Or late breakfast, rather. At our favorite place. Not an especially early start due to a late night previous.
A hint of spring. Very windy but very sunny, and a temp rising into the low 40s. Pax and I resumed our traditional prairie bike ride/run, though in abbreviated form.
And what about all the returning light? Over eleven hours of it now at this latitude.
Lunch, bike rides, and other good times with Katy and Will.
Chilly with wind off the lake. Rain this evening.
KWiL Publishing has this expectation that its authors have a website to which readers, fans, and others interested parties can refer—in support of published works. I tried to dodge the expectation, but too no avail.
The new site is a hodgepodge collection of odd bits of bric-a-brac, updated occasionally. Right now, there's not much there there, but I hope to add to it over time.
I have no idea where it will go or if it will last. Having no real idea of what it should be or how it should work, putting it together has been as stab in the dark.
Contributions are welcome—anything that would seem to fit the idea of paying attention, connecting to the natural world, thinking about things.
Here's the link: IntoNaturalWorld.org
Pax and I attempted walking the prairie today (Sue south on family business). Some squish and some slip, and some paths blocked by mud or ice, but we covered a good bit of ground. And there was this hawk— working the recently snow-free tall-grass.
...and walking treacherous.
Reading Steven Pinker's new book—Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress—figuring I needed a bit of up to counter all the down swirling around at present. Here's a quote from the intro, a response to a question from a university student:
In the very act of asking that question, you are seeking reasons for your convictions, and so you are committed to reason as the means to discover and justify what is important to you. And there are so many reasons to live! As a sentient being, you have the potential to flourish. You can refine your faculty of reason itself by learning and debating. You can seek explanations of the natural world through science, and insight into the human condition through the arts and humanities. You can make the most of your capacity for pleasure and satisfaction, which allowed your ancestors to thrive and thereby allowed you to exist. You can appreciate the beauty and richness of the natural and cultural world. As the heir to billions of years of life perpetuating itself, you can perpetuate life in turn. You have been endowed with a sense of sympathy—the ability to like, love, respect, help, and show kindness—and you can enjoy the gift of mutual benevolence with friends, family, and colleagues. And because reason tells you that none of this is particular to you, you have the responsibility to provide to others what you expect for yourself. You can foster the welfare of other sentient beings by enhancing life, health, knowledge, freedom, abundance, safety, beauty, and peace. History shows that when we sympathize with others and apply our ingenuity to improving the human condition, we can make progress in doing so, and you can help to continue that progress.
...can result in flooding.
Since neither Pax nor I had waders, our regular walk was blocked. We had to take an alternate route.
I know, Pax, but I'm not wearing boots.
The edge of ice visible here used to be the shoreline before flooding expanded the perimeter of our little in-town lake. I'm guessing the same expansion happened on most Wisconsin lakes, and that makes getting an iceboat on and off the ice a bit problematic.
Possibly three inches of rain in this storm. Lake Michigan/Huron could be high this spring.
...though the heavy stuff seems to be passing to the south and east. Still, the back yard is a big icy pond.
Actually watched a bit of the Olympics today, my favorite fast-action sport—curling. I find curling to be quite exciting, more so than half-pipe or moguls, and way more so than figure skating. It reminds me, somewhat, of soft-water sailboat racing in very light wind. Nothing much happens, but the tension is extreme.
Hard from the south bringing slowly warming air. Barometer beginning to drop.
Good walking conditions on campus. Sue did taxes (she actually doesn't mind it).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heres the text of the "Manitoulin Overview" for the Great Lakes Islands Coalition "Island Showcase."
This is Manitoulin
Manitoulin is the largest freshwater island in the world, with an area of 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi). It separates the larger part of Lake Huron to its south and west from Georgian Bay to its east and the North Channel to the north.
Manitoulin Island itself has 108 freshwater lakes, some of which have their own islands; in turn several of these "islands within islands" have their own ponds. Lake Manitou, at 104 km2 (40 sq mi), is the largest lake in a freshwater island in the world, and Treasure Island in Lake Mindemoya is the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world.
Manitoulin has two incorporated towns, eight townships, and six First Nations. It is home to about 13,000 permanent residents—about 40% First Nation and 60% of European extraction. What sets Manitoulin apart from most other Canadian communities is the unique relationship, indeed partnership, that the two communities have.
The Island is also “home” to many seasonal residents.
Access to the Island is by the seasonally operating Chi-Cheemaun ferry, which runs between South Baymouth and the village of Tobermory on Ontario’s Bruce peninsula; the one-lane swing bridge at Little Current (which is open for 15 minutes every hour in season to allow boats to pass between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron’s North Channel); and by private plane to one of two airports.
Some say that Manitoulin operates in its own time zone—known as ‘Island time’—a simpler, slower pace, more in tune with the environment and the great spirit Manitou. It’s a place for hunting and fishing, bicycle and horseback riding, kayaking and sailing, forest walks and stargazing.
