Grouse Hollow Journal for June 8, 2017 by Greg Koelker

After taking photos at the De Soto Graduation Friday night, and going to some graduation parties on Saturday, we celebrated the unofficial start of Summer at the Stoddard Memorial Day parade.  The parade was lead by a color guard from the Stoddard Legion and a unit with a group of vets on board.  (After the parade these vets became part of a color guard for several graveside services to honor our war dead.)  I heard later that De Soto High School freshmen Matthew Boardman and Pearl Sikora played “Taps” with the traditional echo at the graveside memorial services.  I remember playing the echo my best friend Kim Klauer at Cassville back in the day.  I recall it as a moving experience.

The Memorial Day parade also included the De Soto High School marching band, the Stoddard/Bergen and Genoa fire departments, an ATV unit representing the Wisconsin DNR, the Stoddard Food Bank, St. Matthew's Lutheran School, 16 classic automobiles and trucks (a couple were classics when I was growing up), the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts, Stoddard Lions and Lioness, and more.  We talked with many friends and got some great ice cream at Hood Scoops Ice Cream Shop grand opening for the summer.  (I had a double scoop - one of strawberry cheesecake and one of some decadent chocolate and caramel and nut in a waffle cone.  The Pigtown Fling string band was playing some foot stompin’ bluegrass outside.  I just remembered that I forgot to mention that the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department had several officers helping out too.  Thanks to everyone who made this annual event go.

On Sunday the 28th, Ellen and hit the road early to Valley View Mall, not to shop - thank you very much - but to catch a bus to Milwaukee and a Brewers game.  The sun was shining when we left La Crosse, but it was raining pretty good when we pulled into the parking lot at Miller Park.  No worries at Miller Park except for a soggy tailgate party.  The sun did chased us down by game time.  It was nice to see and catch up with some of our friends onboard including Derek Trussoni along with half-a-dozen of his family.  Ellen visited with Mary Beal from La Crosse.  Ellen knew Mary from working at Gundersen Lutheran.  We got see a great game with a good pitching performance by Jimmy Nelson and a grand slam by Domingo Santana bringing over 40,000 to their feet and almost literally blowing the roof off.  The Brewers won 9 to 5.   If you have not made a trip to Miller Park - and you like baseball - do it.  The place is beautiful place to see a professional game and there are no bad seats.  Worth every penny.

 

Ellen’s birthday used to be on Memorial Day every time until they changed Memorial Day to a Monday to make it a three-day weekend.  She said she shares a birthday with her Grandma Hauk and the family used to celebrate their birthdays together.  She and I celebrated her birthday with a breakfast of my specialty breakfast sandwiches with eggs, cheese, bacon or sliced brat on a toasted bagel.  Then I went up to the shop and got my surprise for her.  I got the desired look on her face when she realized I had a kayak paddle.  Who says I don’t listen?  She told me how during her cardiac therapy someone suggested she should get a kayak because she liked rowing so much.  I overheard her telling someone that she always wanted to try one.  Nailed it; when Ben was home to turkey hunt, he and I picked out a red kayak at Cabelas; it has been “hidden” on our friend Andy Beitlich’s farm.  Now we need some calmer and warmer water so she can get it broke in.  We celebrated her birthday with lunch at the Waterfront.  We had a gift card from Coulee Connections Alternative School for being Santa and Mrs. Santa a few times.  We had an awesome lunch.  She had salmon and I had a Reuben made with smoked brisket instead of corned beef.  We had hoped to sit out on their patio but the wind and cold were more reminiscent of the North Pole that would have liked.  (Oh, we weren’t cheating on real favorite place for lunch, The Thirsty Turtle either as Chad and Meg were off getting sunburned in Mexico.)

We did have a great lunch at the Thirsty Turtle when my sister, Diane and her husband Dan visited after attending the La Crosse Central Memorial Day ceremony that Friday.  Their granddaughter Tess sang in the choir that gave us all goosebumps with their rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.   At the Turtle, Chad was his usual jovial self, that is making jokes and flirting with the women; Meg’s cheeseburgers and fries are the best.  

