Hi all. Currently, our "Here and There - This and That" paperbacks are getting to folks here in Adams County, plus, to friends and family members in Illinois, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Connecticut. Some have also picked it up through Amazon for Kindle and other e-books. So, our classic masterpiece is starting to get around. Sadly, the travel tales and humor columns will no longer appear in the Rapids Daily Tribune. We who contribute this stuff have been informed by the newspaper that due to a new corporate policy, our contributions will no longer be accepted.

Ruthie suggested, "In that case, how about trying to get our travel adventures into Wisconsin Magazine, AARP's Monthly mag, and some others?" Good idea, so we'll give it a go.

Meantime, Deb Wachholz has set us up for book signings at County Market on April 24th and May 1st, and Erin Foley, director of the A-F library, spoke of doing likewise. It's now available there for interested readers and for sale at the Historical Society Center.

Another good thing - Jen Sanderfoot, the helpful manager of Barnes & Noble at Madison's East Towne Mall, had me submit it to their Small Press Department for review. She's pulling for us too, Jen saying, "I liked you and your wife the minute we met. For some reason I also had a good feeling about your book. I'd like to get it into our store, so if you need my help, just ask."

It usually takes Small Press six weeks to decide yea or nay. Ruthie said, "Either way, it's all very exciting. But dear, we'll need a break from this stuff and soon. How about if I reserve us a bed and breakfast place for two or thee days? That's way out of town? Say, Mackinac Island?"

I'm for that. Plus, since neither of us have been there, it'll make another great travel story for Book Two. And that's it-catch you later.   

     April Fool's Day and whadda-ya-know, my book is finally published! Ruthie ordered four dozen to be shipped to us for local distribution and fine. Except, because of the large quantity, Amazon-CreateSpace won't get them to us for at least another week. Meantime, by ordering just one book, family members and friends will get their copies today or tomorrow.
     I whined, "That's not fair, sweetie! I'm the author but I won't have it before everyone else in the whole town does!" She shut me up by placing another order for just one "Here and There" to be mailed here.
      And so, for those of you following this blog and passing on encouraging comments, many thanks-it really helped! Catch you later.

Hi all. Ruthie and I are leaving this Friday morning for Kearney, Nebraska to see the sand-hill cranes readying to migrate back north. Migrated back here ourselves by Sunday evening, I'll have another of our travel adventures to write about. Meantime, our editor guy has told us he has almost completed putting my book together. The minute we have some copies in hand, any of you following this blog will be the first to know. Back at you soon (I hope).  

Hi all. Here's a piece which might appear in the next few weeks in the Rapids Tribune's Sunday travel section. Enjoy.

Touring Someplace Warmer Than Here!

This winter weather in Adams County is starting to seem pretty cold and bleak, so how about coming along with Ruthie and me for a very quick peek at where it was anything but?

                                                  *

Nestled at the foot of the French Alps, Annecy (On-see) is a mix of medieval and modern day buildings on a deep, blue lake flanked by the foothills of spectacular snow-capped peaks. We could see from our hotel’s doorstep the wide sweep of Lake Annecy stretching out of sight around a distant bend. Kayakers were putting out from a marina at this end and a ferry boat was heading across.

Ruthie excitedly pointed at it. “Dear, taking that would get us to the hiking trails in those foothills! Then we could…!” Looking higher, she saw the peaks being hidden by lowering rain clouds. “Oops, but not today I guess.”

But it was sunny enough down here to explore the medieval heart of town instead and we wound up smack in the middle of Annecy’s open market day. Vender stalls lining the cobblestone streets displayed all varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, locally made cheeses, sausages, and wines, plus, every arts and craft imaginable. The riot of sights, sounds, and fragrances had most of us-tourists, locals, and peddlers alike-in something of a party mood.

Practically drooling before a stall stacked with cheese bricks of all kinds, I started, “Sweetie, while hiking these would…”

She was already pointing for the vendor. “We’d like this…and a bit of that! Oh, and that too!”

After a tasty brasserie (café) lunch of-what else?-three-cheese fondue, we followed the lakefront trail to admire the quaint centuries-old cottages. Most especially, the elegant chateaus we saw spoke volumes about an older time of nobility and grace.

The next day’s rainy weather higher up allowed us but a few tantalizing glimpses of one of the massive peaks. Plus, this morning it was drizzling down here too. Unfazed and ever the optimist, Ruthie said, “Dear, we’ve got our rain jackets and besides, it’s mild. Let’s do the town some more!”

