Bloomingdale Road East or Bloomingdale Road?

For any who were expecting to see The Hodgepodge today, Joyce, The Hodgepodge creator, had to be out of town, but will be back with the Hodgepodge again next week.  I know I'm not alone in appreciating the dedication and work she goes to each week to give us something to write about. Thank you, Joyce.

Last week, Mr. C. and I went to the SW part of Wisconsin to settle some family business. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but we were taking care of a cousin's estate. It looks like everything we can do is now done, but it doesn't mean that we won't be visiting that area again. And even though I consider myself a pretty good navigator, I  managed to get us going around in circles because of the winding roads with ambiguous names (and just possibly because I'm not as good a navigator as I'd thought). I hadn't realized that Bloomingdale Road East was actually a different road than Bloomingdale Road. How can that be. And not only that, but when there's an intersection (crossroads) on a main highway, I would expect that a turn to the east would be the same road name (just a different direction) as a turn to the west. But no. That would make it just too easy.

Summertime arrived in NW Wisconsin almost overnight. We tend to do that, often going from a cold and wet spring to warm and wonderful summer, although I have come to expect more out of May than we got this year. This year it has lost its position as 'favorite month,' being replaced by June, which has been just lovely so far. And it's green. Very green.

 Smooth transfer of power
Hauling ethanol (probably)
near Sparta, WI

What you are reading is the result of what one does when one has nothing to say. I noticed when I logged into Blogger this morning, that I have written over 2200 blog posts, the majority of which were published, but some of which were not, to spare us both embarrassment. Twenty-two hundred! That's from January or February of 2010. It's hard to believe that I've had SO MUCH of nothing to say.

Because Wisconsinites tend to cram everything fun into the summer months (with good reason), I will most likely continue to post only on Hodgepodge Wednesdays, and some weekends. Most of the family fun events occur in the summertime, naturally, and I keep remarkably busy tending to the kitties, porch sitting, reading, picture taking, garden mulching and watering, and walk taking.  It's a tough life. As a friend once said when asked what she does all day, 'I don't know, but it takes me all day to do it. '

I had thought that these farmers were planting potatoes,

but when I zoom in, I see that they are planting 

plant starters. Tobacco? Cabbage? I'm not sure.

I just realized that every paragraph I've written today sounds like a beginning paragraph. I think I need a nap. I'm not complaining that the Tommy & Smokey gym opens at 4:30 AM, (after all, the birds are up and singing!) with wild galloping, chasing, crashing through our bedroom. I know. I could close the door. I've heard that somewhere before.

Chillin' in the screen room
Tommy and Smokey
Getting recharged for their next gym session


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Until next time,

Goodbye, 2011

January 2011

 February 2011

 March 2011

 April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

 July 2011

 August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

And I wish you all a wonderful 2012!!

This post is linked to Mosaic Monday, which I didn't know about until Jan 2!

Amish in Wisconsin

This is the Amish farm that should be on a calendar.

We have quite a few Amish farms in our own neighborhood in northwest Wisconsin, but the Amish population in the southern part of the state is much greater, especially in the Cashton/Westby area. The area is full of ridges and coulees, making it one of my favorite parts of the state. When we were there with our granddaughter a few weeks ago, I took some photos that I thought I'd share with you this morning. So, the following is just a little photo travelogue I hope you'll enjoy. A few of the photos are from our neighborhood; most are from the Westby area.

The hay loader

The hay stack 

Kids at recess

I know, I know, but I was a long way away and zoomed in.

The other Amish kids

I think there were three houses on this farm. Also, there was a woodworking shop where we bought the maple flooring to patch in our maple floors before the refinishing job.

 

The Amish 'community' phone booth

 

Wash Day

 

The vegetable stand - they use the honor system

Put your money in a coffee can and take the produce.

The Nursery - with an amazing number of perennials

 

The two-car garage

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Westby, Wisconsin

Westby, Wisconsin is in the 'driftless area' (that not affected by post-Flood glacier activity) of Wisconsin,  which covers most of the southwest quadrant of the state. With its ridges and coulees, it is a beautiful part of Wisconsin, and a small town in which I'd love to retire some day, because of the hilly beauty of the area and at least one growing zone warmer than where we live.

The Victorian 'Westby House' B&B

It's the kind of thing you see everywhere in Westby

Our ancestors - the Vikings

You can't help noticing that Westby is very much a Norwegian town. Each year on May 17, they celebrate Syttende Mai, Norwegian independence day. After my husband's ancestors left Norway, they settled in Vernon County, WI. Why? Because it reminded them of home. I guess they didn't realize that the South also had hills and valleys - and was a lot warmer!

Tobacco  Sheds, now presumably used for storage of other goods

In the first half of the previous century, many small farms raised tobacco as a cash crop. Tobacco sheds were found everywhere, and even my husband's great uncles worked in the tobacco fields.

Rosemaling, a colorful Norwegian folk art, as seen in Borgen's Cafe, Westby

Some of the huge boulders (and granddaughter) at the Westby Park

Our kids loved climbing on those rocks when they were young,

and I hated it when they did.

Westby Park boulders

Old Caboose

We were teased with the e-mail, 'Got ticket to ride.'  Hmmm. When we arrived in Westby, we were given a tour of the caboose. It seems that Kevin's cousin used to ride that particular caboose, free and often, from Westby to Viroqua when he was a kid. That kind of thing would never happen today. Oh for the good old days.

For the Bird Brains

(laundry adjacent)

I think Westby is where Ole and Lena jokes originated.

By the way, in the 1970s, the Norwegian government sponsored a contingent of Norwegian-language specialists to come to America and study the Norwegian as spoken by the older residents of the  Westby-Coon Prairie area of Wisconsin, for it was truer to the old Norwegian language that was dying out in Norway due to 'language pollution.'

Dregne's Hardware Store

I don't remember seeing any hardware, but the store is full of Norwegian gifts, books, and Christmas decorations -  lots of fun stuff to look at, if unaccompanied by small children.

Uff-da Mart

I think that's 'Dollar Store' in Norwegian

The granddaughter

Coon Prairie Church and Cemetery

just outside Westby

where several of the ancestors are buried

You can see it was a somber moment when we found my husband's great-great grandpa's grave

The old trolls and the motorcycle

The granddaughter and our favorite hippie

Aw, ain't it sweet!

Have a great weekend, everyone! :-)