Ellen managed to get her garden in last week - even under attack.  She told about seeing a buck walking around up by the tobacco shed and in her garden one morning last week.  She said that something ate the tops off of her basil and that there were large deer tracks near the onion plants.  When he heard about it, Mountain Man Ben replied, “That will be some well-seasoned venison!”  We shall see.  I am suspecting some bunny burglars too.  I may have to look into lethal means of protecting our summer bruschetta makings.

Neighbor Gregg Sikora came over one evening so we could see and photograph the huge brown trout he caught nearby.  It was 21 inches long caught on an ultra-lite pole on 2-pound test line with a 64th oz. jig and small chunk of night crawler.  He was beaming.  He said this was the biggest inland trout he ever caught.  He reminisced that he got it at the spot that he would set his late father up every May along the creek.  That picture was in last week’s Broadcaster.

Scout has been chomping at the bit - or more appropriately, her foot, to get out and run around as she recovers from her foot surgery.  Unbelievably, she doesn’t usually pull the bandage off of her foot, even after all day or night in the kennel.  We’ll both be happy to get her out for walks again.  (She pulled the bandage off in the kennel when I went out to feed her right after writing the above.  Go figure.)  She gets the stitches out this week.

On Saturday, June 3, El and I went up the ridge to the Vernon County Dairy Breakfast at the Tim and Lisa Servais farm.  The morning was cool, but the sun flirted with the clouds and blue sky.  The setting was perfect with towering trees framing the Servais’ yard, front and back and beautiful red and white farm buildings behind huge white tents.  We walked in from one of the hayfields-turned-parking-lot with our old friends Tom and Priscilla Thibodeau.  He declared, “The farmers should be in charge of this world.  The farmers and the teachers, not the politicians. If everyone had enough to eat and a good education, there would be no more war.”  Maybe so. Later, Tom gave the blessing.  The Stoddard Legion Color Guard presented the Colors and our niece Tes and the Servais’ daughter Sabrina along with other members of the La Crosse Central Robed Choir sang The National Anthem.  There was plenty to eat and learn and do for everyone.  There were wagon farm tours, kids’ activities and a petting zoo, a dairy princess coronation, a display of antique tractors, door prizes (I WON!) and even a live radio broadcast.  Anyway, I have to mention the food: we had a great farm country style breakfast with pancakes and syrup and butter, scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, coffee and more.  Oh yeah, they had ice cream for breakfast dessert.  We visited with many friends including Congressman Ron Kind who introduced me to a legislative aide to Representative Tammy Baldwin, and I talked with Lee Nerison as well.  Ron always remembers me and Ellen.  He met her back in the day when he was first testing the political waters at a meet and greet at our neighbors, Dick and Judy Swantz’s.  He said how much he loved this setting and how he had worked on his relative’s farm as a boy.  I couldn’t agree more that the setting was perfect.  The sun started coming out and the temperature started rising, but the breeze on the ridge and the shade trees made it tolerable.  

Until next time, get out - fishing season is upon us, and I have plans for a trip to Shell Lake and Jag Lake this week.  Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow for June 1, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow for June 1, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Did you ever misplace something and beat yourself up trying to find it?  You know, keys, you phone, maybe a book, or an important note.  Well, the older I get, the slower I get except for one thing that gets faster - time.  I wonder what the heck I did with January, February, March, April, and May.  They say time flies.  I think it has has space shuttle engines strapped on, thrusting at full throttle.   

Going backward, I guess May had a lot going on to make the time pass.  Mountain men Ben and Drew were here for a week of hunting turkeys.  I turned 65 in May, so I spent the better part of several days on hold dealing with health insurance companies.  Speaking of getting older, we went up to Glenwood City to celebrate our dear friend Angela’s  21st anniversary of her 29th birthday.  Ellen was finding morel mushrooms.  She and I went over to Osh Kosh for the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Convention and a fishing trip on Lake Winnebago with Pat Kolbe.  I also cleaned up and sold a lot of junk (to me) on Craig’s List. I subbed at De Soto High School some days too.  Scout had surgery to remove a tumor on her left front leg requiring several trips to the vet.  She is doing as well as a bored outside dog can do in the kitchen.

