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! :-)

Carmen Peppers

 Carmen Peppers

Just in case I haven't made it clear to everyone, Carmens are my favorite peppers. I've raised Carmens from seed for the past few years. I still plant jalapenos, poblanos, Anaheims, and cayenne, but if I could only take one pepper plant to a desert island, it would be Carmens. They're huge, sweet, and prolific. I've had more than one plant that's produced 25+ peppers!

Peppers sliced and ready to be dehydrated

The amazing but simple Nesco dehydrator

All the shelves simply stack beneath the lid which contains the heating element

Pepper Threads

About 18 hours later... and yes, I did get busy and forgot about them. But I dehydrate almost everything longer than they recommend. I want things dry enough so they don't mold later. My pepper threads will be used in soups and stews.

 I wanted to show you relative size.

I couldn't help thinking, when seeing the photo,

that even Carmen peppers go farther than our dollar these days.

Last night, we had to cover our peppers, tomatoes, and any plants we didn't want to get killed by frost. (We have a threat of frost for two nights in a row) There's a limit to how many sheets and blankets one has available to cover plants, and there should be a limit on how many plants I want to rescue. I think I've got 15 plants that are coming indoors for the winter, but we will be getting some warmer weather after tomorrow, so I'll wait til later to bring them in. In the meantime, I'm going to have to figure out where on earth I'll put them all.