Bradley Park, Tomahawk

It has been nearly a year since I made an entry on this blog. It's time to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

Last week a friend and I walked through Bradley Park. I've only walked in parts of this park a few times, never really taking advantage of what a lovely spot it is to hike or ride a bike through. In the winter it is a great place to cross country ski or snowshoe. I hope to get back to cross country skiing this winter, and I'd like to try snowshoeing for the first time.

Bradley Park was originally called "Hog's Back" and consisted of 105 acres of virgin pines. Today the park consists of 68 acres. The park is a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by Lake Mohawksin. Lake Mohawksin is formed by the Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and Somo rivers coming together.

It's a scenic site to visit in any season.

What looks like a floating bog of some sort

Blue Heron

The Point with its hobbit like tree roots

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Today is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Franciscan who loved all animals.  Some churches, both Catholic and Protestant, have the blessing of animals on this day. The prayer of Saint Francis offers words of wisdom to those seeking to live a simplified life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

2nd Grade Class presented a living museum last spring. This boy  played Saint Francis.

Wordless Wednesday 10/3/2012

What way do I go?

It's October Again

If you didn’t already know it, which could only happen if you live in a cave, October is breast cancer awareness month. I am a two time breast cancer survivor so you’d think I’d love this month, right? Wrong. I’m tired of the onslaught of pink everywhere.

I want to see lung cancer, which KILLS more women than breast cancer, get equal awareness along with research dollars and efforts. More lung cancer is being seen in non-smoking women. We need research to find out why so that steps can be taken to reduce the risk. That won’t happen without dollars.

I want to see the breast cancer awareness ads  let MEN know they too can get breast cancer. 1% of breast cancer occurs in men. They tend to develop the genetic types of breast cancer which tend to be more aggressive to begin with. Men are diagnosed later than women, in part because they don’t know that men can get breast cancer. Doctors are more likely to wait and watch with a male presenting with a lump. Men have to fight with their health insurance companies to get  mammograms. Put all these factors together and maybe you can understand why men with breast cancer  have a significantly higher death rate than women with breast cancer.

I want to see more awareness and dollars for heart disease, which kills far more women than breast cancer does.  It’s the number one cause of death for women. We are seeing more awareness about heart disease but more needs to be done.

I don’t want breast cancer awareness to stop. I don’t want research to stop. Breast cancer mortality has been reduced significantly from what it was 25  years ago. One reason is more women do seek medical attention sooner. Another reason is the advent of estrogen blocking drugs. But let’s give other cancers and diseases the same awareness and dollars.

My grandson does his part to raise breast cancer awareness

What's Brewin'

You won’t find a Starbucks, Caribou, or Dunn Brothers’ coffee shop in the majority of small towns. What you will find are locally owned, independent coffee shops which offer the same products, and often for less. I will always choose a locally owned and operated coffee shop over any chain. I do not drink coffee, I prefer tea or hot chocolate so don’t think coffee shops are only for coffee drinkers.

Tomahawk is lucky to have a locally owned and operated coffee ship. It’s called What’s Brewin' and is located on W. Wisconsin Avenue. They also sell homemade fudge which I understand is to die for. They offer a variety of soups, sandwiches, and baked goods. I can vouch for their onion soup, it is good, much better than most onion soups outside my own.

Like coffee shops everywhere they offer Wi Fi, which is free. The interior design is all vintage 1940’s and 1950’s. They even had an old wooden high chair should your toddler need one.

Their hidden jewel is the courtyard in the back. It is a beautiful space where you can read books, visit friends, or play cards or board games. It is so peaceful, it reminds me of something you’d find in France or Italy.

The NaBloPoMo in October prompt for today is the word mask. What does that conjure up in your mind? In mine it makes me think of a covering up or disguising something so that it no longer looks like it did. Halloween masks cover up our faces, make us look like someone else. In the courtyard of What’s Brewing you will find masked stones and small rocks. They have been painted to look like something than just plain stones. They represent woodland creatures of different sorts and are very cute.

Stop in when you’re in town and have something delicious from What’s Brewin'.

The courtyard is so peaceful

What masks are these stones hiding behind?

You can't miss What's Brewin', it's right on the main street in Tomahawk, WI

Back to Blogging

I have been very negligent in blogging. I have no excuse, just laziness. I am challenging myself by signing up for the NaBloPoMo, which stands for National Blog Posting Month. The rule is you blog every Monday through Friday for a given month. I’m starting the October challenge so beginning tomorrow my hope is to blog every day, including the weekends. I can’t find as much information on this challenge as I’d liked. One source I found lists prompts for October. The prompts don’t fit in with the purpose of my blog.

To illustrate what I mean, here are the prompts for the first week:

• Monday, October 1, 2012
  When you saw the word mask, was your first interpretation protection, covering up, persona, or performance?
• Tuesday, October 2, 2012
  Are you good at hiding your feelings or is your face an open book?
• Wednesday, October 3, 2012
  Do you enjoy acting?
• Thursday, October 4, 2012
  How good are you at telling a lie?
• Friday, October 5, 2012
  Do you tend to cover up your failings or admit your mistakes?
• Monday, October 8, 2012
  If you had the superpower to know what everyone was thinking (but not saying) would you use it?

So, wish we luck.

To update one event while I wasn’t blogging. My 4 y.o. tortoise shell kitty Clare became very ill the last week of July. I don’t want to go into everything we went through, it was very traumatic. The cause of her death was two-fold. She had a condition of her spleen we didn’t know about, it was destroying her red blood cells. Her hemoglobin was 4, incompatible with living more than a few days. In addition it appears she ingested a tylenol I’d dropped, as her liver went into failure. The damage the vet saw on her autopsy was consistent with tylenol ingestion. Had her spleen been functioning she might have survived but the two together was too much for sweet Clare to tolerate. I miss her a lot.

Two weeks later I was at the vets with Clare’s litter mate, just for a well cat check and immunizations. A feral kitty had been brought in and the vet needed to find a home. So, he now has a home. His name is Cork, after County Cork in Ireland. He also has brownish ears that look like corks. He’s a very sweet kitty.

Cork, feral once, now part of the family

Mystery House Number One

When you drive by abandoned houses do you ever wonder what stories the house could tell? Maybe I’m just weird but I always wonder about who lived in the house over the years. Who had it built? Who was the last family to live there and why did they leave? Every abandoned house has a story, in fact, has many stories. I am going to try and learn, in the words of Paul Harvey, the rest of the story about abandoned houses I come across. 

This is house number one. If you are driving east on Highway 64 in Wisconsin this house is on your left, a few hundred feet into Chippewa County. I’m guessing it has been at least 25 years since anyone has lived in the house. There are a few out buildings and a large barn. The barn is in fairly good shape. I think it might be being used to store hay. There are tire tracks in the driveway.

I will be trying to find out more of this house’s history by visiting the Chippewa County Historical Society and the county surveyor’s records. When I learn more I will post the rest of the story.

There is an abandoned house in southern MN near the IA border I want to learn more about. It’s on Highway 52. It will be mystery house number two. I’ll post it next month. I hope to do one house per month.

As viewed from Highway 64 West

As viewed from Highway 64 East

The front of the house

The side of the house

From Google Maps