Overcast

Today I end my series from Wisconsin.  We'll be back again in summer for some island fun on Lake Michigan as we explore some of the Upper Pennisula's little gems that require a boat to cross the great waters of Michigan.   During the winter, I love how the trees will dot the landscape with their bare branches against the cloudy skies.  One of the reasons I moved from Wisconsin to Arizona was, in part, due to the abundance of clouds during this time of year.  However, when I visit, I love it all because I know I'll be going home within days to sunny skies.  The winters in Wisconsin are long and hard sometimes, but that's not what bothers me.  I don't mind the cold, but I did need the sun.  A person can go weeks without a ray of light. For me it caused severe depression and I knew that I had to leave at an early age for my own sanity, but I had to get through college first.  That was the agreement I made with myself. My degree would also be my gift and "okay" to start a new chapter in Arizona. Everyday since has been like early retirement:)  I love Wisconsin...I really do.  But on our last days, I smiled at the thought of 70 degree temps, my garden, my birds, our cats and my shorts! 

And at the same time, it's bittersweet because I'm saying goodbye to family and friends who I love dearly.  So as I depart from this cold and cloudy winter series, I leave you with this last shot. I think it captures the love/hate people have for this brutal weather. Beautiful landscape with whipping cold temps! But as Dorothy stated a long time ago, "There's no place like home." It's good to be back home in Tucson:)

A Connection to the Past

Greetings all,

I am fascinated by how this blogging has evolved for me over a two year time period.  At times it focuses on travel, mostly gardening, birds, animals, etc, but its heart is always Tucson.  And that's what I love about it.  But this Wisconsin series has also turned out to be somewhat of a historical piece for me and I guess that makes sense since I grew up there. However, I didn't know that I had a connection to the Door County region of my state.  It was on a road trip with my mom and dad that I discovered that my ancestors began the orchards of my state.  In fact while digging for the info on the bee house, my mother pulled out all the files from a dusty box and handed me the documents.  Had I grown up over a hundred years ago, I may have run an orchard full of cherry trees, apples, pears. But the bigger question is, "Is it in our blood to do these things from birth?"  Here are some fun pics taken in the Door County region north of my tiny little town of Two Rivers.....only an hour north of the city along the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan.

Cheese curds....warm and squeeky cheese.  Hey, don't knock it until you try it.  It's a little piece of heaven from my homestate that will make you wish you had them in your own state:)

But our story begins with Joseph Zettel.  My parents stopped in front of the sign which read, "In 1858 Joseph Zettel, a native of Switzerland, acquired the farm directly south of this station and established the first commercial orchard on the Door Peninsula. The high yields and quality of his fruit aroused the interest of Emmett S. Goff of the University of Wisconsin and Arthur L. Hatch, orchardist, and led to the discov­ery that the Peninsula is remarkably suited for fruit growing. In 1892 Goff and Hatch planted a small acreage to cherries, apples and plums. Commercial produc­tion of red cherries began in 1896. The University of Wisconsin established this research station in 1922 to help advance the fruit industry. Progressive growers, community leaders, and thousands of pickers form distant places have shared in bringing Door County national recognition as a fruit producing area."

I'll return again this summer visiting several Cherry Orchards.  For now, I'll leave you with some shots of my mother sampling the cherry wines around this highly treasured area of Wisconsin. 

 My mother will probably kill me for posting these:) But it was fun watching her do something she enjoys which is getting some time off and spending it together with Dad and a few of us.  I had mentioned to her that I just wanted a Mom and Dad day together and that's what we did.  It turns out that it was the most relaxing day for them from the chaos of Christmas.  And I'm really glad we did it.

 If you visit Door County, the best time is in summer and especially mid July when the Cherry Orchards are open for picking.   Try the Cheese Curds, sausage, eat at some the fine establishments, drink the cherry wine(I'm not crazy about it) but I do love fresh cherries!  This last pic is my favorite.  My Mom's face carries the family look.  My Grandpa made that same look as does my Uncle and Aunt...and I will as well.  I probably do already, but I don't know since I only look at myself in the mirror while brushing my teeth.  Okay, now I'm rambling and that means it's time to go.....two more posts to go.  One more on an environmental issue that is becoming larger every year for the Great Lakes Region and another on reflection.  More tomorrow....