Time Passed

It was a partly cloudy and warm morning, with a welcome strong wind that helped to dissipate the heat. I was on a gravel road looking northwest up a gentle slope of predominantly corn to a highpoint. On that highpoint, a good half mile distant from where I stood I saw a farmstead surrounded by tall evergreens and deciduous trees. The interplay of sun and shadow, as the clouds passed the sun to my back, provided a metaphor for life in this generally non-descript area of Iowa. An area that time seemed to have passed by. 

View of A. Pitzenberger Farm, 1 Aug 2024

I was looking at land my great great grandfather, Andreas Pitzenberger, an immigrant from Austria, had purchased from the US Government in 1859. I turned around, and with some struggle I could make out the two steeples of the Catholic Church in St Lucas Iowa. Founded in 1855, the parish likely was attended by Andreas and his family, although the present church was constructed in 1914. I was taken back in time, to a different age. As I looked to the farmstead, on that warm first day of August, with the wind whipping the pages in a binder that had maps and other family information, I imagined what Andreas would have been doing on a Thursday morning over 160 years ago. His crops growing, I pondered whether he was tending a garden, or contemplating the harvest of his Irish Potatoes (1860 IA Ag census). Had he, I also wondered, planted some of those trees as a break to the strong Iowa winds which to this day continue to sweep over the Iowa prairie? Standing there as the corn swayed in a melodic manner I got a look into a time long past. A time of hard and difficult back-extensive work, but also with a sense of fulfilling purpose for an immigrant people cultivating life in a foreign land.

Top portion of A Ptizelberger Land Patent
from US, 1859.  Source: BLM

A couple weeks ago, the wife and I took a trip to Winneshiek Co, Iowa. Thursday, August 1, we spent about six hours doing what I refer to as a genealogical tour of the locations of my Pitzenberger side of the family. I should say, I spent, she spent the six hours being bored. Winneshiek County is located in northeast Iowa, its north line borders Minnesota, and it is the second Iowa county west of the Mississippi River. Much of it is part of the driftless area, which they take great pride to present. This may be one of the only areas of significant topographic relief in Iowa, so well that they should take pride in its undulating topography. This post is not to discuss my genealogy tour and what we did and see, as much as the cultural and social geography present in the area. I had mixed emotions. Sad for the people who struggled and toil, today, with this land to make a living in ventures which always seem to be on the edge due to economics and weather. Sad to see an area that time seems to have forgot. Yet, there was also some relief to see a part of the area of my ancestors still little touched by modernity and sprawled development. 

Part of farmstead discussed above. 1 Aug 2024

When I look at my Hovel line ancestral village of Ratiborova Lhota, Bohemia (family traced back to at least 1585) and compare the Cadaster mapping of the first part of the 1800's to air photos of today one notices little change. It almost seems that way for the 140 to 150 years of these towns. We spent Wednesday afternoon in Decorah, the county seat, and the night at a hotel in everywhere USA in Decorah. Decorah had the requisite fast food and Kwik Star (Kwik Trip brand) convenience store. Thursday we headed southwest to Spillville, which has two defining features: St Wenceslaus Catholic Church, the oldest Czech Catholic Church in the nation, and the Bily Clock museum. After meeting Michael Klimesh, a local historian and our guide of the varied places of my ancestors, we made our way through Ft Atkinson, IA, to farmland east and south formerly owned  by my ancestors. Andreas' farm had a Fort Atkinson mailing address. We then went to St Lucas, a few miles from the Andreas Pitzenberger farm, to Festina where my great grandparents had a general store, and where my grandma was married. We then headed home.

The area we mainly travelled was south of the County seat of Decorah, and in the southern part of Winneshiek Co. Michael Klemish, provided commentary on various historical and genealogical aspects present. Michael is Czech, with a bit of Swiss, and has a great knowledge of the area and is highly involved with some historical societies for which he does varied research. Spillville is Czech, even to this day, while St Lucas, Fort Atkinson and Festina are known for their German settlers and heritage which still run deep. In moving to Iowa, the Pitzenberger's moved to a location with a socio-demographic/economic group similar to what that they had left. The culture of the area was centered on the Catholic Churches which sprung up regularly over about a ten year or so time span in these rural communities. This was not uncommon in the US and today they remain as quilt squares in what is a decidedly unique American quilt. The culture was not so much a melting pot as a  stew with certain cultural features remaining, not unlike chunks of carrot and celery in a stew. 

Our Lady of Seven Dolors Church, Festina, IA
1 Aug 2024

While its physical geography mimics part of western Dane Co, its cultural geography is different. Dane County, regardless of attempts to control, is ever present with sprawl which is gobbling up good farm land as if it were a never ending story. All in the measure of "economic development." When comparing southern Winneshiek to Dane County, it is a tale of two very different places. Dane Co, for example, in just over three years grew by about 14,000 persons, with Fitchburg and Sun Prairie being the fastest growing cities. By comparison, Winneshiek's total population is 19,974. The towns I noted have had little population change over the past 140 years. 

