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| Giant rutabaga |
September was seriously over-stuffed with both Mark and
Hilde running at high speed. It was a
fine month for the bounty of garden (and rain) which kept the Henkels
busy. Having harvest coincide with all
the budget meetings for Wood County is often a challenge, but this year more
meetings (due to a serious budget shortfall) were wedged into Hilde’s schedule
and a tasty avalanche of tomatoes meant many
batches of tomato soup were cooked up and tucked into the freezer. Friends and family benefited from the
surplus---some 24 boxes of tomatoes were shared with neighbors, black belts,
friends and First Law Group folks. A dozen
giant rutabaga were dug, with the surplus going to St. Paul’s fall bizarre, and
for the first time the grape vine on the chimney produced enough for Hilde to
made wild grape jelly---nummy! Many
batches of zucchini muffins and bread were frozen, corn relish made and even
basil dried with only a tiny fire in the microwave.
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| Gordons Resort Door County |
All month, Mark was in lots of meetings, as the law firm contemplated
an offer for their building on Hoover.
Late in the month, with closing date set for late October, the hunt for
new quarters began, entailing more meetings.
This will be a challenge, but surely is an interesting one. In between meetings, Mark finally achieved an
end to leaks from the main shed roof AND the roofers discovered the short
length where the ice and water shield had failed to adhere, solving
the 5 months of leaks into Jim’s
closet area. This made everyone very
happy! Mark spent lots of time clearing
and hauling brush from the fencerows…lots more to do on that before winter.
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| Mark checks new location for law firm? |
It wasn’t all work:
Mark and Hilde took a short break in Door County enjoying the views
and hikes, enhanced by no cell coverage
so no one could call them! Hilde had a great
day of face-to-face scrabble with Irene and the 50th reunion of Mark’s
class from Winnebago Lutheran Academy was very pleasant. Hilde ‘s extra meetings included a
preparedness demo from a pipeline company and a day tour of Wood County
projects, getting out on cranberry marshes, farm, airport and tour of waste
treatment (more interesting than you would guess). Getting outside for meetings is much better
than sitting in the courthouse.
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| WLA reunion |
Hilde’s mother scared them a little as she was admitted to
hospital and had heart catherization, but now seems to be doing fine. Hilde’s niece Leslie got engage, so next year
will bring a wedding. And Mark and Hilde
acquired a sleek little black cat named Spock, who is a real cuddler and
lively, too. He is being kept mostly on
the porch until the other, uninvited, visitors are eliminated. Skunks have been rooting up the Henkel lawn
and two neighbors. Soon they will get
taken care of.
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| Really tall sunflower |
Combining business with pleasure, Mark and Hilde stopped en
route to the counties convention to take Hilde’s mother to dinner. Unfortunately a total downpour occurred as
they arrived at a closed restaurant, but only Terri and Hilde got really
wet. Jim and Kayme brought the kids over
for a fun family meal at Culvers.
Watching grandkids enjoy ice cream is a grand way to end the summer
months!
In between all these activities, the Henkels took time to
walk, take pictures, and just give thanks for the beauty of late summer and
fall. Everywhere they looked, there was
color and abundance and lushness. “Every prospect pleases” surely applies to
fall in Wisconsin.
