Our Visit to Shamba Safari

Six weeks ago was one of the worse days of my life.  I lost my husband of nearly 53 years.  It was a shock to us even though he had health issues.  Most people have some things to deal with when they get older, but never in a million years did I think he would die so soon.  Everyday I struggle a little and have to pick myself up to tackle another day.   I was going to quit writing my blog because frankly I couldn't imagine having anything to write about again.  Then I decided that he wouldn't be a fan of that decision.  Although I won't have my partner to suggest stories or go on adventures with, I will still have a life.  It will just be a little (ok a lot) different.  Today's blog I won't dwell on my sadness, I want to report on a fun activity which is literally down the road from my house.

My son in law has a little outdoor kitchen he calls B's Bistro.  When we could only see the family outside because of the COVID virus, my daughter and her husband would have outdoor family meals.  Bret would cook everything outside, and then we could see each other.  Early in the spring, it was a little chilly but we bundled up and loved every minute.  Now it has become tradition.  Sometimes he makes brunch and sometimes supper, but it's always delicious.  

Today as we were finishing our brunch, my daughter asked if we knew about a drive-thru zoo that had opened up in the area.  I had heard of it, but didn't really know much about it.  We decided to take a ride.  As we turned onto a country road very near my house, the cars were lined up and we knew we weren't the only ones with the same idea and curiosity.  It is called Shamba Safari, W535 Eagle Road, Neshkoro, WI, 54960.

 This is the sign at the entrance to the park.  When it was our turn, we paid and purchased a bucket of grains and vegetables.  Even before we started, we were approached by two camels.  Yes, I said camels.  They were going car to car for a snack.  My grandson Ewan wasn't quick enough with the scoop and the camel stuck his head right in the bucket.  

There are camels, giraffes, wildebeest, lions, tigers, zebras, rhinos, various deer and big birds.  I haven't identified all of them yet.  Here is a chart, but there were others not on this list.  You have to visit to see for yourself.

I won't bore you with any more pictures of animals.  Pictures are never as good as the real thing and in this case that is very true.  I just hope the business survives as well as the animals.  Of course, there will be nay sayers that say it is abuse, and that the animals are not that healthy.  I don't know the history but hope to find out some day.  Chances are these animals are living out their final days in this environment and are making many people happy especially old people and young children who find a trip to the zoo exhausting.

DNA Runs Deep

Our DNA is very interesting.  Why do certain families have a propensity to certain vocations?  At first look it would seem if a family member was a teacher, then perhaps since it is familiar it causes others to go into teaching.  I think it's probably a combination of interest and exposure.  There were several teachers in my family.  Then our daughter became a pharmacist.  She didn't realize at the time that her dad started out in pharmacy and several members on her grandmothers side of the family were in pharmacy.  I did not inherit any of these interests.  I take after my grandma.  My grandma could make a mean fried chicken, she didn't like to do dishes and she would take on a repair job even if it wasn't done according to code.  One day my grandma wanted a bigger opening into her kitchen.  She had a regular sized doorway, but she wanted an archway.  She didn't ask anyone, she just took a handsaw and started to cut an opening the size she wanted.  How she didn't electrocute herself is a miracle.  When she got the shape she wanted, she bent a piece of Masonite and finished it off.  Sometimes you just have to do things yourself.  

I have written about fixing a food saver and my coffee pot but last week I had a new project to fix.  This wasn't electrical so it was safer.  It was the pull out chef's pantry in my refrigerator.  

Somehow a small plastic tab had broken off causing the cover to fall off.  

My husband would have gotten to it eventually, but my mantra is "I don't care when you do it as long as it's now".  I rarely procrastinate because I want it out of my mind.  My mind is cluttered enough.  

The first thing I did was find the brand and model number inside the refrigerator.  Thank goodness for the internet because this would have been more of a problem years ago.  Appliance repair people aren't that easy to find.  Back in 2015 my dryer started squeaking and screeching when I dried a load of clothes.  I called a repairman and set up a time for him to come.  My sister was coming to spend a few days with our dad, and I didn't think she would appreciate that sound.  The repair person didn't show up, and to this day the dryer is still screeching.  It's in the basement and out of my ear shot so I don't mind it.  One day soon it will either stop working or I will tackle that.  

I quickly found a company that had the exact refrigerator part I needed.  I ordered it and within two days I had the part.  The website included a simple step by step video.  All that was needed was a certain type nut driver which we had.

 

I removed the screws.  One was stuck so I needed to spray a little WD-40, but it was a fairly straight forward process.

 In a few minutes the tray was fixed and everything was back to normal.  Grandma would be proud.

Yardwork is NOT My Favorite Activity

I grew up a long long time ago.  My mom was pretty strict and had a few rules which we didn't break.  One was lying.  Lying wasn't acceptable.  She would say the punishment would be a lot less with the truth  than what it would be for finding out we were lying later.  Another thing was respecting others especially adults and the third was we could never use the word HATE.  She said we could dislike very very much, but never hate.