Pitzenberger Communities, population table

Yet there are some similarities, parts of northern Dane Co were also settled by Germans, with Dane and Roxbury or Pine Bluff being the Dane Co version of, say, Festina. The difference is temporal, how time has changed Dane Co much more so than Winneshiek or Fayette Co. (St Lucas is just across the southern border of Winneshiek in Fayette Co.) The former parochial school in St Lucas is now home to the German American Museum and Library. An amazing venture considering how small the town is, but yet this is a clear expression of their values. Further evincing pride of place, the former St Lucas parochial school is being reroofed back to cedar shingles, its original roof style. New windows, will at some point, come to replace the plywood now covering many window openings. There is a resilience and a commitment to the past showing that time can have a preserving effect.

These towns have been affected by the economic revolution and the change in the time-space continuum. As an example, in early years Spillville once had four mills located along Turkey River. None exist today. Products were grown and in many cases processed locally as transportation was by horse and cart, and in some cases rail. My great grandfather Martin Hovel, however, used to take wheat from his farm near Manly, IA to McGregor, IA, across the river from Prairie du Chien for processing with a horse drawn cart. This is a 116 mile trip one way by current roads. Perhaps his wheat was bound by barge to some large urban center for processing in order to feed the growing urban population. 

Mathias and Teresia Pitzenberger
Tombstone, 1 Aug 2024

Spillville, as rural as it was then and today, was home to Anton Dvorak during the summer of 1893. It must have been a place to make his creativity run as during his Spillville summer, he "composed two of his most celebrated and enduring works." (IA PBS) It was the birds, the rolling water of the Turkey River, the wind in the trees that drove his imagination as he walked the river bank.

Rural can be determined by population density, but I believe rural can also be explained based on cultural features, or in this case lack thereof. After leaving Decorah we did not see a Culver's restaurant until Prairie du Chien, WI. Further, after leaving Decorah we saw only one Kwik Star in Postville, IA. Postville is said to be the most highly diverse town in the nation, its major industry a processing plant for kosher meats, has drawn to this once German enclave, Hasidic Jews, Hispanic and now Somali immigrants. Kwik Star (Kwik Trip) and Culver's are two current Midwest cultural icons which are mainstays of suburban sprawl. Suburbia and scattered rural home sites are not highly present in this area of Winneshiek Co. 

Table Comparing Dane Co, WI
to Winneshiek Co, IA

There are a few scattered homes in Winneshiek, but not near as many as in Wisconsin. In Dane County, it is hard to find a farm without at least one or more non-farm homes built at its edge, in a woodlot or a hilltop, proving the adage that the definition of an environmentalist is one who already as their house in the woods. Hilltops, in this part of Iowa, were not for a wealthy persons house, but a woods or cornfield. My wife, taking time out of being bored, commented that she had never seen so much corn in her life. Few restaurants existed, and if they were present they were local. The main businesses seemed to be mechanics and welders. We had lunch at a bar in Festina in which the most valuable piece of equipment was the big screen television playing the Olympics. As my wife said, it is not a bar for a lady. The ladies restroom was denoted with word "Peaches" on the door, and the men's with the word "Bananas".  Of the three towns and the hamlet, Spillville has the largest population, but we did not see a restaurant in that town, although Fort Atkinson has a restaurant called "The Fort". Spillville, being Czech must have a bar or more. 

St Wenceslaus Steeple, Spillville, IA
1 Aug 2024

It appeared that sewerage treatment for the communities is handled by treatment lagoons. Spillville's sits next to a park where one can camp. St Lucas had large dumpsters which residents would deposit their recyclables and garbage. In Spillville, garbage is picked up. It is not like they are without some, what we in the planning world called urban services.

These communities were created in a time before the car became famous, a mode of transportation that  has lessened the space-time continuum. The internal combustion engine also affected the developments of these towns so that it seems as if time has passed by. At about five to six miles apart the towns became small mercantile centers for the farmers. Festina already had a general store when my great grandfather Mathias Pitzenberger and his wife, Theresia, opened their store in 1890. Demand for goods was increasing as the rural area was dominate in 1890. The mercantile trade area must have been rather small, and certainly not the population it takes today too be supported. For some reason these small general stores make me think of Oleson's General Store in "Little House on the Prairie." Similarities are evidenced in rural Bohemia or even Forest County, WI with former small logging or mining towns spread about six to seven miles apart on Hwy 8. Foot and horse travel was the basis for much of the nation's original settlement pattern. Railroads then brought another.

