It’s a week later and ….
It’s a week later and I made a decision. I would retrace my weekly tour to see if the Amish grain shocks were still there. Either I didn’t remember which roads I took or the Amish farmers had gotten them threshed. Either way there were no grain shocks, but the drive was still enjoyable.
There is still a lot of haying going on and feed and seed dealers are trimming up the test plots and marking them so people can see how each variety does.
We never grew soybeans when I was growing up, nor did any of our neighbors. From what I see, it is necessary to keep the grasses from growing into the bean fields so farmers keep them well trimmed. In addition, waterways are also trimmed, which really adds to the beauty of scenic drives through the countryside.
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While we are enjoying some really nice summer weather, some parts of the state started to show signs of drought. I would guess our heavier soil and the abundance of rain last summer explains why things look pretty good around here.
I guess the last rain we got was a week or so ago when we also had the thunder and lightning I wrote about last week. I was visiting with Chuck Rueth about the storm. He had a word of warning to the Brandts and Zimmermans who had seen lightning strike their house or close to it.
Among other things, Chuck is caretaker of St. Anthony cemetery, just north of town on K. The same storm produced a strike on a tree in the cemetery, the second time it has been hit. The bark was gone from the first strike, so this time it was just chunks of wood all over the ground. So the word of advice is, yes, lightning can strike more than one time.
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On the 4th of July, I’d written about my experience of meeting daughter Sue, grandson John and his special friend Breanna Emerson at Lake Wazee just east of Black River Falls. It was quite an experience as I’d never visited a 300-footdeep lake at the site of an old iron mine.
Normally I would drive to Holmen to see Sue and Mark, or she would come up and we would have a picnic on my front porch.
I’m not sure when she discovered it, but she had found a wayside park just west of Black River on Highway 54. So she suggested that instead of either of us driving all the way, we should meet half way at that new wayside.
If you have ever gone that way, the location had been a supper club called Rustic Mill. It was destroyed by fire in 2011, which was followed by a lengthy court trial with the former owner being charged with hiring someone to burn it down.
The site was more than just an old supper club/bar, but a grist mill dating back to 1866, called the Charter Oak Mill.
I thought it was probably a Jackson County project, but according to information on the internet it is owned by the Town of Albion. With the former owner in prison, and apparently with no means of paying the back taxes the town was able to claim it for some $19,000. Aided by a grant, they not only bought it, they have developed it into a grand wayside. An old water wheel is still operating and they have restrooms and a beautiful park shelter. That’s where we had our picnic lunch.
They have also built stone steps down to Squaw Creek, which is complete with a waterfall. Along one side of the river bed is some old iron piping, still there from when it was a grist mill.
According to the history written up on internet, the town has plans to develop a display board, which will probably include an old picture of the Charter Oak Mill brand of feed. You can bet Sue and I will be meeting there for lunch again. It saves both of us mileage and time and provides a wonderful scenic resting spot.
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Coming home, I decided to do a little more exploring. I found County Highway F that runs up to Alma Center. It is really scenic as you drive through the bluffs and finally arrive back on flat land.
Then I continued north on F which took me by a big cranberry area, pretty well hidden by manmade hills and just after crossing into Clark County, southwest of Humbird, is a huge sand mining operation, something I never realized we had in the county.
From there I took County B to Neillsville and enjoyed a beautiful ride on a highway just recently re-blacktopped. How’s that for a quiet Sunday morning and afternoon.
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Last week I was telling of having computer problems and losing part of my column. It resulted with a trip to the computer hospital and while some of the problems were fixed, a new one developed. I wasn’t able to send the column to the TRG on Monday. Thankfully, “Angel” Karie Schmidt came to the rescue which resulted in you being able to read my column. Sad to say my list of special class reunion friends and a couple of others I’ve picked up along the way weren’t so lucky. I’m hoping for better results this week.
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There was a little excitement around my house a week ago that I forgot to mention. After my oral surgery, Mark came and stayed a few days. On the last day he was here, he’d gone to Greenwood to hike along the Black River.
About suppertime, he called to see if he could bring me something to eat. I thanked him, but said I’d kind of over did trying to wear my old partial and would just settle for a soup supper again.
When bed time came, I went to bed and assumed he would too. The next thing I remember is Jackie shaking me and telling me she was taking Mark to the emergency room.
In the morning I assumed they had come home and he had stayed with her the rest of the night. Not so. He had just left the ER and was heading for the operating room to have gall bladder surgery. So now it was Mark who needed the special care and apparently he did well and was able to come home Sunday but really not what you’d call “fit as a fiddle”.
It worked out fine as I spent the whole week watching the Democratic Convention. With the virus disrupting things, it was different for sure. I thought the end results were just great and this week it will be interesting to see how the Republicans handle things. Seems to me the only thing their spokesman can come up with is fear and hate.
