Jerry Apps's Blog, page 13

Mud Season

Photo by Jerry Apps

“Leave your muddy boots on the porch.” Those were my mother’s words, uttered so many years ago, but still ringing in my head as we enter what she called, “The Mud Season.”
My mother hated mud, but during the month of March, we had a lot of it. The once frozen paths, shoveled clear of snow all winter long, were mud. The road past our farm was mud. The barnyard was a sea of mud. Mud everywhere, and alas, too much of it made it to my mother’s kitchen floor.

Walking the mile to our country school in March was usually easy in the morning, as the mud stirred up by the milkman and the mailman, and the occasional salesperson making his rounds had frozen overnight. But wow, on the walk home! By the time we left the school the mud had become enriched—almost alive. If you weren’t careful it sucked the boots right off your feet. If you thought walking home in a blizzard in January was a challenge, walking home in March, in the mud, although not dangerous, was downright challenging.
Of course, once home, doing your chores meant stomping through the mud to the chicken house, to the granary, to the barn. All muddy adventures.

There was an upside to Mud Season. It was usually short, only a couple of weeks. No one was happier than my mother when this challenging time between winter and spring ended. Beyond a clean kitchen floor, the end of mud season meant the beginning of spring.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sometimes a little mud in our lives helps us appreciate the times when the mud is gone and things are going well.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Saturday, April 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Speaking at 3:00) Middleton Library.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Read about farm life in an earlier day in my book, Every Farm Tells a Story. (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
It is available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.

Where Have All The Songbirds Gone?

Photo by Jerry Apps

“Where are the birds this winter? Almost none at our feeders.” I’ve heard this from several of my neighbors. Same for my three feeders. Almost no activity this winter, save for a few Juncos (snow birds) and a pair of cardinals. No blue jays, nuthatches, finches, not even any chickadees—we always had chickadees.

So what’s going on? Are the birds able to find feed on their own? Are they locating the feeders with the higher quality bird feed, and ignoring my less expensive fare?
Or aren’t there as many birds wintering in Wisconsin these days? I did a little “online” looking and discovered some research from Cornell University on bird numbers. I found some disturbing information.

Cornell researchers reported, “Wild bird populations in the continental U.S. and Canada have declined by almost 30 percent since 1970.” Some specific examples: since 1970, we have lost one in four Blue Jays, one in three Baltimore Orioles, one in three Juncos, one in four Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and many more similar examples. . . . The scale of loss portrayed in the Science Study is unlike anything recorded in modern natural history.” The reason for the loss according to the researchers, “. . . our human-altered landscapes are losing their ability to support birdlife.” We are losing fence rows and marshes, natural prairies and open spaces and more—all home for songbirds.

There have been some gains. Waterfowl have increased by 50%, Raptors (hawks, eagles) have increased by 200% and the wild turkey population has increased by 200%.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Seems like we better start thinking about stopping this kill-off of our songbirds.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Saturday, April 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Speaking at 3:00) Middleton Library.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Read about winter in my book, The Quiet Season (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
It is available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street, Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary
www.wilroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth's home town, Westby and visit Dregne's. They have a good selection of my books for sale, or by calling them at 1-877-634-441. Or, visit your local bookstore.

Remembering Shoveling Snow

Photo by Jerry Apps

It came quietly in the night, without fuss or fury. Another six inches of wet, heavy snow that clung on the trees and shrubs. It followed six inches of snow from the previous week and as many inches of snow the week before that.

I am on my tractor with a front end loader and box grader hanging on the back, moving snow, bucket full after bucket full. I am thinking about snowstorms when I was a kid and snow had to be moved. On the home farm, when I was little guy, we had no tractor with a front end loader. We had no tractor at all until Dad bought our first tractor in 1945, a Farmall H.

We shoveled snow by hand. With a scoop shovel, the kind used for moving grain from one place to another in the granary. We shoveled a path from the house to the chicken house, from the chicken house to the granary, from the granary to the corncrib, from the corncrib to the barn, from the barn to the pump house, where we cooled the morning and evenings milking. We shoveled another path from the pump house to the house and a path directly from the house to the barn.

And that wasn’t all of it. We shoveled the driveway from the country road that trailed by our farm to the pump house, so the milkman, who made his rounds every morning could load the four or five cans of milk that we had for the cheese factory.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Appreciate the labor-saving devices of today while remembering what it was like when moving snow meant shoveling by hand.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Saturday, April 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Speaking at 3:00) Middleton Library.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Read about winter in my book, The Quiet Season (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
It is available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

.

Otto the Gnome

Photo by Jerry Apps



His name is Otto and he lives in a big old maple tree in our backyard. He only comes out at night, or so I am told. But I happened to snap a photo of him when he was sneaking a peek outside his tree home during the daytime.

Otto is a Gnome, pronounced “nome.” Otto is Norwegian, named after my Norwegian father-in-law, Otto Olson. When I married Ruth, I didn’t realize, I should have, that I was not only marrying a wife, but I was marrying a whole bunch of Norwegian traditions including such foods as lutefisk (no comment), lefse (OK), krumkake (quite good), almond cake (tasty), and rosette cookies (really good at Christmas time).

