November 2019 Blustery and Busy

November was such a busy month!  The weather was really cold for most of the month---9 degrees is a bit chilly even for Wisconsin, in early November!  Mark and Hilde spent a lot of time in the swamp and the sugar bush, working out trails, refreshing hunting stands and then building a couple more stands in preparation for deer season.  Since the water was high and the terrain tangled from the logging tops and the wind storms, it took effort and concentration to get anywhere, but they enjoyed their time in the wet woods.

Hilde has turned into a ‘crafting machine’ as one friend put it.  She has completed knitting four sweaters for grandchildren, sewed together four other projects for them and got most of a quilt finished during the month.  During the same period, she got the final fruits and veggies preserved, enjoying the last of the zucchini, late applesauce batches and pumpkin goodies.  

 

Mark worked diligently to get the house and property ready for winter, cutting the raspberry canes, putting up snow fence and  rabbit fence, removing hanging tree limbs and getting the tractor chains on the Minnie.  He has been putting considerable time in on the one case out in Minnesota, while struggling to get his laptop to resync with the scanner/printer.  Those tech issues surely can consume time!  He also helped the neighbor replace the steps and handrail on his deck---paying forward some of the help Henkels received when they moved out to Rudolph.

The highlight of the month was deer season, since Jim, Kayme and all three kids were here.  Jim and Mark enjoy hunting together and all the time in the woods.  Although a nice 6 pointer got away, they are optimistic about the return of deer. For several years there were simply no deer,, but the numbers are up now.  While the men were out hunting, Hilde and Kayme enjoyed time with the each other and the kids.  It is hard to believe that Rhiannon is almost 9!  Legos were the main for all three kids this trip, but Rowan enjoyed working on a plastic canvas project and did all but the finishing work on it, a turkey.  It was a real joy to have them all here.

 

John and Evie report that Rosemary is settling in (3 months old now!) and Hazel adjusting to the new day care group since she is two.  Hilde’s mother has recovered completely from her surgery last month and is adjusting well to the smaller apartment to which she shifted this month.  The Bormann side of the family expanded as Hilde’s youngest niece had her first daughter, named Scarlett.  Mark found out that one of his cousins has moved back to Wisconsin so a get together is going to be planned.

The winter varieties of birds have been very active at the feeders---watching the small birds tweak tail feathers and swoop to startle the larger birds off is fascinating.  There are lots of woodpeckers, cardinals and nuthatches around to brighten the landscape. 

Thanksgiving was pretty quiet, as Mark and Hilde observed it with church, a feast for the two of them and time to really count up their blessings.  Sometimes those quiet times are really precious, especially before the busy end of the year with holidays, and special observances.

Silly and Sweet:  Caleb, Rowan and Rhiannon

High Octane October 2019

What a month!  Henkels were busy bees, the weather varied wildly from a few golden days, to many cool, wet days and three days of snow, and the family experienced birthdays, emergency surgeries and other special events.  October was FULL!

Those early days of cold prompted the earliest ever switch to flannel sheets and some very hurried outdoor activities.  Hilde hustled to plant fall bulbs, ruthlessly prune the forsythia (again) and get those brilliantly colored blueberry bushes tucked in with pine needle mulch.  Mark went aloft to tuckpoint and repaint the chimney, picked late raspberries until about the last week (once after the first snow!), pruned SOME of the wild grape vine on the antenna tower and crafted two beautiful wooden spoons from heritage Lomira ash.

That last project was preceded by dealing with a mess in the wood shop, where an enterprising mouse had made a nest IN Mark’s drill press.  Cleaning that up took hours and disassembly of the drill press.  Mark and Hilde also made an   early Christmas delivery, taking the refurbished JD lawnmower down to Jim and Kayme just before Halloween, between those aforementioned snows.

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The usual fall harvest finales took time:  the Henkels had some helping hands for the major chicken butchering on a fine frosty morning, and did the last three roosters (which needed fattening) a couple weeks later.  They dug the poor carrot crop, brought in the three pie pumpkins and all the deck plants and enjoyed one last dinner on the deck, too.  After picking apples and clearing the garden, Hilde was quite busy making applesauce, drying apples, freezing final peppers and making a few more batches of those delicious chocolate zucchini muffins for winter desserts.  Mark got the fence down, and then the gardens disked up so things were ready for winter.

