freedom!

Oh, yes! Freedom! I ripped them off and threw them in a trash can. Freedom from support stockings (that pinch your legs and slide into the most uncomfortable positions, and feel like jaws are gripping at both your legs, but especially the sore one)! Freedom from 28 staples! -- removed today, at last. Freedom to shower, to lather on the lotion on dry skin, freedom to raise bare legs to the sun and enjoy the splash of summer today!

It's a warm day, indeed a hot day and I have an appointment with my surgeon's assistant. But before that, I get to step out and breathe deeply. The fragrance in May is exquisite!

(first irises)

And the birds! To the usual, add yesterday's Meadowlark (doesn't the name conjure up images of English meadows full of wildflowers?), I have the following new visitors this morning: a Scarlet Tanager and an American Redstart. I wish I could spot the Tanager (so beautiful in the pictures!), but I don't pause too long. Not today.

After breakfast (on the porch!!)...

I have to head out to the hospital to get freed from the constraints of post operative  imprisonments. I do ask about my difficulties in keeping the leg happy at night. You're probably doing too much walking and standing. Let the pain be your guide! That again. I'm not in pain when I walk. That comes later! Ah well -- finding a balance is one of life's biggest challenges in all domains. I will continue to adjust. In the meantime, I gently massage a Botanist lotion into my freed lower extremities and it feels sublime!

It strikes me that I should be able to ride the tractor mower and I do need to mow down some paths, so right around noon I hop on (that is such an exaggeration! I slowly crawl on) and give that a whirl. At least I'm not ignoring the needs of farmette lands! This is when I get my first tick of the season, likely falling at me from a shrub branch. Country living prepares you for this. Our tick load is very low, but this season always delivers a few. 

Snowdrop is here in the afternoon, buoyed, too, by the sunshine, the warmth, and I have to believe -- the colors all around us!

And in the evening I get takeout Chinese -- my concession to the suggestion that I tone it down in the evenings. 

Ttonight, finally, I get to sleep without imprisonments.. Total bliss!

Wednesday

On this second week anniversary of my knee surgery, I can tell that I am moving around with greater confidence. For example, I head out to plant trees with Ed as if I were somehow physically able to participate in this project. On the other hand, I am not anywhere near my normal energy levels. When we get to the planting spot, I tell Ed -- maybe we should bring a chair... And after working on pulling crab grass out of fabric sheets from a previous planting project, I say -- maybe I should go rest for a few minutes. After which, I promptly fall asleep on the couch.

All this on an incredibly stunning day. Perhaps the most stunning of them all, and I say this knowing May can deliver some truly amazing displays. Three weeks ago, I would have spent near zero minutes indoors. My whole body and soul would have been transported into the flower fields, the meadows, the orchards. Buckets would fill with pulled weeds. Paths would be mowed. Endless photos taken. And here I am today, giving in to fatigue! Well, I expected as much. Ed bravely plants all five fir trees, I postpone putting in my final clematis for a while.

But the day is not lost: I do plenty of small stuff outdoors. And I did take some photos. I mean, who wouldn't take the camera to this!

(Though we're indoors for the morning meal. My fragile state told me, incorrectly, that it was too cool for breakfast on the porch. I had regrets later.)

And of course,  there was time spent "helping" Ed with the trees.

(one of the hens, wondering where everyone went...)

(It is the week for violets.)

Snowdrop is here in the afternoon and of course she, too, cannot ignore the great outdoors. So I am out again, this time with the little girl.

For a while anyway. Hunger brings her inside. 

A memorable day: Snowdrop is happy because she did 23 laps in her Hot Dog Hustle fundraiser at school ("three better than last year!"). Me, I'm thrilled with the beauty of it all (look outside!). Too, Snowdrop and I finished book five (the final one) of the Penderwick series. Never have I read a series where everything is so neatly tied into a package of hope and love!

Ed goes biking, I make an asparagus and mushroom frittata and manage with only some difficulty to put in that final Clematis plant. Small details? Maybe. But put together, they make for a glorious day.

Tuesday

The plane takes off at 7. Not mine, Diane's. That means shortly after 5 she needs to hit the road. A few more minutes downstairs, reviewing, thinking out loud, listening. I am reminded of the article my friend from Australia had sent me after reading about my weekend at Brisbane House. About hanging out with people. It's an art, maybe a habit, it takes practice, and we, the people of this country, perhaps many countries, are losing the needed skills. To process life in the company of others, to hang out. From the article, it's defined as "daring to do not much and daring to do it in the company of other people."

