Post-Blizzard Report

Just got home following some folderol with our curling friends in the naked city.  And it is stunning to see how much of the snow deposited over 48 hours a week ago has melted. My sump pump rejoices.

And a bigger hand to everyone else who toiled under stressful conditions to keep roads and essential services open.

Cheers!

 

Incredible Hockey Shot

Now that the 2026 Milano Cortino Winter Olympic Games are behind us​, this retired curler had to share this classic.

Further evidence of how much mobile technology, and videography, have advanced  since this Samsung Mobile Explorer advertisement from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games sixteen years ago.

Adding an entirely new emphasis on the slap shot; hockey meets curling...

Weekend Update

Quick update on a busy weekend.

click on images for a closer look

 

The 30th Annual Southeast Wisconsin Woodland Owners Conference went-off without a hitch.  Attendance was higher than previous years - maybe even a record.  And the consensus was that the absence of concurrent (breakout) sessions was appreciated.  Attendees liked the notion of having one place to sit, be attentive to the program, have lunch and chat with adjacent attendees. 

One of the terrific things about these educational programs is that you come away with at least one thing that you didn't know about before.  My big takeaway is I learned that coyotes will hunt cooperatively with badgers.  I'm not making this up.  During a presentation on Wisconsin's largest member of the weasel family a wildlife biologist spoke about this fascinating phenomenon of cross-species collaboration.  Seems that when a badger and a coyote team-up to hunt together their success rate improves by 30% compared to hunting solo.  That's big in a world where the strong survive and the weak are killed and eaten.  This subject is blog-worthy so stay tuned.

The Wauwatosa Curling Club's 2019 Chili Spiel was also a resounding success with twelve homemade selections of chili in the tasting competition and plenty of time on the ice.  I believe this was my third or possibly fourth entry in the chili competition and I have yet to place in the top three slots.  And I think I make pretty good chili.

Pardon me if I editorialize.  Chili is basic stuff.  Meat, tomatoes, spices and sometimes beans.  And not blazing spicy hot.  It is always easier to add 'heat' to an individual bowl of con carne with a few dashes of hot sauce than it is to make an entire batch unhot.  The trouble with a competition is once you've had a couple of tastes of someone's overly-spiced chili your palate is basically ruined for purposes of tasting the rest of the competition.

Moreover, there is no place for weird derivations like 'Italian beef' chili or 'bacon' chili.  And absolutely no place for macaroni.  Although Jill has gently reminded me that many people grew-up with macaroni in their chili as their families had to stretch the dish at dinner time.  My conclusion is that personal preferences for chili are similar to preferences for BBQ.  Texas is different from Carolina which is different from Kansas City or St. Louis.  Reminds me of politics.  Which can be honest and unpretentious or completely corrupt and dishonest or just plain weird.  Rant over. 

Unfortunately I had to skip the last curling event to return home to let the dogs out.  Jill stayed for the bitter end.  She is a trooper.

And after 20 years of volunteering on the winter woodland conference I have decide not to retire and to stay active on the planning committee.

Raising a toast to sustainable forestry and good curling. 

And eat more deer....

Winter Fun

Busy day today.

By the time you read this I will be at the annual Southeast Wisconsin Woodland Owners Winter Conference.  Registration is significantly ahead of prior years so the committee must've done a bang-up job on the programming.  The change-up this year is no concurrent (breakout) sessions - instead an excellent line-up of woodland and wildlife topics in a TED Talk format style.  I'll report back at a future date with the results.

Following this event I have to race back to the Naked City for the Wauwatosa Curling Club's 2019 Chili Spiel.  This is a social event that is both limited as to the number of curlers - it also features a limited number of chili contestants.  Yours truly is both curling and has entered a couple of gallons of venison chili in the taste-off competition.  I'll report back with those results as well.

In case you're interested here's the recipe...

 

Take a Walk on the Wild Side Venison Chili

This slow cooker features whitetail deer from Tom and Jill’s woodland located on the Door Peninsula.  

No antibiotic-infused feedlot beef here – this is totally free-range organic venison.  

This is a featured favorite of Tom’s deer camp.   With a very mild kick even Goldilocks would tell you – It’s just right!  And when you enjoy this chili you may take comfort knowing that you are doing your part to maintain a healthy balance in both nature and your diet.  

Nothing fancy about this stuff – just damn good chow. 

Go-ahead and take a walk on the wild side – and thank you for your vote of support! 

Ingredients:  

Venison 
Tomatoes 
Pinto beans
Onions 
Celery 
Ground chilies  
Garlic powder   
Cumin  
Oregano 
Paprika 
Salt  
Cayenne pepper   
Masa harina

 

Curling Stone Slapshot

In ice hockey the slapshot is the hardest shot one can perform.   It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion to make the puck fly into the net.   And as a consequence of the violent motion involved can be less accurate.  It also takes longer to execute; a player usually cannot take a slapshot while under any significant pressure from an opposing player because the opponent could easily interfere during the windup. 
 
