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!
Spoke too soon about springtime.
When you live half-way between the equator and the North Pole the month of March can throw you a curve ball from time to time.
Woke-up today to this.
Business has been brisk at the bird feeders all day with the arrival of more of the summertime species in the past week. So doggo and I went out to top them-off and deployed an additional two suet feeders.
Presently it looks like there is 8 to 10 inches of snow on the level, with another 18 to 20 in the next twenty four hours. We got a regular nor'easter on our hands with winds coming off the lake gusting to 40 miles per hour.
Snug here with a nonstop fire in the wood burner since last evening. We even had bacon with breakfast; because, there's a blizzard going on.
No power outages (yet).
Everything is closed except the local watering hole Come to think about it the only way to get there is by snowmobile.....
This is singularly the best photo to come across my device in quite a while.
Quintessentially, Door County Winter.....
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| photo credit - Rosann Hollinger (click on image to enlarge) |
Last Thursday brought the fourth visit to the Door Community Auditorium and second performance for us.
If you’re a fan of old school country, Mole Lake Blue Grass Fest, a
Stones tune composed at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios or Fender
Telecaster surf music; Marty delivers!
Intimacy of Gibraltar High School Auditorium is bonus.
Fast Fact: Yes, the bassist for Marty Stuart's band is Chris Scruggs,
who joined in 2015. He is the grandson of legendary banjo player Earl
Scruggs and also plays guitar, steel guitar and drums.
Strict copyright enforcement restricted photos and video of last week's performance; nevertheless YouTube delivers with a four song set list......
A sunrise
And a sunset
When you live in flyover country the views over the horizon are generally pretty nice....
Thirty-one years I've been here on the Peninsula and I've never had a personal encounter with a tick. Almost anywhere else in the state of Wisconsin is an altogether different story - mostly involving wood ticks. But here? Nada.
Until last weekend.
This is a deer tick.
A first.
It's a blood-feeding arachnid; and we picked a half-dozen or so off the dogs following our hike on the Ledge last weekend.
This is the first time we've personally been witness to ticks on the peninsula. Heretofore, I always assumed my personal experience was evidence that Door County was low on the margins of tick sightings and tick-borne illness. A little bit of internet sleuthing suggests tick-borne illnesses have been on the uptick (pardon the pun) of late.
The trend for the tick population on the peninsula is increasing, as evidenced by a significant rise in both tick-borne illnesses and related hospitalizations in recent years. Contributing factors likely include an expanding tick population (mild winters), improved reporting and increasing numbers of outdoor enthusiasts recreating in tick habitats.
These buggers are exceedingly small and difficult to spot. You're likely to feel it before you see it.
After years of attempts to lure the California Honeydrops to the Door Community Auditorium; last Saturday this group knocked the ball out of the park with two incredible sets and a lengthy encore featuring their hand-clapping, hip-shaking brand of jazz, funk and retro-soul in a high-energy celebration of performance art. Just like a New Orleans club without having to take the trip.
From humble beginnings in the Oakland subway the group was founded by frontman Lech Wierzynski and drummer Benjamin Malament. The band's name was inspired by the 1930s jug band, The Tennessee Chocolate Drops.
The band doesn't follow a set list; rather taking improvisational inspiration from requests shouted from the audience letting the music lead them on a one-of-a-kind experience for each performance. The band now features an octet of talented musicians that really put a performance together on the fly without skipping a beat.
This was singularly one of the best concerts we've enjoyed at the cozy and intimate venue of Gibraltar High School.
One word - FUN!
Just down the road from where we live you will find our local Field of Dreams in the tiny town of Kolberg Wisconsin. It's a regulation ball park with a small set of bleachers, a new fence and backstop along with a new concession building including bathrooms. Home to the Kolberg Braves - included in the lineup of teams belonging to the county's baseball league.
We spent yesterday afternoon with friends for the last game of the season. What a spectacular summer afternoon in the shade with a cold beer or two, brats, peanuts admission and parking for a fraction of the cost of VIP parking at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
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| click on image to enlarge |
Big sunset in big peninsula sky.
The 64th Annual Brussels Lions Club Belgian Days festival is in the books. For a small town the Belgian community sure knows how to throw a party; and party they did.
Supported by a boost in attendance, preliminary gross sales for the park concession stand, food and beverages set another record. And it was a thirsty crowd with 86 half-barrels of beer along with an additional four kegs of hard cherry cider emptied. Since introduced a year ago the sale of vodka-infused (Class B permit) seltzer and lemonade adult beverages - such as Carbliss, NÜTRL and Mike's Hard Lemonade sales have exploded to enhance the festival's bottom line.
When was the last time you got to step-up and show-off your strongman skills?
You can at Belgian Days.
And Sunday closed with some traditional peninsula country music magic to include our own local Modern Day Drifters...
By the time you read this I'll be pulling my first and last shift as a volunteer at the Brussels Lions Club 64th Annual Belgian Days.
