Sunday, July 31, 2022

Gardens...Theirs And Ours - 2022/07/29

It's that time of year again, the last weekend in July is the Little Log House Show and I was there on Friday the 29th, opening day, bright and early.  Here's their nice map of the grounds....and you really should dig into their history to understand how and why the grounds are the way they are.  Besides the annual event in July, various clubs hold events on the site, the venue also the location for many weddings and family gatherings.

And my first view out of the car....rows of cars just getting started to line up in the hay field to the north.

I arrived just before 8am and didn't leave until awhile after 1pm.  Yes, it was a cooler, pleasant, bluebird day!  I go to look at old STUFF, the agricultural equipment is what I'm most interested in.  Besides the farm equipment, there are hit-and-miss engines, antiques, junk in the flea market sections and lots of so on.  It also includes many old buildings, moved to the site over time, including structures, windmills, entire diners, church steeples and pretty much more on and on.  Each year, a different brand of tractor is highlighted, this year it was John Deere though many if not most of the other brands were represented in numbers small or large.

I'll have more bits and bobs of my morning exploring the grounds to include in the next Post.  But in this one, I'm going to highlight Mrs. Bauer's gardens.  As an official Master Gardener, she's put together a beautiful and peaceful area of color that centers around the first structure on the grounds, the Little Log House.

I don't know anything about the plants in the garden, only that it's a very peacefully pretty walk-through, even with the hordes.

The garden video is here.... 


 As far as our garden goes, we've been picking and pickling, Peg's processing progressing and productive.


We've tried cabbage before, woeful failures.  These turned out Really well!

Our first carrot, the last of the kohlrabi and our 4 cabbages.

My job....

Peg's job.  We mix up a brine, cover the slaw with it, then cover the mix with the outside leaves and then the glass weight goes on top to compress the product.  The crock cover gets placed and then the moat is filled with water to allow the fermentation gas to escape but no bad Coop bacteria to enter.  Our first mix was Standard, today's batch is Caraway. Yesterday's and today's batches are already Blooping their little hearts out.


Our fist melon, almost but not quite ripe.  Apparently the raccoons love them the day before they're ripe.

Peg and I did some more paddling...

There was another early park breakfast...


Eric and I had a proper 2 hour breakfast to get caught up...a lot has happened.

It won't be long before the Little Log House Pioneer Show Post is ready.  It will be next, do not worry.

And finally, The Big Cow.....moo Bossie....


Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Long Weekend Northern Wisconsin - 2022/07/25

Another great weekend in northern Wisconsin.  I left Thursday after work for Perch Lake north of Drummond, found a very quiet campground that remained that way for the weekend.

Bike and van loaded, starting for home....at the end of my adventure.

 
Where the 399.9 took me....

 
The beginning of the adventure, same campsite that I stayed in back in early November 2020.



Friday morning in a nicely quiet campground.


I overheard the cook asking one of her regular's if he'd be going to the Blueberry Festival in Ironwood.

It took no time to decide that I WOULD be going to the Blueberry Festival in Ironwood...

My plate was soon clean....this Dutch pancake something new for me from the Delta Diner.

 
The Russian Orthodox church next to where Peg's dad grew up in Cornucopia.
 


 
The bear hunters were out...scouting?

 
Berry Hunters shirley....


Guys, I'm really hoping that our paths cross again, our conversation(s) there in Corny were delightful....I'd like another session! Hope your daughter has nothing but fun on her new RE Classic 350!


A group of kayakers, I believe a class.

Not sure if this is a farm truck....but it's a farm truck.



 
Fresh and cold from the artesian well in Corny.





Bark Point boat launch...

 

 
We're really looking forward to being back here in September!



Almost 2 cups worth in 45 minutes maybe?  Don't even ask me where, a Berry Hunter's Secret!!

Soft, glowing grass...

Microwavable mashed and bacon-wrapped pork cutlets.  My refrigerator pickles had already been consumed.

 
Breakfast time the next morning....
 

Pest control....amazingly effective!

 
Told you I'd be there...


 
Been a long time since I'd been to a Tractor Pull.  Sanctioned classes, 4-12 year olds, boys and girls with both State and National runoffs too.  Who knew?!



 
The top 4 places in each class, boys and girls, qualified to Pull at the State Championship in Menomonie later this year.


After the smaller people pulled, the bigger people made the effort....with a $$ contribution to the local Lions group.  Nothing like having a couple of brother-in-laws in the audience.

....with cheering section!!



You know this was a good Pull!!

Wasn't just BIL's....

If their daughters could do it, so could they.

 
 
The 'medals' were made by the local high school Technology Class....printed and machined.




 
Looks like the old Drummond place is being brought back to life.  I've had Friday Fish more than once and when I rode the TW200 on the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail, I spent the night in the motel.
 
 
Pigeon Lake....what a disaster and it still lingers.  This road has been built up....for the time being.  I stopped up ahead and water was obviously flowing through the freshly dumped fill from one side to the other.


From my 2020/11 visit.....
Back at camp for lunch....



I wear gear to keep the bears away....there was a lot of scat in the area.

 
Not all of the blueberries were blue...

Bet it's been a long time since you've seen Berries In A Bottle!

My first attempt at bannock this camp....a success!


 
Sunday morning coffee in Grandview....

 
The Depot Museum in Mason...I finally got there when it was open!!  Not only that, it was to be some refuge from approaching rain....that never happened.





From Mason I rode east, to new territory.  I was surprised at how prominent row-crop agriculture was in the area.  Huge fields of soybeans and corn, many acres of standing wheat that looked beautiful.  I looped up to Ashland for some KT coffee before heading back to camp.

From Ashland, Washburn in the distance across the bay.

Bannock #2, even better than #1 was!


 
Leaving no trace....the fungi still intact Monday morning when I left.

Loaded for home...

I stopped in Cumberland at Louie's for rations...

 
Some things I brought home that I hadn't left with...

As James would say, "It was a good camp".