Day's End

Most of the snow has disappeared over the last six days.  The cold has returned and the ground is nice and frozen.  A bit icy - but firm and hard. 

Perfect for schlepping around the woods with Girlfriend.

The new nest boxes we installed last year have held-up well.

At long last we replaced the batteries on the game camera.  This new IR camera is easy on the batteries getting a huge chunk of a year on  only four c-cells. 

We enjoyed a nice sunny day, little wind, oak trees to prune, plenty of mice to dine-upon and some shed antlers to hunt.  The dog came-up empty in that department.

We're batching it for the weekend.  The Frau is off for a curling bonspiel with her girlfriends, so it's just me and Girlfriend hanging-out at The Platz.

Jaeger schnitzel mit spaetzle for dinner tonight.

I got a bad case of tired bones.

A good sort of tired.

The dog is snoring in her crate. 

McKee Barracks

I never cease to be amazed at the resources that can be found on the web that are freely available.

The other day I dipped my toe into childhood and my early years on a US Army post in Germany.

Camp McKee was closed in 1994.  Nonetheless, someone is keeping track of former US Army airfields in Germany.  This Google map below shows the position of the single landing strip in blue.  Located immediately above (bordered by Haller Straße  to the north) is what's left of the former army post.


View Crailsheim AAF/AHP in a larger map

If you click on the link above to view the larger map you can zoom-in to locate the main post entrance and the post's streets lined with large and mature trees.  Most of the buildings have vanished.  Yikes!

I have an original copy of the US Army draft of the layout of buildings and airfield for the original cantonment dating back to the early years of McKee Barracks.

I should locate it and compare it with Google''s imagery.   

Ice Drinking

Lawyer and Sid have been out on the Green Bay ice clobbering the beers this winter.

They've been clobbering the whitefish too.

These are certainly some dandies.

They cooked-up some fresh whitefish livers for a dinner party last Saturday so I'm sure we'll all be Mad as a Hatter before too long.

Antler Queen

Girlfriend is a pretty smart pooch and a terrific retriever.

Here she is with a shed antler she found on a walk yesterday. 

For Girlfriend this is a prize that is not to be parted-with. 

Retriever Dog Gold.

Nonetheless, The Frau coaxed her into the house - along with the precious prize - which was subsequently offered-up in exchange for a biscuit.

This is half of a dandy eight-pointer's headgear.

It would be nice to locate the other half before the mice and porcupines get to it. 

Furthermore, it would be nice if this buck doesn't get himself killed by a car before deer season.

Cobra King

The day following Christmas 1944, Cobra King - its nickname symbolic of the tank corps tradition of naming vehicles with the first letter of their companies’ designations - and its five-man crew from the 37th’s Company C led a column of infantry and armor that relieved the encircled Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium.

The 'Cobra King' crew -- 1st Lt. Charles Boggess, Cpl. Milton Dickerman and Pvts. James G. Murphy, Hubert S. Smith and Harold Hafner -- pose for a celebratory photo in the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium shortly after the tankers led the armor and infantry column that liberated the city in December 1944.
(go ahead and double click  on the images to enlarge)

Following the war Cobra King remained in Germany.  

The 37th Tank Battalion was subsequently re-activated in 1951 and assigned to the 4th in 1953 at Fort Hood, Texas. The group would later return to Europe.

Here is the Cobra King 'guarding' the headquarters building at McKee Barracks in Crailsheim, Germany in 1958.

I used to live there.  Technically I was born in Stuttgart - but McKee Barracks was home.  

McKee barracks  was subsequently closed in 1994 and 1st Armored relocated to Vilseck.

Of course, they took their tank with them. 

The division later relocated to Bad Kreuznach, Germany, but this time Cobra King stayed behind.

Cobra King maintained its vigil in relative obscurity for several years until Sgt. Brian Stigall of the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, recognized it after attending a Battle of the Bulge commemoration in 2004.

Research by Army historians in Germany and the U.S. confirmed its identity.  Cobra King is now expected to go on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, scheduled to open in 2013 near Washington, D.C.

It would be nice to visit Cobra King some day.  What an amazing journey and a small connection with big history.


Learn more about the story of this silent sentry here.

Photos - US Army





Guitar Hero

Attention all air guitar aficionados!

Your old tennis racquets, golf clubs and broom handles just might find their way back into the rotation.

Guitar Hero's creators, Activision Blizzard, announced this week that the game series would be dropped due to declining sales.

As a public service, the musically-talented staff here at The Platz offers this 'how-to' primer for those too young to have experienced pre-video-game improvisational techniques for 'jamming with the band.'

An Invasion of Turkeys

There's a huge herd of turkeys in the yard!

The Frau is clearly excited and is dashing to grab a camera.

Sure enough.  There was big flock of wild turkeys scratching in the garden and on the septic mound.

Most were gobblers.  Big ones too.

As soon as I popped the garage door they vamoosed and beat it out of Dodge.

I tossed a half-dozen moldering acorn squash out in the garden for them to peck at.

The One Thousand Dollar question is where will they all be when spring turkey hunting comes around?