Andreas and Maria Pitzenberger
Tombstone, 1 Aug 2024

Winneshiek Co. was first settled in its northeast section by Yankees who then moved and made room for Norwegians. German and Czech Catholics settled in the south and portions of the western parts of the county. The heritage is evident in the Catholic churches and related cemeteries. The area is heavily Czech by Spillville, and German by St Lucas, Festina, and Fort Atkinson. Spillville has St Wenceslaus Catholic Church, which is Czech, and a Catholic church for the Germans just outside of town toward Ft Atkinson. It is said that all the graves in the Our Lady of Seven Dolors cemetery in Festina have German surnames. Looking at Spillville its iron crosses and names give credence to a heavily Czech population, not to mention a dealer of the iron crosses lived in Spillville. When one walks the main path that splits the Seven Dolors cemetery into two parts, one side by the path contains the graves of premature born babies, or infants who died, a testament to the fragility of life. Each of the community's Catholic Churches also, for a time, had a school associated with it. The one in Spillville, now named St Theresia of Calcutta (originally St Wenceslaus school, it was renamed by a priest who did not care what the parishioners thought, and a year later he was gone but his chosen name lives on) is still operating. The language used in the Festina parish school was high German until the advent of WWI when it switched to English. My grandma Pitzenberger spoke both German (high) and English. Her mom, Teresia Kamen from Bohemia, spoke Czech, but given the time, dominance by the Austro-Hungarian Empire with German as its language, likely may have known German, and her father, from Austria, would have spoken German. 

Part of St Wenceslaus Cemetery, Spillville, IA 1 Aug 2024

The defining characteristic of Winneshiek County is farmland. Being in the driftless area of Iowa the hills and valleys and small towns are reminiscent of the rural area south and east of LaCrosse, WI. Both off the beaten path, although more so in Iowa than the area south of LaCrosse. In Dane County, WI, on the other hand, too often farmland is viewed as holding land for development, yet Dane Co is one of the largest agricultural production counties in WI. Dane County's farmland value is said to be less than that in Winneshiek Co, where they seem to understand that good farmland is important to their agricultural lifestyle. Nationally, the agricultural lifestyle has been disappearing since about 1910 to 1920. Farms are often operated by mega farmers. It is said Bill Gates is the largest owner of farmland in the US. Chinese investors, however owns more than Gates does. Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan once said that we value things we like and important to us. Iowa, quite literally, values farmland as important. I doubt Ray Kinsella would plow under Iowa corn to make a baseball field today.

The intelligentsia and elites in the nation often seem to discount people in our nation's rural areas. The elites view them as parochial, out of touch, if not deplorable. The values and way of life of the rural cohort are downplayed if not degraded. I have to say, I looked somewhat out of place at the bar in Festina. No area is static, but it seems that these small towns are close. And, change that is occurring, depopulation in many cases, is not good. Time may have passed by these small Iowa communities in terms of service and retail icons (Culver's and Kwik Trip) so common in everyplace America. Their small, old downtowns, now predominantly empty or with many former storefronts now put to noncommercial uses, harken to an age when business was along a main street, and where people walked rather than drove. When persons valued a locally owned shop tended by a merchant who was a neighbor. These old values represent an America that is long past. These values are as fleeting as the wind over the corn growing on the sloped fields of Iowa's driftless area. 

Shorts

Summer weather brings about wearing of shorts. Distressed jeans, where there are tears in the thighs and knees when purchased seem to still be an "in-thing", and I have written about how my distress in jeans comes about naturally, that is through wear, not requiring to be bought that way. I have had to depart with another pair of shorts this summer, meaning, I may need to buy some for next year.

Left leg side.

The shorts I had to throw away, as my wife said they were not worth patching again (I counted four patch spots) were actually pants I used to wear for work and as they aged and worn for too much for work, the wife made into shorts. My seamstress has decided on her own accord, without consultation with the client, that enough was enough. I guess that counts as an executive decision on her part. 

Right leg side

Shorts tend to be longer now then when I was a teenager. Today, they often hang below the knee. What occurs, is that when bending down the shorts get caught on the knee, the fabric wears and then you get a hole, or rip in the fabric. It begins small and then can get bigger, when not properly attended to early, and then they don't pass the Land Girl test and need to get thrown out. I wonder if the added length is purposeful for the shorts to wear out earlier and then need to buy more. A sort of planned obsolescence. 

Land Girl has taken my advice and shortened some of my daily wear shorts hoping that will solve the problem, so they may be at the knee, but not below it. We will see if my theory is correct, that long shorts wear out faster due to bending and kneeling down.

