Coop's Corner: Almost July 4

Monday, July 3, 2017

Almost July 4 - 2017

Five Days!!!

I don't go back to work until Wednesday and the goal is to reach a fine balance between work and play. Of course in this case, balance means a heavy bias towards riding.

Thursday evening, dinner in Pepin and pie in Nelson. I sort of made up my mind that it would be a Helix weekend; a couple of the other machines are being prepped for upcoming rallies/rides. Late Saturday evening, Eric's email really threw a klinker into my Helix-only weekend but I won't really hold that against him.....he simply didn't know but more on that in a bit.

Speaking of pie, our cherry tree is turning very red and I'm not the only one that notices. Typically the evening before harvest, the raccoons sneak in and not only clean out the trees, but the little fatties break too many fragile branches as they glutton themselves. To that end, Thursday evening was electric fence time. We'll see......

Friday was work day, though I did sneak in an errand and shopping trip in on the Helix. Lawn mowing, packing for the next rally, chores, things that needed to be done in lieu of my getting them done over the upcoming weekends when.......I'll be away. :)

Saw this big critter out of the corner of my eye while mowing. My DNR Lizard and Reptile Guide says Fox Snake. This one just over 50" if my pacing was correct.

I had a fish fry ride on the Helix planned when Peg suddenly declared that it would be a Mexican evening in Lake City which was just fine by me.

Saturday morning, it was an up and going early morning again, me Minneapolis bound in the van for coffee and some errands. One of the errands was to drop off my Royal Enfield wheel to have a new tire installed, which Marty did on the spot. A new chain and headlight bulb, all in stock so that I'll have the rig all set for this coming weekend's Iowa Moto Guzzi Rally, my first rally with the sidecar unit. Things went so quickly at GoMoto, Marty that efficient that I was out of there and on my way home by mid-morning. The trailer needs some new tires (or will to get to WY and back) so I dealt with that on my way home.

Before the official noon hour, I was on the Helix and headed to Wisconsin. First stop, Nelson Cheese Factory for a Mr. T sandwich, no ice cream. A glorious day, weather perfect, the yellow scooter once again affirming its worth in the lineup.

Eric emailed in the evening, wondering about what I might suggest as a Sunday morning breakfast destination. As I later explained to him, I did a "windshield wiper thing", looking for something new half way between us and not directly on the vector from his home to mine. Sure, I could have told him where to go but how much better it would be if I met him there and showed him??

In multitasking mode, I emailed Dave, wondering if a certain Minimum Maintenance road near Rollingstone, MN was still open. Dave's quick response closed the deal all that much faster. Within 15 minutes I had a Route planned, an ETA to meet at Bonnie Rae's and a legitimate reason to break ranks with my "Helix Weekend".......and as mentioned above, can't fault Eric, he had no way of knowing this weekend's rules.

Zumbro Bottoms......deluxe camping and riding for the equine folks. We stayed in the shadows.

Home in the afternoon, mowing weeds, trimming trees and then a bit of troubleshooting on the old Ford 9N that quit mid-mow.

This morning I was out in the garage just after sunrise getting the Royal Enfield ship shape for next weekend.

A test ride into town to get some Ford tractor repair parts, a slightly longer way home and more time out in the garage. I managed to clean a couple of bikes, at least the big accumulated chunks are off.

About the warmest time of day, I decided that it was now or never for cherry harvest.

A pie and jams are being prepared as I type, quite possibly some of it consumed tomorrow?? A break of dawn ride on the Helix is planned. We'll be off to the Cannon Valley Fair later on, the harness racing, some grilling outside in the evening and fireworks in Lake City.

Wishing everyone a grand and safe July 4th Holiday!

8 comments:

EricJuly 4, 2017 at 5:13 AM
Happy 4th of July! See you in Iowa my friend
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redlegsridesJuly 4, 2017 at 9:29 AM
Happy Fourth of July!
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TrobairitzJuly 4, 2017 at 1:36 PM
Agin with the pie pictures? I always get hungry reading your posts. Happy 4th Doug!
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Speed BumpJuly 9, 2017 at 8:07 PM
Love the pictures of your bowl of cherries...so what is in Mt. T sandwhich? Enjoyed the picture of the pie...your posts are fun & interesting to read.

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UnknownJuly 21, 2018 at 7:40 PM
My friend Ray Platek mentioned he met a Himalayan fan recently. I received mine in early June and have been having a great time on it. We own a dirt bike school and will occasionally let students try it out for size. I'll be following your blog and see what adventures you get into on it. I have 1200 miles on mine so far and splt time with my 650 Versys and my other dual-sport and dirt bikes (WR250R, KTM520exc, KTM450exc, KDX200, XR200R, CRF230F,etc.)www.wisconsinoffroadadventures.com
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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)