A fellow blogger passed away a week ago today. He was born and died in June... with eighty years in between. He led a very interesting and full life, spoke many languages and had friends around the world. 

He began blogging three years ago this month and, while I've read them in the past, the posts have new meaning for me now. He was a somewhat eccentric character, and his writing certainly helps to demystify his complexity.

I travelled 600 miles to Omaha by Greyhound Sunday night for the Monday memorial service. I had wanted to visit while he was still alive but something always came up. The last time I saw him was by way of a Skype video connection. He knew he was dying.

The memorial service was a fitting send off for an extraordinary man. It was the perfect mass with stories and testimony from many of his friends and colleagues. It celebrated his long, fruitful life and quirky nature. There was read a long poem about him, songs and readings he would've enjoyed, tears of joy and sadness... and plenty of humor. If I live to be a hundred, I will not again witness such a wondrous mass for as unique an individual.

I was to return to Waukesha the following day, so while there I had to explore the Iowa dish antenna farm known as SCOLA started by him. It's an imposing sight in the middle of an unimposing cornfield. Huge dishes sprout from the fertile soil like trees in Arthur C. Clarke's imagination. The bowls in the corn stand ready to accept flakes of information. The studio digests programming from around the world and spoon feeds it to subscribers via a regular schedule. (SCOLA used to be seen on cable in the Waukesha area several years ago. It was the channel with the foreign news broadcasts.)

Before I left Tuesday, I wanted to sign the guestbook for the room on the Creighton campus I was staying. It was started in the late 1980's, and as I paged through it I wondered if I'd see him mentioned -- he had taught at Creighton for many years. Right there on the second page, a note from a Frenchman visiting SCOLA, thanking Father Lubbers, SJ, my uncle, for the hospitality.    

My Uncle Lee was uncommon and we had a lot in common. He loved to book shop, more than he'd ever have time to read, it seemed. He gave me a enormous "The Last Whole Earth Catalog" and "The Zen of Running" years ago. He left me his well-used "Roget's International Thesaurus" which I will use in blogging and used for this one.

He took the nieces and nephews skiing many times, and these are favorite memories. It took Lee's enthusiasm to get teenagers out of bed before dawn on a freezing winter vacation day, cook us a hot breakfast of grits, drive for miles to the ski hills on snow-covered roads, and ski all day even when it was coldest. Three times he took us skiing out West and you will see skiing and mountains prominent in his art from that period.

After Uncle Lee's brother died in the 1960s his sister, my mother, began an Easter egg hunt tradition. It was the first big holiday after the plane crash and she wanted to do something to help the five orphaned kids get through it. Again my uncle's enthusiasm took over and he really, really, enjoyed hunting for his own colored eggs well into his 60s.

It was always fun seeing my uncle for holidays. He'd share stories and ideas from his travels and get us to try foods and drink we were unfamiliar with. He liked strong, black coffee and liked sweets and French foods, especially cheeses.

I could go on and on about his art, his marrying us and baptizing our baby. About a trip to Missouri for an antenna. About sailing ... Maybe later. 

My uncle began the art department at Creighton University and is still instructing even in death. His body was donated to science. 

The theater was packed - even the $500.00 seats appeared to be sold out. The Pabst is absolutely beautiful and, even though it's older than Les, he'd never played there before Saturday. The stage had a relaxed and comfortable feel to it. Several people sat at pub tables and chairs around the perimeter giving the setting a jazz club atmosphere. The tuxedoed gentlemen falling off his stool just added to the realism of the bar scene.

Les played many decent tunes accompanied by three other men, but he could have played tiddlywinks and we would have applauded. The three hour program was kept interesting with new introductions every few songs, and with stories about him and by him. One of the first introductions was quite auspicious because he represented the future to Les' past. An eight year old boy played guitar beautifully with Les and even sang a blues tune. By our tickets, we were all contributing to the new "House of Sound" educational exhibit, and by this young man we knew we were doing the right thing. It didn't take much imagination to think of this boy as young Les as he played beside the 93 year old. Les was eight when he began playing an instrument.

It's harder to imagine what Waukesha was like 93 years ago when Les was born. It had been 80 years since the area was first settled, and 20 years after Waukesha became an incorporated city. He was born around the same time the health resorts were dying in a little house that used to be where the downtown Walgreens is now. He entertained at Waukesha Beach on Pewaukee Lake and his first concert was at Marquette University. 

