Windshield time

You know you never seem to miss something until it is gone. I learned that about windshield time this week. For those of you who don't know what windshield time is, it is the amount of time you spend driving a vehicle. I logged five hours of windshield time yesterday and it got me to thinking...

When I left my last job, which included a 30-minute commute, to start my new one where I don't even have to turn on my car most days, I thought this is great! I don't have to be wasting an hour a day, five hours a week or 260 hours a year sitting in my vehicle doing nothing besides getting from point A to point B. My realization yesterday, though, was that the time I spent was more than just sitting in the car. It was valuable time to process my day. To think about what I was going to do at work, what I was going to do when I got home, and what I was going to do about life in general.

Now that my commute is no more than a walk up or down the stairs, I don't get a lot of think time in. Almost instantaneously I'm thrown from my work life into my home life and vice versa. Don't get me wrong, I'll take spending an hour with my family over spending an hour in the car most days, however I think I've been missing time to think - at least that's what I thought of yesterday during my five-hour drive.

During the drive, I recalled all that I accomplished in my regular commute, some of which included planning my wedding and determining the right steps to take upon winning the lottery - a game plan every Powerball player needs because you never know when the lucky moment will strike.

In my drive yesterday I accomplished some big things. I figured out what to get my dad for his birthday, which was very important because his birthday happened to be yesterday. I was then even able to acquire said gift during my travels. I also figured out the cream pie I will take to my family Thanksgiving party. Who knows this could be another Stoughton Fair champion in the works. Lastly I figured out a way to reduce the size of the floor plan in my future home. Not that I'm moving or building anytime soon, it's always a good plan to have in your back pocket.

Hopefully with it being meeting season and all, I'll be able to log a little more windshield time and get the rest of life's troubles sorted out.

Our new 'house' guest

Just today I was thinking I really need to update my blog, but no great ideas were coming to mind. And then, it came to me. Yes, literally came to my back door...in the form of this cute cat.

 

Okay, well she/he is a little squinty, but that's from my camera flash. Really the cat is rather adorable, which says a lot coming from me. I am more a dog person than a cat person.

I must credit my mother with my great ability to care for stray cats. As the keeper of 20 to 30 barn cats, my mom always had a new cat to try to tame, and she usually had a scratch or two to show for it. Yet Mom insisted that every cat on her property needed to learn where the food was and how to run with the pack.

Therefore when this creature was spotted at the back door she/he immediately was treated to a bowl full of turkey followed by a bowl full of milk. 

I then got to thinking about how the cats on the farm always had a comfortable place to be at night and that we couldn't offer such a place. So with the help of my family (who shall remain nameless), we secured a box and blanket and coaxed the cat from the back door around to the shed where hopefully it can curl up and stay warm through the night. 

Another warm place would be in the house, but while I'm on the fence about being a cat person, I definitely know that I am an outdoor animal person. I have enough work to do cleaning up after the creatures that already live in my home that I certainly don't need to add another.

I'm not sure how long this cat will be here, but we'll do our best to provide good food and the bed in a box for as long as it chooses to stay. Maybe it will decide it's not such a bad place and will stick around for awhile. Our mouse population may not like it, but since I really don't like them that's not a problem. Maybe it will decide to travel back to its home, which may be right down the road. That will be okay too since home is the best place for everyone.

Although we aren't terribly attached yet, we have started to work on names. At this point it has been called Lola (that's the name of the daycare lady's dog and what most furry animals are called) and ya-ya (because that's how the little one says meow-meow).

Woolly caterpillars

While taking a walk the other day, four woolly caterpillars crossed my path and I couldn't help but notice how big their brown stripe is this year. Now, that stripe is said to mean something about winter as I recall, but just what had escaped my memory. So I grabbed a quick photo and planned to look it up later.

When doing intense research online, I always start with my good friend Google. I can't recall the first time I met Google, but I know there was an instant connection and we've been pals ever since. Certainly Google has led me astray from time to time and occasionally doesn't have the answer I am looking for, but then again what friend is perfect all of the time. (Once and a while I've tried to befriend Bing, but that relationship is still too new to count on for something as important as woolly caterpillars and the upcoming winter.)