Left back pocke

The first known shorts were likely worn by the Nepalese army in the 1880's. Over time styles and trends have changed. I have a number of cargo shorts, with tons of pockets. Cargo shorts may be out of style, but I really don't know. I kind of like them. I am told that my style is 20 to 30 years out of date. That makes me say that I am a head of style, because my style will be back in. One example, when a teenager, fifty years ago, I wore horn rim glasses, which are now back in style. They were not so much back then. I tended to break a good number of eye wear (as they are now referred to instead of glasses) frames, and my parents wanted a pair that was more durable. Hence, I ended up with horned rim glasses. I don't think they survived my breakage capabilities. Land Girl is constantly surprised at my ability to break something (like her new water bottle).

Top part of front

Apparently, whether glasses (eye wear) or shorts, things I wear and use are not meant to last. The wife says I am too rough on items. I am not sure how I can be rough on shorts, but my activity apparently does have a deleterious effect on the fabric of pants, shorts and even some shirts. As I write this I have a holes and stains on a UW Bookstore T-Shirt I obtained at the start of the 2012 fall term when one of our kids went to the University of Wisconsin. I guess that too will go to the trash or to be used as a rag. Clothes wear out, and at times they are hard to part with.

Oh, Weather!

It seems that with all of the fancy and expensive equipment weather forecasting is still more an art than a science. This year, areas that were predicted to receive, as close as a couple hours to the rain event, less than half an inch received 2" or more. This occurred a few weeks ago at my house. Rain is highly variable. Two weeks ago we had rain events on two consecutive days of 1" and .9" yet areas north of Madison did not receive rain. Oh, Weather! Is about all one can say.

In a significant contrast to last year, when it was particularly dry, this year it has been wet. The local newspaper reported, for the Madison area, that the 76 days from May 1 through July 15 was the wettest on record. Which is saying a great deal for what is normally the wettest time of the year. During that period, the area received 21.85" of rain almost twice the normal amount. Further, only 30 of the 76 days, so well less than half, did not receive any precipitation. There was an anomaly, as from May 14 to 18, was the only five day period without a day of rain. Meaning, that we really had no dry spells. 

2022 photo by author

Weather predictors like to use averages, but sometimes we are at one extreme (last year drought) to the other (really wet this year) and I suppose the average of the two is about normal, or perhaps more precipitation than normal. I like to call myself average, as I am about average height and weight, and probably near the top of the bell curve in terms of intelligence. I guess being at the top of the bell curve means I can go either way, like rainfall.

The ground has now become saturated from all the rain, it is now to the point that it was also reported that there is sufficient moisture to withstand a drought. At a recent MMSD meeting, it was reported that the sewer treatment plant is now treating about 50 million gallons a day (mgd) as compared to the normal 40 to 41. Last year it was about 38 mgd, and some months was as low as 36 mgd. To show the saturation of the ground, that one day we received the 1" in my rain gauge, the treatment plant, which sits less than four miles (as the crow flies) northwest of my house, the plant noticed an increase in less than one hour time. A fellow commissioner who lives north of Lake Mendota noted that earlier this summer, the lake saw a 2" rise in water level in less than six hours, which is a good deal of increase for a lake the size of Mendota. Interestingly, the only no-wake zone on the Madison lakes so far this year is in a bay that is part of Lake Monona (how much the suck the muck campaign, which you can read abut here, contributed to better stream flow to get water out of the lakes quicker, I do not know but Mendota's lake level is still at least 2" high). Increases in flow to the plant occur from a few things: first, water in basements which water goes to the sanitary system by the floor drain, second, people who have illegally connected sumps to the drain system, third, (an likely the main issue) is what we refer to as I/I, or inflow and infiltration. When the water table gets equal to or above a sewer pipe bad joints can leak into the pipe (water seeks the easiest path, so it acts like drain tile) and it also can get water through manhole covers when streets or other location get too inundated with water. This goes for all sewer pipes from some laterals, to local mains, to major interceptors. These are main causes of the 10 mgd a day flow more than normal. 

The worst effect on the treatment plant, or sanitary sewer overflows, is when a large storm occurs in the region and inundates the sewer system and sometimes the lift stations. The main effect on lift stations is a power outage. The district often has two different power feeds to each lift station, but a couple years ago a storm knocked power out of both feeds to one station and an overflow occurred. We have increased the number of portable generators from 1 to 2 and upgrades of most pump stations we now add a generator. This provides resiliency to the system. One storm this year saw several pumps go without power, and the crew hauled portable generators between pumping stations to avoid overflows. Empty one well, take it to another station to empty that one, and later go back to empty the well at the first one, and repeat. Fortunately, the storm was late at night, during low flow.  