Several other friends performed with Les, mostly those he plays with Monday nights at the Iridium in New York. Besides the eight year old guitarist, a singer, a violinist, harmonica player and tap dancer all performed to much applause. Bob Reitman was the logical choice of MC as both gentlemen are legends.

After meeting Les last year and watching his biography I thought I knew him pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised last night that there is much, much more Les.

Happy birthday Les, and many more!

The weather cleared in time for an enjoyable Father's Day though rain dampened Flag Day and graduation day celebrations Saturday. Congratulations to all grads and dads!

It's this blogs second blogiversary and I just want to say thanks. It's really been a pleasure. I am more active in the community now than ever before. One of the side benefits of writing is needing something to write about. I've volunteered, attended plays, concerts, festivals, services... enjoyed it all and enjoyed talking about it too.

I've posted 50% more blogs in this last year than I did in the first. The most popular post, Matzah and Messiah, was 2-1/2 times more popular than the next highest viewed blog. Not sure why.

Last year I mentioned my favorite post was my letter to Dad. My favorite post this year is This Is My Prayer.

I've met a lot of really interesting, fun and hard-working people in the last two years, more than I can count, but the one I'd like to recognize tonight is Les Paul. He's a genuine person full of humor and talent who is a real pleasure to write about. I'm looking forward to seeing him again next weekend.

Thanks for your interest, and keep reading and commenting.

 

Ever notice how much the phone sounds like the alarm clock when it rings at 5 a.m.? Me either. But the phone did ring this morning and I was very happy. It meant my newest niece was born into the world today. A little early but healthy. 

congratulations to Mom and Dad, my brother and sister-in-laws. I can't wait to see her.

**** 5/25 update****   came home from hospital today

.

Yesterday was almost perfect; the weather sunny and calm, many things are in bloom, not too hot or cold and no bugs. This is a great time to welcome the birds that were away for so long. There's cute baby bunnies hopping around the yard lately, and there's just a couple huge bees busily polinating around the house.

Once again I was able to avoid yard work so Sir Fido had time to take me for a walk. Of the three rummage sales we encountered, two were closing for the day, and we fortunately didn't come home with any more junk. He loves the walks as much as I do; while he's eagerly checking out every scent like a curious child, I'm enjoying the people I meet and nature I encounter. 

The Waukesha Farmer's Market opened for the season yesterday with live music, give-aways, police and fire departments and lots of delicious food. Because I put so much thought into some hanging baskets attracting more bees, all I left with was a sturdy cloth shopping bag full of fliers, however. The market has come a long way. When I had produce myself to sell 25 or so years ago, we just went down to the river on Saturday and set up a table. There was little advertisement and few customers. Take a look now and you'll see all kinds of food, plants, handmade things... and lots of community support and advertising. Many downtown businesses have taken an interest in the market now because, thanks to the BID and stall charges, word is getting out, there is variety and freshness, and people are coming.

The Pewaukee River Run was finally held yesterday - the water too high in April when it was originally scheduled. It was fun seeing canoes and kayaks full of people wildly paddling toward Frame Park on the Fox. Hopefully no one piled their boat into a river obstruction, of which there are quite a few.

North picked a great day for it's prom. At the grand march we saw hundreds of teens in their finest, my son and his girlfriend among them. The gym was packed with enthusiastic parents, relatives and friends for the introductions and prom court selection. After the march a dozen or more limos were among vehicles used to transport the juniors and seniors to the PAC  Milw. for a night of music, food and fun.

The best part of the day for me was waking up at 4:50 in the morning because that meant HOT AIR BALLOON SEASON HAS STARTED! Two balloons launched from a field next to Boomer's Pub in Pewaukee and headed south-west with me driving one of the chase vehicles. They both landed in the area of Wern Valley Sportsmens Club, a beautiful area with lots of birds and farmland. The couple in our balloon were a pleasure to meet - very friendly and funny - and it was their wedding anniversary. The light wind was so perfect for their flight, taking them over Retzer Nature Center and much wildlife. What a great way to celebrate 22 years of marriage.

I had to attend UWW's String Ensemble and University Chorus Spring Concert Friday. The price was right, (free) it was easy to get to, and it's the last concert of this school year. Though the audience could have been larger for this great performance, those in attendence were appreciative and enthusiastic.