 

The autumn colors were lovely, but the season late and then shortened by the early snow and cold.  Mark and Hilde took some time to enjoy one day at Horicon, another at Lake Sherwood and a special fish fry down at the Silvercryst in Wautoma.  While they were not able to visit them, they rejoiced in Rowan’s 7^th birthday and Hazel’s 2^nd  birthday---both happy girls and growing nicely.

Hilde has been on a crafting binge:  she finished one really interesting afghan in rich colors, knit two children’s sweaters and sewed a table runner, just to try out a pattern she noticed on line.  Mark started getting fairly busy on the (final???) out of state lawsuit, so phones were ringing, the printer was spewing lots of paper and his usual pacing to and fro began.

On the family side, Alana and Justin visited on a nice Sunday, and Hilde’s mother scared everyone by having an emergency appendectomy at age 87.  After a couple weeks in rehab, Arlene is back at her assisted living apartment and doing well.  One of the neighbors on Tower Road dropped over dead way too young (55) and made everyone think about “numbering their days aright.”  

Annual physicals and the ensuing scans and tests took some time, but with those were all fine.  The flat tire on one car, and nearly empty gas tank on the other were only minor irritations ---and they were not even late for the taekwondo class---just not as early as usual.

Mill Creek mid month

With the wet conditions, two expeditions to the Seneca swanp were quite challenging:  high water, tangled tops from past logging disguised by tall undergrowth, and hidden stumps.  The moss and leaves were quietly beautiful, as Mark and Hilde struggled to find and reclear the serpentine path leading to the back deer stand out there!  As usual way out in rural Rudolph, no trick or treaters, but a quiet night for Mark and Hilde to snuggle down and face up to an early winter. 

 

So Wisconsin!

Soggy September 2019

Very high wild grapes

Wet, very wet—the only way to describe the month of September.  Wisconsin is on the way to the wettest year ever, and Mark and Hilde were grateful to be high on their hill in Rudolph.  In between all the rains, the late harvest kept them busy:  lots and lots of tomatoes, a wonderful crop of cauliflower and late cucumbers, plus the fall raspberries. 

Many days Mark was out gathering some of the above while Hilde was stewing, juicing, saucing and freezing all of it.  The yield is gratifying after a tough growing season, mid-season neglect and lots of pests.  The late cauliflower was magnificent and plentiful.

 

Hilde and her mom

Family visits started and ended the month.  Early in September, Mark and Hilde rejoiced as John and Evie’s second daughter, Rosemary, was baptized, and Uncle Jim managed to come down for the occasion.  Then it was back to their normal schedule including the start of a new taekwondo session with 14 new white belts and fall work.

There were times eked out for friends this month.  Hilde met her county board friend Donna for lunch and then the craft friends all got together for a lunch before Melodie headed south for the winter.  It is surely true that “old” friends are “gold” friends!

September wrapped up with Mark and Hilde heading down to Waukesha County.  They were able to have a longer visit with Hilde’s mother, who is doing well since the cataract surgery.  They shared some special times with Jim, Kayme and the grandkids—supper out at Culvers, a relaxed Saturday morning and then a trip to a local pumpkin patch.  This was a high-end amusement area, with a corn maze (we got rather turned around there), bouncing pillows, various tossing games, tractor pulls and even pig races.  The kids had a ball.

The timing for the visit centered around Hilde’s 50^th high school reunion—Arrowhead Class of 1969.  It was really fun and interesting to see folks for the first time in many years.  At first, they are not very recognizable, but then a tilt of the head, a particular laugh, a way of walking, and it all comes back.  Some of Hilde’s classmates from the tiny Richmond School were there—3 out of 5!  Even as an observing spouse, Mark found it fun and interesting.  Hilde was so glad to get together with Marilyn, Donna and others there.

Hilde, Greg McKerrow, Dennis Evinrude

At the very end of September, Wisconsin weather turned whimsical—lots of rain and coolth and then for the 30^th, record heat with Rudolph hitting 85 degrees.  The break in wet and gloom allowed Hilde and Mark to zoom around doing outside chores, including caulking leaks in shed roofs and getting almost all the lawn cut, as they used both mowers, and broke out the shorts for one more day.  The colors are slow in showing this year, but the fall asters and bees were certainly happy.

