Tornado of Fire

On October 8, 1871, the most devastating forest fire in American history swept through northeast Wisconsin, claiming an estimated 1700 - 2500 lives.  Known as the Peshtigo Fire history doesn’t accord it the same measure of attention as another great fire that occurred simultaneously.  Likely a consequence of the other great fire remembered as the great Chicago Fire.   

Actually, three separate fires made-up the Peshtigo Fire which occurred on both sides of Green Bay and advanced quickly with the help of a low pressure system and a hot, dry wind.  It moved so fast the vortices of fire were described as a tornado of fire.  It burned 1.2 million acres with damages in excess of  $169 million - about the same as the Chicago Fire.

The wildfire that began south of New Franken spread north through the towns of Union, Brussels and Forestville.  In its path was the small settlement of Williamsonville.  Sixty residents perished in the conflagration and the settlement was burned to the ground.  Seven desperate men sought refuge in a well to escape the inferno with five surviving.  

 click on images for a better look

Last weekend’s bike ride took us near the memorial park that marks the location.  It’s a sobering experience to reread the story of the incredible tragedy of the Peshtigo fire.  If you like history you can learn more about this catastrophe from UW-Madison.

Karst

By definition this would be a landscape underlain by limestone - eroded by dissolution, producing ridges, towers, fissures, sinkholes, and other characteristic landforms. 

Although karst processes sculpt beautiful landscapes they are also vulnerable to ground water pollution due to the relatively rapid rate of water flow and the lack of a natural filtration system. This puts your drinking water supplies at risk of being contaminated.   

Someone once told me that the average soil depth on the Door Peninsula is eighteen inches.  That would mean that in some places you might enjoy the benefit of several to many feet of clay soil filled with glacial rocks.  And other locations the bedrock is right at - or quite close to - the surface.  Like these examples I photographed while bike riding last weekend:   

If you click on the second image for a better look you may note that the color of the vegetation in the farm field is mottled.  It happens to be greener where the cracks and fissures of the underlying rock formation are located.

This dolostone composition of the Door Peninsula explains why the peninsula exists in the first place.  As I have blogged-about previously - even the mighty glaciers thousands of years ago could not scour this rock formation from the face of the earth.  It’s tough stuff – but full of cracks, fissures, sinkholes and caves that allow surface contaminants introduced at a great distance to travel quickly and efficiently and show-up in your own water supply.   

This is a big deal with the expansion of large dairy operations.  When you have thousands of cows you are producing waste on the scale of a mid-sized town.  And if your only mechanism for dealing with millions of gallons of liquefied manure is to spread it on local farm fields you might just create problems for someone else.  Fecal contamination has already found its way into sixty percent of the wells sampled in Kewaunee County to the south.  Yup, 60%.  And the governor and legislature really haven't shown a great deal of concern over this.  You'd think that after the political fallout from the Flint Michigan water contamination fiasco this might just get their attention.  It is frustrating to know that most days government seems more intent on continuing to deregulate these operations and hold them harmless from ground water contamination.  Maybe some day a humongous class action lawsuit will turn a few heads.

In any event - if you enjoy geology you can learn more about the science of karst formations and groundwater here.

Psychology Today

This term surfaced in a conversation over the Tour de Tom weekend.  Admittedly, I suffer from it from time-to-time.  

Confirmation bias - a phenomenon hardwired into the human brain where people interpret information as evidence confirming existing opinions.  Opposition is discounted because the resulting cognitive dissonance is uncomfortable.

A real life example comes to mind.  If you repeatedly engage in refuting a certain somebody's lies it elevates this individual and makes them more credible in the eyes of his supporters. It would be better to altogether ignore this individual.  And not empower him.  

I think it is worth a try.

Crepes

My pal Mennonite made crepes from scratch this morning.  It's the only time Jill's flour sifter gets used it seems.

Slather your crepe with one of a couple of yogurt selections and top with blueberries, strawberries, apples, crunchy natural peanut butter or whatever.  It's a yummy breakfast.

Tour de Tom original.

ISS

The International Space Station performed a flyover tonight at Tour de Tom.

Time: Sat Sep 30 7:22 PM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 59°, Appears: 41° above W, Disappears: 10° above N.

 click on the ISS to enlarge

Tour de Tom - Good Eats

A handful of photos documenting the weekend's festivities which included A LOT OF FOOD.

Kicking things-of with Limburger cheese and sulze from Marchant's...

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It wasn't planned for this to happen but south of the border food was featured prominently.  Best to enjoy it now before The Wall goes up.

Handmade yummy tamales...

Venison fajitas...

Mennonite made crepes for breakfast this morning...

Somehow the recycling bin in the garage is full of empty wine bottles.  Bow hunting is on tap a couple of days from now.

Tour de Tom

Second Annual Tour de Tom is now settled history.  No flat tires, no breakdowns and no arrests.  Yesterday brought near-perfect cycling conditions.  No route map, no agenda = no worries.

Ready to roll...

click on images to enlarge

Support vehicle...

Porch setting in the late afternoon sun with a frosty Oktoberfest beer...