Spring was the theme among the twenty or so pieces, split between the violin trio and chorus, some going back 500 years. While many folks have difficulty just singing in English, this finely-tuned choir sang equally well in French, German and Italian, as well as English. With ten sopranos and only three altos the higher voices really carried the songs. Everyone seemed to enjoy being part of such an amazing and pure performance and there were plenty of smiles on display.

Though the String Ensemble was amazing, especially in their last piece - Pachelbel's Canon in D, I didn't much care for the one piece the men's chorus performed. Maybe it was the piece itself, but their version of Toller's A Red Red Rose seemed to lack enough feeling to match the lyrics of the song.

Having all year to practice together as a chorus really paid off. This was their finest performance of the year by far. I'm so glad the rest of the audience enjoyed it as much as I. We gave them a well-deserved standing ovation and called them back for a very fun encore of Passereau's Il es bel et bon.

Because director Brian McLinden chose to not have an intermission, I was back home less than two hours after I left. I seriously wasn't even missed. How unfair is that?

I have my ticket for today's Waukesha Choral Union production of Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's. If I enjoy it half as much as UWW's concert it will be money well spent.

I was enjoying a quiet walk in the woods at Retzer Nature Center today. It felt good to slow down and notice things that were buried under snow not that long ago. So many shades of green... It would have been a lot quieter had it not been for the howling wind and squeeks of bending trees rubbing against one another. I had stopped to listen to all the sounds and moments later heard something unexpected. A dead pine tree came crashing down in the area I had just come from.

It was the Earth Day Extravaganza at Retzer, one of my very favorite times to be there. The weather had been nicer other years and it kept the crowd down, but plenty of people still enjoyed the day's free activities.

After lounging in the comfortable planetarium chairs for the "Journey to the Stars" show, I joined many others for Ken Lonnquist's concert. Ken is not only a good singer, songwriter and musician, but he also involves and interacts with the audience in a unique way. He had whale songs and earth songs. Recycling, ridiculous and rhyming songs. After he sang a song about photosynthesis, one of the kids, who happened to be dressed in a "caped crusader" outfit, became "Photosynthesis Boy" for the rest of the concert.    

Every performer has stage presence, but with Ken half the entertainment was watching him interact with the kids. He ad-libbed unique rhyming songs for the kids and not only made funny animal sounds but made us repeat them. Ken seemed to really be in his element -- comfortable around crowds and nature. I'd recommend seeing him if ever there's another chance.

Before stopping for a couple toasted marshmallows I wandered the woods. I guess I never realized that the headwaters of Brandy Brook is in Retzer. Brandy Brook runs to Pebble Creek which joins the Fox River. The Fox River begins near Menomonee Falls and joins the Illinois river before heading to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.

I also never realized what an odd feeling it is to look up at swaying 100 foot tall pines while stumbling forward through the woods. Try it sometime.       

I have to compare yesterday's crane count to fishing. Sometimes you don't see any, but the day is never wasted. Plus, a bad day of crane counting is still better than a good day at work.

The weather wasn't too cold for the start of Earth Week and the 5:30 a.m. start of the Annual Midwest Crane Count, though a few raindrops fell. My son accompanied me and we saw lots of deer, some turkeys and even a bluebird. We hiked around in the woods and saw the sunrise together. Even though we didn't see any cranes, hanging out in nature is not something we do enough of and the day wasn't wasted. Today, the same son would have gone canoeing with me down the Fox if I hadn't totalled the canoe earlier and if the Wauk. Parks canoe trip hadn't been cancelled due to the danger of high water.

Because I used to work weekends, and because of the coordinator's ACT tests last year, yesterday was the first time we were able to get together with others for breakfast after the count at the Machine Shed. Sara and her family were there as were several other counters, including first time Waukesha counter Kathy, who used to count in Central Wisconsin. It was interesting to hear how long the others have been doing the count, where they count, how many they saw, and why they are doing it. Sara, our coordinator, has parlayed her experience and devotion into a $5000.00 scholarship to Northland College in Ashland and will continue to lead our count from there as she increases her knowledge of the natural world.