So Google connected me with the greatest information provider of the World Wide Web - yup, that's right, Wikipedia!*

Wikipedia says woolly caterpillars or woolly bears or woolly worms (however you may want to call them) are scientifically known as Arctiidae. (It doesn't provide annunciation so neither will I.)

It also tells me that the winter folklore I was referring to above is that these caterpillars have the ability to predict the weather, similar to that of the groundhog. (Now don't get me started on groundhogs and winter - Did you know they hibernate? I learned that the hard way! Anyways that's a story for another day.) As I recalled the severity of the upcoming winter may be indicated by the amount of black on the caterpillar. More brown than black means a fair winter, but more black than brown means a harsh winter.

So here's what I saw...

...looks like we're in for a harsh winter.

That's what people tell me they've read in the Farmer's Almanac, too. I better go out and buy an extra pair of gloves!


*As a journalist I feel it is my right to declare that while Wikipedia hits it right on from time to time, it should not be trusted as fully researched and factual information in all that it provides - much like the entire Internet system. Know your sources before you believe everything you hear or read!

Question of the day

You may have noticed a new tab on my blog called "Question of the Day." It is something new we are starting in my family and I thought it might be of use to all of you.

We were talking this weekend about how easy it is for our thoughts to be consumed by the struggles of our daily lives. And then after you spend all day thinking about them it seems to be all that is talked about in the evening too.

So I came up with this idea to challenge our spare time thinking during the day and help spur evening conversation. Each morning a Question of the Day will be announced. Answers are to be thought up throughout the day and then talked about over dinner (or another time if family dinner isn't possible that evening).

I plan to post the question each morning on the blog page and send it to my Twitter account. My personal Facebook friends and family can also see it there. Feel free to add your answers by commenting in any location of your preference (the blog page, Facebook or Twitter).

Note: Questions will only be posted Monday through Friday as the weekend is not meant for lots of thinking. There will probably be no new questions for all major holidays as well.

The dry spell at Lee Lake

It rained, it rained, it rained! We've had an unusually dry fall here in southern Wisconsin and it's been more of a blessing than a burden. It was most noticed by an early and fast harvest, but we could also witness it in the lowlands where I live. The other day I went for a walk to take some pictures of what this month of no rain has meant for us.

First, I must quick tell the story of how Lee Lake came to be so you can better understand what the pictures truly mean. In August of 2007, my home was struck with 20-some inches of rain. That winter we had a record 100-plus inches of snowfall, which melted on top of the already saturated soils. To make matters worse we received more than a dozen inches of rain in June. All-in-all they claimed it to be a 500-year moisture event, which means our area would receive that much moisture once every 500 years. Aren't we lucky to have been here at that exact time?

Well, we truly were lucky because the people who built our house more than 100 years ago positioned it on the highest part of the property, which meant when water was at its peak we only had an inch or two in our basement (because the groundwater levels were so high it seeped in). We also gained lakefront property. When we purchased the home it came with one acre of marshland. The August rain turned it into a pond and from there we began calling it a lake – Lee Lake. That was also because for a couple of months it met up with the neighbor's pond and covered the road that stretches between our two houses.

Now after a couple years of average moisture, and one really dry, warm month. I'm pleased to show you the shrinking Lee Lake.

 

At its highest point, the water was at the base of these trees.

 

This is the field on the other side of our lake. The muddy corn stubble was from corn planted in 2007, I think – it was a long time ago and all. If everything goes well, they might be able to use that part of the field again next year.

 

This is the neighbor's pond and lawn. We haven't seen the patch of ground here for three years!

 

 The trees around their pond mark how high the water once was.

Life lessons

In my previous post, I blogged about my trip back to Madison to speak at the AWA membership meeting. My talk revolved around the impact AWA, its members and alumni, have had on my life. From my career to my family, I owe most of it to the connections I made in that organization.

