More Gardening

This summer has really zipped by.  Suddenly it's fall and summer is more or less over. The weather got cold and the first frost is upon us.  So, the gardening is done. But it was fun while it lasted.

As usual, we started with a bare garden spot.  While we do have a couple of things that winter over, like some blackberry bushes and a couple of peony plants, for the most part, the garden has to be planted each spring. 

We didn't even till the whole garden space. This year, we went mostly with tomatoes.  Brombeere really likes tomatoes and they're fairly easy to grow.  And much of what we put in this year we got from Blaubeere, who is really into gardening. 

The first thing we harvested was some little, yellow cherry tomatoes.  We only had one plant so they came and went pretty fast.  They were pretty good, too.

Then the more traditional tomatoes began ripening.  That was nice.

Through the summer we would watch them begin to ripen.

A spot of red here and there.  

It was nice to see them coming.

Soon, more and more red began showing up.

Then it was nice to get them in the house and on the table. We only had a few bushes so the harvest was never really big.  That was okay, who has time to preserve anything anyway?  But they were nice to have at the dinner table as they came on.

There was never a time when we had lots and lots.  It was a warm summer but I don't think it got as hot for as long as it did last year.  It seemed to be real good weather for the tomatoes this year.

Then, suddenly, there was a day when the predicted low was only 34 degrees and we decided we better bring everything in for the last harvest.  We had a good helper for that.

That last harvest was hot huge, but, because we brought in everything that was even a little red, it was bigger than any previous harvest.  So some will need to ripen in the window for a few days before they're ready, but it will stretch the enjoyment out a few days.  Yeah, pretty much all we got this year was tomatoes, but it was enough.  There's nothing quite like homegrown tomatoes. Always yummy, Brombeere loves them so.

Up Nort

We have a friend who is also a casual biking enthusiast who has been telling me for a number of years about how good the biking is in Vilas County, Wisconsin. He even went so far as to pick up a brochure, when he was in the area recently for business, and brought it to us. So, since we were looking for a short, relaxing trip, that also included a fun bike ride, we decided to go check it out.  I did a little research, we picked a date, and we made a reservation.  

Then, on the appointed day, we loaded the bikes and everything else into the car and took off!

This was only going to be an overnight trip but even at that, a bike ride was not going to fill all the time. So our research included things to see in the area.  The first stop we made was in Woodruff, to see what was billed as the "World's Largest Penny".  It has an interesting story behind it. Back in 1952 a local doctor had a dream of having a hospital so a teacher at the local school organized a fund raiser, collecting pennies, to help build the hospital. In just 107 days. over 1,700,000  pennies were collected from all over the world. The hospital was built, and because the pennies continued to flow in for a while, a scholarship fund was also established.  To commemorate the accomplishment, a concrete penny was put up as a monument to the event.  Since it was there, we had to stop and see it.

And since it was about lunch time, we also stopped at a local restaurant and had lunch.  It was yummy.

Then it was on to where we were staying for the trip.  Despite the fact that the main industry in northern Wisconsin is tourism, our favorite motel chain didn't have a motel in the city we decided to stay in so we rented an Airbnb in St Germain to stay at.  You're always taking a bit of a chance to do that, but this place turned out to be very nice.  We would stay there again if we were visiting the area again.

After checking in, we went right away to the point on the trail we had decided to do our ride.  The trail's name is The Heart of Vilas County Trail.  It is a 50 mile trail that runs from Mercer, through Manitowish Waters, Boulder Junction, St Germain (where we were staying), and on to Sayner.  It runs along one road or another for that whole distance, sometimes right next to the road, sometimes off through the trees a little ways away from the road. And it's paved the whole way. Sweet!

Along that way there are way stations, parking lots with restrooms, benches, picnic tables, maps, and what they called "fixation stations", where adjustments and minor repairs could be done, and air pumps were available if needed.  This trail caters to bike riders.  Pretty nice. Our ride was planned to be from one way station to the next, about six miles, at which point we would turn around and come back, a total of about 12 miles. The spot we were beginning at was called the North Creek Loop trail.

So we got to the way station, unloaded the bikes, and took off!

During our ride we crossed a number of bridges.  There are a lot of lakes and rivers in this county. It was a very nice ride.

An added bonus was the fall colors were a little more advanced in this area than they were at home.  Not yet as far along as peak, but still very nice.  