But back to Otto with his pointed cap, big ears, and impish grin. In Norwegian folklore, Gnomes protect the farmsteads, the animals, the buildings and of course the people from harm. They do this at night when the people are sleeping. Some believe that Gnomes reward people with good luck and happiness. I’m counting on Otto to do this.

Gnomes themselves have a cheery disposition. They are always smiling and carefree—hoping some of their internal happiness will rub off on the people around them. Ruth received Otto as a Christmas present. With winter hanging on, I suspect he’s taking a long nap. I’m waiting for spring so Otto can do some of his magic.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Even if you are not Norwegian, I believe everyone can benefit from having a little Gnome in their lives. I know I’m counting on it.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

Saturday, April 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Speaking at 3:00) Middleton Library.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Books that tell the story of my farm: The Land Still Lives, Old Farm: a History, and Roshara Journal All are available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.

Every Farm Has a Story to Tell

Our farm in 1966. Photo by Jerry Apps

It was an old farm with an old barn and a granary that had seen better days. The farmhouse, equally decrepit had burned sending the occupants away. The farm, homesteaded in 1867 by a Civil War veteran, had provided a living for several families over the years, albeit not a very good living, the land was poor--stony and hilly and hard to work.

It was the home place, where children learned how to do chores, and lived with the simple things of life as there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no central heating. There were families, parents and children—working together, doing chores, feeding the chickens and hogs, milking the cows, by hand, by the light of a kerosene lantern, and children walking a mile to the country school.

There were neighbors, too, one nearly across the country road, and another a half-mile north, and still another a half-mile south. Each ready to help when a task such as wood sawing, threshing, or butchering required a few extra hands.

It’s the farm my family owns now, not where I grew up, but only two miles away. We’ve owned it since 1966. We call it Roshara—we’re located in the Township of Rose in Waushara County—thus the name.

Our farm has a story to tell. And now, as we are losing so many farms, two a day last year, we are losing so many stories. Let’s hope some of the stories are told—so we all can learn, and remember what life was like on the farm.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: As we lose our farms, we lose the stories about who we are as a people, and where we have been.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Speaking Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm. Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 10 to 12 in the morning and 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon.

Speaking Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm. Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 2:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Books that tell the story of my farm: The Land Still Lives, Old Farm: a History, and Roshara Journal All are available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.

Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s. They have a great selection of my books for sale or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.

Listening for the Quiet

It is a winter world of quiet as I look out my window at snow-covered buildings and snow piled high in my driveway. I sit at my kitchen table, only hearing the occasional snapping and cracking of the wood in the stove, and the subtle sound of steam trickling from the ever-present teakettle. Otherwise, there is no sound. I am surrounded by quiet.

Winter is a quiet season. I published a book a few years ago with that title. Winter is a time for slowing down and reflecting, a time for enjoying the beauty of a landscape that is mostly black and white, with evergreen trees providing a stunning contrast. Winter is time to go outside and be surrounded by quiet as you snowshoe or ski or hike on a winter trail. Or merely stand and listen for the sound of quiet.

As I listen for the quiet today, I remember the subtle sound my six-buckle boots made on the snow as I hurried to the barn for the morning milking on below zero days so many years ago. I remember when the morning chores were done, slipping on my skis and skiing the near mile to my country school. The skis making a subtle sliding sound.

When I was a bit younger, I did a fair amount of snowshoeing. I remember the crunch, crunch of snowshoes on crusty snow. The stopping and listening and mostly hearing nothing, except the quiet.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Listen for the quiet; you might be surprised what you hear.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Speaking Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm. Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 10 to 12 in the morning and 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon.

Speaking Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 2:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.
Buy a copy of my book, The Quiet Season from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.

Fifty Years of Book Writing

In 1966, I began writing a weekly column (Outdoor Notebook), for the Waushara Argus in Wautoma. It was in 1966 that we also acquired Roshara, the farm we have now. My columns were mostly about happenings on our farm, which had been abandoned in the 1950s after the farmhouse burned. Always looking for new ideas, I began wondering if a collection of these columns might make a book. In 1969, I showed them to Bob Gard, a rural folklorist for the College of Agriculture in Madison.

Bob, a Kansas farm boy, showed some interest in what I had been writing. But he said, “Why don’t you develop a story-line using your columns as ideas?” And that’s what I did. I even used an old willow tree as a character in the book. The book is mostly about how our young family, we had three little kids at the time, was adjusting to the kind of rural living that Ruth and I both experienced as kids.

I titled the book The Land Still Lives. Bob Gard introduced me to Senator Gaylord Nelson, whom he thought would be interested in my book because of its environmental theme. Senator Nelson agreed to write an introduction to the book, which was published in 1970.

A couple years ago, Kate Thompson, my editor at the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, asked me about publishing a 50th-anniversary edition of the book. How could I say no? It is now available, with an added epilogue that I wrote to bring the story up-to-date.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Who would believe that the Old Timer would still be writing books after 50 years?