There's a nice front page article in today's Sunday Journal Sentinel on the quest to reintroduce a second migratory population of whooping cranes in North America. Whooping cranes are the rarest cranes in the world and what we're doing in our count somehow helps in their reintroduction. Wherever sandhill cranes live, so whooping cranes can. By noting shifts in sandhill populations due to food, development or whatever, we are also helping tell the International Crane Foundation how successful their efforts at reintroduction could be. We're not just counting sandhill cranes any more. Sure, we're watching for a rare whooper, but we're also watching for leg bands, radio collars, and certain behavior... Are cranes exhibiting mating behavior or are they all males?  Are they guarding their territory or are they passing through? It all means something to someone. Getting out in nature on an early morning means a lot to me. 

I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.

One of my favorite downtown stores reopened yesterday after a several week closure due to water leaks.  The closure made me realize how dependent I am on Plowshare for unique gifts. When I tried to find the right gift at the next best thing, a store in Westbrook Shopping Center, I found that they had closed a while ago.

At any rate, if you're thinking of checking the store out now would be a good time. Because of the closure the store is now in the middle of it's largest clearance sale ever.   Everything in the store is hand-made of natural materials and each purchase supports the artisan and their family. Plowshare Gifts is at the corner of Grand and Main. The number is 547-5188.

I thought The Wizard of Oz was required viewing for every American. Thought we all had to see it at least three times by the 8th grade. The person you'd think would have been one to have seen it most, the director and producer of Waukesha North's current production, Nathan Berish, hadn't seen it at all until he began work on this musical.

The older I get the more I enjoy the Wizard of Oz. We own it on video and I see something new every time I watch it. I enjoyed seeing all the press North's Wizard of Oz production received, especially the part about the flying. I was anxious to see their version of it and thrilled that we could see it last night, though I was worried we wouldn't get tickets. We didn't order them in advance, it was reserved seating, but we did get in OK and sat in the east wing. 

 I enjoyed the extra effort that went into Mr. Berish's first North musical. Clearing the hurdles of flight, a cairn terrier on the set, choreography of elementary school-age Munchkins, fire proofing everything... made me want to see it all the more. You know a lot of effort went into this $14,000 production.

I enjoyed the whole play, especially Dorothy's acting and singing, expertly performed by the current 'Waukesha Teen Idol," Ellen Jenders. Even Toto did a good job, making appearances in the hall to sign autographs (Got a picture for Sir Fido. Toto is a real "Lady")

Next weekend is the last for this production. If you'd like to see it call 970-3649 or visit North's web site.

So what is a Winkie anyway?

First of all, I'd like to say thank you for reading my blog and for the feedback. I really appreciate having this excuse to get out and be more involved in the community I love. This is good writing practice, you give me that opportunity, and I thank you.

You've just been palanca'd!

I spent the weekend with dozens of seventeen year old confirmation candidates and other group leaders at a beautiful camp a couple miles from Monches. Camp Whitcomb/Mason is a huge Boys and Girls Club camp on Lake Keesus and is nearly 100 years old. Fortunately, I'm becoming more and more familiar with the camp -- I've been there several times with school -- fortunate because it has so much to offer and because of it's serene location. I love it.

One of the first things we did at camp was to create a palanca bag, or planka bag as they pronounced it. We had earlier picked adjectives for our names to use in an icebreaking memory game. The game grew increasingly more difficult as it progressed around the circle and I was glad I was just the third one. Toward the end of the circle the kids had to remember 30 or so difficult names and adjectives such as Loud Linda, Lethargic Leo, Touchable Tom, Witty Wes, etc. Because camp is located just a few paces from where I did so much hot air balloon crewing this summer, I chose b'loony Brien for my adjective.

Everyone decorated a paper bag with their adjectives, names, interests and whatever else identifies and defines them. Some of the bags were true works of art, many were cute or funny. Sports and religion were on quite a few. Many bags accurately reflected the adjective and many adjectives acurately reflected the people. Once the bags were made, hundreds of paper slips were provided for us to use in little messages. We were encouraged to say nice things in notes and place them in the bags.

Got Palanca?  The concept was new to me but I caught on soon enough. I learned that the more I showed appreciation for others the more I myself appreciated. Telling others how helpful or kind they are is addictive and it didn't take me long to start palanca'ing strangers. Because we spent the whole weekend together there weren't too many strangers left by Sunday.

Where the best part of the palanca bags may have been reading the notes we received, the best part of the weekend for the kids had to have been the love letters the parents and family secretly sent them. Whether one letter or many, the result was the same: kids, some in tears, learned how much they were really loved, appreciated and supported.

The best part of the weekend for me? Guess.