In April, I worked my second election day for the Town of Bergen.  I also chaired the Vernon County DNR and Wisconsin Conservation Congress hearings at Viroqua.  Ellen started finding morels.  I subbed at De Soto High School some.  After five days of turkey hunting, I managed to trick a trio of jakes into coming within range.  To celebrate Earth Day, Gordie and I went fishing out of Red Wing, and I hooked my first beaver.  El and I caught enough fish for a meal one pretty morning - at least it didn’t rain on us anyway - in Gundersen Bay.  She and her sisters attended the Midwest Horse Show in April.  I spent a morning walking around the ranch with a forrester and learned a lot about the emerald ash borer and other tree stuff.  Vince and I got out on the river at Blackhawk Park and De Soto Bay.  As always, the highlight of the trip was cheeseburgers and fries at The Thirsty Turtle.  Speaking of good meals, I had a great prime rib at the NASA fundraiser with Bud and Rick and Paula and Dan and Batman in La Crosse. Ben and Drew also visited on their way to marketing REEL Game Calls at the Wisconsin Buck and Turkey Expo. There was also the NFL Draft to burn time on.

After a spring-like February, the weather turned back to winter in March.  We spent a lot of time being entertained by the Wisconsin Badgers and La Crosse Central Red Raiders hoops teams.   There was snow to be moved a couple times.  After my annual physical, Doc told me it is better to be healthy and heavy than unhealthy and heavy.  Good enough for another 12,000 miles - I hope.  El and I attended the Wisconsin Conservation Congress District 5 meeting at Alma and we had great BBQ at J and J’s BBQ in Nelson.  Speaking of excellent meals, Ellen and I and Curt Christensen went to the Annual De Soto FFA Banquet.  We were still seeing some antlered bucks around the ranch in March.  There was snow in early march no doubt surprising all the large flocks of canvasbacks, mallards, and some flights of smaller ducks on the river.  Ellen and Scout started taking hikes again as El recovers.   My three apple trees were budding. Timber Todd Slaght and three of his beagles howled their way up the coulee on a March day.  I helped with the primary election in Bergen Township - my first time doing this.  El and I helped celebrate Elaine Wrobel’s birthday one Sunday afternoon.  

February, well, I was glad it passed quickly I guess.  We started the month off with Ellen’s heart attack and hospital stay and therapy and such.  She is doing so well now, it is easy to forget how terrifying that was.  February was mostly relatively warm.  I even washed the truck while wearing in a tee shirt and shorts one day.  El and I were able to sit in the sun on the porch almost like late April a number of late afternoons.  We sold our Explorer to a nice young couple from Esofea in February.  I was so inspired I wrote the rest of my journal about all the cars I’ve known before. (Good name for a song maybe?)  We have been hearing tom turkeys gobbling and we saw four toms strutting for a big flock of hens one morning.  The river was open so I started thinking about walleye fishing.  I actually started complaining about what happened to the year already then.

In January,  Mark and Ben were back out west after week here at home.  Mark said he just enjoyed soaking it all in; having them both here filled us all with good thoughts, brought up great memories of other good times, and made this ever so fast holiday vaporize even faster.  We brought home El’s family’s desk and she asked me to clean it up and oil it; it turned out better than I would have guessed.  My ambitious outdoors woman took our labrador retriever for no doubt crunchy walks up our icy ridge road as often as she could. I complained about how much of a pain it is to get ready to go outside this time of the year.  I pondered what it must have been like in our house back in the day when the original Prokschs first lived in it.  Wisconsin writer and historian Jerry Apps reflected that he likes winter for the quiet and a time to slow down and relax a bit. Ellen and I went for a hike on the hardwater of Stoddard Bay one Saturday and didn’t catch anything but it was a beautiful day.  We saw a buck and two other deer feeding in the sunshine down the road from home one morning, in fact, we saw maybe a dozen deer up on the hillsides.  Ellen and Scout got out on snowshoes a couple times. We had Eli’s dog, Jax as our house guest for a few days.  We started hearing more about breaking up of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  I got a shot of springtime when I got my spring turkey season permit in the mail.  Our Green Bay Packers, got closer to the Superbowl than the Lions, Giants, and the much vaunted Cowboys.  Go Pack!  

