Coop's Corner: A Mix Addendum

Sunday, October 19, 2014

A Mix Addendum

That's what I get for putting off my Posting....there were a few more items that were meant to be on yesterday's Post that completely skipped my mind. Here they are......some new content as well. :)

Last weekend our local village hall sponsored a History Day, an event intended to highlight local family stories, a presentation on genealogy, book signings by a local author that has done extensive fact gathering on times and places. Some of our relatives had a booth, many other family members were present to both learn and share more about old events, places and people. Our Florence Town Hall is the oldest, continually used town hall in the state of MN, a very fitting place to hold the event. I bought both books and had them signed by the author. Now another winter project that I'm looking forward to.

As most everyone knows that has spent any time looking at this Blog, much of my riding time is spent in southwestern Wisconsin. There are many areas in that corner of the state that almost feel like a second home to me and if I'm ever looking for one of those, SW WI locations would be at the top of the list. Long ago, some of my first motorcycle exploratory rides were in and around the Kickapoo Valley region of Wisconsin. Not only do I spend time riding there, but I frequently pay attention to that area's history, check the local newspapers on a regular basis and attempt to keep up with trends and happenings. It was through a few of my historical 'questions' and online poking around about some of the valley towns that I stumbled upon Brad's Blog and his discussions about the long and involved story around the La Farge, Wisconsin Dam Project. Flood Control, recreational opportunities, displaced families, eminent domain, "the government", etc. all very much impacted the region's people. The process started many years ago and the effects continue to linger on. Much has been written and documented; Brad's Blog brings the very human side to the story, some other background info here.

For those of my visitors that are in the area, next weekend's Flyway Film Festival (almost right across the river from us) in Pepin and Stockholm, WI is an event that we've never attended but it's on our bucket list for next weekend and if things go as planned, we'll at least be present for a screening or two. I've always heard good things and it really does sound like fun.

Ben and I managed to squeeze one ride in today of the gravel variety. Tomorrow we plan to do the pavement version. We covered my nearly famous "85 miles of gravel" and though there were a few adjustments to the route, the general intent of the ride was accomplished. Road construction and a forced gas stop made us alter the plan just enough to make it fresh.

Minimum Maintenance Road #3 of 4......

Have you ever thought about owning a Triumph Rocket III?? I honestly wasn't that interested myself but I may have to rethink that.......watch this and you'll be rushing (somewhere) to own one.....

Our area is mostly oak, birch and poplar with small pockets of hard maples. We planted a grove of soft maples along the driveway and when we moved to the farm, there was one single hard maple on the back side of the hill. That was harvested a dozen years ago and now the only hard maple on the property is here in our yard.

It was a glorious day here in the valley.......

The driveway pre-drifts of white.

If all goes according to plan, we'll sneak another ride in later today. These days need to be savored.

6 comments:

SonjaMOctober 19, 2014 at 12:42 PM
You really seize the good weather while it lasts. I like the minimum maintenance roads, when dry they might even be Vespa-compatible ;-)
But I sure wish I had a small off road bike to play in the dirt.

Lovely fall colours, this colour variety we don't get in our neck of the woods, so thanks a lot for sharing.
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RichardMOctober 19, 2014 at 1:29 PM
In spite of the wonder weather pictured, it must be snowing for you to be spending time looking for YouTube videos or are you really looking to grow a competitor for the Rocket III?

Nice addendum and I like the look of the "Minimum Maintenance Road".
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VStar LadyOctober 19, 2014 at 8:01 PM
It looked like a glorious day for sure. One hard maple seems so strange when there are so many here. Enjoy the last moments of autumn. (Like Sonja ... I'd so love to have a little sister for the Star for off roading on roads like those.)
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Others say....

"it was auspicious to approach any situation from a deferential, inquisitive place. Conceding that there is much to learn is the best blueprint for discovering something new." ----B. Fuller

The Man straightened stiffly above the block of salt fixed to the stake and looked at the young cattle ringed about him. The pasture was holding out well and the stock was looking good. This bunch would be ready to sell in another month, maybe sooner if the market was right.

A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

"You are Mr. ____". His name sounded strange in her voice, but she went on to tell her own.

"That's what they've called me the last sixty-eight years," he said, looking past her face to the hills fast darkening under a single star. "I reckon the woods are free for those that like to walk there."

The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

Something deeply hidden stirred in him. "There's a stump up there, in the notch of the woods", he said slowly, "that before the timber grew so tall you could stand on it and see all over this country."

He kept still a minute, remembering, then, "I used to stand up there an' look at things, an' wonder how they come to be like they was, an' how the hills was created, an' all the things in Nature.... I told my wife I guessed all the religion I ever had I got standin' on that old stump, a-wonderin'..." He turned his face away from her.

She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold onto them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive. So the question becomes or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? ------- Ben Tyler

We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

"Steamboats are like wedding cakes without the complications...." ----Mark Twain

"It's not about having lots of money, it's about having lots of options......." -----Chris Rock

As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

"I tell the guy's girlfriend that the only difference between the book's main character Phaedrus and myself is that I am neither brilliant, tortured or insane, she looks at my bike and there is an uncomfortable silence." --------ahendepe (a.k.a. Vermin)