My mom has been gone for nine years so I feel free to tell the truth and say I HATE yard work.  I am not good at creating a beautiful yard.  I would not even want a manicured property.  I like it rustic, but right now it looks like a deserted landfill.  I had no choice but to begin what will be a very long process.  I am not a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't like to sweat or get my hands and feet dirty.  I know it's a little too early, but we have been having some warmer weather and I have many days work ahead of me.  It isn't unheard of to have snowstorms in April, but I need to start.  If I get delayed by a snowstorm, so be it.  Another reason not to start too early is that many organisms and insects shelter in the dried grasses and foliage.  To make myself feel better about disturbing them, I hauled the raked up debris to the woods.  I promised my friend that I would never show my 73 year old feet on Facebook, so I won't here either, but you can imagine how much dirt seeped through this shoe. I really should get some proper footwear and gloves, it may make the job easier.

I started at one end of the house.  I raked leaves and debris, I pulled weeds and began trimming bushes.  So far I have hauled eight large wheelbarrow loads to the woods. 

 I may never finish, but it looks better than it did.  The grass is almost ready to mow for the first time this spring and a lot of the perennials are coming up.  Some of them like the bleeding heart plant and and hostas are coming up in areas I haven't cleaned up, so I am just leaving those areas.  I don't want to disturb them.  It's justification for being lazy.  Just being green makes everything look better.  

I am very glad I live in an area that can't be seen from the street and therefore don't feel the pressure of living in a neighborhood where everything has to look nice although I appreciate the effort made to make it that way.  So even though I HATE yard work, I love the flowers and trees that bloom and flourish in the spring in spite of my neglect. With rain, cold, and snow squalls sprinkled in the nice warm days, I have had several days off so I don't feel as sorry for myself as I would doing it day after day after day.   I'll keep plugging away and eventually our yard will look just fine.  I have had a lot of ticks so far and that is another reason I don't like working on the yard.  It won't be close to perfect, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

A Ride Through the White River Marsh

Even though the country is getting back to normal, we aren't quite ready.  My husband Mike and I have had both vaccines and feel comfortable seeing our family who were also vaccinated, but we are not ready to go shopping in stores or eating in restaurants.  I should say I'm more than ready, but we don't trust that a lot of other people are taking the virus as seriously as they should.  Today I just needed to get out of the house for a while.  We decided to take a ride.  We headed out of town toward the White River Marsh.  We had heard that a lot of logging had occurred and wanted to check it out.

The White River Wildlife area is a big 12,000 acre property in Green Lake and Marquette counties.  It consists of marsh land, meadows,  hardwood forests and habitat to a lot of birds and wildlife.  It is open to the public except for a small area which is sometimes home to whooping cranes.  There is a rustic dirt road that loops through the property.  We have traveled through there often.  This trip was not the same.  The area is being logged out.  It looks like a tornado hit the area and took out thousands of mature trees.  It is so sad looking. There are piles of cut logs stacked along the roadway and debris is everywhere.

It was later in the afternoon so we didn't think we would encounter any workers or trucks.  We were wrong.  About half way through we came across a big double trailer semi blocking the single lane road.  Fortunately there was a parking area nearby, so we pulled over and watched.  The worker we watched was very skilled.  He picked up a log or two and placed it carefully in position on the truck.

The piles of logs were all sorted.  Some were marked oak pulp, some said hickory and others with a variety of abbreviations or the names of lumber yards they were being shipped to.

Now the question is why this is being done.  I am not sure.  I found this on the Wisconsin DNR website. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/ The information isn't very clear or well written but it appears it is just a decision made to manage the area.  "White River Sedge Meadow features the largest southern sedge meadow in Wisconsin, and contains a full variety of environmental gradients due to the extensive size of the natural area. The wetland complex contains a deep marsh with cat-tails and tussock sedge and contains a good variety of emergent aquatic species to the south. Scattered shrub-carr islands are also present. Because of its size, White River Sedge Meadow has been identified as the best opportunity within Wisconsin to manage wet meadow birds, including many that are rare or uncommon. Thousands of sandhill cranes stage here every fall before their migration south. Scattered along the White River are patches of floodplain forest, which harbor rare birds. Other breeding birds include veery, prothonotary warbler, American redstart, and northern oriole. White River Sedge Meadow is owned by the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.  Current management programs include wetland restoration and water level manipulation in the impoundments, upland dry prairie restoration to promote Karner blue butterflies and other grassland related wildlife, oak savannah restoration. Mourning dove habitat manipulation for banding and hunting opportunities on sunflower and other crop fields."  

They probably have a method to this madness and after a few years of recovery, we may understand.  Right now it just looks like a big mess.  No wonder we are seeing wildlife that we have not seen before like bobcat and bear.  There are also a lot more owls.  Maybe they are being forced elsewhere.  This may not be the reason but if this is being done here, it's probably being done around the state.  

It was a nice couple hours out of the house and gave us a lot to think about.