And then Diane is off and I retreat to the couch where I can force that knee to be even straighter and bend it even more, and before I know, dawn comes and I'm fixing breakfast for Ed and for me...

Outside, the crab apple is even more magnificent and I turn on my phone birdsong app and listen and smile, because the birds are almost the same as in Arena Wisconsin, except that here we have the addition of the ever beautiful family of Barn Swallows.

(Spotlight on the flowers of May!)

(the first lilacs!)

Ed and I have visitors. Friends who stopped by to see how we were doing and as one is a nurse, she gave a critical gaze to my post surgical movements and pronounced them to be very excellent and so after they left I felt I should carry the torch of progress forward and push myself to dig up some of the many many weeds that sprouted after the rains. For one hour I worked, bending my new knee just a little. I was sweating and it wasn't even that warm! But, the garden is still young and full of hope and I know it needs my help to keep it vibrant and happy and so today I gave it a tiny boost.

In the afternoon I pick up Snowdrop. 

Today is her ballet day and since it hasn't even been two weeks since my surgery, I gave some consideration to the fact that maybe I wasn't quite ready to rush her here, there, and everywhere, while ensuring that her hair is just so, but in the end I decided I could give it a whirl. 

Too, this gave me a chance to meet up (during dance class) with her mom. Both my daughters have a lot on their plate right now and meetups and upbeat conversations and some light hearted review of the peculiarities of life I think are a good idea. Well, they're always a good idea, don't you think? 

Evening. I did not order groceries on time and so we make do with cheeper eggs and home grown asparagus and a salad.  I call Ed in for supper. He has been working on a patch for this year's tomatoes and he tells me it is one of the most beautiful, fragrant evenings of all time. How good it is to witness it all, to smell the orchard flowers,  to pick out and now recognize the birds that come and go! We are grateful.

rainy day Monday

The Brisbane House has withstood many rain showers, many Mondays, many tumultuous periods in history, many periods of beautiful calm. We stayed here for three nights, soaking it all in, reading, sometimes quietly, sometimes out loud, notes and paragraphs describing paintings, prints, stained glass panels, stones, arrowheads, quilts, cabinets. Bits and pieces of its past and therefore our past. If you better understand the place where you live, you likely better understand your own life.

(How narrow the house is! The width of one room, extending to the Summer Kitchen.)

And isn't that the goal of any get together with close friends? To better understand your past and your place in it? Diane, Barbara and I come together periodically, over Zoom during Covid, but in person when possible, fairly regularly and still we learn stuff. Always there is room to fit in new pieces of the puzzle if you're open to it.

Our last morning. Pack, eat, clean, go. That's the agenda. But we don't rush it. Indeed, I'm still just ten days after my surgery so the word rush is foreign to me. Besides, there are birds to listen to.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee. Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Wood Thrush.

My friends fix stuff for the morning meal.

And here's a consequence of me being for the most part less mobile -- they do the Airbnb clean up while I give orders from the couch. (That is a joke: I don't really give orders. But I do feel useless and a little like an ancient person. Ah well.)

We drive back to Madison, dropping off Barbara, then continuing to the farmhouse. Oh! Here's a beautiful welcome! The crab apple is just starting its period of bloom!

We're entering the midpoint of spring, the most intense period of the season.

But it is raining. And, too, I have my PT appointment.

[It's with David again. The experienced one. His word is sacred I suppose I expect nothing but many thumbs up. After all, I've been taking all these walks! Slow but steady. He does a little tsk tsk-ing: you're not bending the knee enough in your walk. As for improvement -- you exceed in the muscle strength and knee bend, but you have fallen behind on the leg straightening. In other words -- do better! Shush! the guy doesn't let up.]

In the afternoon, Diane visits family and I bring Snowdrop to the farmhouse.

Evening: the rain has moved on. I look again at this tree that is about to enter its most dressed-up moment. Ha! Dance the cat and a Breese hen also appreciate its exquisite loveliness. Who wouldn't!

The quiet of home. Diane is here, Ed is here, the cats are here, but we are all spent! 

An intense and special weekend behind us. So very grateful to have had these two wonderful people come up for it! 