The slapshot is most commonly used by a defenceman at the point, especially during a power play, although a forward will sometimes find an opportunity to use it. 
 
In case you've never seen a hockey slapshot made with a forty-pound granite curling stone turn-up the volume. 
 
It is recommended you not do this at home…
 

Spectacles

New eyeglasses courtesy of the white elephant gift exchange tonight at the Wauwatosa Curling Club.

Styl'n...

The Sport That's Sweeping the Nation

In the big city curling season has begun.  That means three Lakefront Brewery products on tap at all times.  Eastside Dark and Riverwest Stein are regulars.  The tapper on the right rotating.  This week it is a yummy German pilsner...

click on images to enlarge

 

Opportunities to engage in adaptive curling are becoming more frequent with the Wauwatosa Curling Club's work with the Veterans Administration in Milwaukee.

Who is Clark?

Jill is off to the French-speaking region of Canada to participate in a women's international curling invitational - a bonspiel.

She emailed me this photo nabbed in the reception area of the hotel.

I asked her if this 'Clark' was the concierge?  Or perhaps the front desk clerk?  Or someone else of hotel importance.  Alas, she knew not of the comings or goings of this 'Clark' who is off saving the world from whatever.

Then it struck me.

Clark Kent?

From the Men's Room

This signage...

click on image to enlarge

 

Two On Two Stick Spiel

Yesterday was terrific fun - up early and on the road with The Frau and meet-up with four other friends from the Tosa Curling Club at the Kettle Moraine Curling Club's Two On Two Stick Spiel.  Without getting bogged-down in the rules the game is played with rinks of two, six stones (delivered with a stick) and no sweeping until the rock crosses the hog line.  If your opposing team is wheeled - no sweeping at all.  It is an awesome way to spend the day honing your stick-delivery skills (speaking as someone with a hip replacement who cannot get down in the hack with dislocating a perfectly fine five-year-old titanium replacement Stryker hip).  But I digress.

Some highlights from yesterday...

Between-game refreshing adult beverages

click on the beverage to enlarge

Club room

The Frau and I receiving our 14K solid gold medal for fourth place runner-up

And some video.   

If you watch the video feed from the overhead camera the curler just misses knocking-out a scoring red rock in the upper-left view at the other end of the ice sheet.

Great food and fun.  

Cannot help it - in the immortal words of Major Sidney Freedman...

 

Maximizing Your Curling Experience

After a decade and a half of curling I finally figured it out.  Why this took me so long is immaterial.  What is useful to know is the outcome.

Rather than fret and concern oneself with which event or league to participate in it is a better idea that you restrict league play to perhaps one night a week and make yourself available as a sub for all the remaining leagues.  Excepting-for (obviously) the women's leagues.

Hardly a week will go by without multiple requests made for me to fill-in for someone who has to travel on business, care for a sick child or is sick themselves.

What I have learned is I can curl as much as I can stand and it is completely discretionary.  If I have a conflict I have a conflict.  If it is a 9:15 draw time (meaning home by midnight) I can politely decline.  Moreover, I get to curl with different teams and in multiple positions.  All the better to mean new faces, names and skill levels.  I'm curling more than I ever have before.

It is the perfect way to maximize your curling experience.   

Curling

Fast ice

Cold beer

Sage advice

At the Kettle Moraine Curling Club.

Sweep! 

Bet You Don't Have This In Your Liquor Cabinet

In keeping with the weird thread of drinking posts over the past few days I was reminiscing about the final curling weekend earlier this month.

I want you to know that my stay on the island (with the gas lamps, outhouse, etc.) was not without its creature comforts.

That is Schlichte - Traditional German style gin loaded with juniper flavors and other fine aromas.

And Penninger - A traditional German schnapps infused with all kinds of goodness.

Prosit!

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

One of my curling buddies is a smoker.

He doesn't smoke a great deal unless he's been sipping. (That would be a glass of Weller at the top of the photo).

Anyway, it's impossible to smoke a great deal when you have to roll each cigarette one at a time.

Rolling your own.

Sigh...

Primitive Living

Last weekend I traveled with some buddies to curl in the last event of the season in Pardeeville, WI.

It is a tradition of ours.

As usual we stayed in some high-end facilities.

On an island.

Very low tech. Blissfully without the disturbance and distraction of the world wide web.

Canadian Olympic Hockey Team Training

I learned a long time ago to never bet on the American team when it comes to Olympic hockey.

Here's why...