April was quite a month, hitting the books as the third wettest April on record—which
means it was not only wet, but dark and gloomy.
But despite the depressing weather, it was a full, happy month, since
Mark and Hilde got to see Jim, Kayme, grandkids and John and Evie for a kind of
Holy Week tour of relatives. The energy
level with the three grandkids is “very high” and they enjoy cuddling, reading
and constant motion. Caleb turned two
this month and while he stubbornly resists using his vocabulary (on the ‘I
point and grunt, you figure it out’ theory), he was heard singing quite nicely! The two warmest days of the month occurred
while Mark and Hilde were at John’s helping with yard work and repairs to the
deck. The heat and sun since were so
invigorating.
Whenever the weather permitted, the work on brush and woo0d
cutting continued. Mark and Hilde spent
one day at Lomira laboring to cut and haul downed trees up to the area planned
for sap cooking. It was pleasant in the
woods that day, after they managed to “un-stick” themselves from the gummy corn
field. The last of the giant elm was cut
up and cleaned up from, so the patio is ready for picnics and quiet times.
While the weather was nasty, Mark and Hilde worked to reduce
any hazard of fire in the incubation area of the basement. This involved some tricky installations of
the heavy fire-retardant drywall, retrofitting the secondhand and homemade
incubator with the discovery that the more thermometers you test, the more
different readings you get. Finally, on the 30th, eggs from the
family flock were set, with Mark being the ‘cluck’ and handling temps, humidity
and turning three times a day. Hilde is
quite happy to allow him this privilege now.
Baby chicks should be emerging May 21.
Mark and Hilde also worked on promoting the YMCA taekwondo
class and are hoping to participate in summer camps to let folks know about the
Y classes. While there are more small
schools around, the Stevens Taekwondo Academy is the longest running (35 years)
and the most black belt rich program around.
The finale for the month included attending a special
fund-raiser dinner down Wisconsin Lutheran College, where former president
George W. Bush received the Divine Servant award and spoke. It was a lovely evening, foreshortened by a
MASSIVE traffic stoppage on US 41, meaning several attendees, including Mark
and Hilde, coming from the north, were quite late but enjoyed every minute
there.
Hoping that the last snow is behind us (yes, several snows
in april), the Rudolph Henkels want to get going on yard and garden work, and
maybe enjoy some patio and deck time too!