With love...

together, continued

The sun is out. Meek at first, as seen through a misty air. Very beautiful!

I walk down, even before getting ready. The house is quiet. We went to bed so late! 

(rainbows on couch...)

I step outside and listen to the birds. Any new ones at this early hour? An American Goldfinch. I dont see him, but he's there.

I rest for a while, ice the knee, study the art in the house. There is a very complicated professional relationship between at least one of the owners of the house and the printed pieces of art. I wont explain it -- you have to look for yourself and read their wonderfully detailed descriptions of everything that you will find in the house.  Living here, you really do feel like the themes of art and the politics of art are very much woven into the fabric of life. The house renovation demonstrates that at the essence of any good  historic preservation, there needs to be a recognition of every aspect of history, and that you can indeed brilliantly weave that history into the experience of living in that house now, at a different time. We are trying to understand what transpired here nearly 200 years ago. Was it good? If so, who was helped? How much can we learn now, at this point in time?

I drift off to sleep on the couch.

Eventually my two friends come down and we have breakfast.

Now, how do we handle this day? Let's start with listening to the birds. Oh! A Black-capped Chickadee and a White-breasted Nuthatch added to the mix. And a totally new one for me -- a White-eyed Vireo.

Yes but what then?

We drive toward the Wisconsin River. The Tower Hill State Park is just there, squeezed in between the American Players (outdoor) Theater and the river. You can't quite get to the banks of the great Wisconsin from here, but you can approach a less sumptuous but still lovely tributary.

We climb up a small incline and view the river from this perch. (We also view the marks of beaver teeth!)

Down again. 

Into the car. Turn once this way, and once that way, and we are at Taliesin. Or at least the welcome center and gift shop of Frank Lloyd Wright's estate. This used to be a restaurant. I remember eating here maybe 40 years ago. It's the only restaurant ever to be designed as such by Wright. Now it's a souvenir place and seasonally (meaning not now), a cafe. We poke around, admire, read a few words of Wright on the beauty of Wisconsin...

And leave.

Across the bridge, turn right, go down to one of the many many small beaches by the river. You wouldn't want to bring your kids to such a beach. The river isn't a wading stream, it's powerful and deep and the currents are strong. But, without question, it's beautiful.

One more stop: we get in the car and drive the half dozen miles to Wilson Creek Pottery. You see their plates, bowls, mugs in various local establishments. I'd say they're right up there with some of our country's finest. And yet, their little on site shop couldn't be more informal.

It's open, but no one is there. 

If you want to buy something, it appears that you pick out your pieces and leave them info for them to bill you later. 

We all pick something. 

And now we are done with our exploring. We drive back to Spring Green, to the coffee shop we loved so much yesterday (Nectar). A box of baked goods to share, coffee, and a long chat. We all have more serious issues percolating in our daily lives. We have had good solid hours to review these, to gain strength, to feel support. Over coffee and cakes.

Back home, we split up: Barbara hikes up a mountain, Diane retreats to the porch, I ice my knee. Until it's time for wine and cheese. And dinner -- a soup prepared by all of us, minus me again!

And a final evening together. Treasured, relaxed, because we have been through so much, over the course of so many decades of life!

(a three person selfie, taken by Diane, by the Wisconsin River)

with love...

together, continued

Up early, I pull out my hoodie and step out into the gravel path that swoops by the front door of the Brisbane House. Diane, Barbara and I are here for a long weekend and though we explored the surroundings yesterday afternoon, I know all too well that each place has a special vibe at different hours of the day. What does this old estate feel like on a cloudy and a somewhat cooler early May morning?

I noted earlier that the house was built by a man who moved here with his family because he could not tolerate the slavery of his southern home state. I had seen a picture of a card he wrote on my night stand upstairs (the card was sent by Brisbane along with a donation to the Armistad cause -- read about the famous case of the slaves dramatic mutiny here). He ended his message with "yours in the cause of human rights." The Brisbane House has been restored to reflect this first owner's commitment to equality. 