Ewan's Making Maple Syrup

Anyone who has driven around the countryside in central Wisconsin has seen more and more maple trees being tapped.  Sometimes it is a huge operation with tubing attached to the trees which is constantly collecting sap and transporting it to a large evaporation unit.  I have written about making maple syrup before.    http://www.thecabincountess.com/2015/03/making-maple-syrup-old-fashioned-way.html  I don't know if this increased activity is something to do during the pandemic or because the supplies are readily available, but many people are trying it.  I have seen news stories where school classes are doing it as a safe outdoor activity to teach students.  I saw a house in our town with one big tree in their front yard tapped.  Sometimes people collect the sap in plastic bags and sometimes they just hang a bucket.  The bucket method was what was used by our grandson Ewan.  Of course, it is another Old Time Skill he wanted to try.  Six years ago when he was a little tyke, we took a tour that he remembers.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2015/03/a-maple-syrup-tour.html

My daughter and son in law have huge maple trees in their yard.  I am sure they would break some sort of size record and have probably been there for many many years.  It was a perfect chance to try collecting sap.  When the days become warmer and the nights remain cool is when the the sap starts running.

They bought some special tapping spouts and hung some buckets.  It doesn't hurt the tree.  Almost immediately the sap started to drip into the bucket. 

It was amazing how fast the sap accumulated in the buckets.  He had to empty the sap a couple times a day or on some days more often.

The sap is almost clear and tastes slightly sweet.  Sometimes you see squirrels licking trees.  They are tasting the sap that is oozing out in the springtime.  It doesn't have to be a maple tree.  Syrup can be made from other trees such as hickory.  The taste is different but the process is the same.

In less than a week, they collected twenty gallons of sap.  Since the ratio of sap to syrup is 40 to 1, you need a lot of sap.  Twenty gallons would make a half gallon of maple syrup.

After gathering the sap, the cooking process begins.  They began the process outside on a wood stove. Slowly the sap is heated to evaporate the water content and it leaves behind the sweet amber syrup.  It is a long process.  When it started to turn a light brown, they brought it into the house to finish the process.  Of course, Ewan had to taste it to make sure it was just right.

Another great educational activity Ewan and his dad could participate in together.  He has had more experiences in his ten short years than I have had in more than seventy years.

Drum roll please!   Here is the final product.  It looks delicious, and better yet it was basically free.  I hope I will be able to taste it some day.  

Good Help Is Hard To Find

The saying good help is hard to find is an under statement.  We will be able to stay in our home for a long time if only we can find a dependable, tidy, and competent handyman (or a handy woman).  Our family would help out if we would ask, but we don't want to be constantly relying on them.  Certain home owning tasks are not as easy as they once were.  We have been looking for someone to clear our overgrown hill which goes from our deck to the water line.  This is my son in law and grandson trying to get through the overgrowth to get the canoe in the water. 

When trying to contact workers,  people don't call back or they don't show up.  Last August, I finally got someone to come out and give us an estimate.  He was very animated and convincing about his qualifications and neatness.  He failed to mention that he likes to give estimates but is full of excuses when he doesn't show up.  The estimate was written the end of August, and it was not very detailed.  Verbally he mentioned what it included.  This should have been a red flag, but he said he would come around October 1 so I overlooked it.  I waited until the middle of October to call.  He said he was busy.  He said it was windy.  He said taking a big tree down wasn't included in the bid etc. etc.  Two more months passed and he still hadn't shown up or contacted us.  Just before Christmas I called and told him to forget it.  I don't think he ever intended to do the job.  He was all talk.  I realized it was a hard job, but he should have just said no if he didn't want to do it.

Then around the beginning of January 2021 a flyer came in the mail advertising a local company which we had never heard of.  The card said they would do land clearing, brush removal and tree removal.  It was just what we needed.  I called them and they came and gave us an estimate.  No pressure, just an estimate which was much less than the first guy.  I called him back in a couple days and told him to put us on his schedule.  He said he could do it between the middle of February and beginning of March.  Lo and behold, he actually came.  He timed it when there wasn't too much snow left but before it thawed and got muddy.  This young man worked really hard all by himself.  My daughter teased me and asked what I consider a young man.  She was right.  Even 50 years old would be a young person, but this kid was 20 something.  He worked for 4 hours straight without taking a rest break.

It is hard to see how overgrown this area is, and it doesn't look as bad in the winter with all the leaves and grasses dead.  Looking out the window, it was very hard to see the water.

 As he cut and trimmed, he piled the brush on edge of the ice.  

He asked if we minded if he burned the brush.  It would save a lot of hauling and burning couldn't be done any other time of year.  

When all the brush and small trees were cut, he cut down a very tall oak tree.  It fell right between a couple other trees we wanted to save.  It's amazing how they can direct how trees fall by how they make the cuts.

When the tree was down, he cut it in sections.  He then brought his skid loader to haul the logs up the hill.  We are saving the logs to cut up for firewood.  

 

 

 

Now our work begins but if it takes all summer to cut up these logs it is fine.  There is also some burnable material left at the bottom of the hill that we might try to retrieve.  We have a pretty large supply of firewood already and with a little luck, we are finished burning for this winter.  It never hurts to plan ahead.

 Our view looks so different  The before and after view.