As I was sharing the different events that led to where I am today, I thought of the life lessons I learned along the way. I finished my speech with the following:

1. Follow your heart. It will always lead you in the right direction.

2. Get involved. Education is important, but it’s the connections you make in organizations that will help you put your education to good use.

3. Focus your passion. While it’s good to be involved in many organizations, keep your focus in one or two. I never would have received as much from AWA if I tried to be everything in every club.

4. Find ways to work with the alumni. Showing them what you can do can really pay off, but keep in mind they also see the things you don’t do.

5. Take classes outside your requirement. You're at a world-class university with choices galore, take advantage of it.

6. Never say never. I was never going to write for a living and basically ruled this career out. Now I absolutely love what I do.

7. Take chances. Even if you're scared to try something new, that doesn't mean it is a bad thing to do.

8. Keep in touch. Don’t let distance or different lifestyles keep you from the friends you meet in college.

9. Enjoy your time in Madison. A month ago, my college friends and I came to realize we stayed too close to ag campus and never experienced the unique and great things about Madison. Don't make that same mistake we did.

10. Have a little faith. When you aren't sure what your future has in store for you, don't worry too much. Just have some strong faith that everything will turn out okay. More often than not, it does.

Back to college

Earlier this week I was invited back to college as a guest speaker at the meeting of a student organization to which I am an alum. I was a very active student member of the Association of Women in Agriculture on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus and post graduation I was an active alum as well. However a few years ago I decided to step aside from AWA to get involved in some different organizations. It certainly was a pleasure for me to go back now and visit with the current membership.

Making the familiar trip down University Avenue, I had anticipated seeing so many changes that evening. Yet, what truly caught me by surprise was how much had remained the same. It has been more than a decade since I first walked into the House and sat through my first meeting of the group. Somehow I thought that in time everything would have changed.

I walked in the door to see the group's composite picture hanging proudly in the entry way. In front of me there were a number of girls scurrying back to their rooms to quickly put on their professional attire, others that came from out of house who were removing their coats and checking their officer mailboxes, and more filing into the Great Room to pick up the paper handouts from the corner of the head table. Yup, nothing new here. The faces may have been different but all the actions were just as I remembered.

I was greeted by my cousin-in-law, who happened to be the person that invited me to speak. It was her job to do so as sentinel – a role I held 10 years ago. We talked about the commonalities of the job, such as the task of arranging the meeting room and pulling the chairs from the back closet that is apparently cluttered as much as it used to be.

When the president banged the gavel, the meeting started with the AWA Purpose. While I will admit I stumbled through the first part, the rest soon came back to me as I hoped it would. It was a requirement to memorize the four-sentence pledge in order to become a member and then it became something I had recited frequently in my four years there.

I was first on the agenda and gave my great talk to them. Then I decided that since I wasn't immediately needed back home, I would stay through the meeting. Each officer gave their report, some addressed new activities I hadn't heard of, but others talked about the same things I had done years ago. I must admit the treasurer's report sounded healthier than I once recalled and the meeting ended after 30 minutes (that's including my 10-minute talk). Both of those items were new developments.

Another new aspect to the meeting was the fact that three of the four officers at the head table were working on laptops as they helped lead the meeting. There were no computers at the meeting when I was a freshman, but at some point in my years there the secretary may have introduced one. Certainly there were never three on the table.

So while technology may have advanced in the organization it seemed as if the groundwork and traditions that were established by the women who founded AWA and the structure built up by others along the way were still soundly in tack. Why I thought it would have changed, I'm not really sure, but it was very comforting to see so much of it still in place today.

On Wisconsin!

Cornstalks and pumpkins on the cheap

There are some things in life I don't mind paying more to get. Plenty of times I justify the added expense to the convenience it brings to my life. But then, there are things in life that I can't stand the thought of over paying to get. Even if I won the million dollar jackpot (something I attempt a couple times a month), I still don't think I could justify spending much money on cornstalks and pumpkins.