High flow also causes water levels in nearby wetland and low areas near my house to become even more inundated with water. This affects habitat for animals, and in particular, the deer. As we did in the wet events of 2007 to 2008, we have seen more deer damage to our plants, and perhaps even ore so than what occurred in those years, as we have tried to diversify our flower plants. With the deer this year, we have only managed to diversify what they like to munch on. Before 2010, they had eaten hostas, tomato and pepper plants, lily of the valley, roses and violets. This year they have eaten cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, anemone, Maltese Cross, morning glory, milkweed, lilies (two types), hosta, violets, calendula, roses, hollyhock and violets. Many they just mowed off a couple feet off the ground, meaning they really chose not to bend down. They are not so much Bambi as they are giant rabbits, eating many things, and leaving droppings like they were Christian Watson dropped passes.

Meteorologists at times seem as good as predicting amount of precipitation as Watson is at catching a pass. A recent article by two meteorologists (WI SJ 7/29/24) admitted as much when it said "Meteorologists would generally agree that summer is the most challenging time of year for making accurate rain forecasts." I like the use of the word accurate, which makes me think that they think other than summer their forecasts are accurate. Thunderstorm development is difficult to predict in the warmer summer months. When you hear isolated thunderstorms that means a 10% chance of 0.01" of rain, while scattered means a 30% to 50% chance. Widely scattered is 20%. The same article notes that if you have outdoor plans, and there is a 10-20% chance of rain you should have back up plans. Funny, until forecasts this year, I would have thought you were pretty safe at a 20% chance. I should know otherwise, because when we camp we are like Morton salt, it pours. 

As can be seen, extreme rainfall can have some consequences, other than flooded basements, or washed out roads. There is always some type of consequence. The saying, "oh, weather" certainly applies.

Potty Time

A recent camping trip brought out a few snippets of going potty. Every creature has to deposit their waste somewhere. Bodily waste generally comes in the two forms of which we are all familiar. The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District serves about 430,000 persons in 24 communities, cities and villages and some town special sanitary districts. On an average day about 40 million gallons of wastewater go to MMSD.  Showing the effect of water conservation methods, and loss of Oscar Mayer, this is about the same average daily flow as thirty years ago. 

MMSD treats both grey and black water. Grey water is from washing, so think sinks, showers; black water is urine and feces otherwise known as toilet water. Our  small camper has both grey and black water tanks. We have not used the blackwater tank, that is the toilet. I have not built up the courage to use it and empty it. I have an extreme level of confidence that the poop geyser in RV, with Robin Williams would be tame compared to what would happen to me. You can see the RV scene here. I have no doubt my geyser would "reach for the sky," as if I met Woody and to "infinity and beyond" as if I were Buzz Lightyear. Heck, it may become a constellation that will have astronomers wondering where it came from for years. 

Something more pleasant than a pit toilet building

State regulations at campgrounds require that grey water be dumped in the toilets. The wife fills a gallon milk jug with the grey water we use to wash our dishes and when gets near full she dumps it in the pit toilet. The nearest toilet at most places we camp is a pit toilet, and in fact we seldom camp in campgrounds with flush toilets. One can be fined for dumping grey water on the ground, but quite frankly, I have not seen another person carrying a container to a toilet building. I doubt they take it home with them. Some campgrounds have a dump station, but others do not. Grey water is not as dangerous, so they say, as black water, and some places grey water can be used for irrigation. I suspect the large chicken plant (Brakebush) between Endeavor and Westfield sprays their waste water from a large irrigation system, as I have seen it and smelled it. It is not a pleasant odor. 

The requirement to dump grey water in the toilet got my wife wondering why there are no regulations against males urinating in the woods. I suppose there may be rules, but nothing is posted to that effect as there is for grey water management. After all, she reasoned, if grey water is bad, so too must be urine. Of course, she finds this totally unfair, as women seldom have the opportunity to just pee in the woods. In any event, it would be hard to police, just as dumping grey water on the ground is hard to police. There are fewer rangers in state parks and national forests. Even busy state parks one hardly ever sees a ranger.

Sunset

But, potty time extends to more than just a camping trip. On our way to the campground we stopped at a Kwik Trip at about lunch time on a Sunday. The Kwik Trip was very busy. I filled the car with fuel, and the wife went in to use the restroom. I then went in to use the restroom, and noticed a line of about four women standing outside the door. The men's room, as I went to use the urinal, did not have a line outside or inside the restroom. When I went to wash my hands, there was a two person deep line in the men's restroom so I must have arrived at the proper time, as I did not have to wait. My wife noted that she waited in an inside line at the woman's restroom. When leaving the men's, I noticed about six women in line for the women's restroom. The line included a mom with two girls, say about 6 to 8 years of age. Another woman was joining the line at the time to make it seven. One girl says to her mom, "Mommy, our restroom has a line, but the men's doesn't." Her mother simply responded, in an exasperated voice of a mother worn out by a long road trip, or having to yet wait in another line for a bathroom: "Welcome to life as a female." Of course, the exasperation in her voice may be blaming her husband for having provided the X chromosome which resulted in her having to take two girls to the bathroom.  