Until next time, get out - I remembered about back in the day when slowing down time came easy to middle and high school kids and teachers complaining about how time isn’t moving and how the wait for the last day of school is so unbearable.  Maybe we all could use a dose of that feeling to appreciate the time we have.  Oh yeah, speaking of time slipping away, Happy Birthday A-Day-Late (or two) to my beautiful bride.  Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 25, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Last year at graduation time I wrote a journal about the advice I would give to high school graduates if I was asked to speak at their commencement.  I received dozens of emails and even a few snail mails regarding that journal.  Most of them said I should repeat this or some version of it every year or even offer to speak it a class reunion some time.  Anyway, the annual graduation party-arama is upon us, so here again, is my graduation speech redux.

To the graduates of 2017, these are the true facts of life: life is always fantastic, life is always fulfilling, life always makes us happy, you can do anything you set your mind to, you must always follow your dream or passion, money comes easy, everyone you meet will be thrilled with you and vice versa, pizzas are really good for you, instant replay isn’t, life is always fair.  OK, maybe sometimes, but not always on all accounts.

No joke here, life can get out of your control sometimes: illnesses, bills, accidents, relationships and jobs, for example.  Unless you can develop an app that you can sell for millions, you will have to find work to live the dream. I also know that most people have worked a lot of jobs in their lives. Ask your parents and grandparents and I think you will be amazed at what they have made a living at during all the many stages of their lives.

As for me, well for a guy who never really liked work and would prefer reading a book, singing a song, wetting a line, tanning on the sandbar, or even working on the many cars I damaged, I have had a few jobs before I finally found my calling.

Growing up, I helped on the farm, detassled seed corn, bagged groceries, mowed lawns, delivered papers, bused tables, waited tables, tended bar (I found out that busing tables was better than bartending because you get off earlier on Saturday night and mostly nobody notices you unless you dump a tray full of dishes and your feet don’t hurt that much); I pumped gas, changed tires and oil, helped lay down rubber roofing for Texas Refinery Corporation, was a summer custodian at a high school and then a grade school.

I was the blacksmith/stable docent one summer at Stonefield Village (I actually put shoes on a workhorse in front of a crowd); I was an art director and had a bar sign and party banner business; I was a studio news director, an announcer, and I produced hundreds of TV commercials in 13 years on the job; I was a wedding photographer and a display manager.

I judged forensics, talent contests, and debate; I was a baseball and speech coach and language teacher; behind all that or on top of it, or whatever, I made music through the 1960s-1990s, playing guitar, trumpet, harmonica, and bass with a bunch of bands.  I have been a columnist and contributor to the Broadcaster since 1990 too.

I hated some jobs like display manager and roofing. I loved being the blacksmith/stable docent at Stonefield Village and a custodian at my alma mater, as well as making music and doing artwork and coaching.

Still, I didn’t find my passion/profession until I was 38. All along the way, I learned a lot of useful or at least semi-useful skills and stuff that carried over into every subsequent job and part of my life; I had a lot of fun at work, and I met many, many people. That’s the best thing ever; at every job I had, whether I liked it or not, I met wonderful people and an occasional dud and even a jerk or two, but mostly I met great people; I hope they felt that way about me.