The one thing I have always found difficult is telling what the terrain is along any given trail before actually going there. And so it was with this trail also.  We started a little west of Boulder Junction and planned to go west toward Manitowish Waters. The best description I had been able to find was that it was "mostly flat". But in actually getting there and riding on it, we found that the further west we went, the more significant the hills got.  It finally reached the  point where the hills were too much, they were wearing us out.  So we turned around a couple of miles earlier than originally planned, at about four miles.  As we were on the way back we found that once again, even though it had looked like it was level or even downhill one the way out, it had actually been a little uphill the first part of the ride.  That made the return trip easier than we had been expecting.  That was nice. All in all, it was a very nice ride.  A little shorter than planned but still very nice, a very nice ride.  I'd be willing to go back another time and try a different stretch.

The way back to St Germain included going by "Marty the Musky", a giant fish located by the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce.  Of course we had to stop for a picture.  Then it was back to St Germain, where we got some supper and took it back to the Airbnb to enjoy a quiet evening, resting up from the ride (read: hills) we had just finished.  We had the TV on to an old movie, Heaven Can Wait, released in 1943.  It was entertaining, although not quite what we were expecting when we chose to turn it on.  We had thought it would be an earlier version of the 1978 movie staring Warren Beatty.  But it was still good. And an interesting way to end a very nice day.

Check out time was 10:00am so the next morning we were up, breakfasted, and out in time to make the deadline.  The plan today was to find Rustic Road 60 and drive from one end to the other.  

To be designated as a rustic road in Wisconsin, a road needs to be lightly traveled, have outstanding natural features, and be available to the public for travel by auto, bike, or walking, for recreational enjoyment.  We have found them to be quite enjoyable. There are currently 126 rustic roads scattered around the state but only one in Vilas County, Rustic Road number 60.

We found the beginning at the intersection of County Road K and County Road N, northeast of Sayner, WI.  We hadn't gone far when we came across an old mill site on Star Lake.

There's nothing was left of the mill except the sign at the turn-off. But was a small, nice little park, Centennial Park.  It was a very tranquil place to view the lake and enjoy the woods. 

We spent a while enjoying the lake and woods, a very clear lake.  We had the place pretty much to ourselves.

After leaving the park, we continued along the road, enjoying the forest and colors. The arrival of fall colors is a variable thing from year to year.  This year we were just seeing the beginnings of it this far north.  This would have been a glorious drive in a couple more weeks.  But even now, with the colors just off to a good start, it was beautiful.

All too soon, we came to the end of the road and it was time to be on our way.

On our way out we stopped at the Vilas County Historical Museum in Sayner to get a photo of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.  We had driven past it several times on this trip so we had to stop and get a picture.

Then it was back to St Germain to a little shop called Cathy's Ice Cream N Candy Shoppe.  They had some interesting rocks outside.

And, of course, we had to have some ice cream.  Some yummy flavors.  We also got some fudge and taffy.  Nice stuff.  

This was a short trip but it was very relaxing, which is what we were looking for.  Got in a bike ride on a trail that was every bit as good as we were told. Saw some sights, enjoyed each others company, and had a good time.  Nothing could be finer.

In Training

Schwarzbeere's kids have been with us often this summer.  His oldest is already proficient on a bike.  He also has a bike but it's not here with us so when he's here he's unable to ride it.  But Blaubeere took care of that for us.  Her kids had outgrown their bikes and they had already replaced them, a while ago.  Then their old bikes sat around taking up space at her house until it occurred to her that Schwarzbeere's kids might be interested in them.  So we brought them over here.  The biggest one was already in good working order and of a size that is well suited for him, so we suggested to Schwarzbeere's oldest that he might be able to ride it.  He liked that idea.   

And so we let him try it out.  He was sold.  Now he just needed someone to ride with him.  That brings us to the Schwarzbeere's other two kids.  Blaubeere had offered a total of three bikes, two of which had been sitting around longer.  They were smaller and needed a bit of work before they would be rideable. Plus, although Schwarzbeere's two youngest had already expressed interest in riding them, they also both felt they needed training wheels to be able to ride them. Alas, they did not have training wheels attached.  I looked at the local stores that carried bike supplies but nobody had them.  So I ended up ordering them online.

And, at last, they came.  It was a while before I had time to work on them but finally the day came.  First step, assemble the training wheels.

That was a relatively simple process, despite poor instructions.  Again, just pictures, no explanations.  What you going to do?  

But it didn't take long before I had the first set done and ready to go on the bike.  I picked the bike the youngest would use because that bike didn't have any flat tires.  