Throughout, the man-made channels regulating the inflow and outflow of the lake have Annecy known as the French version of Venice. Particularly notable was an ancient prison built of stone, the front of which was shaped like the bow of a ship cleaving the channel in two.

Snapping one shot after another, my photographer spouse declared, “So help me, dear, one of these goes up on our wall!”

 

After trudging up a steep cobblestoned street, we explored the Château d' Annecy. A castle restored and transformed into the Museum of Alpine Popular Art, it displayed regional sculptures and paintings, and furniture dating from the 15th century. The walls are over 13 feet thick, making it hard to peer down past it from the openings in the turrets. But my Photo Queen did her best with capturing the view below of the old town’s narrow streets and decorated roofs. “More for our wall!” she said.

         Our final evening had us treating ourselves to one of Annecy’s fanciest restaurants, L’ Etage. Once seated at a warmly candle-lit table, we felt its ambience alone lived up to this, the wooden beams supporting a 16-foot ceiling and tall double windows overlooking the street. And so did the food, we complimenting the chef-“Tre’s bon, monsieur!”-for Ruthie’s superb roast duck and my perfectly medium-rare filet mignon. Afterward savoring the delicious chocolate mousse, we saw that outside it had cleared. As the French Alps were showing themselves at long last, we agreed; Annecy was another of those places we’d come back to.

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Getting Published!?

Here’s some good news for you loyal readers staying tuned-in to this blog-spot. We’ve spent I don’t know how many months wading through literary agents, publishers, and publishing services to turn my collection of “Here and There-This and That” articles into book. And lo, a few weeks back Ruthie chanced upon a professional editor who, it turns out, has an excellent track record as one and who’s also an award-winning author. Headquartered only a few hours north of here, his services are not like some we’ve contacted before, these little more than bogus, money-grabbing hyenas over in some god-forsaken foreign land like LA, or Cleveland, or wherever.

So we’re excited to finally be getting somewhere with putting “Here and There” between covers and also creating it for Kindle, iBook/iPad, Nook, Kobo and a couple of other electronic readers. It would then be available for sale online at those various e-readers catalogues. When completed this epic masterpiece will be 200 pages, including 17-18 gray-scaled photos.

That’s it but hopefully there’ll be more to report in a few days!

Hi all and here's another one about our feathered friends. I sent it to the 'Rapids Tribune last week and it might appear in their Lake Country section this coming Friday (Feb. 6). Meantime you get to read it first. Enjoy.

Loving Our Feathered Friends

          Ever the bird watcher, Ruthie especially enjoys seeing the big, gorgeous-looking pileated woodpecker going after the suet in our feeder out back. Attached to a big oak, it has a wire-mesh cover to keep squirrels or raccoons from stealing it. This also stops the pileated itself, having a fierce appetite of its own, from pecking it up all at once.

Or it used to. Last week while out there looking at our feeder, Ruthie pulled off a piece of the old wood. “Dear, this poor thing has seen too many years. We need a new one.”

I groused, “Well, sweetie, your precious pileated hasn’t helped it any!” A month ago I had nailed up a piece of tin to cover a big hole it had made in back to more easily get the suet. Back then I’d thought-This’ll stop it.

Proving me wrong, that greedy thing had not only punched right through the tin, but had also pecked away more wood on top. This had loosened the nails holding down the mesh, allowing a raccoon, most likely, to fold it back. Then it had been come one-come all for everyone, the pileated, the raccoon, and the squirrels to get in and help themselves.

My bird-loving spouse was actually admiring. “You’ve got to admit, dear, my pileated is not only pretty but very creative!”

Discouraged, I shrugged, “Then why bother with a new feeder?”

“Because, Gilbert (That instead of Dear means uh-oh, I’m in trouble), they’ll peck on it instead of our siding!”

She was right. Tearing down our dilapidated feeder, I snatched up whatever scrap pieces of heavy-duty treated 2X8’s and tin I could find in our shop area, and went hard at it.

Hearing all the sawing, drilling, and banging around, Ruthie called down, “Good grief, dear, it sounds like you’re wrecking the place!”

All done, I yelled back, “Sorry! Anyway, I’ve put together the new one and just finished covering it with tin!”

“This I’ve got to see! Be right down!”

Soon as she was, I held it up proudly. “Probably used a little too much tin but other than that, how’s she look?”

Stifling a laugh she patted my shoulder. “Well, it looks more like an armored car than a feeder, but that’s good right?”

“It has to! Otherwise, your monster birdy will just peck it apart again!”