I have seen women use the men's room, and I believe someone suggested to a woman who joined the the line at Kwik Trip to do just that, and she responded she would not like to put up with the smell. This begs the question, how does she know it smells bad? From her male partner or husband, or had she used a men's room before? Men are not necessarily good aims, and the ammonia-urine smell in a well used restroom can get pretty strong. As can the smell of #2. I cannot blamer her. But, I don't know if the women's room smells like roses.

I did notice that the men's room at this Kwik Trip had two urinals and two toilets. My wife reported that the women's room had three toilets. She then, of course, rightly noted the lack of potty parity. She feels that women should at least have equal, if not more fixtures than the men's room. Women, however, do not have prostates that can get enlarged and hamper urine flow, which may then result in an excruciating long time at a urinal. Further, a male's urine has to travel a longer distance, through a system designed more for procreation than urination. 

Of course, there is a problem with the women's line, depending on location it makes it more difficult for a man to get to the men's restroom. Or, think of little boys who need to quickly get to the restroom, while doing what my wife calls the pee pee dance. 

Little girls and women on the other hand seem to have to have no issue. Have you ever seen a little girl do a pee pee dance? Do females have larger bladders, or did the process of natural selection weed out the females who cannot hold their pee? I may never look at potty time at a Kwik Trip in the same way again. 

Snake Bite?

 Last week Thursday, while I was at two meetings which took most of the morning, my wife got involved in varied land girling activities. If there is not something in the yard or house for her to do, she invents something to do. Idle hands lead to no good in her minds. She is known for reorganizing what she had organized. This time, while land girling in a flower bed, which involved pulling out some weeds, looking at deer damage, or dead heading flowers she may have gotten a snake bite.

Snake in yard, May 2024 photo

We know we have had a garter snake in the yard, which you can read about here, but had not seen it for a month or more. Research shows that garter snakes can bite. The vegetation in the flower beds and garden is much thicker now, so perhaps it is better able to hide, and with warmer weather perhaps the long reptile does not need to sun itself on our slope in the yard, soaking up the rays so to speak. I doubt the snake uses sunscreen, so perhaps its need for vitamin D outdoes its risk of skin cancer. I am not sure if a snake can get skin cancer, but a garter snake will shed its skin two to three times a year, maybe in doing so it sheds those nasty cancer cells too.

Snake in yarad, May 2024 photo

Doing what brings her joy, playing in the dirt, Land Girl, aka "the Wife", was involved in the flower bed fresh up. She did not notice a bite until she was at the raspberry bed and saw blood on her forearm, which at first she thought maybe red raspberry juice. But, no it turned out to be blood. She cleaned her wound, as only a nurse can do, and found two small puncture marks, that could well fit that of snake bite. There are no plants with thorns that could make sure a wound. To date, she has not developed symptoms of a poison bite, which makes me think it was the garter snake and not some poisonous snake that found its way in the yard. Luckily, the punctures do not itch, did not swell, or turn a different color than her natural white of her under forearm.

Snake in yard, May 2024 photo

When anyone is working in the yard one has to expect the unexpected, bug bites, hitting an errant piece of metal, or a nasty thorn, coming across poison ivy, or now even a snake bite. Land Girl is alright for the wear, and she has not slowed down in her land girling activities. 

Wayward Women

When I do my bike ride I have noticed the presence of what I refer to as wayward women. During the week, I almost always travel from my home to the Lussier Center on the Lower Yahara River Trail. The trail, much off road, is located only 425 ft from my home. This route has me on a .9 mile bike bridge. When opened in 2017 was said to be the longest bike/walking only bridge in the nation. This is usually where the wayward women come in, as the section from McDaniel Park in McFarland and the bike bridge is popular with walkers, and bike bridge west is a popular route.

While "wayward" may not be the correct term, it could be disobedient, but I like the alliteration, I thought Disobedient Dames to be too condescending, and well, out of place in today's society. I would agree that biking during the day allows me to encounter more women than men, and hence my perceptions are somewhat clouded by sample, but nonetheless there is disobedience. Let me count the ways.

Bike Bridge, looking east 
signage south side

Two days last week I had several instances of the wayward women. My pet peeve is those that bicycle and do not follow common courtesies or rules of the trail. For example, say there is a walker coming toward me as I bike, and bikers behind the walker as I approach. The women bicyclist, behind the walker, more often than not, will just go around the walker, as if I am not there. I know I tend to blend in with the railing, but my suspender like blaze yellow garment should give some hint that I am coming toward them. This makes me have to stop so they can continue, when in fact they should have stopped.  I slow or stop to wait for the oncoming bicyclist in that situation. I feel like they are taking advantage of my good and cautious nature. What would they do if I did not slow down to let them pass the same direction walker? To be fair, over the three or more years of biking this route, a few men do the same, but for some reason, maybe simply numbers, women do it more often.

