A SUNNY DAY AND AMERICAN MADE BROOMS

END OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Wednesday, 7:45 AM.  25 degrees F at the ferry dock, 22 on the back porch.  Wind variable, calm.  The sky is again cloudy and overcast, the humidity 84% .  Snow is predicted for today but it will also be warmer, in the 30's.  The barometer is rising, now at 29.92".  The next ten days are predicted to be a wintry mix, with high temperatures around thirty.

   Our bad spell of weather came to an abrupt end yesterday, which was unexpectedly cloudless and sunny.  A warming SW wind melted snow packed roads and one didn't even mind the slush.  A beautiful day melted into a gentle twilight, as seen from the Sioux River beach.  Too much to expect two days of sunshine in a row, though.

   In need of two new brooms with which to sweep snow from walks and decks, I went to the Bayfield Ace Hardware Store, and was pleasantly surprised to find and purchase two American made brooms of excellent quality among the mix of brooms available.  One was labeled "Made in the USA," and the other stated it was assembled in America of materials obtained worldwide.  They were priced competitively with those from China and Mexico. 

   It seems there is already pressure to return manufacturing of everyday products to our own shores, and I believe that in most cases they will be reasonably priced.  Cheaper American energy (no thanks to the Obama Administration), superior technology and proximity to market will spark competition.  Job growth will soon follow, with the Trump Administration leading the charge.