So what? Well, the “so what?” is mostly that life comes down to decisions. You decide whether to work all your life at a job because it pays OK and you need the money but you really don’t like it — if it lasts, or maybe because you aren’t confident that you can make it in whatever career you think you’d like; I feared I wouldn’t be a good teacher and given the chance, some of my former students may attest to that. You decide whether to hate going to work every day because you think what you do is pointless or boring but you need to make a buck, or you decide that the work you do doesn’t feel like work because you enjoy doing whatever it is.

I guarantee this decision makes a heckuva difference in the better part of a century you get to spend here on planet Earth. I tell people that the best decision I ever made in my life, besides asking my wife to marry me and having kids, was deciding to become a teacher. I didn’t realize how profound that decision was until it happened. My family is great and so is what I did and do mostly, but also I almost never hated going to work when I was teaching. I still enjoy going in to be a substitute teacher.

Graduates, find a way to enjoy your job when you can. If you can’t, find something else. If you always wanted to do something else, do it. Work is good. Money is good. But remember, we work to live not the other way around.

Another big decision you get to make, be open to people, all people. Reject someone at your peril; unless you realize they are harmful to you physically or mentally, all people have worth and you may miss out on a great friendship.  Never stop learning — a cliche’ sure, but it’s true: read a book or two that covers all the historical time of your life to learn what was really going on while you were ignoring what was going on around you except for the music and Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter…  Read biographies of succesful leaders like Lincoln and FDR and even LBJ and learn how they became who they became.

Let people help you when you need it. It is good for you and it is good for them. When your mom, dad, aunt or grandma wants to send that leftover roast turkey or casserole home with you on Sunday night, take it. You have lunch for a few days and she or he’ll feel good about helping you.

Think before speaking in anger — believe me. I know about this one first hand and from both sides. Forgive. Learn the issues, think, and then go vote always — or don’t complain. Share the good things you know with others, particularly children. Volunteer. Visit your grandparents; they leave us too soon and have a lot to offer. That said, listen to old people — I mean really listen mindfully, you’ll understand why after you do — if you think.

And graduates, call your parents — and often, nuf said.

Until next time, get out...

At age 65, I know that those years vaporize into memories too fast, and that to be angry or unhappy and closed to others for that limited life is a waste when you can decide otherwise. I’ll add a suggestion from a friend who wrote after reading last year’s version: Stephen Covey said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing," and one other practical response to last year’s version, “Write things down or that thing will get filed in the junk drawer in the back of your mind.”  I’ll add one final idea.  Keep a journal of events and ideas for your own use.  So 2017 grads, don’t worry, be happy - or not; the good news and the bad news is that you get to make the call.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 18, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 18, 2017 by Greg Koelker

This last weekend Ellen and I were in Oshkosh visiting our friends Pat and Lana Kolbe (and Brynley and Ryan) and I attended the better part of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Convention.  We had a great lasagna dinner with the Kolbe’s on Thursday night and got to spend some time getting to know their little ones.  On Friday, the Kolbe’s were off to work, so at their suggestion, El and I had breakfast at the Delta Diner.  Good stuff.

After breakfast, I registered at the convention at the Oshkosh Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center just in time to take my seat with the Vernon County contingent of Jason Weis and Sam White.  After a roll call of counties and the presentation of colors by the DNR Color Guard and singing of the national anthem by warden Clark Delzer, we recognized memorial resolutions for congress members who passed in the last year including one for long-time congress member from Westby, Fred Constalie.  The group was welcomed by first year WCC chairman Larry Bonde.  Oshkosh Mayor Steve Kummins also welcomed us and shared some Oshkosh history and highlights.  We were heard from the leadership of the Wisconsin Department of Resources. Assistant DNR Secretary Kurt Thiede shared information about the last year and future plans including the R3 plan on recruit, retain, and reconnect with sportsmen.  Thiede said the Learn to Hunt program has had about a 40% success rate on retaining new fishermen and hunters and trappers.   WCC Bear

