More Symphony…

…this time Bruckner…

…after a Mozart concerto.

Bruckner is not the sort of thing you walk away from humming a tune, but it does demonstrate the power of an orchestra, especially one well well equipped with brass, including four Wagner tubas.

Most moving to me was the unscheduled Ukraninian folk song played as an opening piece, followed my a period of silence. Conductor Ken-David Masur, who grew up behind the iron curtain, and last conducted the Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in Moscow, explained how colleagues in Russia have been calling him to apologize for their country.

Heavy Equipment

Ben and James are truck and heavy equipment experts. They are proud of their encyclopedic knowledge, but very willing to share, so if you ever want to know about big rigs, skid steerers, float trailers, or the advantages and disadvantages of treads vs wheels, you know who to ask.

The boys would have been up in the cabs here as the Cravath Lake dredging crew rush to get everything, including the corduroy road, off the mud before warmer temps thaw it and make escape impossible.

Welcome To March

More melting, so, in theory, March came in like a lamb. (Of course, there already is a lamb around here—the one being nurtured at the Nies household, so March is late to the date.)

Formerly magnificent cottonwood at a park in town.

Little of note to report on, except that we got a trailer hitch installed on the Rav, which gives us the benefit of a solid bike rack and the ability to tow the Whitehall pulling boat when we need to (and schlep all the toys up north).
Meanwhile, I’m continuing my study of native American cultures, and that brought me back to Keith Basso’s great book, Wisdom Sits In Places, which features the Apache way of viewing things. Here is an excerpt:

“Stated in general terms, the Apache theory holds that 'wisdom' is a heightened mental capacity that facilitates the avoidance of harmful events by detecting threatening circumstances when none are apparent. This capacity for prescient thinking is produced and sustained by three mental conditions, described in Apache as smoothness of mind, resilience of mind, and steadiness of mind. Because none of these conditions is given at birth, each must be cultivated in a conscientious manner by acquiring relevant bodies of knowledge and applying them critically to the workings of one's mind. 

Like cleared plots of land, smooth minds are unobstructed—uncluttered and unfettered—a quality which permits them to observe and reason with penetrating clarity. Skeptical of outward appearances, smooth minds are able to look through them and beyond them to detect obscured realities and hidden possibilities. Unencumbered by obstacles to insightful thinking, smooth minds “see danger before it happens” and “trouble before it comes.” Thus does wisdom flourish.

Mental smoothness is believed by Apaches to be the product of two subsidiary conditions—mental resilience and mental steadiness.

Resilient minds do not give in to panic or fall prey to spasms of anxiety or succumb to spells of crippling worry. Largely immune to emotional turbulence, they do not become agitated or disoriented.

While resilience of mind contributes to mental smoothness by blunting the effects of external distractions, ‘steadiness of mind’ accomplishes this objective by removing the sources of internal ones.

Steady human minds maintain themselves in a manner that ensures their own stability and reliability. This is achieved by relinquishing all thoughts of personal superiority and by eliminating aggressive feelings toward fellow human beings. As a result, steady minds are unhampered by feelings of arrogance or pride, anger of vindictiveness, jealousy or lust—all of which present serious hindrances to calm and measured thinking. Steady minds “forget about themselves” and conduct their social affairs in harmony and peace.”

Breaking The Freeze Barrier…

…and almost up to 40. Some chipping and a little chopping, and progress is being made on de-icing.

Conditions improved enough to take the dogs on a longish walk on the east-side trail.

And, last night (and tonight as well) Couscous with Tomatoes, Olives, Spinach, Basil, and crumbly cheese, from the Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, as suggested by Abby. Hard to beat. Very tasty. And good.

Bad Weather…

…and, apparently, more to come.

The gutter drain pipes under the sidewalk are frozen, so sun melt coming down the downspout leaks out and freezes.

Way back when Abby made me start this blog, she said that if I had nothing to write about I could just take a photo of the barometer. Here it is.

