Birkebeiner

Although we now spend a good bit of time in WI, we had not until this year experienced the Birkebeiner. This annual cross country ski race and an associated set of additional skiing and cultural events has become legendary within the cross country skiing community.

Snow conditions were not great when we arrived about the second week in February, and though we experienced some seriously cold weather while there and did some cross country skiing ourselves, by the time the Birkie weekend rolled around, exceedingly warm conditions had destroyed much of the base and threatened cancellation of the event. We kept hoping for more snow, but it didn't arrive. Nevertheless, the organization succeeded in holding some of the early events, which we were able to see. Later, they also managed to schedule a shortened main event with a restricted number of the top skiers, though we had by that time decided to return home to avoid traveling through the storms that hit Iowa over this past weekend.

You can read all about Birkie and the events at their web site, but let us share with you here something of what we saw. It was great fun, and we look forward to seeing a more complete Birkie next year.

On Thursday, the Sons of Norway/Swiss Miss Barnebirkie, the largest children’s ski event in North America/Hayward, was held. Many of the Birkie events take place on Hayward's main street, and under normal circumstances, the main race would finish there as well. To do this, they cover the streets with snow, creating a trail from Lake Hayward into the main street of town. Below, you can see what this looks like, as well as one of the snow tractor/graders completing the trail across US Highway 63. Retailers try to dress up main street a bit, and there are plenty of good things to eat. We had cocoa and an Irish coffee at the Anglers Bar before the events began. Kathie tried out the ice chair sculpture, although you will notice she is sitting on her hands.




Some 1300+ children of all ages, shapes, and sizes completed this Barnebirkie event, which involves skiing from Lake Hayward to the end of the trail on main street. I don't know exactly how long this course might be, but it is a considerable distance, especially for the very young. Barnebirkie is not a race. Everyone who completes the course receives a medal and a trip to the cocoa and cookies tent. A parent or other adult can accompany the little ones.

Leading off were members of the Hayward High School Cross Country Ski Team, who displayed an appropriate array of flags. Then, over more than an hour, came a steady stream of children of all ages and sizes. Many were quite impressive skiers with good technique, even some very young ones. Others were simply cute. It was impossible not to take photographs. Here are just a few.









Later in the day, we also watched a few of the sprints. These were short races between pairs of some of the top skiers, many associated with sponsored teams.

Ready for New Tenants

In a previous entry, you read about the bat and wood duck houses I built. They are now painted and have been placed in various locations, as you can see below. All we need now are the tenants! With any luck, I'll have information in that regard to share at a future time.

Klopf's Visit

Gail and Greg Klopf (Gail is Kathie's sister) came to visit us here in WI the last few days. We had a great time. On Tuesday, we went for a hike on an area trail that we had wanted to try out for some time. We ate way too much food, and we played lots of games of "Hand and Foot." Here are some scenes from our visit.

Greg went for a walk on our lake (when we still had some reasonable snow on the lake).


All of us trekked through the woods on a local trail.



Gail and Greg prepared a great dinner, after lubricating themselves for the work involved.



We played lots of games of "Hand and Foot."


There were several rounds of ping pong and many games of pinball.


And, we had a final dinner at "Famous Dave's" before Gail and Greg, sadly, had to return to the Chicago area.

For the birds... (and bats)

With some snow on the ground (not as much as we wish or as needed for the Birkebeiner) and with very cold temperatures, we have been concerned about our little feathered friends. So shortly after arriving here, we put one of our bird feeders back up and filled it with sunflower seeds. In return, we have been blessed all day every day with nuthatches, chickadees, purple finches, and gold finches. Today, I'll have to refill the feeder for the third time. The birds seem very happy, and we very much enjoy their cheerful presence.



When I stepped down from my assignment as Interim VP a couple of years ago, my friends in the office gave me a few "farewell" gifts. Aware of my growing interest in woodworking, their gifts included a book of birdhouses that I could build. In anticipation of spring and using this great book of plans, I decided to build some wood duck houses to dot around the property. The book also has a plan for bat houses, and since a population of them in the vicinity can do much to reduce insects (especially mosquitoes), I decided to build a couple of bat houses as well. Here are the finished products, pre-painting and hanging. I intend to get them all placed in trees (wood duck houses) or near the garage (bat houses) before we head back home at the end of the week. It will be fun to see if we find tenants when we return.

Relatives, Boots and Skis

I don't know whether to model this posting on This American Life and announce three different acts, as Ira Glass does, or to claim that I'm following Betsy's lead and indicate that I have collected a set of photos and now need to post them all, along with their several related stories. I guess it amounts to the same thing.