  

One of my favorite stores is one that everyone in Waukesha should be aware of. Plowshare Gifts, at the corner of Grand Ave. and Main in Downtown Waukesha, is a fair trade gift shop. Everything in the store is made by craftsmen in developing countries. People normally paid pennies for their labor are guaranteed a living wage and access to health care and education through the fair trade program.

The store, with a wide range of gifts, clothes, jewelry, coffee, musical instruments, etc. is the only one like it in Waukesha County. It's a neat educational experience to see and feel the crafts made around the world. It's truly amazing what some people can do with soapstone, or recycled plastic, steel and aluminum, or clay, brass, native woods... This week I bought two small, hinged, inlayed wooden boxes from India. Just to UPS a box across town would be a minimum of $4.00. I only paid three dollars for each box (there's two more left). For the price of one beer at Miller Park, I left with two beautiful, handcrafted items made by someone in India who I know was paid a living wage. I don't know how it's possible, it just is. 

The store is non-profit and volunteers help staff it, keeping prices low. There's so much to see and bargains to be had, but my favorite are the Tibetan singing bowls, something you won't find at Walmart.

A couple years ago my son's class sold fair trade chocolate from the store to raise money to spend at the store for an item to donate to an auction for the school. The price of the candy bar was a bit more than a Hersheys, but the kids learned so much more about the world from selling it. It was the best fundraiser, one that helped everyone down the line -- from the cacao producers, to the craftspeople, Plowshare Gifts, all the way back to the school in profit from the auction.

If you can't find an inexpensive, useful or beautiful gift for the "hard to buy for" at Plowshare, let me know. My friend, Ken with Wind Dancer, is running ads for balloon flight gift certificates. The more often they go up the better my chance of helping out, and I love crewing! You can e-mail Ken if interested at wiwinddancer@cs.com.

 

 

 

My parish, St. Williams, 440 N. Moreland, will be the place to be this Saturday, and I won't be there.

In the morning will be the largest toy distribution I've ever seen. For the fourth or fifth year St. William is hosting the Waukesha County Christmas Clearing Council. The gym starts filling Thursday, and by Saturday there are thousands of toys waiting for needy families to come and shop. By 5:00 p.m. Saturday it will all be cleaned up and gone. It's a good thing that's incredible to see and help with.

The Jubilate Chorale will be performing a beautiful Christmas concert at St. William also this Saturday the 15th. The concert will feature the world premiere of new work as well as familiar carols in new arrangements. It sounds too good to be true. The more I read and hear about it, the more I want to be there. My only hope is to catch it in Oconomowoc on Sunday as I'll be out of town Saturday. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. and is $12.00.  This is the one! If you have time for just one concert this holiday season make it this one. Click on the above links to hear the chorale or to read Laurel Walker's 12/9 column.

I hope that if I don't see you at this concert it's because I'm out of town, and not because you didn't go. I need someone to tell me about it when I get back.

Within the last week and a half I walked, drove, rode a bike and chased a hot air balloon to the University of Wisconsin Waukesha.

A week ago Saturday was the last time I crewed, possibly for the season. All three balloons that took off together from a park on County K in Pewaukee landed together on the north parking lot of the university. Distance of travel; about five miles. It was fun landing in my own neighborhood for once.

This last Friday I attended the free Fall Instrumental Concert featuring the UW-Waukesha Handbell Choir and the Symphonic Band. Really impressed by the music and little stories behind the music. This was the first year of playing for five of the six handbell choristers and they did a fantastic job. The Symphonic Band took on more than one challenging piece and played extremely well also.

Sunday the university offered free hot chocolate and fireworks after the parade. Friendly volunteers had tables set up to do craft activities with the many children there. It was the second day of the second annual Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for the UW-Waukesha Foundation, a group that supports and promotes students and programs at the university.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the current photo exhibit in the Fine Arts Center on the south end of the campus. The gallery, open just 10:30 to 1:30 M-F, is currently showing 20 or so large, beautifully mounted and arranged photos by Janica Yoder.

Today I enjoyed even more meeting photo artist Janica Yoder during a Visions and Expressions lecture at the university. We saw many slides of her work and she commented on every one. She told us what camera she used, where her models were from, what she was feeling, where she took the photos, how she created certain effects... I found several of the things she said very interesting. First, she loves to photograph at Paradise Springs, the same place I was taking pictures at Thursday. Also, she always uses film, not digital cameras and she exclusively uses natural light for all her photos. We all enjoyed learning how her photos were created as much as seeing the slides themselves. But one of the nicest things of the afternoon was viewing the exhibit once again after learning how the photos were done. Janica's talk gave a lot of substance to the exhibit and I appreciated even more.