(plaque at the entrance to the house)

Outside, the grass is wet. We had some rain. We may well have some more this afternoon or evening. We'd heard from one of the daughters (would you believe it -- Barbara, Diane and I all have daughters and only daughters. Given that my closest Polish friend Bee also has only daughters, you'd think I pick my friends this way on purpose. Or in the alternative that women my age only gave birth do daughters. Neither of which of course is true) -- she wrote that this is morel season and that we should keep an eye out for these delicious mushrooms that tend to grow by the roots of oak or elm trees. I have already spotted asparagus in the farmette fields and indeed, Barbara picked some spears here as well, but morels are a whole step up in the culinary world of local spring wonders. 

I keep my eye out for morels. And, I listen to the birds!

In one early morning minute, I record on my Merlin bird App: a Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown-Headed Cowbird, House Wren, Blue Jay, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove!

Eventually my two friends join me downstairs and once again I sit back as they fix a breakfast. The Brisbane hosts have left us a raspberry Racine Kringle (such a Wisconsin pastry treat!). We've brought with us berries and granola. We're set.

And now for an outing: it's a cloudy Saturday, with a slight threat of rain. Weather that requires a hoodie, though not anything much warmer than that. We know that there's a farmers market in downtown Spring Green, though the calendar tells us that they are still on a "winter market." Spring Green, by the way, is the next town over from Arena, With a population of under 2000, it's not a bustling place. Nonetheless, it has the amenities of a much larger place (several bakeries, several spots to get good coffee, a bookstore, a dry goods store called Nina's (!), and a few other places we may check out), likely because of the area's in season attractions (the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff, the theater, the River).

The market is indeed small. In a parking lot, it must have no more than half a dozen vendors, a handful of shoppers and a lonely guitarist playing music to, well, probably the vendors. The scale of operations is well exemplified by this stand: 

As we walk along the main drag, we pass Nina's -- a store that has a little of everything. One of us is on the lookout for a short sleeved shirt (it's going to be hot tomorrow!), but it seems that most stuff here is very large and still seasonally inappropriate. Perhaps they were expecting a cooler Spring.

I ask the clerk if she is the Nina of the store. She tells us that Nina was the grandmother of her husband. She had opened the store back in 1916. It's been in the family ever since. "We dont have any children" -- she tells me -- "so I dont know what will happen to Nina's after we're done with it!"

I tell her I am a Nina, though not quite interested in purchasing the property. She answers -- "A Nina? well then you get a free postcard of our store!"

Do all Ninas brag about their names in this way? I sheepishly take it. It may be the only postcard I'll ever see with a Nina store on it.

The bookstore is next on our list. It's a nice one!

There's a cafe inside, but we dont pause quite yet. Instead, we look at books about birds, because I have this new found lightbulb that I can now be a bird person!

(a Rose-breasted Grosbeak!)

Next is Convivia -- a store whose theme I cant quite figure out. Some tableware, a few wines with beautiful labels, pasta and spaghetti sauces, beautiful doormats and... coffee.

This is where we decide to change our evening dinner plans. We were going to come back to Spring Green to try one of its recommended restaurants, but here's the thing: it's supposed to maybe possibly rain/storm tonight and, more importantly, we are all of an age where staying home and eating food there is actually fun and (arguably) more fun than going out. So, I buy this -- almost everything we need for a supper!

And now we retreat and seek out one of the cross streets. More coffee shops! And places that (rather randomly) also sell Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese (a Wisconsin cheese of great repute) and Potters Crackers (another local favorite). We stock up.

Next -- the Spring Green General Store. It too has a coffee shop! What's a person to do?!

Actually, a favorite place for a pause over caffeine turns out to be at the tiniest place of them all. Nectar Batch-made Bakery. We must have spent a solid two hours there, sampling this cookie, that aronia berry fruit crumble... And lots of coffee!

(And lots of very cute stickers!)

On the walk back to the car: look what's blooming in Spring Green: crabs and lilac!

And now we are home, reviewing our joys in life. Seriously. I brought it up.

Afternoon bird watch (again, from a one minute recording): Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Easter Towhee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow.

Dinner? You know what it is! The pasta, the wine, leftover salad. Deliciously prepared, served and cleaned up by my two friends. Tell me I'm not on a vacation!!

And again we talk birds. Do you know that you can track what birds are migrating over your county on this very night? We found this for Iowa County (where we are) -- click here. So much information out there on birds! Perhaps we are helping gather data with our bird apps! How utterly fascinating!

A quiet night. Lots of birds, high up in the sky and no storms thus far. And a very warm day tomorrow, as our getaway continues.

with love...