990. Fifteen inches and more in much of Wisconsin with wind to move it around, especially in rural areas. Shopping centers closed, colleges and universities shutdown, schools closed.

When I attended a country school, it never closed. Drifted roads, frigid temperatures, ice, electricity out—the school remained open. For the eight-years that I attended Chain O’ Lake School in the Town of Rose, Waushara County, I don’t recall a single day that it closed. Of course we all walked, some kids more than two miles one-way. During my early school years, the school didn’t have electricity, so a power outage somewhere didn’t matter. We did our lessons huddled around a big old rusty wood burning stove. If a blizzard raged during the day, the teacher might close things down a couple hours early so we could mush our way home before dark.

Big snowstorms made for good stories and fond memories—mostly. The down side was shoveling paths. Paths to the barn, to the granary, to the pump house, to the corn crib, to the straw stack, to the chicken house, to the woodshed, and of course to the outhouse for no one in our neighborhood had indoor plumbing in those days.

With the shoveling finished, out came the sleds and the skis. The fun side of winter. My grandfather made my first skis from birch wood. He steamed the wood so the ends turned up. But alas, he didn’t know how to make grooves in the bottom of the skis so I slid side-ways as often as I went forward down a hill. But great fun it was.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Enjoy the snow and pity those living in the southern climes who can’t look out a window and see the beauty of winter

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider my books, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

First Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:59:00 +0000

It began with a few scattered flakes flying on a brisk northwest wind. Nothing to worry about the weather bureau said. No accumulation.

More snow by mid-afternoon, and a lot more snow by evening. Winter had arrived to cover up autumn, to leave behind a season and usher in a new one. A drab world of browns and grays turned to glimmering white.

For those who enjoy winter—a few of us sturdy souls remain—it is a time for rejoicing.

Time to look for snowshoes and cross country skis.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Words that you most likely hear are those spoken softly and not yelled.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, AND OLD FARM. See my website for details about these books. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Giving Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:53:00 +0000

This past week was devoted to giving thanks, for setting aside the problems and turmoil, the frets and fusses of life to think of the good and the important. The enduring and the meaningful.

For me the week focused on family gathered around a Thanksgiving table, brothers and their wives, children and their children, stories shared of earlier days, memories of those no longer with us. Giggles and laughter from the younger generation who have heard the stories already several times, and who vow to never repeat them. But they will, for it is the stories that tie families together. That keep the generations connected.

And of course there was feasting. But Thanksgiving celebrations are more than turkey and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and dressing, dill pickles and mashed potatoes with Paul’s special gravy—although it is food that brings us all together.

Thanksgiving is for giving thanks—and for remembering. For once again being reminded of the importance of family.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Family comes first. Before work. Ahead of play. Beyond everything that may look so important at the time.

WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: Consider BLUE SHADOWS FARM, IN A PICKLE, and OLD FARM. See my website for details about these books. Available in most book shops. Can also be ordered from my website.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Deer Hunting 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:44:00 +0000

I’m going deer hunting on Saturday morning. Haven’t missed a deer season since I was twelve years old, and that goes back to a time when we wore red coats rather than blaze orange. I hunted with my dad back then, and walked miles from farm to farm—no trespassing signs in those days. Not many deer either.

People say to me, “You still go deer hunting?”

“Yup,” I answer with a smile. And they look at me like I’ve lost a marble or two.

“Why do you do it?” they ask. My cynical answer is because I still can. But the reasons are more complicated than that. I hunt deer because my family has hunted for generations. My dad still hunted when he was 92. Deer hunting season is when I see my brother, and my three nephews, who all hunt. My son has hunted with me since he was twelve.

And it’s one more opportunity to be outdoors, in the quiet of a late November morning when the countryside is saying goodbye to fall and waiting for winter. The smells and sounds of fall are all around when I sit on the edge of a field on the back end of my farm.

Oh, I still enjoy a slice of venison sausage. Nothing better, especially if it’s home grown.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: There are no shortcuts to important places.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Sheboygan County Research Center

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:41:00 +0000

History is alive in Sheboygan County,Wisconsin. Much of the interest and excitement is due to the Sheboygan County Research Center in Sheboygan Falls. With the leadership of Beth Dippel, Executive Director, her staff and a host of volunteers the center has carved out an impressive place in preserving and sharing the area’s history.

“Second Saturdays” is what they’ve labeled Saturday morning programs that start in September and continue through May. The 2009-1010 program topics range from Windmills to Wisconsin’s Champion Trees, from Wisconsin wine-making history to the history of deer hunting in Wisconsin.

