Since Rib Fest is held at a lake home on Legend Lake there has to be time spent on the water.
Whether you are first cousin, first cousin once removed or a second cousin there is time on the lake boating.
Jet skiing or kayaking.
Swimming or fishing.
Observing the local eagle nest around the corner.
It is a requirement. And sort of the reason for being there anyway...
One of the notable features of Rib Fest is the cousins. Lots of cousins. Therefore, a word about the cousins.
Here's your family tree lesson of the day.
And I'm putting it here insofar as I always have difficulty remembering how this works.
Your first cousin is the child of an aunt or uncle. These are first cousins.
The child of your first cousin is you first cousin - once removed. Removed indicates a difference in generation.
Keep that straight as there will be a test later.
These are first cousins once removed and small second cousins.
Meanwhile it's been heartening to see the successive generations grow and prosper.
Oh, and by the way, ribs prepared three ways....
Because, you know it's Rib Fest....
Since we began our day with a different sandwich there is this. When we returned from our walk in the woods the other day I was hungry for a snack. Fresh from the garden I’ve been looking forward to this for a year already.
You can learn more about the humble radish here.
In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian Faith St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people. His feast day is today.
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| click on the relics for a closer look |
Did you know that New Jersey is running out of groundhogs? Ever since Milltown Mel passed-away, this New Jersey town has faced a groundhog crisis. Now the governor has vetoed an effort to import out-of-state replacement rodents. Not so in neighboring Pennsylvania.
Groundhog Day is a big event every year on this day over in Gobbler's Knob.
Someone provokes a hibernating woodchuck named Punxsutawney Phil to come out of his hole and predict the arrival of spring.
Even I can do that. Provoked by the alarm clock I crawled out of a perfectly warm bed this morning at 5:30 AM, poured myself a steaming cuppa joe and browsed news feeds on my laptop. It was snowing. I therefore concluded more winter before the arrival of spring.
The man in the picture above is a fool. You should never grab a groundhog - especially if you are going to wave it around in the air over your head.
From the Algonquian wuchak. Also known as the whistle pig – Marmota monax belongs to the vast squirrel family. They are big rodents.
They are also sinister-looking with their small ears, beady black eyes and very sharp teeth to go with all of their claws. I wouldn’t grab a groundhog any sooner than I'd make a grab for a beaver or a porcupine. They are capable of biting through a human hand. They are all much too dangerous.
Trust me. I know this.
I have had to deal with multiple critters infestations under my barn. This includes everything from bunnies, to raccoons to kittens. One year I had a groundhog. And that bugger was burrowing furiously.
Groundhogs are well-adapted miners. They have short but powerful legs and very sharp claws. They are capable of excavating hundreds of pounds of dirt. And this fella was chucking enough dirt that it wouldn’t be long before he seriously undermined the structural integrity of the barn foundation.
Shooting a woodchuck is against the law in Wisconsin. Yep. They’re protected – just like badgers and wolves. Not wanting to draw the attention of the local game warden and pleading a landowner exception I opted for the old reliable method.
Mothballs.
I poured a box of mothballs down the woodchuck’s hole. Oh sure, your barn will smell like grandma for awhile but critters cannot stand mothballs. And it worked almost immediately for me.
I was puttering in the machine shed when old Phil (smelling strangely of naphthalene) waddled his way into the shed and gave me the hairy eyeball. He was not happy. Actually, he was angry to the point of provocation because he reared-up on his hind legs and gave me a nasty bark.
Taking a machete from the peg board I waved it menacingly and told him to get the heck out of my shed.
He scurried away retreating behind a sheet of plywood leaning against the wall.
I grabbed a garden rake and thrust it in his face.
He snorted and whistled and parried back with his claws.
Claw for claw - back and forth we went. Parry and thrust. I was gaining the upper hand and Phil was losing ground.
Finally forced from the shed he scurried a safe distance from the crazy guy with the rake, turned and gave me a dirty look and waddled-off in the direction of a neighboring farm.
Nasty attitude the groundhog has.
Dangerous too.
*This post was first published on the JSOnline WauwatosaNOW Gas Pains blog on February 2, 2010.
This year’s Deer Camp is the 30th Anniversary Edition. That’s not nearly as long as my neighbors multi-generational traditions but as a latecomer to big game hunting it’s fine by me.
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| Brandy from the land of my birth |
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| Bobby’s homemade smoked Hungarian sausage |
This was followed by venison chili dogs and Lawyer's gourmet venison bolognese.
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| My infamous homemade navy bean soup built upon a foundation of Marchant’s smoked pork hocks. |
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| Jägermeister. Ja! |
Raw beef and onions on marble rye and a half a dozen kinds of cheese, sourdough bread, French baguettes and washed it down with adult beverages from the peninsula stretching all the way to Europe.
The humble hard boiled egg
is the perfect deer stand snack you can fit in the pocket of your parka.
Thanks guys for another hunt in the record books…..
Yes; 30 years of chasing deer. Can you believe it? The Deer Camp is celebrating a Thirtieth Anniversary.
Even the bear is getting in the game.