Woods and meadows, pastures and croplands, unique alvars, bays and beaches. Farmers’ markets, summer festivals, powwows. A hospital with two sites, 10 schools (among them two high schools), a variety of coffee shops and restaurants, and even two breweries.
Like the other Great Lakes islands, Manitoulin relies heavily on tourism, but also counts government services, the service industry, and agriculture among its top economic drivers.
Manitoulin Island is a geological wonderland, and home to a great variety of interesting and sometimes unique flora and fauna. Salmon and trout spawn on the Mindemoya, Kagawong and Manitou rivers. Lakes Manitou, Kagawong and Mindemoya are internationally known fishing destinations. Georgian Bay and Lake Huron’s North Channel, with their drinkably clear water, are consistently ranked as one of the finest cruising destinations in the world.
An adventuresome hiking trail winds steeply up the spine of the Niagara escarpment to the Cup and Saucer, the highest spot on Manitoulin Island. From there the horizon stretches in every direction, a panorama of hills, forest, and lake—all surrounded by a ring of bright water.
Well, just a little bit. Today was chilly, though not cold, with a little light snow this evening. The melt continued ever so slightly, and the ice on the lakes is beginning to reappear through snow. Rain and warmth forecast for later in the week, so we may yet iceboat again.
However, I did think of summer during the occasional odd moment, and thinking of summer made me think of Manitoulin, which is now participating the the new organization known as the Great Lakes Islands Coalition (GLIC)—membership open to any island in the five Great Lakes with a year-round population, however small. I will award a significant prize (something like Carl Castle's voice on your answering machine) to anyone who can name seven of them!
Anyway, one thing each island has been asked to do is contribute information and photos to what is known as the GLIC "Island Showcase." Guess who ended up having to write the Manitoulin overview?
A Wisconsin Friday, which means fish-fry, we did with the neighbors, followed by a bit of Olympics watching.
Snow pretty much gone in some places, as under the spruces. Walking treacherous and requiring creepers.
...but still lots to melt. Walking tomorrow, when all the runoff begins freezing, is going to be treacherous.
Once again Sue and I are writing letters to Ryan, Johnson, and Sensenbrenner—Wisconsin's national disgrace. I am accusing them of being complicit in murder, which they are. They value political power and political contributions more than the lives of hundreds of young Americans killed every year by guns. If there is a hell, I am sure these three are going to rot in it.
First title in KWiL Publising's list.
Wind south. Barometer dropping from its recent rarified altitude. Temp almost up to the melting point of ice.
Sue at Victoria Lane today, and again tonight. Pax and I on several good walks, although walking is still difficult, when not treacherous. Big batch of buttermilk fried chicken—for use tomorrow, primarily— just about ready. Maybe I'll pilfer one piece tonight.
...on a cold but sunny day. Actually, too much snow for the sleds to go. We had to trample and shovel something resembling a luge track. But, then again, there was hot cocoa afterward.
Mimi is helping out with the twins, etc. tonight as Bri is in Nashville.
...no, not circuses... but snow shoveling. Snow shoveling has become our new morning routine. But today Sue made bread from scratch, for the first time in 30? years.
...and popcorn balls.
Performing as Steve and Darryl.
Pax and Pip are friends at last, and everyone, of course, likes Buddy.
Almost up to PhD level (piled high and deep). Not the best day to be a squirrel (or anyone else for that matter relying on travel by foot). Squirrels move through the snow in high hops until they eventually stomp the snow flat enough to create a path. On the downstroke of each hop they end up submerged, with nothing visible to the casual observer but tail and ear tips). Squirrels are at a distinct evolutionary disadvantage under such conditions. Pax, for example, with his longer wheel-base can move through the drifts much faster. Knowing this, I bang on the garage door prior to opening it so the freeloaders under the bird feeder are warned and can get a head start. Pax would have caught several anyway, if he had really tried.
The Great Toter Heist mystery has been solved.
Last garbage day two of our near neighbors woke up to find their Recycle Toter Bins missing—and the alert went out. It had been a windy night, but these heavy toter things don't blow far, and nothing was noticed under any bushes or other shrubbery. So, putting all the pieces together, I immediately decided that the culprits were the undesirables who used to live around the block in the corner house—until they destroyed it. These guys are still attending classes at the U. (which in itself is a stain on the concept of so-called higher education), and are now parking their big trucks illegally in the neighborhood. These dudes are the kind of lowlife who would think nothing of stealing a toter from a one-legged, destitute, half-blind centenarian.
But today we learned that the robot arm on one of the new garbage trucks servicing our neighborhood was improperly calibrated. Instead of lifting the toters along our avenue and dumping their contents into the truck, it threw everything in—contents, along with the whole darn bin itself.
It looks like the hawk is back. It seems to be here about the same time each year. Is it migratory?
At Greenland School.
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago…
—Christina Rossetti
Actually, not bleak around here at all today—rather...sparkling with brightness—until afternoon clouds—but hard and cold, for sure.
Sue helping out with the twins today.
