SEE Y'ALL IN TEXAS

 

Wednesday, 8:3o AM.  12 degrees F both thermometers. Wind N, calm.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity 68%.  the barometer is at 39.27" and steady,  High today and tomorrow in the mid teens, snow showers tomorrow AM.
   Barring any last minute glitches the house is sold: now the real work of sorting trough hings and moving out will begin,  We are dickering on houses in Weatherford, Texas, but nothing is finalized.  We have nothing more to add to the Bayfield Almanac and the observations have become redundant, so it is time to wrap things up; it has been fun.  We will begin writing Art's Weatherford Texas Almanac when we get there in early February. We should be able to establish a link from this blog to the next..
   We wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,  See y'all in Texas.

ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE: GOVERNMENT

BAFIELD CITY HALL

ZONING APPEALS BOARD...DON, SHERMAN, HANNA, ART, HOWARD...

Tuesday, 8:30 AM.  34 degrees F at the ferry dock, 32 on the back porch.  Wind W, gusty.  The sky is partly cloudy and clearing, the humidity 68%.  The barometer is rising, currently at 29.75".  Highs today in the low 30's and very windy, dropping tomorrow to the upper twenties and cloudy with snow showers; teens and twenties and cloudy through Christmas.

   To wrap up my retrospectives on life these past nearly eighteen years in Bayfield, I will write a few words on the advantages of its government.

   I like living in a community that is small enough and uncomplicated enough that I feel comfortable  walking into the police chief's office and asking a question or making a complaint directly to the boss.  I like being on a first name basis with the public works superintendent and the city clerk.

   I like knowing that the mayor may live across the street (he does).

   I like being asked my advice directly concerning something I may have expertise in.

   I like public meetings that are small enough that they actually accomplish something.

   I like the basic services of government being where I can see them on a daily basis.

   I like being able to keep track of how my property tax dollars are being spent.

   Small town life has its hidden agendas, its pitfalls and sources of corruption even as large communities do, but it is easier to exert the power of democracy the smaller the population and the size of the area. 

   I like small town life.

ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE: THE FAITH COMMUNITY

LESSONS AND CAROLS

LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE

Monday, 9:30 AM.  29 degrees F at the ferry dock, 23 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, light with slightly stronger gusts.  The sky is cloudy, overcast and foggy, an anemic sun struggling to peek through the gloom.  The humidity is 88%, the barometer at 29.76" and falling.  High today mid-30's, falling to around 30 tomorrow with gusty winds, then cooler, cloudy and snowy the balance of the week.
   The onset of winter is bound to bring its share of tragedies, and Minnesota is ahead of Wisconsin in that regard, with a snowmobile  accident death and a drowning death when an ATV went through thin ice.  
   I would be remiss if I did not mention Bayfield's churches, its faith community, which plays such an important part in the life and welfare of the city,  Bayfield has a wealth of churches, especially considering it has a population of only 487 permanent residents.
  Bayfield has Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Episcopal churches, and although memberships have lessened they all are surviving pretty well.  All have deep roots in the community, and several are historic structures.
   We attended our own church, Christ Episcopal, last evening for traditional Lessons and Carols, which were beautiful.
    Church services and activities are another way of filling the days productively in retirement, and the church has meant much to us socially and religiously, and we will miss it greatly.

ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE: VOLUNTEERISM

ARBOR DAY TREE PLANTING SPONSORED BY THE TREE BOARD

FIRE HALL AND GARAGE

Sunday, 9:30 AM.  25 degrees F at the ferry dock, 23 on the back porch.  Wind SW, calm with occasional light gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, the humidity 86%. The barometer is falling,  now at 30.07".  High today around 30, warming some with snow sowers tomorrow, then cooling again with clouds and snow showers throughout the rest of the week.

   There is no excuse for boredom when living in a small community, since there are so many opportunities to volunteer on boards, committees  and for various community organizations.  I personally was involved in the tree board, and was on various city zoning committees. 