Committee Chair Mike Rogers introduced this year’s  Learn To Hunt Bear Tag recipient.  Governor Walker addressed the group.  Chairman Bonde lead the assembly through a sometimes raucous discussion and voting on this year’s WCC Advisory Questions. Eric Lobner of DNR Wildlife spoke about his ambitious list of Wildlife plans and initiatives, not the least the R3-Recruitment and Retention and Reactivation of hunters and fishermen and shooters.  We went through the DNR Spring Hearing results, Wildlife Program updates, a Fisheries Program update, Law Enforcement Program update, a Recreational Opportunities analysis, a DNR Parks and Recreation update, a Forestry Program update, a Science Services Program update, Proposed Code of Procedure Changes, Angler Education, Years of Service Awards for Delegates, some of the rule suggestions that citizens voted on on April 10 and before, what’s new in Fish and Wildlife in Wisconsin, and news from the Natural Resources Board.  

As far as I am concerned there was good news and there was bad news.  The Good was that Bill Howe of Crawford County was inducted into the Conservation Congress Hall of Fame.  Bill is the longest serving congress member at this time at 60 years.  Bill knows more about the congress and the river and the outdoors than most of the rest of us combined.  I am proud to know him.  The bad news is twofold in that no one, including Scott Walker mentioned any movement on the onerous railroad trespass law.  The other bad news is, for some reason the WCC Board pulled question 51 off the discussion table.  Question 51 is in regards to allowing online voting on the spring hearing questions.  As far as I and many other congress members I talked to are concerned, the Conservation Congress may as well pack up its tent and go home if online voting on the spring hearing questions become DNR policy.  According to one long-time Grant County congress member, some in the legislature have wanted to be rid of the Conservation Congress since the 80’s.  Online voting may just accomplish removing the up to now relatively powerful citizens advisory group.  

The Kolbe’s took us out for an Oshkosh Fish Fry on Friday night at TJ’s Harbor Restaurant.  We got a table on the patio with Lake Winnebago in the background; one of Pat’s former student’s was our waiter.  The old fashions were excellent and the fried cheese curds were hot and seasoned to perfection and served with ranch dressing.  Pat and I had fried perch and waffle fries.  El had a rotisserie chicken wrap with veggies and basil aioli while  Lana had a Po’ Boy Shrimp wrap.  Anyway, it was great.  Afterward we took a walk along the pier.   

El and I went fishing with Pat on Lake Winnebago on Saturday.   We had a nice boat ride on the big water jigging crawlers here and there.  We had lots of hits, but only Pat caught a fish.  

On the way home, El and I stopped to look at flowers and bedding plants at Coon Valley and Chaseburg.  

Until next time, get out - on Sunday morning, we rolled down the river to Cassville to see my mom.  El and I put up the bird feeder I made for Mom and then we feasted on brunch at J&J’s Sandbar.  Good stuff.  We came home to Grouse Hollow to celebrate Mother’s Day by mowing lawn followed by drinks with Scout on the porch.  Oh yeah, I was mowing on the tractor and listening to the Brewers and Mets.  I turned off my headset when Milwaukee fell behind 7-1.  Duh.  Milwaukee won. 11- 9!  How bout dem Brewers?  My plan is to be heading out into the turkey woods in the morning - maybe.  Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 11, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 11, 2017 by Greg Koelker

There has been a lot going on at Grouse Hollow this last week:  Mountain man Ben and his friend Drew Rouse are here hunting the third season for turkeys.  Lewis, Drew’s pudelpointer is on constant “toss my frisbee” duty while the hunters are out.  Ellen’s flowers and grass are growing like weeds.  Her morels are popping up all over too.  I made room for more junk in my shop this week.  I reached another life milestone, leaving my “will you still feed me, will you still need me?” year of my life, and by the time you see this, I will be hunting turkeys (and morels) this fourth season.  