I was privileged to talk with more than 100 people who crowded into the basement meeting room of the Sheboygan Falls Public Library as part of the Second Saturday series. I shared a bit from my novel, BLUE SHADOWS FARM. Why and how I write historical fiction, and the importance of stories in keeping history alive and interesting.

I was speaking to the choir. This group knows about the importance of history in the lives of people. I applaud the Research Center, its staff and volunteers such as Marge Pearce, who runs the Saturday programs, for their efforts in keeping history alive, vibrant, and interesting. They also serve a good cup of coffee. Go to www.schrc.org for more information about the center.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Learn from many; be taught by all.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

January 4, 11:45-12:30. Wisconsin Public Radio, Ideas Network. Telling Wisconsin Stories. (With Larry Meiller)

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.

Dyersville, IA

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:48:00 +0000

They came from throughout the United States to little Dyersville, Iowa this past weekend, to the National Farm Toy Collectors Convention. Farmers and their sons and daughters. Grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Babes in arm, in strollers and hanging on the big hands of their farmer fathers. Little kids and big kids (some in their 70s and 80s). All interested in toys, mostly tractors, but trucks and plows and combines—John Deere and IHC, Oliver and Massey-Harris, Allis Chalmers and Ford, and others too.

Buying collectibles, meeting old friends, and swapping stories—oh the stories. Stories from the country. Stories of corn that can’t be harvested because it’s too wet. Stories of milk prices that are too low. Stories of illness and hardship. Stories of a year ago, and many years ago.

Caps and sweatshirts that advertise something, or make a statement. Especially John Deere Caps. John Deere caps everywhere, sprinkled among the IHC caps, and even one lonely Oliver cap. And a favorite gray sweatshirt with but one word in large script across the front “Useless.” I asked the fellow wearing the shirt if it was true. He gave me a big smile. His wife gave me an even bigger smile—I assumed it was his wife.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: It isn’t how many times you fall down that makes a difference; it’s how many times you get back up.

COMING EVENTS:

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

December 7, 1:00 p.m. Sugar Creek Camp, Ferryville, WI. Stories From the Land.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

Wood Splitter

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:26:00 +0000

My son, Steve, whose day job is photographer for the Wisconsin State Journal, has been my wood splitter for a decade or so. We heat our cabin at the farm with wood stoves, very hungry wood stoves, so each fall we cut down several dead oaks, sometimes a cherry tree, and make wood. Steve splits the chain-sawed blocks into stove friendly sizes.

One has to learn how to “read” a block of wood before splitting it—the direction of the grain, the location of knots. Some blocks are easily split, others less so. Same for understanding people according to Steve. Some people are easy to read, others all knotted and twisted and difficult to deal with.

Earlier this year Steve had surgery on his back—more to do with carrying heavy photo equipment for many years than splitting wood. But no more wood splitting, said his surgeon.

My brother, Don bought a mechanical wood splitter a couple years ago and named it Steve 1. Steve had developed a reputation for wood splitting, you see. Now I have Steve 2, a new mechanical wood-splitter sitting in my shed. An efficient, quiet, non-complaining piece of equipment. A mechanical Steve, but alas, no words of philosophy comparing wood pieces to people and more. A step backward as I try to move forward.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: You cannot know where you are going until you know where you are.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

No Place Like Home

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:44:00 +0000

A reviewer for my new novel, Blue Shadows Farm, wrote, “When a family lives on a place for a hundred years that place becomes a part of the family.” How true it is. Place becomes integral to the people who live there, it provides security, offers peace and contentment—place becomes home.

For several decades the citizens of the U.S. were viewed as a nomadic people. This is not as true anymore. An October19th NEWSWEEK article titled “There’s no place like home” makes the point. Less people are moving these days. More are staying put, living out their lives in their home communities.

The article points out that retired people are choosing to stay close to family, churches, friends and familiar surroundings rather than pack up and move to the sunbelt. And those in the corporate world often chose family over another move up the corporate ladder, which usually requires changing locations. For an increasing number of workers, family nearby is more important than a promotion. Of course technology and the ability to work at home have made it easier for some people to keep their jobs and not move.

Is this a new trend? Staying at home? Developing a love for place?

Place has always been important in my family. The longer we’ve lived at a place and the more we know about its history and stories, the more likely we are to appreciate and take care of it. It seems many others are thinking the same way.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Be careful of the past, it always looks better than it was.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Featuring Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

December 12, 10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Fireside Books, West Bend, WI. Book signing. Presentation at 10:30 a.m. Blue Shadows Farm.