   Bayfield's firemen and EMTs are an all volunteer force, well trained and on call 24/7.
They raise money to supplement the city equipment budget with an annual raffle and other events.  Area fire departments and ambulance services cooperate in combating major fires and in other emergencies, and and a helicopter service is on call for emergency flights to Duluth hospitals.
  I remember having to call for the  volunteer EMt's while working at the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, for a woman who fell and broke her leg.  It was forty years ago and on a weekend, and the volunteers showed up in tee shirts and bermuda shorts.  The woman's husband wouldn't let them touch his wife, and he took her away in their car.  I knew all the EMTs, who were either doctors or nurses.  You can't judge an EMT by their clothes.
   We have lived in communities with both paid and volunteer emergency services, and find them about equal in effectiveness.   It is becoming more and more difficult to maintain volunteer services  because of declining rural and small town populations, and one way to compensate for that factor is for communities to pay a standby and per-emergency stipend, which helps young people with seasonal or low income regular jobs to stay in the community, and is still far less of a tax burden than hiring full time personnel.
   I served on the Bayfield Tree Board for over a decade.  We sponsored the annual Arbor Day tree planting, did tree training pruning, cleared stop signs of obstructions, maintained the tree inventory, planted trees, monitored pests and diseases and wrote grants.
   Small communities run on volunteerism, and it is easy to be involved, and never bored.

PINE GROSSBEAKS IN THE CRABAPPLE TREE

FEMALE PINE GROSSBEAK

MALE PINE GROSSBEAK

ICE ON LOWER CHEQUAMEGON BAY

Saturday, 9:30 AM.  20 degrees F at the ferry dock, 18 on the back porch.  Wind SE, gusty, creating significant wind chill.  The sky continues cloudy and overcast, the humidity 65%.  The barometer is rising gently, now at  30.07".  The high today will be in the mid-20's, warming some tomorrow and continuing cloudy with snow showers next week.
   We had a flock of pine grossbeaks feasting on crabapples just outside the window yesterday, male and females both very colorful.
   The lower Chequamegon Bay at Ashland has frozen over enough to tempt ice fishermen to venture out, but it is way to thin to be safe,
   We will continue our Almanac Retrospectives tomorrow.

ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE:HORTICULTURE

BLUEBERRY FIELDS IN OCTOBER

CHERRY ORCHARD IN MAY

DAFFODILS IN APRIL

VEGETABLE GARDEN IN JUNE

PERENNIAL GARDEN IN LATE MAY

MAGNOLIA IN MAY

A TREE PLANTING JOB

Friday, 9:00 AM.  15 degrees F at the ferry dock, 14 on the back porch.  Wind NW, calm with occasional light to moderate gusts.  The sky is cloudy, overcast, and it is quite foggy.  It is snowing, adding to the 18"+ on the ground.  High today in the upper teens, warming some tomorrow and next week with continuing clouds and snow.  Welcome to life in the Bayfield snow globe.
   Some wag once said that Bayfield is as far north in Wisconsin as you can go without getting your feet wet, but the insulating effect of the Big Lake renders it a relatively mild climate; USDA Zone 4b (probably 5a near right near the water).  Rainfall averages 31" yearly with normally heavy snow cover and the temperature seldom exceeds 86 F maximum or -15 F minimum.  The soils are mostly sandy or clayey woodland soils.  In all, a fine growing climate for northern temperate region trees and crops.   Bayfield has been a mecca for commercial fruit and perennial production for over a century, and is, as one 19th Century real estate hustler once called it, "The bananna belt of the Great Lakes."
   As a horticulturist I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to garden and even do some commercial landscaping in Bayfield, and being the City Forester (volunteer) for a decade was the icing on the cake.  Living here has given me the opportunity to be active in my chosen profession long after my retirement from full time work, and I am thankful to have been able to do so. Ageing has not hindered me too much until very recently; as Tomas Jefferson famously said, "I may be an old man, but I am yet a young gardener."
   Being connected to the outdoors and with wildlife and growing things has been a lifelong blessing.  Our living in Bayfield has added to and prolonged that great gift, and we thank God for it every day, but it is time to move on and open the next chapter in our book of life.