“Then let’s put it up! I’ll bring my camera!”

Minutes later Ruthie was holding my contraption up against the oak. Using my battery-powered driver to screw it into the trunk, I grunted, “Nope, no fooling around this time! This’ll show ‘em!”

We backed up and looked at my handiwork. Ruthie motioned with her camera. “Dear, stand next to it, OK?” I did. “Closer…that’s good! Now point at it with your electric drill-perfect! Ready?” I growled, “Yeah, but I’m hoping this feeder is. ‘Course, it’d probably hold up to Godzilla with all the metal on it!”

“Dear, it has more than our car, so it will! Even against my powerhouse pileated! Smile!” Click-click!

Sure enough, before long a smaller woodpecker was busily pecking up suet through the mesh. As we watched from inside, Ruthie was all smiles. “That little guy’s a ladder-back! See how happy you’ve made him!?”

“Fine but when your huge pal shows up, I want it to learn whose boss here!”

She snickered, “Uh-huh, and if it doesn’t?”

Finally lightening up, I threw up my hands and laughed, “I’ll leave it my County Market card and it can buy its own suet!”

Finally-finally back. Now that I've finished with fixing up the travel tales and humor columns, Ruthie is working through Create A Space to turn these into a book ASAP. Meantime here's a "turkey story" from this last Thanksgiving. It might also show up a couple of weeks from now in the Lakes Country section of the 'Rapids Tribune's Friday edition. Enjoy.

Are Turkeys Dumb? Or Not!

          This past year a large flock of turkeys has been visiting our back yard. And whenever they do, they definitely don’t act or even look like the brightest of our feathered friends. Then again, it’s taken them no time to learn that ready and waiting to be gobbled up beneath our pole-mounted feeder is a smorgasbord of seeds kicked down by the smaller (and smarter?) birds. So, how dumb is that?

          Anyhow, this last Thanksgiving we had two dinner guests, son Kevin and Ruthie’s friend Delores. Looking outside she exclaimed, “Ruthie, you’ve got lots of turkeys out there, you know that?”

My avid bird watcher nodded happily, “Yes and I like them! With their wings spread they’re actually pretty!”

An even more avid hunter, Kevin grinned, “They probably taste good too! Next time I’ll bring my bow!”

Both women got busy setting the table. Meantime, I noticed all those big, dopey-looking things just standing around under the feeder. In fact, looking anything but dumb, they seemed to be patiently waiting for more seeds to be kicked down. In any case they were out of luck, the feeder box was empty.

The instant I stepped outside with the seed bag, the turkeys ran off every which way. Squawking and nearly knocking each other down, they gave me a hilarious little show like circus clowns. It came right back, my original opinion-Nope, they’re dumb all right! Pouring in more seeds, I saw them re-grouping way over in our neighbor’s yard. Then I noticed a lone female standing much closer with one eye cocked my way. I wondered-She can’t be figuring this out. Can she?

I rejoined everyone at the dinner table. Ruthie had prepared roast turkey of course and we all dug in. Ready to take a bite, I saw Ruthie staring behind me. She whispered, “Dear, you won’t believe who’s watching us from our deck rail. All of you stay still ‘til I get my camera!” Sneaking off, she was back in seconds and aiming it over my shoulder. Click-click! “OK, everyone, turn real slow.”

We did and so help us, that female had flown up to the deck rail and was now watching our every move. Looking down at her plate, Delores laughed and shook her head, “Good as this is, I’m not about to eat it with her watching me!”

Kevin said, “Mom, she acts so tame that you guys should name her.”

That started a go-round; Tania? No, doesn’t sound right. Tessie? Nah, that’s a little girl’s name. How about Tallulah? Great! Hoisting our glasses, we toasted her still perched out on the rail and maybe Tallulah liked it too. Giving us one last look (I’m not making any of this up), she flew off and landed back at the feeder.

A couple weeks ago I went out to re-load it and yep, all the turkeys ran away, except guess who? Well, she also moved off but only a little ways and then watched me empty the seed bag. Finished, I had no sooner crossed our lower deck to the door when so help me, Tallulah was already back under the feeder.

As we watched from inside, Ruthie said, “Dear, next Thanksgiving how about roast pork instead?” Laughing, she added, “There aren’t any wild pigs around here, right?”

“Let’s hope not!” I said. And meant it. Even smarter than Tallulah and far less lovable, they can be crazy-mean. We sure don’t want our meal interrupted by one of those critters peeking in and throwing a fit.