Story Writing Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:52:00 +0000

They came from Rice Lake and West Bend, from Prairie du Sac and Green Bay, from Westby and Bailey’s Harbor, from Baraboo and McFarland, from Sturgeon Bay and Niles, Illinois. They traveled to The Clearing in Door County, to a place where nature was showing off its autumn finery—crimson red maples, strikingly yellow birches, and a sky bluer than the waters of Green Bay. Seventeen people.

They attended a Saturday workshop to write their stories, to scribble down their memories to be shared with loved ones, with children and grandchildren, with spouses, siblings and cousins, with those interested in another view of history, a personal view.

They wrote their stories, as many as one could in the few available hours, and they shared them with each other. At times laughter filled the room. And then quiet, as sad stories were shared, heart wrenching stories of an earlier day, but still vivid in memories.

Their common bond: the importance of the story. A way to share what being human means. A way to have fun, a way to pass on history, a way to tie generations together. A way to remember that through story we remember who we are.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Each of us has a responsibility to share a bit of our life story with those who follow.

MAJOR EVENTS TO NOTE:

Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. Official Book Launch, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m. Wild Rose Library. Book Launch, Central Wisconsin, Blue Shadows Farm

NEW REVIEW FOR BLUE SHADOWS FARM:

An intriguing and entertaining tale, October 15, 2009
By: Midwest Book Review

When a family stays in one place for a century, that place becomes a member of the family. "Blue Shadows Farm" is a novel taking place over a century as three generations of Starkweathers care for a farm and face their own challenges. A small area in Wisconsin, Silas comes to found the farm in the mid nineteenth century. His son Abe finds himself bootlegging to keep the bills paid during prohibition, and Abe's daughter is challenged with its sale. Bouncing between the perspectives of the three protagonists, "Blue Shadows Farm" paints a vivid picture of the history of rural America, making for one intriguing and entertaining tale.

ADDITIONAL COMING EVENTS:

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Featuring Old Farm and Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

Killing Frost

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:45:00 +0000

The hand of winter came down from the north and snuffed the life out of all susceptible plants this past week. The first killing frost arrived in southern Wisconsin. And right on time, too. In southern Wisconsin, over the past years, the first killing frost is expected during the week of October 4-10. It’s a two to three weeks earlier in the north and central parts of the state.

The first killing frost marks the end of the growing seasons, a true marker for the beginning of fall. For those of us who grow things, it is a time to reflect on the harvest, to think about what crops did well and which didn’t. And to make a note or two about what we should do differently next year—which vegetable varieties to avoid, what new arrangement of crops in the garden should we consider, and which problems we faced that we can solve better next year (the invasion of bunnies in the bean patch).

Fall is a time for celebration. Even the trees in my woodlot are celebrating with color everywhere—greens, deep reds, yellows, browns, and tans.

And fall is a time for slowing down.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take time to dream. Dream about what might be, what will never be, and what shouldn’t be. Too much doing with too little dreaming leads to boredom.

NEW NOVEL, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, NOW AVAILABLE: Check my website, www.jerryapps.com, for further information.

In Blue Shadows Farm, “You learn about threshing before combines dominated the activity. You learn about small town life from 1860-2000—the taverns, the churches, the mercantile, the dance pavilion, the gossips, the hired man, the intrusion of folks from the Big City who try to impose their wishes on the localities that time forgot—the Big Cities too often win.” Dave Woods. Review in the Red Wing Republican Eagle, Red Wing, Minnesota.

Check my schedule below for book signings and presentations.

COMING EVENTS:
Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m. Reader’s Loft, Green Bay, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. Official Book Launch, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m. Wild Rose Library. Book Launch, Central Wisconsin, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

Story-Telling

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:51:00 +0000

We all have stories to tell. Of our childhood years, first jobs, military service, life changing events and never told secrets. But often we don’t take time to record them, to share them with our children and grandchildren, to recall for ourselves what we have done and what we have left undone.

A few years ago I attended a workshop in New York City and had an opportunity to speak to United Nations delegates about the importance of stories in the lives of people.When I finished, several African delegates spoke to me. One woman said, “We know the importance of stories in our culture and in our country.”

I replied that I was well aware of that, for I had long known about countries where story-telling is embedded in their culture. But then she said something I’ve never forgotten. With a quiet voice she said, “In your country, you have allowed others to tell your stories for you.” She was referring to movies and television.