ALMANAC RETROSPECTIVE:THE OJIBWE PEOPLE

DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH, LIBERTY IS OUR BOND

CEDED TERRITORIES (DOES NOT INCLUDE CANADIAN OJIBWE LANDS)

Thursday, 9:00 AM.  18 degrees F at the ferry dock, 16 on the back porch. Wind S, calm at present.  The sky is cloudy and overcast and it is snowing lightly after depositing another 1.5" last night.  The humidity is 84%, the barometer at 30.06" and steady on.  High today low 20's, falling to mid-teens tomorrow with cloudy skies and wintry weather continuing throughout next week.
   One of the unique experiences of life in Bayfield is the opportunity to get to know the Ojibwe tribe of American Indians.  Like all great learning experiences, it takes an open mind and some effort to enter in, but once one has accepted those parameters, it opens a window on another culture within the  great phalanx of cultures and peoples that comprise The United States of America.
   American Indians are not a monolithic culture, but a collection of individual tribes, mini-nations each with their own unique history, struggles, customs and beliefs.  Sometimes these fit handily within the dominant society, sometimes not, but regardless of past and even present conflicts among themselves and with the American government, they are part of the American fabric, and are loyal Americans; they view America as their homeland and the United States as their government with as great or greater sincerity as any other group of citizens. They have not only fought against, but famously under, The Star Spangled Banner.
    Unfortunately they are often marginalized,  poorly appreciated and misunderstood, and living near and among them has given us an opportunity to closely observe these dynamics and form genuine friendships.
    I have  mentioned the territory of the Ojibwe Indians ceded to the United States by treaty, and their legal right to hunt, fish and gather on those lands under those treaties.  The accompanying map shows the ceded lands in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan covered by the various treaties. Without going into more detail than warranted, it can be said that these rights have been well defined in  case law and court decisions, and there is now a quite sophisticated arrangement for enforcement of treaty rights  between the Ojibwe and the federal and state governments. 
    The tribe has established the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wild Life Commission, which works closely with state and federal agencies to enforce regulations developed under the treaties, and to improve and regulate fish, game and wild rice populations and habitat.    There was a time thirty and more years ago when there was open conflict between Indians and others over those rights, but cooler heads, and reason, prevailed on both sides and there are few conflicts today.

OFFICIAL POW WOW FLAGS AND STAFFS

EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND CAN DANCE

TRADITIONAL DANCE REGALIA

REGALIA OPTIONAL

   We have never been to a really big inter tribal Pow Wow such as is held at larger venues, but would welcome the opportunity.  I have always felt welcome at the many Pow Wows I have been to, both here and elsewhere.  American Indian communities are invariably welcoming and friendly to visitors but if there is a serious religious ceremony involved,  attendance may be limited to tribal members.
Pow Wows are held on Indian time and a white man must show some patience.
   I once asked impatiently, "When does this thing start?"  Answer: "When everyone gets here,"  a perfectly logical attitude in a traditional culture that evolved without clocks and modern transportation.
    At the opening ceremony of one Pow Wow I attended the sacred eagle staff was accidentally dropped, the announcer exclaiming, "What the hell do we do now?"
   The answer came from somewhere, "Stop everything and ask one of the elders,"  and everything came to a sudden  and painfully long halt.
   The neighboring Red Cliff Reservation (The Rez) has many problems, among them alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, crime and ignorance, but these severe challenges are in many ways balanced by a culture that respects its traditions and its elders, and is sharing and compassionate in ways that go far beyond the parameters of the greater society. Many of their social problems stem from being in essence an often defeated and abused people, but they refused to give up.
    When the Ojibwe say, "Everyone is invited to the feast," they actually mean it.
    Diversity is our strength, liberty is our bond.