The red needle is yesterday (high pressure), while the black needle is this afternoon, and with every tap, the black needle is moving counterclockwise. Things are about to get worse.

Chipping Out

A good bit of sun helped, but temps still well below freezing.

This is the latest in bird treats—iced suet

Speaking of chipping out reminds me of the old tale of how the Chippewa First People got their name: living in the north as they did, they were frequently faced with ice storms and had to constantly Chippewa. (NB, I can also tell you exactly how Crawling Stone Lake up in northern Wisconsin got its name.) (But don’t get me started or I will be likely to pose you the riddle about the Big Indian and the Little Indian.)

In other news, I pretty much finished building the website for the Arboretum At Starin Park. Still a few areas to fill out, and proofreading still needed, but close to workable. You can see it here: The Arboretum At Starin Park.

Well Glazed

Thunder sleet, mixed with freezing rain made for a tough, icy crust over everything.

Twice I had to chip and hammer to get the top of the bird feeder open (the birds were ravenous). Getting the walks and drive down to concrete was heavy work of the chop and shove variety. It took two gallons of warmish water to soften things up enough to permit a first scrape of the truck’s windshield. But, sadly, it is once again heavily encrusted, and I may be locked out of the vehicle until March.

An East Wind…

…blows no good. Here in Whitewater an east wind is blowing, with predictions of sleet and freezing rain, and that is causing a bit of panic—City government is closed tomorrow (messing up a meeting I had scheduled), schools are closed, and the grocery store in Fort was very busy with what our checker called panic buying. Could the meteorologic hype machine be using the east wind to fan some flames? Stay tuned, as they say.

In other news we saw two more bald eagles today, on the way to Fort. They were worrying a deer carcass lying in a farm field not far off the road.

MSO

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concert at its new (renovated) home in Bradley Symphony Hall.

Here for the pre-program

And the presenter of the pre-program, discussing the highlights of the pieces to be played

Photos not allowed during the concert. On the program, Delius, Elgar, and Beethoven. The Sixth Symphony was delightful.

Snow Squall…

…last night.

After the brief but intense, squall

Photo by Sue

Last night our phones exploded three times with screeching warnings about a blinding snow squall. Being securely ensconced in a stone house, we ignored he warnings and watched an episode. Nonetheless, it was a fearsome event, with heavy snow and insane winds, but for brief duration.

This morning we had to shovel, in low double digit temps. Later we went for cold walk across part of the deserted campus and saw a big bald eagle circling overhead.

Freezing Blast

Wind warning. Icy sidewalks.

While Sue was helping out on projects in Cedarburg I worked on the Arboretum website (between walks and exercise). While a sedentary activity, it is still interesting—lots of figuring things out and devising hacks and workarounds.

The ISA regatta was scheduled for today on Mendota, and apparently lots of boats showed up, but not me. And, anyway, the races were cancelled, due to excess atmospheric velocity.

Sidewalk Treachery

Limited walking today, as creepers the only safe bet.

Much wildlife on and under the bird feeder. One of the many squirrels is becoming ecologically naïve; it seems to have lost all fear of large hominids. If I liked squirrels better I could probably train it to eat out of my hand. And, last night, under the floodlights, a brace of rabbits were observed gnawing on spillage. So far, the only sign of deer is poop.

Much of the day devoted to working on the Arboretum website purchased yesterday by the City of Whitewater. Although I am familiar with Squarespace, the host, the learning curve is still steep, and almost as slippery as the sidewalks. If the brain is a muscle, I’m getting a workout, in spite of the weather.

Rain Before Snow

A dark, grey day, but warm.

I watched an injured sparrow spend nearly an hour on the feeder this morning, mostly sitting still, occasionally taking a few steps and eating a few seeds, and every so often standing at the edge of the platform, looking over, and clearly debating the advisability of stepping off. Eventually, after other birds began to crowd the feeder, it did step over the edge, and with very erratic and troubled flight made it to a tree out back.
Every creature has agency, and I am hoping this little being will make it through the night and be back a the feeder tomorrow morning.