Bike Bridge, signs on north side
looking easterly

Yet, it gets worse, because the wayward women do it while riding next to each other. This is even more dangerous than a single rider, and I had this occur to me last week too. Maybe they were gabbing a bit too much to perhaps even notice my bright suspenders, but who knows. Fortunately, this occurred on the path, not on the bridge that is constrained by railings. The walker, had to move off the path, I slowed way down, but still had to move onto the shoulder or grass to make way for the two of them. I cannot imagine what thoughts would be going through a female mind if this were two men. They appeared to not have a care in the world, and they were the only thing in the world that mattered. Selfish and inconsiderate. It could easily lead to a crash. At least two men, perhaps their partners, following behind were single file, and were courteous. Although neither said anything to the women folk about their poor behavior.

When I first used the bike bridge, I would notice a significant number of people walking their dog on the bridge, even though their are signs, on each side of the abutment prohibiting dogs on the bridge, along with a third freestanding sign. Apparently, these women require more than three signs. I like to think if I notice the signs, everyone else will notice the signs. I have been told I am not very observant. For the last couple years the presence of dogs on the bridge has been minimal, or rather seldom do I come across this situation. I have, in a few instances over the years, seen a small dog that I am sure the handler has picked up when they see other people. Small ankle biter dogs can be more aggressive than a big dog. Last week, Tuesday when I was on approach to McDaniel Park, nearing the bike bridge, heading west to Lussier, that I saw a few women, and each had a dog. They seemed to be waiting for another woman that was coming over from the parking lot to join them. I stated "On your left" and passed them. The thought occurred to me, they were not going to follow the rules and I would see them and the dogs on the bridge or the path on the other side of the bridge.

Portion of Bike Bridge showing pull offs
to left of stream is viewing, to right is down for fishing
The women with the dog were on the left side, southeast corner

Well, that is what occurred. On the west end of the bridge, where the bridge crosses the channel between Upper Mud Lake and Lake Waubesa, there are a couple pull offs, one for fishing (east side of channel) and one for sight seeing (west side of channel) over the lake. In a pull off, I see the women gathered by the railing, and seemingly trying to hide the dogs, but one dog, not women, sticks its head out between the legs of two women. It was a nice day, a rarity for this summer, and many people were out, so I wondered why try to hide the dogs, you will be seen on your trek back. I felt like saying something, but did not wish to be that guy. As I think about it, I should have said something, like: "Oh, I thought pets were not allowed on the bridge." Or, perhaps, the nastier, "Can't you read?"

The bridge is a confined space and it makes perfect sense that dogs or pets are not allowed. These four women had medium to near large sized dogs, not some small one easy to carry.

Now, to expand the sample, I took the bike bridge on my last Saturday bike ride, riding about the same time as during the week. It was more crowded, which is why I tend to avoid it on weekends. However, I thought I would see more men. The two men I observed in a same situation as the women cyclists, they do what I do, slowed down or stopped to allow the oncoming bicyclist go by and then stated "on your left" and passed the walker. I did not see a man do what those women did. In fairness, a man passed me on his bike, and never said on your left. How many women do the right thing? I really don't know because I did not notice any Saturday, and the disobedient incidents are what usually stand out. 

Some relations think this is sexist, but my wife stuck up for me and said if they are in the wrong, they are in the wrong. 

If by chance, dear reader, you bike and come across some wayward women on the ride, perhaps you will think of this blog post. As for me, I am now attuned to wayward women and try to anticipate their disobedient actions.

Independence Day

In spring of 2007 the wife, kids and I made a trip to Washington DC.  As part of the trip we visited the National Archives to view the original copies of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The worn, barely legible ink evinces the age of the documents. There is a strong resonance of history in that building, when you are among some of the most consequential documents in US and perhaps world history. With the Declaration of Independence the signers were committing treason against Britain, the home country to the thirteen colonies. The United States of America celebrates Independence Day on July 4, marking the date of the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence as the official day. Although, we all know, however, that the Revolutionary War was fought to obtain independence from Great Britain. 

US Archives

Other dates could have been used to mark the start of nationhood, such as the 19 October 1781 surrender of British forces at Yorktown, or even the 3 Sept 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris. Of course neither of these would fall within the vacation and outdoor months of the summer. Say what you will about the founding fathers, they knew when to sign the document to effect the beginning, according to the movie "Jaws" of the beginning of the Martha Vineyard vacation season. The fledgling country was then and is today very British centric. So much so that the pivotal role played by the one key ally to the Continentals is often downplayed in history and today.