Milwaukee's Holiday Parade had a lot more bands, TV and radio personalities, and "New York style" helium balloons but it didn't have the UW Marching Band.

Without knowing the details I assumed, correctly, that the entire UW band wouldn't be present. I also knew that they were talking about UW Madison's band and not somewhere like Whitewater. The contingent for the Waukesha parade yesterday consisted of about 25 trumpet players, one tuba player and two drummers. The active group of red-jacketed marchers were more Mardi Gras than precise in their steps. They shouted, danced, teased, high stepped and of course played loud and proud.

Each time UW played a snippet of "On Wisconsin" the applause was overwhelming, especially at the five points where a lot of people were concentrated. They brought a smile to everyone's face with their energy and antics. They were constantly moving so I didn't get any decent pictures. That, and it was so dark by the time they passed by.

It was 5:30 by the time the UW band passed by, too dark to see who sponsored their visit. Main Street isn't real well lit though it is better than some. It was dark but at least we didn't have to miss the Packer game!

So who did sponsor UW Marching Band's visit? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I couldn't imagine better weather than we had here for the last day of summer Saturday. Golden delicious! The delicious weather brought out thousands of people to Retzer Nature Center's 21st Annual Apple Harvest Festival. I was real glad to see the people too, even though it made for more work for me in the food tent, because some things are just too good to not share.

I must've poured a hundred cups of cider, constantly moving to restock all beverages, and never got stung by a yellow jacket, (wish some of the young kids in attendance could say the same.) Besides a game of tag with the yellow jackets, the children's craft area, scarecrow display and musicians were very popular. The wagon ride had a long line as did the apple pie area.

I guess one could judge the success of the fest by how much was left at the end. I really don't know what all was left at the end because I wasn't there and didn't ask, but in my brief survey of the situation I noticed the apple pie slices were gone, the cider sold out and the 62 varieties of apples down to about 12. And I was thinking about purchasing 4 gallons of cider!

I would've loved to help clean up after the festival ended at 5:00, but I put in my three hours and hot air balloons were calling. Since this is my first year regularly hot air crewing, I'm not sure how long the season lasts, or if there even is a season. I was just happy to have the opportunity to help on the last day of summer.

Crewing went just as great as Apple Fest. A total of four balloons launched together in Monches and floated an hour toward north east to touch down in Hubertus. An ultralight fly-in was going on in the area and they seemed to have the time of their lives flitting around the four huge colorful balloons. The hilly wooded area around Holy Hill, where we were chasing, is starting to get really pretty with the new color in the trees. It was a joy to be there and it was nice to be needed. It was nice to be needed there. My family understands.

It turns out the couple who went up in our balloon were celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary that very day. A huge surprise. Scheduling around the weather and availability usually means flights don't necessarily go up when you'd like. Sometimes a year or two can go by if there's many weather cancellations. So we see a lot of first-time fliers but not a lot of birthdays or anniversaries unless by chance. This one was their anniversary. I don't know how they planned it that way.

I saw a group of Buddhist monks enter Peking House Restaurant on Grandview Wednesday night. I knew they were in town from William Meyer's photo in the Journal Sentinel a day earlier. Tibetan Buddhist monks were creating a mandala sand painting at WCTC and the public was invited to see the painting or take part in the closing ceremony.

Loaded with blessings and prayer for personal health and healing, the mandala was auspiciously created on 9/11 by ten monks over a total of about 24 hours. WCTC was the right place for this event because it was educational and entertaining. Plus there's a pond on campus. Water is necessary for the last ritual, the dispersal of the sand.

There were many open minds in the Student Lounge during the final blessings and prayers and, though there were periods of singing, drumming and blowing of loud, ten foot horns, there were also solemn moments of chanting. I prayed my cell didn't ring. Actually, I didn't hear any cell ring, which was very good because the chanting obviously requires concentration.

About an hour after the closing ceremony began, one of the monks slowly began taking down the three foot wide round mandala sand painting. After all the colored sand was swept into the middle of the table the monks distributed half to the audience in plastic bags, a prayerful reminder of healing made more meaningful by this week's 9/11 anniversary. The rest of the sand was placed in a container to be poured into the pond.