Act I: Relatives
Patty and Pat Von Behren were in Iowa City late last week to visit Rex and Chris. Rex called on Friday evening to invite us to join them for breakfast on Saturday morning. Pat's sister, Marie, was also able to join us. Rex suggested we try the Grounds for Dessert Coffeehouse, which is located in the Transporation Center in downtown Iowa City. I guess I've been retired for awhile, because I didn't even know the place existed! They make interesting waffles with all kinds of added ingredients of your choice, and they have a great selection of coffees. From the menu, it appears they also offer a nice selection of panini, which we will have to sample for lunch sometime. You can see their complete menu at the web site. Anyway, the main reason for this posting is to mention how great it was to see everyone. We really enjoyed catching up with each other. Pat is retired now too, and they are living in the bay area of California to be nearer their children. Here we all are, waiting for the waffling to begin:


Act II: These Boots Are Sort of Made for Walking

(Please hum the famous Nancy Sinatra song while reading what follows.) After the above-mentioned breakfast, we packed up and drove to Minneapolis to spend Sunday and a couple of evenings with Will and Sandy before heading further north for some R&R in our place at the lake. On the way, we stopped at Cabela's to see if we could find some dog boots for Josey. When we have been outdoors in the snow for long periods of time, Josey has sometimes gotten snow and ice packed between her toes, and then she starts lifting her feet or tries to get out of the snow to a place where she can nibble the snow out. Otherwise, she handles the cold weather very well. We thought she might do better if she could wear some boots. Will and Sandy had informed us of Lucy's adventures in boots, so we decided to give it a try. Below you can see Kathie lacing Josey up. You can also tell by the look on Josey's face, that she isn't at all sure about the necessity of this. The next shot shows her giving the boots a first walking. Will and Sandy had warned us that Lucy tends to lift her legs really high when she first has boots on, as if she is trying to pull them out of something. Josey did this too, and it looks really funny. I wish I could post a short movie of that. All in all, she did pretty well with them. I think we need to learn to lace them up a little tighter. She would probably rather do without them for short outings.




Act III: The Mostly Ups of Cross Country Skiing
When we arrived at Will and Sandy's on Saturday evening, we ate at Rix Bar & Grill, a good, local neighborhood restaurant. This is right next door to our favorite northwest Minneapolis coffee shop, which is called Steamworks (try their Highlander Grog sometime!!). On Sunday, we decided to do some shopping at REI, since we needed a few outdoor items. When we found out that REI had a clearance sale going on, we decided to set ourselves up with cross country skiing equipment too. Will and Sandy fixed an absolutely wonderful dinner that evening, with walleye, potatoes, and salad. Sarah Benfer came over to join us for dinner and contributed to the salad, as well as providing ice cream for dessert. After Will and Sandy left for work on Monday morning, Kathie and I stopped at Steamworks for coffee and waffles with lingonberries. Then we drove up to the lake where we are at present. This afternoon, we broke in our new cross country skis on the frozen lake. A few shots of our attempts and the beautiful frozen countryside appear below. As the title of this part indicates, there were mostly upsides to the skiing. A few crashes occurred, but there are no broken bones to report. We got better as the afternoon went along. This was my first time on skis in over 20 years, and it was Kathie's first time. We will definitely be out again, and we plan to go watch the experts in a couple of weeks at the American Birkebeiner event here in Hayward. I wish we were getting the snow up here that Iowa is evidently getting today!!

Happy 90th Birthday, Uncle Ed!

Last evening, relatives gathered to celebrate Uncle Ed's 90th birthday, which occurs on February 7th. We had a wonderful time getting reacquainted and visiting. We also enjoyed a soup supper that the catering company of Phyllis, Robert, Edwin, and Karilyn prepared. There were three soups to choose from: potato/ham, chili, and chicken noodle. (I admit to having sampled each one, declare them all great, and wish I had some available for the Super Bowl this afternoon.) After supper, Uncle Ed entertained us by responding to memories and questions that all of us shared with him. We learned, for example, that he was once (and may still be) the Cedar County shotput record holder. We also found out how he got his nickname (Windy). Evidently, he was accused of talking to the batters incessantly when he played catcher on the Clarence baseball team. He also told us about how he and my father were raised by their grandmother after their mother died, how they got to school in Clarence--sometimes by pony, and many other things.

Naturally, there was lots of picture taking going on. Here are some from our camera. First of all, here is the honored guest, his lovely bride, and their children, followed by a second shot that includes the spouses.



All of the grandchildren and many of the great-grandchildren were there too.



Here is one of the whole family.


Finally, just to prove that we were there, here is one taken of us by Uncle Ed's great-granddaughter Mariah. I think she is going to be a fine photographer--she made us all look pretty good!