 

2019 Summer Rush

Summer suddenly went into high gear for Mark and Hilde in July and August and sped by with little time to catch their breaths.  They worked very diligently on the gardens in early July, as mark was preparing for a long, out-of-state trial.  The garden was really cleaned up before they left, and they had time to pick a third batch of delicious Arnold’s strawberries, too.

This year Hilde’s birthday was a very quiet celebration.  It was marked by the news that wolves had killed 13 sheep in western Wood County, making everyone in area nervous.   Mark and Hilde did get to meet Dr. Stevens and Sue for  lunch up in Abbotsford.  After so many years of friendship, it has been sad to have Doc  out of easy reach and was so good to see him and just visit.  Hilde also attended funeral visitation for Gary Allwarden, a friend from the county board, getting to brighten that farewell with a quick visit with Heather Quackenboss. 

Then it was time to pack up and head to Mankato for Mark’s trial.  Having reliable, helpful neighbors to care for animals while they are gone surely helps Mark and Hilde do all this kind of travel.   Both masters Karen Johnson and Kim Buehler covered the taekwondo classes for them, too. Since the weather was really hot and rainy, Hilde took along lots of craft work but also drove around enjoying summer sights.  She also went over on day to Owatonna for a  visit with nephew Curt’s family—wife Lori, and delightful sons, Henry and Jonathan.   Cuddling  the boys was a real treat!

Since the trial hours were going really long, Mark and Hilde decided to come home very early Saturday, leaving at 4:30.  This turned out to be a very important decision, as they arrived home about 30 minutes before an historic storm smashed into Wood and Portage County.   The devastation of the derecho winds and flash flooding was hard to comprehend.  The Henkels lost power, lost the favorite snow apple tree (which was loaded with apples) lost four large limbs off of various trees, and the garden appeared to be trashed with four foot corn stalks flattened and the ground nearly quicksand.  Since the garage door had still been open, Mark was able to drive to Marshfield (local stations out of power also) to get gasoline for the  generator.   After 10 hours the power came back on and Hilde hurried through laundry and repacking, going right back to Mankato in the morning.  Most of Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point was shredded and many areas  were still out of power for days, and the clean up of downed and damaged trees went on for two months in the area.  The storm of July 2019 will be remembered.

 Back in Mankato, the weather improved and Hilde was able to find a used book store, and spend an afternoon in the beautiful Sibley Park.  The craft work really got done, and Hilde also worked on some of the family history files from the hotel room.  Unfortunately being out of state meant that Hilde could not attend services for  long-time Rudolph town chairman, Jim Bushmaker, with whom she had worked and respected.  On the weekend instead of a nine-hour round trip, Mark and Hilde stayed in Mankato after the second week of trial, giving Mark more time to rest up from the rigors of a high-stress trial.  Then suddenly, middle of the third week, as Hilde was just beginning her visit to the historical museum, the case settled and packing up became the order of the day. 

    

Heat and lots of moisture had transformed the garden in two and a half weeks:  the weeds were tangled and waist high but also the corn had righted itself and shot up to 8 foot high!   So Mark and Hilde dug in and weeded, weeded and weeded, while picking beans and zucchini and cucumbers.  The blueberries were really great and even missing the beginning of the crop, they were able to freeze enough for Hilde’s Saturday morning treat of blueberry pancakes. 

The catch up continued in August, with extra taekwondo events, testing students both at the YMCA and at Karen’s.  The rainy weather continued:  central Wisconsin and other areas are on track for the wettest year ever!  Somehow, mark and Hilde managed to freeze and enormous amount of corn, put up sweet pickles and relish and then had friends over twice for corn roasts.  They visited Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac (and the alpacas!) and annual treat, and enjoyed the Edgar steam show.  It felt like things were getting back into the normal rhythm.  Jim's kids started school, even Caleb.

But the best was yet to come as John and Evie asked for grandparents to come a little earlier than planned in August, so Mark and Hilde had time to play with Hazel a day before her sister arrived on August 31!  It was a special unique joy to hold little Rosemary Henkel just hours after birth, to care for Hazel while her parents were bonding with  the newborn and then be present when Rosemary was baptized—in the new Henkel family baptismal gown Hilde finished in July..  Uncle Jim canceled a class and came for the baptism, and her Williams grandparents arrived in time also.  Loads of love and happiness were present!

So a hurried and somewhat frazzled summer came to a very joyous end as the Henkel family expanded.