Several of us processed behind the monks and the ten foot horns, past students eating lunch in the cafeteria, to outside. We stood across the pond from them while they concluded their prayers and watched while they dropped flowers in the water. The sand from the mandala is cast into flowing water to spread healing energy throughout the world, but it was so windy Thursday that I didn't see any of it hit the water. The sand was dispersed to the wind. So I ask; did you feel any different Thursday afternoon?

It's time to think about the 10th Annual Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival coming to Riverside Park in West Bend September 7th and 8th. Just 40 or so miles northeast of the City of Waukesha, West Bend resembles Waukesha in that it too has a river running through a delightful downtown. Be sure to get your tickets in advance because the gate prices are $125.00 for both days or $75.00 for one.

Or you could travel just a few blocks to the Les Paul Performance Center in Cutler Park any Wednesday in August for free jazz. The music starts at 7:00. I was one of many enjoying the warm weather, beautiful park and surprisingly good tunes last night . . . and really got my money's worth!

Resting on an Indian mound, bare feet on soft grass, I watched a young girl beg and plead with her grandma to not make her leave the concert early. I know how she must have felt. When the weather is right and everything is fine I sometimes get the kind of feeling that I don't want to see end either.

I don't consider myself a jazz fan but I appreciate good music. Does that make sense? The lineup for August is: Aug. 8th - Mestura Fina. Aug. 15th - Rhythm Voyage. Aug. 22nd - Robin Pluer. and Aug. 29th - Nabori Salsa.

Thanks Andy

The newspaper notice stated a group was looking for extra help today, Saturday, for litter control on the stretch of road they "adopted." If Lady Bird Johnson, who's funeral was today, could devote much of her life to highway beautification, then it shouldn't be too much trouble for me to devote two hours of my time, and it didn't hurt that their stretch of roadway is the mostly undeveloped and beautiful Hwy. N northwest of Eagle.

Besides fresh air, exercise and the nature of the Scuppernong Prairie in Kettle Moraine State Forest, I knew it would also be a good opportunity to learn more about the group, Waukesha County Environmental Action League, and meet some earth-friendly people. WEAL was formed almost 30 years ago by citizens concerned about the loss of natural resources and habitat to development in Waukesha County. Since then they have been involved in educating the public and influencing government about quality of life and growth, about Waukesha's ever decreasing rural environment and wildlife habitat, among other things. Most of WEAL's officers were there for the cleanup including Russ, one of the founding members.

I passed a sandhill crane feeding alongside N as I drove toward this morning's meeting spot and saw a turkey vulture eating a roadkill rabbit shortly after I mistakenly passed up the spot. We were furnished orange safety vests, after introductions, and were paired off and given territory to cover. There were about ten of us total and I was in a group of three. We were told we shouldn't pick up dead animals but one of the first things I encountered was a dead animal I had to pick up -- a sandhill crane. This was going to be an interesting two hours.

As you may remember from my 4/15 blog, I'm an Annual Midwest Crane Counter and a big fan of the birds. Since this bird was recently killed by a car and was still clean... Yes I picked it up. It would be the closest I'd ever come to one and I wanted to learn more about it. Was it still warm? Was it the one I saw just minutes earlier? There are rules against the public keeping birds like that, and the DNR office is closed weekends so I couldn't tell them about it, so it looks like the many turkey vultures in the area will feast tonight.

The great weather and camaraderie, picking up litter and seeing nature was just part of the total equation. Paradise Springs, a nature trail in the State Park System, is along Hwy. N and we took a few minutes to walk the path to the spring-fed trout pond. The pond is perfectly clear and 47 degrees and we saw many brook trout. There used to be a hotel and horse track in the area and the remains of a spring house and water-driven turbine are still visable.

Before finishing for the day we stopped to bother a local resident with a hundred questions. The woman spent at least a half hour showing us her four extensive gardens and offering samples of it's goodness. I tried currants, gooseberries and raspberries. Mmmmm.

Back at the parking lot we happened upon a writer for Chicago Wilderness Magazine up from Chicago to check out the Vernon Marsh. We set her straight, gave her a map, told her she was in Scuppernong and needed to go east to find Vernon, and pointed her to Retzer Nature Center to learn more.