I believe this is the farm girl in me. I know exactly how much it costs to grow corn and pumpkins, and when I see the price tags on these items at nationwide chain stores, I'm astounded. We use four cornstalk bundles to decorate our front porch. Most places sell these for $10 to $15 a bundle. Now considering the four bundles we need don't probably hold an entire bushel of corn (which settled on Friday at $5.63 on the Chicago Board of Trade), I can't see why I should pay $40 when the farm would have only received $5.63 for them. Luckily our home is surrounded by corn fields, which are owned by friendly neighbors who allow us to borrow a few stalks every year. While I'd be willing to give them the $5.63 they are kind enough to let us have them for free.

I'm cheap with pumpkins, too. For $2 I could have purchased a seed packet from the store and planted a bunch of pumpkins in my garden (which I don't have, but could if I wanted to). Sure they take some tending to over the summer, but really how much does that amount to during the growing season? Luckily we've found a nearby dairy farm that sells some pumpkins at a reasonable rate. We purchased these six pumpkins for $15. When I stopped at the supermarket on my way home, that's how much they were charging for just one of my pumpkins (and it was half rotted). Outrageous if you ask me!

Now don't get me wrong. There are some fabulous agri-tourism spots to go buy cornstalks and pumpkins. Their prices are higher than what I prefer to pay, but then again they aren't just selling cornstalks and pumpkins. They are selling a great fall experience. With that it takes additional labor and other needs that must be recouped in those prices. Therefore when I want that experience I will grit my teeth, open my wallet and pay more than what I'd like, but I'll also know I walked away with more than just some cornstalks and pumpkins. I'll have great memories spent with family and friends.

Just the school days

This morning I overheard a conversation between a mother and her grade-school-aged daughter. The young girl was holding her stomach when her mother asked what was wrong. The girl responded by saying, "Every school day it hurts." She paused and added, "Just the school days."

At first I smiled at the innocence of the statement. How the girl truly thought she could convince her mother of this ailment that only occurred five of the seven days in a week. How she wanted to be sure to let her mother know it wasn't a problem on the weekends so that she would be free to have all the fun that a Saturday and Sunday could offer.

Then I had to smile at how true the statement really was. Doesn't it always seem that when we are presented with things we'd rather not be doing, our body lashes out in some way. For instance, nearly every Monday morning I wake up with a headache. Whether real or slightly imagined it is there, pounding away with all the thoughts of what I need to get done that week. Then as I cross off my to-do list it fades away and sure enough, I'm free of pain by the weekend.

I'm sure that people with more degrees than me can easily explain these predicaments as ailments from a build up of stress, but that seems too highly technical for someone with a Monday morning headache. So I'll just continue to ponder it as I sip from my mug of warm apple cider and slowly cross the items off my to-do list for the week.

Update blog – and feeling better already!

Writer's block

As someone who writes for a living, you would think writer's block isn't much of a problem. Yet here I am, my very first blog post and I'm stumbling over finding something to write about. Perhaps it's because I'm usually writing someone else's story. This time it's all about me and my daily life, and I don't know where to begin.

I could tell you what I plan to write about, but I don't like to promise things I can't deliver. Since I don't have a story (or blog) list and plan to simply discuss things as they happen, that won't work.

I could tell you about my family, but for now they've requested to remain anonymous. Since I drag them kicking and screaming to other places, I figure they've earned an out for now.

I could tell you about my job, but I try not to make everything in my life about work. Since I want to share more than just the job, I'll save that for another time.

I could tell you about what I do in my spare time, but that could be lengthy. Since I want to keep it brief you'll learn that in time, too.

I could tell you about my background. Yup, I guess that's a good place to start. I'm a small town Wisconsin girl. Other than my time at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, I've lived in a town that has more rural roots than big city life. I guess that's me too. I was involved in 4-H, FFA, sports, music and just about anything to stay busy – and still continue that today.

While I try to plan out everything, I've come to realize that life just happens and you need to roll with it. Since I like to live with structure, but love and embrace the randomness that is what my blog will try to focus on - living life between the lines.