In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith there is Saint Hubert. Hubertus or Hubert was the first bishop of Liège in 708 AD. A patron of metalworkers, mathematicians and opticians he is considered the patron saint of hunters, archers and hunting dogs.
Born into nobility in 656 Hubert was raised in the Catholic faith yet was not particularly devout. His interests were primarily mastery of those skills and weapons of the time that would benefit his interest in hunting and as a mounted soldier. Moreover, as a member of the privileged class seeking other worldly pleasures.
Hubert married a woman named Floribonne who tragically died after the birth of their son Floribert. Hubert was grief-stricken, confused and so angry with God that he turned from the faith that his wife had sought to rekindle to focus on secular pursuits.
His devotion was to the hunt and not to God.
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| Prague |
As a consequence, Hubert renounced all claim to titles and wealth, turning everything over to his younger brother including the custody of his son. Hubert became a student under Lambert of Maastricht and was eventually ordained a priest.
Hubert evangelized the Ardennes Forest region - inspiring Christians and converting pagans. His title became Apostle of the Ardennes. Following Lambert's death Hubert was appointed bishop of Maastricht and later first bishop of Liège.
Hubert died of natural causes in 727. His legacy of hunting ethics and fair chase continues to this day in the rigorous and extensive hunter education courses of many European countries.
And if you look carefully, on every bottle of Jägermeister you will find this...
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess,
is a Dutch
language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became
incorporated in French and English. Its origins are originally
associated with the mass said on the
anniversary of the founding of a church (or the parish) and in honor of
the Patron Saint. Such religious celebrations were regularly held in
the Low Countries, in Central
Europe and also in Northern France, and were accompanied by feasting,
dancing, drinking
and sports.
The
Dutch-American Village of Little Chute, Wisconsin, has celebrated Kermis
annually since 1981 with a street festival. The Wallonian settlements in
Door and Kewaunee Counties have celebrated Kermis with traditional
Belgian dishes and events for as long as anyone can remember.
Traditionally, Kermis around here stretched over several calendar weeks as each small settlement - Namur, Brussels, Rosiere, Little Sturgeon, Forestville, Lincoln, Duvall and Casco celebrated the harvest and the life-giving bounty of food.
Getting back to the subject of culinary traditions I happened-upon this short video published only a few years ago. I'm sharing it as it is about the tradition of hog butchering in both English and Walloon. Walloon is a national treasure around these parts as it's actually an endangered 'Romance Language' of the Langues d'oïl family - spoken primarily in the Wallonia region of Belgium.
One of the elements of the past that is alive and well is a local favorite called Belgian Trippe.
Trippe (pronounced like: trip) is a sausage similar to a bratwurst but with a not-so-secret ingredient. The thrifty Belgian settlers extended their pork sausage with the inclusion of cabbage. Further seasoned with onion, salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg and ginger it is made locally by Marchant's.
It's pretty good stuff for breakfast, lunch or dinner and you won't find it anywhere outside of northeast Wisconsin.
Here's a newspaper clipping from 1963 with a recipe for 60+ pounds of the sausage for serving at a Kermis - or Belgian harvest festival....
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| click on image for a closer look |
French stilt dancing—called échasses dancing—originates from the Landes region of southwestern France, particularly around towns like Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Sever.
Stilts (échasses) were originally practical tools for shepherds navigating the swampy, marshy terrain of the Landes. The stilts (up to 5 feet high) allowed them to move more easily through water, watch over their flocks, and travel longer distances. With the passage of time, the shepherds and rural people began using stilts in festivities and demonstrations, turning them into a performing art.
The dancing involves traditional folk movements—hops, kicks, twirls, and coordinated group steps—all performed while balanced on stilts. Dancers typically wear traditional regional attire, including berets, vests, and wooden shoes attached to the stilts. The music is performed on traditional instruments like the boha (Gascon bagpipe), flutes, or accordions.
Surface-ripened, aged, and famously malodorous Limburger is a 19th-century northern European cheese that was traditionally layered between slices of dark bread with raw onions and horseradish (or mustard) and washed down with a frosty beer.
When the sandwich-beer combo came to Green County, Wisconsin, with
Swiss and German immigrants, tavern-goers went for it in such a big way
that it wasn’t until decades later, when saloons closed during
Prohibition, that Limburger sales declined.
America’s lone-remaining Limburger cheese factory is in–you guessed
it–Wisconsin! Chalet Cheese Co-op still makes and distributes more than a
million pounds of the stinky cheese annually, and you can order an
authentic Limburger sandwich at Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern in Monroe.
Learn more about the science of Limburger here.
In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people. His feast day is today.
Lake, cousins, food, adult beverages, yuks.
Another annual Rib Fest has come and gone; and thinking about it I hate to admit that I've sorta lost track of how many there have been.
No dogs this year, but there was plenty of terrific food (including ribs) and wake-boarding, jet-skiing, swimming, cruising, adult beverages, hot-tubbing, family stories, yuks and family.
As a consequence of the the family's growing numbers three years-ago we ditched the supper club Friday fish fry and I assumed responsibility for the experience to be held at home.
Saturday featured more aquatic events, fishing from the pier, hanging out on the patio, More food and the pièce de résistance: food on a stick, ribs, sides and desserts.
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