I managed to get up at 4:30 and go hunting along with Ben on Wednesday morning last week. I don’t remember a more perfect morning to be out on the ridge at sunrise.  The horizon was just turning from orange to dark blue, snuffing out stars and whatever breeze there was when we got out of the truck.  Hunting with Ben made it the best.  We had barely poured a cup from the thermos when the toms started gobbling in every hollow around us.  We set up and moved several times and called and had toms come in.  I tried video taping without a lot of success.  He didn’t tag a bird this day.  

Ben did get his first Wisconsin wild turkey, after hunting all-day for two days, he tagged a bird in the waning hours of the day up near the Oak Stand.  Drew had the kill on video.  Ben turned cameraman then and he and Drew are out chasing after a bird for Drew as I tap this out on Saturday morning.  They rolled out around 4:30 again this morning.  We could hear gobbling toms through our open bedroom window.  Anyway, they are having fun, hearing and calling lots of birds.  We are having Ben’s turkey tonight for supper roasted with mushroom and wine gravy and wild rice.  It won’t get no better.

Ellen and Scout and Lewis, have been running up and down the hills as part of El’s cardio regimen which includes hunting mushrooms.  She has been finding some too - and deer ticks.  We had morels with marinated and grilled venison chops for supper last night with rhubarb crisp and ice cream for dessert.  It don’t get no better.

On Friday it was the best of times and it was the worst of times or maybe there was good news and bad and good news.  I took the John Deere and tiller down to Stoddard and worked up the ground for the community garden.  Our friend and my former student Renee (Anderson) Venner ramrods this project, among others.  We had a good visit and I think I left the sandy ground pretty well broken and ready for some planting.  Then the old adage that “no good deed goes unpunished” raised its ugly head.  As I was driving up Elm Drive in Stoddard, my usually easy going green machine surprised me and crow hopped and twisted a bit.  I was wearing a seatbelt and didn’t get bucked off.  Upon examination, there was only one, that’s one out of five, lug nuts still loosely holding the slightly twisted left front rim on.  I was contemplating a phone call to home for rescue when Bob Wurtzel saw me from his yard and came to my aid.  I had found one lug nut in the street, so he took that to go look for a socket and jack.  I walked back down the road and unbelievably found the rest of the lugnuts in the street!  With Bob’s jack, I was able to bolt and tighten the original lug nuts back on.  I checked the rest of the tractor’s lug nuts before I thanked Mr. Wurtzel and headed for the ranch, three miles up the coulee.  Anyway, I got the garden done, got to visit with Renee for a while, had tractor trouble and met Mr. Wurtzel, and made it home.  So there, take that, fate.  

Large item day at the dump was last Saturday.  I was checking around for unneeded or unwanted items or just plain large junk to take there, when I started looking at some of the stuff that has been collecting dust in the shop for years.  I spied an ancient Stihl saw, a still older derelict minibike, and our pretty old log splitter.  Anyway, I couldn’t get any of them to run.  After a little power washing and rag work, I took some pictures and placed all three on Craigslist.  I sold the saw the first day to a young ex-marine who pulled the starter rope three times and the orange and white machine snarled to life, ready to once again help heat a home.  The mini-bike died back when Mark was 11; he is 35 now.  The mini-bike motor blew one evening when he was ramming around out in the yard.  I never fixed it.  I sold it sight unseen on Saturday morning to a guy with a plan to make it a summer project.  Cool.  Anyone need a wood splitter that works fine if you can get it started?  (Oops! Sold it Sunday morning.) Thank you Craigslist.

On Saturday afternoon, El and I drove up to Glenwood City to help surprise our dear friend Angela Hierlmeir who is turning 50 today (May 11).  She was surprised to tears as many of her friends and family members showed up at Glen Hills Country Club.  Angela was the Choir Director at De Soto High School back in the 90’s.   (She is Gordie’s wife too.)  Happy Birthday Angie!  