The festivities begin with a parade that begins at St. Francis and St. Mary Church, winds thru town and makes the final turn to land at Brussels Town Park. There will be the last of boys and girls youth tournament baseball and softball. The last of the food and beverages. The last band as well. We're hopeful to sell out of everything with the exception of a few remaining kegs of beer.
With all hands on desk, taking everything down comes-together pretty quickly. And after everything has been cleaned and stored the opportunity to kick back with your neighbors and finish-off the last of the beer with a beautiful peninsula sunset is an appealing prospect. Sure, there will remain some odds and ends to be performed on Monday; but the heavy lift will be in the rear view mirror.
Once we have an after action report I'll endeavor to report some of the results of this once a year fundraiser. Brussels Lions don't host a periodic brat fry at the grocery, sell roses, chocolates or other stuff for fundraising. Our club does everything in one fell swoop. One and done. I'm not implying it is better; but it works for us and our unique circumstances.
In case you're wondering here's pricing on beverages
And this is what making the third batch of booyah looks like. Naturally that is wood fired cooking....
The Brussels Lions Club 64th Annual Belgian Days kicked-off on Friday afternoon with two ball fields hosting youth teams from all over for a weekend tournament. It is a big deal for youth baseball and softball in northeast Wisconsin to travel here for a weekend of ball. How big a deal you ask? I am told organizers have more applicants than slots. My only regret is that as a working volunteer I did not have time to sit in the stands and watch play on one of the two fields and take some action photos. Maybe another year.
As for the fundraising for the Lions Club I am also told that the preliminary numbers are looking better that last year - and naturally other prior years. Anecdotally, I can tell you that with two bands on the schedule for Saturday sales were brisk for the first shift (mine) which has traditionally been slower-paced. Time will tell.
The first band on-deck was Carbon Road.
A high energy keep em dancing act they were a high energy production. Song selections ranging from the 60s to current pop, country and full tilt Rock 'n Roll. Five multi-talented musicians with years of experience converge on the stage to present a professional, interactive and crowd pleasing show. Outstanding vocals! Website including playlists here.
Here is their opening number....
Edit to add - Second band on tap was Star Six Nine.
Established in 2008, Star Six Nine has played everything from the big stages at Summerfest, to Festivals, to Bars and even backyard BBQs. Winners of the 2019 WAMI Cover Band of the Year and nominated many years prior to that.
3 lead singers and WAMI nominated musicians keeps the night interesting, paired with great sound and lights!
Rock? Pop? Country? They bring it to the stage.
More about the band including their playlist here.
Yesterday's opening number and kudos to the little kids. Belgian Days is a family-friendly event after-all....
From the 4th Annual BUG Firefighters Car and Motor Show there is a 1966 Plymouth Barracuda - easily identified by the distinctive fastback wraparound rear glass.
Based on the Valiant the Barracuda launched on April 1, 1964. The new model used the Valiant's wheelbase, hood, headlamp bezels, windshield, vent windows, quarter panels, doors, A-pillar, and bumpers; the trunk and some of the glass was new. The greatest effort was put into creating its ginormous rear window, a collaboration between Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) and Chrysler designers that created the largest ever installed on a standard production car to that time. The fold-down rear seat was a novelty at the time.
The power train was identical to the Valiant's, including two versions of Chrysler's slant-6 engine. The highest-power option for 1964 was Chrysler's all-new 273 cu in (4.5 L) V8 equipped with a two-barrel carburetor producing 180 HP. 1964 was the first for the Barracuda and also the last year for push-button control of the optional Torqueflite automatic transmission.
Later generations, like the third generation introduced in 1970, moved to the Chrysler E-body platform and featured more aggressive styling and muscle.
Fun Fact - The Barracuda launch beat the Ford Mustang by two weeks; it's the first
Pony Car.
From the 4th Annual BUG Firefighters Car and Motor show there were a couple of Ford Model Automobiles - the car that succeeded the iconic Model T.
Gentle spring storms moved thru late afternoon treating us to a colorful sky display.
View to the southeast...
From the 4th Annual BUG Firefighters Car and Motor Show there is a 1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, a classic American car known for its stylish two-tone paint and sweeping chrome trim. Specifically, the "Victoria" model was a pillarless hardtop coupe—distinctive for having no fixed door frame between the front and rear side windows, giving it a sleek, open look when the windows were down.
If you're at an auto show a handful of identifiers include the "Fairlane" script on the front fender, the distinctive "V" shaped emblem with a crown (a 1956 Fairlane trademark) and the two-tone paint and heavy chrome detailing, common in mid-1950s American automotive design.
From the BUG Firefighters Car And Motor Show - behold 1953 Buick Super Hearse.
Identification includes trademark features such as the signature "toothy" chrome grille - very distinctive for Buicks of this era. VentiPorts; the three chrome portholes on each front fender identify it as a Buick Super (Roadmasters had four). Sweeping side trim was classic to Buick’s early '50s styling.
The extended rear cabin and high roof line are indicative of those models manufactured specifically as a limousine - and convertible to hearse or ambulance use.
This baby still has the original 6 volt electrical system, straight 8 engine and Dynaflow automatic transmission.
It's for sale - $18,000 OBO.
People are dying to own it....
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