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| Putting up the Brooder House |
Fall is a wonderful time and this October, Mark and
Hilde managed to enjoy every bit of it, from family visits to tramping around
in the woods and the first fleeting snowfall.
Right in the beginning of the month they packed up
and attended the World Dairy Expo in Madison, learning interesting facts, and
marveling at all the dairy-related equipment and doo-dads. Then off to visit Hilde’s mother, who is
doing pretty well and managing at home okay.
Then over to Jim and Kayme’s where those amazing little girls are
growing, learning and getting to be even more fun. Family and friends gathered to watch the
Packers win on Thursday night, with the little girls bouncing around .
Mark helped straighten and shore up the yard shed
and then tackled a bad socket and tuck-pointing a crack in the foundation.. Hilde enjoyed spending time playing with the
girls, watching them at their music class and getting some time to visit with
Kayme.
Going out to Culvers one evening was really fun as
Rhiannon ate a lot, and Rowan charmed everyone in hearing, giggling and playing
peek-a-boo through the vegetation. The
family is planning an expansion in April and the grandparents are very happy
about it. Every visit means something
new going on, or an interesting new stage with the girls. This time, Mark even got to assist in
bottling operations with Jim…he never thought to be doing that.
Straight from Jim and Kayme’s, Mark and Hilde went to
John and Evie’s, though the construction everywhere made for a slow and
irritating journey…detours, slow downs and harried drivers. In Palatine, they met the new dog (Kubla) and
Mark immediately began working with John on the drywalling of the garage
ceiling. Those two work very well
together and managed over Saturday and Sunday to complete the insulation and
drywall, plus some of the mudding. John
surely enjoys having a house to work on and he is doing a great job on the
various tasks. Evie made a delicious
squash soup and brownies, and everyone
enjoyed relaxing together in the evening.
For the next couple of weeks, as the days shortened
and cooled, Mark spent all his non-business time finishing the rebuild of the brooder
house, with Hilde painting it and assisting in putting it all back
together. Hilde mowed lawn for the last
time, Mark dug carrots and they picked even more apples. The fruit cellar is full of bounty and
goodness, because it was a good year for the garden, lots of apples and
tomatoes, and all has been ‘put up.’
Both Mark and
Hilde assisted at a taekwondo testing and Hilde taught a self-defense
introduction at UW-Stevens Point with
Karen Johnson. She also had almost
double the average number of meetings for the month---including election worker
training, instructions on performance review changes and a seminar on the new
phosphorus rules. Mark had one tough
morning, when fasting for his physical, when the car had a flat, the jack was
too short and finally a crowbar needed to pry the wheel off. Thank goodness the flat didn’t occur on the
road without the additional tools needed to change the tire!
October finished with a couple of delightful
days. Claudette and Loren invited the
Henkels down for lunch and playtime while they were caring for Rhiannon and
Rowan. Good food, good friends and fun
with girls who enjoy shuffling around in Grammy’s shoes, popping out of boxes
and cuddling up for a nap….can’t ask for a nicer afternoon. At the very end of the month, Mark took off a
day, knowing that with a trial coming soon, things would get very busy. Mark and Hilde returned to Green Lake to
enjoy a long walk on the shoreline, scuffing through leaves and admiring the fall landscape, then went over
to Grand River Marsh for fresh air and sweeping horizons. That is a very good way to relax before
things get into high gear.
Finally this morning, for a Halloween trick, Mother
Nature sent an inch of snow to coat the ground and end the growing season. So ends the month.
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| Mark and John working on ceiling |
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| Plum Road was plum golden |
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| Cuddling two sweet grandgirls |
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| Practicing like Mommy |