I am reminded that I better fetch the memory card from the trail camera.

Bird of Peace



photo courtesy of National Park Service

 For a couple of months each fall it is legal to kill the Wisconsin official peace symbol.

Zenaida macroura - the mourning dove.

I think the bag limit is fifteen doves per day with a possession limit of thirty birds.

I've never gotten anywhere close to that as they're not the easiest thing to hunt.  But if you're looking for a good way to while-away a late afternoon there's nothing better than taking the dog for a long circuitous walk and flushing some doves from their loitering areas.  The big pond is a particularly good spot.


With an estimated population in excess of 130 million - mourning doves are one of the most populous of game birds found in North America.


They taste pretty darn good too.


Last year at deer camp we marinated a bunch of dove breasts in a Szechuan sauce and skewered them with water chestnuts and bacon.


Put them on the grill, turn once.  Yum!

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Deer Camp Chili

2 - packages of ground venison
2 - medium garden onions chopped
2 - green peppers chopped
2 - red peppers chopped
2 - garlic cloves minced
1 - 46 oz bottle of V8 juice
2 - 27 oz cans of chili beans undrained
3 - 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
4 - T chili powder
2 - t salt
1 - t fresh cracked pepper


Brown the venison along with the onions, peppers and garlic.


Stir-in the V8 juice, beans, tomatoes, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.


Serve with the following accompaniments:  sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped sweet onions and oyster crackers.  Feeds 8 hungry hunters.

This is an incredibly easy dish that can be thrown together on short notice.

Game Day

When he was hired in 1959 as both general manager and head coach of the Packers hardly anybody had heard of the former New York Giants assistant coach Vince Lombardi.

The Packers were in the midst of a serious slump having only won a single game in the season prior to Lombardi's hiring.

Under Lombardi's leadership the Packers never had a losing season.  They won six division championships, five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls.

The score on the board doesn't mean a thing.  That's for the fans.  You've got to win the war with the man in front of you.

-Vince Lombardi

Healthcare Tip of the Day

Every year we hear reports that watching the Super Bowl can be unhealthy or even dangerous. This year, a study in the journal Clinical Cardiology warns that a loss by the hometown team in the big game leads to "increased deaths in both men and women, and especially older patients." The authors even state that "stress reduction programs or certain medications might be appropriate in individual cases." So be prepared and see a list of warning signs and recommended actions that can be taken.

Countdown to the Super Bowl - Day 2

The first Lambeau Leap occurred in a game against the Los Angeles Raiders on December 26, 1993.

After the Raiders fumbled the ball it was recovered by Reggie White who ran the ball 10 yards before handing it-off to LeRoy Butler.  Butler ran and additional 25 yards for a touchdown securing a spot in the playoffs for the Packers.

With the fans cheering enthusiastically, Butler ran straight towards the stands and jumped into the crowd, much to their delight.

The Lambeau Leap has been a tradition ever since.

Countdown to the Super Bowl - Day 3

December 31, 1967 the packers faced the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Championship game in what will forever be known as the Ice Bowl.

Temperatures at Lambeau Field dropped as low as -18 F on that frigid day.

Even with home field advantage the game was close with the Cowboys leading 17-14 near the end of the fourth quarter.

The heating system that Vince Lombardi had had installed failed the the field was an unpredictable sheet of ice.  Running plays weren't working and catching passes was near impossible.

When quarterback Bart Starr was snapped the ball on fourth and goal with just 16 seconds left on the clock, he surged forward and crossed the end zone by himself scoring the championship winning touchdown.

Countdown to the Super Bowl - Day 4

When Curly Lambeau resigned as Packers coach he was replaced by former Chicago Bears coach Gene Ronzani.  It was under Ronzani's direction - together with scout Jack Vainisi - that the Packers recruited some of their most well known players.

Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg and Jim Ringo.

All of these players have been inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Countdown to the Super Bowl - Day 5

Don Hutson was the Packer's first super end - leading the Packers to three additional championships in 1936, 1939 and 1944.

Hutson was initially underestimated because he weighed-in at only 185 pounds.  But his swift moves and ability to change-up his direction proved everyone wrong.  Hutson is credited with inventing techniques used by modern day receivers.

His achievements include:

• Catching a touchdown pass on his very first play as a rookie.
• October 6, 1945 he scored an unprecedented 29 points in a single quarter catching four touchdown passes and kicking five extra points.
• From 1941 to 1945 he caught passes in fifty consecutive games.
• Over the course of 117 games he scored 105 touchdowns.  In all - 20 percent of his catches led to touchdowns.
• Hutson was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1941 and 1942 and was invited to the all-pro team eight times.
• By the time of his retirement Hutson held a total of 19 NFL records.

Countdown to the Super Bowl - Day 6

After the NFL was established the Packers dominated during a period known as the Iron Man Era.

The term comes from the fact that many players played both offense and defense and did not sit out even once during a game.

From 1929 to 1931 the team from the tiny town of Green Bay stunned their big city rivals by winning three straight national professional football championships.