The French were the main ally of the fledgling nation, or from a Brit point of view colonies in rebellion. The new nation, abhorrent to taxing its citizens (think 1765 stamp act, which ironically was used to help pay for the predominantly Western European power Seven Year War (Brits on one side with Prussia, and with France on the other with varied allies)), depended on the French for a substantial contribution of monetary resources to fight the war. The French provided 1.3 billion livres to the US cause, which would have a substantial impact to France down the road. Their king would literally pay for this with his head. This blog will focus on the one critical battle in the Revolutionary War, but one downplayed in current history and our knowledge base. The reason it is downplayed is our penchant for praising ourselves, combined with a national British-centric mindset. The nation fought two wars against the Brits, one for the nation's founding, and the penchant of many in the US for British Royalty makes it seem like they wish we were 50 colonies. The most critical battle was at sea between French and British naval forces.

French General deGrasse
He deserves credit for the Yorktown engagement
and US Victory in the Revolutionary War
Battlefields.org

More than a month prior to the surrender at Yorktown, this critical battle was a faceoff between 24 French and 19 British warships. While not a clear cut victory for France, France gained both a tactical and strategic victory by sending the British warships back to New York for repair. This allowed the French navy to cut off a sea escape route for Cornwallis who became trapped on a peninsula at Yorktown. Ground forces, first led by the Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette ,and later joined by General Washington, over several weeks pressured the Cornwallis, but the key was the French sea engagement, which allowed the continued pressure, and cut off the viable escape route. Cornwallis was running out of food, and as a result killed many of their horses, as they lacked forage, which they dumped in Chesapeake Bay. I don't think one would want to drink water out of that body of water.

The French contribution is significant, because they stuck with the Continental army even after patriots in Massachusetts killed a French sailor for no reason other than being French and Catholic. His burial in the then Protestant state occurred under cover of darkness so as to not further inflame the bigotry of the residents. With friends like that one wonders what the enemy would be like. France and Britain were coming off the costly seven year war, and the Revolutionary War was taxing to both sides, although a greater burden for the French who had lost that prior engagement to Britain. The French could easily have cut bait after that sailors death in America, but stuck it out. 

Battlefields.org

The French stuck it out even counter to their own interests. For example, General de Grasse, leader of the French fleet at Chesapeake Bay was eager to get some ships to the Caribbean to protect French merchant fleets from piracy, not to mention the cost, but he kept his forces combined. It was de Grasse who came up with the idea for meeting the Brits at Chesapeake Bay, not Washington, who preferred an attack on New York, which posed much more peril to the French fleet. This bit of advice and quite frankly, cajoling to get a stubborn Washington to move off his attack New York position, led to the end of this already long conflict. Yes, the leader of the French fleet was not an Admiral, but a man tuned to land combat, a General, yet he led his forces to a key victory over the Brits, one of their admirals of their highly regarded navy.

At Yorktown, the French provided 10,800 troops to the continental army's (including local militias) of 8,000. The French also provided up to 29 warships that October to block any escape by Cornwallis. In the US we give a great deal of credit to the American forces, but the key was really the French, as the French provided the overwhelming troops against the 8,000 of Cornwallis, and the most critical piece--the navy. 

Marquis de Lafayette
18 Yrs old when came to US to fight for the Colonies
Wikipedia

The pivotal battle of the Revolutionary War was in fact the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, fought on the water with a strategic and tactical victory by a land general leading a French fleet over a British Admiral. With George and the Continental Army out of the picture for this crucial engagement, it is no wonder it is downplayed in US history. We write our own history, or we allow the Brits to write it for us. John Adams claimed that the revolution was "effected before the war" in the hearts and minds of many of the residents of the colonies. 

France lost 2,112 men and incurred a great expense in supporting the American colonies in the war. The debt France wracked up, would in part lead to the Reign of Terror in which King Louis XVI would lose his head. With friends like the US, the French really did not need any enemies. At the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, which was the end of the Revolutionary War, France essentially got a small island. Ben Franklin would admit to the French that the Americans had made a side deal with the British on the treaty cutting out the French. Downplaying French importance in the war started right away. Before losing his head, King Louis came to regret French involvement in the war, stating that all they got for helping America was a loss of young men. 

This Fourth of July, 248 years after the approval of the Declaration of Independence, we need to recognize the contribution of the French that allowed the colonists to win the war. The new nation was sure quick to turn on its main ally in the conflict and start to embrace its antagonist. Then came the war of 1812 when the US declared war on Britain. I am not sure if  John Adams is right that the revolution was effected before the war, but I do think that if Britain had won the war, the Declaration of Independence would be lost to history, with little meaning for us today. And it would mean there would not be a National Archives in Washington DC that would contain the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution that families, like ours in 2007, could visit.