No one can tell your story for you. You must do it yourself, and it’s important that you do. So take a few minutes now and again, and write down some of your memories. Get down your stories for your own sake and for the sake of those who follow you.

On Tuesday, October 6, 11:00 a.m. I will be discussing story-telling on Wisconsin Public Radio—the Larry Meiller show.

On Saturday, October 17, (9-4:00) I am teaching a one-day workshop on story-writing at The Clearing in Door County. Contact http://www.theclearing.org.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When we forget our stories, we forget who we are.

NEW NOVEL, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, NOW AVAILABLE: Check my website for further information. Check my schedule below for book signings and presentations.

COMING EVENTS:
Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m. Monona Historical Society, Monona, Iowa, The Lighter Side of Country Living, including Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m. Reader’s Loft, Green Bay, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. Official Book Launch, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m. Wild Rose Library. Book Launch, Central Wisconsin, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

November 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls Library. Blue Shadows Farm.

Garden Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I put my garden to bed for the winter this past week. I dug the potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and rutabagas. I gathered up the remaining pumpkins and squash. I picked the ornamental corn and cut the tops from the broom corn and the sorghum. I cut a plump head of red cabbage, picked several zucchini and a couple stalks of Brussels sprouts. I picked another half bushel of tomatoes, the last of a slow tomato season. And finally, I harvested my several rows of navy beans. In spite of the bunny problems in early season, the beans did well.

As I do every fall, I thought about my garden successes and failures. A good pumpkin year, an average potato crop, a poor crop of squash, an excellent sweet corn harvest, an average pea harvest, a good zucchini crop and outstanding carrots. But alas, the beets and the rutabagas were near crop failures.

Gardening is a lot like life, each year is filled with surprises, some successes, some failures but always different. What will next year bring? In a few months I’ll be making plans.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: In any journey, it’s important to stop from time to time and be thankful for the distance you’ve covered.

NEW NOVEL, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, NOW AVAILABLE: Check my website for further information. Check my schedule below for book signings and presentations.

COMING EVENTS:
Oct. 1, 7:00 p.m. Chippewa Falls Library, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m. Monona Historical Society, Monona, Iowa, The Lighter Side of Country Living, including Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m. Reader’s Loft, Green Bay, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 17, (9 to 4) Writing From Your Life Workshop. The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. (Still room for additional participants. Contact http://www.theclearing.org.)

Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. Official Book Launch, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m. Wild Rose Library. Book Launch, Central Wisconsin, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles

Pumpkins Big and Little

noreply@blogger.com (Jerry Apps) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:22:00 +0000

This was the year of the pumpkin in my garden. Big ones and little ones, both kinds perfectly formed. The little ones not much larger than a chicken egg. The big ones—well two of them made a wheelbarrow load.

The two varieties grew in the same row; the big ones didn’t bother the little ones or try to do them in. The little ones didn’t seem to mind that they were little. Big and little growing side by side, each doing the best it could. And each succeeding. A lesson here for the rest of us?

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Bigger is not better. Nor is little better. There should be room for us all.

NEW NOVEL, BLUE SHADOWS FARM, NOW AVAILABLE: Check my website for further information. Check my schedule below for book signings and presentations.

Reviewer Christine Eirschele wrote: “A thread of determination is spun throughout the story of Blue Shadow Farms. While this tale begins with Silas, it is the women that emerge as the toughest characters, beginning with Sophia Reinert and ending with Emma Starkweather. It is not until 2000, when Emma uses Silas’s plan to ensure the survival of the farm, continuing the real importance Silas learned so long ago, saving the land.” See entire review at Suite 101.com.

COMING EVENTS:
Sept. 21, 7:00 p.m. Sequoya Library, Madison. Ames County Novels presentation

Sept. 24-25, Midwest Book Sellers Convention, St. Paul, MN.

Oct. 1, 7:00 p.m. Chippewa Falls Library, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m. Monona Historical Society, Monona, Iowa, The Lighter Side of Country Living, including Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m. Reader’s Loft, Green Bay, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 17, (9 to 4) Writing From Your Life Workshop. The Clearing, Ellison Bay, WI. (Still room for additional participants. Contact http://www.theclearing.org.)

Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. Official Book Launch, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m. Patterson Memorial Library, Wild Rose. Book Launch, Central Wisconsin, Blue Shadows Farm

Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m. Elkhorn Library. Blue Shadows Farm

Nov 6-8: National Farm Toy Show, Dyersville, Iowa. Book signing: Blue Shadows Farm and other titles