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Speaking Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm. Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 10 to 12 in the morning and 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon.

Speaking Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison. Topic: The Land Still Lives: Restoration of an old farm .Book signing in Wisconsin Historical Society Press booth, 2:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

New anniversary edition of The Land Still Lives available from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.

Talk About Winter

2019 snow at Roshara in Waushara County. Photo by Jerry Apps

It is often said that If Wisconsin people didn’t have the weather to talk about they wouldn’t have much to say. There is more than a little truth to the statement. This winter is a good case in point. In Southern Wisconsin, we had more winter in October than we had in December. At Christmas time, Golfers on Madison area golf courses were chasing those little white balls on bare ground with temperatures in the 50s.

Ice fishermen had to wait until January 12 for Lake Mendota to freeze. This usually happens in December. Snowmobilers and cross-country skiers had to travel north to find enough snow for their winter fun.

At my farm in central Wisconsin, so far this winter I’ve not had to crank up my tractor once to plow snow. Four or five inches of snow has been about it—and even this snow shrunk with days of above freezing temperatures. Last winter was different. Snow was piled up everywhere. I put my tractor with front-end loader to good use, making a path just wide enough for my car to pass in my long driveway.

A couple weeks ago, the Madison weather people announced a weather warning. A big snowstorm on the way. Up to a foot or more of snow. People flocked to the grocery stores and gas stations in preparation. Guess what, less than an inch of snow in much of southern Wisconsin, nothing in central Wisconsin.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: In Wisconsin, weather—the good, the bad, and the ugly—gives us something to talk about.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison

Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.


WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

To learn more about winter in Wisconsin, check out my book, The Quiet Season. Buy it from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.


.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut in cast iron fry pan. Photo by Jerry Apps

When I was a kid, if you were of German heritage, you knew about sauerkraut. If you didn’t like sauerkraut, you got over it, for especially in the winter, you ate a lot of sauerkraut. Ma had many ways of preparing it: baked sauerkraut, fried sauerkraut, sauerkraut and pork chops, sauerkraut and ham, sauerkraut and pock hocks, sauerkraut cake.

A row of cabbage stretched from one end of the home garden to the other. By mid-October, the cabbage was ready for harvesting. Once harvested, Pa sliced the cabbage into shreds with a cabbage slicer, which he called a finger shortener. Ma tucked the cabbage shreds into a five-gallon Red Wing crock and sprinkled salt on each layer of cabbage. My brothers and I took turns tamping down the shredded cabbage with a piece of stove wood. We did this until the crock was filled nearly to the top. On top of the shredded cabbage, Ma placed some cheesecloth that overlapped the edges of the crock, and on top of that, a big round plate that fit inside the crock and, weighted down with a fieldstone. In a few weeks, it was ready for eating.

Today, when I am alone at the farm, where we have a wood-burning cookstove, I will often dig out the big cast-iron fry pan and fry up a batch of sauerkraut. The smell of the frying kraut takes me back to the home farm kitchen and its many memories. I still like sauerkraut.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Sauerkraut is low in calories and high in vitamin C and Vitamin K.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison

Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

To learn more about Sauerkraut along with several recipes for preparing, see my book, Old Farm Country Cookbook, which my daughter Sue, and I wrote.

Buy it from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

The Pond Seeks a New Level

Ben, Josh, and Paul at the Pond. Photo by Jerry Apps

The pond at our farm nearly dried up in 2015, but then the water began rising with the heavy rains of the last couple of years.

By the fall of 2019, our pond was running over its banks. It had risen to a place it had never been. It was surrounding trees, some of which were likely more than a hundred years old. I have never seen it this high, even when I was a kid and that was a good many years ago.

One of the projects I had in mind once the pond froze was to cut some of the trees and brush that had been surrounded by water. My grandsons, Josh, who lives in Denver, and Ben who lives in San Diego, came home for Christmas. So with these husky lads, both in their twenties, plus my son-in-law, Paul, and daughter, Sue we went on the ice with chain saws and loppers.

Soon, we had a sizeable pile of brush and trees on the ice. The grandsons asked about building a bonfire, and I said, “Sure, go ahead,” I didn’t tell them what happened when you started a brush fire on ice.

Soon they had a substantial fire. And then, just like that, the fire went out with a sizzle.

“What happened?” Josh asked.

“The fire melted the ice and put itself out,” I said, remembering when we had tried to build a campfire on ice when we were ice fishing.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Fire and ice have never been good companions.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Saturday, February 8, 2:15 p.m., Garden Expo, Alliant Center, Madison

Sunday, February 9, 1:00 p.m.., Garden Expo Alliant Center, Madison

Saturday, March 21, 1:30, Columbus Community Center, Columbus, WI Sponsored by Columbus Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS AND DVDS.

Look at my books, OLD FARM, ROSHARA JOURNAL, and THE QUIET SEASON for more about winter.

Buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you travel to the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.. They have a great selection of my books for sale, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. Or visit your local bookstore.


.
.

.