Once the training wheels were on I adjusted the seat to fit her and it was ready to go.

She had been monitoring the whole process pretty closely up to this point so she was only too happy to give it a try.

Riding a bike with training wheels is pretty basic but there are still some basics to learn. But she picked it up pretty quick and pretty soon she was riding around the driveway like an old pro.  She was pretty happy.

The last bike was a different matter.  It was also smaller so I had to adjust the seat as high as it would go.  But that was enough.  It also had a flat.  So that needed to be fixed.  Fortunately, fixing it only required pumping it up.  It held air over night so we were good to go.  But then the front tire. . .   

Try as I might, I couldn't even get air to go into it.  You could hear the air escaping as fast as you pumped. Very frustrating.  I finally stopped and took the tire off.

I took the tube out and inspected it closely.  I also had Schwarzbeere check real close.  He found a hole right by the stem.  Guess that explained it.  So we got a new tube.  I got the new tube in and pumped it up.  I thought I had been careful getting it back together but I must not have been careful enough.  I had it pumped and set it by the bike, ready to go back on, when the tube exploded.  This must be getting to be old stuff, Brombeere didn't come out to see what the noise was this time.  So I had to get another tube.  While I was waiting, I put the training wheels together and got them on.

With the new tube in, it pumped up much better.  With the training wheels on it was ready to go.

The young man sat upon it and was happy.  The bike was generally a bit small but, still, it worked. And it was what we had so I was happy.  

So, after trying it out in the driveway, he was all set, ready to go.  A happy kid. Now we just needed a time when they were all here and the weather was cooperating enough for all of us to go on a ride.  We also need to get helmets for the youngest two.

A few days later we finally had everything, helmets, good weather, and time to take everyone on a ride!

Everyone was out and ready! This was the first ride for the two littlest and, unfortunately, it didn't go as envisioned.  But it was good, very good for a first ride. Instead of a short ride around the block we ended up in a near by parking lot, where it went much better. They got in some good practice. And we hope they will get better and be able to have longer, more fun rides!

A Learning Experience

Recently Erdbeere and her boys came for a visit. And, while they were here, they wanted to learn a little about the fine art of fishing.  So we had arranged for two of their uncles (Schwarzbeere & Himbeere), who are both accomplished fishermen, to come teach them the finer points of fishing.  Or at least give them an introduction to the sport. Schwarzbeere's kids were also with us at the time so we all went to a good spot for kids to fish and got to it.

Because none of the kids had any fishing gear, Schwarzbeere had gotten up early on the appointed day and run to the store to get some.  Then, once we got to the fishing spot, they had to spend some time getting the poles and stuff all ready.  

That was a hard part, some of the kids were impatient. And it does take a few minutes to get five poles set up with bobbers, sinkers, and hooks.

But finally it was done and we all walked the short distance to the water, which we all hoped held lots of little fishies for the kids to catch.

Most of the kids lined themselves up along the bank, spaced far enough apart that we hope they wouldn't snag each other as they learned how to cast their lines.

Some wanted to try fishing from the little pier out over the water.

During the time we were there, they all got pretty good at casting their lines.  Some actually got good at it. As they fished there were a couple of times, actually quite a few times, that lines got tangled around the ends of the pole.  It took them a while to learn how to keep their line from getting wrapped around the end of their own pole.  

We had a couple of chairs along which some took advantage of.

Even though there weren't a lot of weeds, there were several times that lines got tangled in the weeds and had to be untangled and then straightened back out.

In the process, there were a couple of times that bobbers got snapped off the ends of the line.  Sometimes they flipped away and landed on the ground.  Once one landed in the water and took a little teamwork to be retrieved.

And once there was a monster tangle.  In the end, that line got cut and restrung with bobber and sinker before they were back in business.

The kids lasted not quite two hours before they'd had enough.  And unfortunately, nobody caught any fish.  Schwarzbeere was the only one that even got a nibble, although Himbeere expressed some doubt about whether or not that had actually happened.  Both the uncles have seen people pull respectable fish out of this pond so we knew it could be done. But there was a culvert that connects this little pond with a nearby river so the fish can come and go as they please.  Apparently today they were out and about, and not in the pond. It turned out okay, though, because that saved us having to figure out what to do if anyone had wanted to keep what they caught; both the uncles are "catch and release" fishermen. The kids all said they had a good time, despite not catching anything. Yet, despite saying they all had fun, nobody expressed any interest in hurrying back for another round. Fancy that.