Speaking of birthdays, I entered the world of Medicare on May 1.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  I remember lying on my back on a sandbar, watching shooting stars with my friends Kim, Robert, Donnie, Mike and Greg back in the summer of 1969.  Someone said something about the year 2000 and then someone else said, “Do you realize we’ll be like 48 in 2000?”  Someone else guffawed to the point of choking on his beer and then declared, “Hell!  No way we are going to live to be even 40!”  Well, we all did that despite our muscle cars, mis-adventures on the river, and bad habits.  Now I am 65, a concept I guess I wasn’t really thinking much about then, maybe like a lot of people until it sneaks up on them.   As to being 64, I guess it hasn’t worn off yet as Ellen is fixing me scrambled eggs with a cinnamon raisin bagel and morel mushrooms this morning.  It don’t get . . . well you know.

Until next time, get out - this week is the Wisconsin Conservation Congress convention in Oshkosh where I and some 400 other congress delegates from around Wisconsin will sit in on all kinds of discussions and reports about everything outdoors.  Governor Walker is supposed to address the group.  Perhaps he’ll announce some movement on changing the railroad trespass law.  More on all this next week.  Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 4, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for May 4, 2017 by Greg Koelker

I had scrambled eggs with fried morels for breakfast one day last week and morels with a grilled New York Strip for supper Saturday night.  Even though it is cold out this weekend, the morels are popping.  While I only found a few on top of a ridge, Ellen found over a pound of the fabulous fungi on Saturday while hunting mostly steep hillsides.  Neighbor Doug Strasser said he had already bagged 5 pounds, but like so many people, he can’t eat them because they make him sick so he gives them away or sells them.  

On Saturday I was sitting on the four wheeler talking to my mom on my cell when a puppy came bounding up a nearby path followed by Doug.  I got to meet their new silver labrador, Ed.   Doug was cutting firewood in a nearby woods and had seen the four wheeler, so he took a break and came over to introduce Ed and visit a bit.  Like all Labarador puppies, Ed is a beaut for sure.

I had a good week.  I didn’t catch any fish, but I killed a wild turkey on Monday, went to a NASA banquet on Wednesday, and got to meet a Superbowl 31 era Green Bay Packer on Friday.

I had hunted a lot last week and had gobbling but shy toms all around me several times without seeing a single one to tag.  On Monday I was going to substitute teach but got a call that I wasn’t needed.  El and I were having breakfast with the kitchen windows open and we heard a bird gobbling right up behind the tobacco shed.  I said I would take a walk and see if I could ambush it.  After getting my camo clothing on, I took Wilma for a hike up the Grouse Hollow Path around the point of the hill below the still gobbling would be gigolo.  I stayed quiet until I got almost on the ridge and then set up at the base of a huge old oak tree.  I called a bit and the tom gobbled back, so I shut up and waited.  Eventually, it gobbled but from farther away.  I tried calling a bit more and just listened.  The next thing I knew for sure was that it was almost two hours later.  Good power nap anyway.  There were no birds around me that I could hear or see, so I tried some radical, rowdy clucking, purring, and yelping for a bit and shut up again.  I was about to get up and check a couple elm trees for morels when I heard a “put - put - warble warble - put - put . . .” behind me.  “Good,” I thought.  A live hen might be the perfect decoy.  The live hen proved to be three jakes - younger male turkeys - looking for me less than 20 yards away.  The time was late in my season and there was wind and rain in the forecast, and I wanted a dinner of roast wild turkey, so when the three birds walked behind another nearby oak tree I made my move.  Wilma was lying along my right leg.  The birds were on my right.  I slowly raised the .10 gauge turkey special up and aimed toward the oak tree.  I didn’t dare move much else.  Two birds came out first and I watched them walk down the hill a bit.  When the third tom stopped in some small brush, exposing its head right in my sight, I squeezed the trigger.  “Kaboom!”  I saw stars and through the haze a flopping turkey!  Because of the awkward angle, I didn’t have my weapon pulled in tightly enough and the kick nearly dislocated my right shoulder.  I finally gathered enough wits to scramble to my feet and walk over to my bird.  I was standing over the dead bird and the other two live birds were fifteen yards away looking right at me.  I took a picture and texted Ellen that I had gotten a bird.  The other toms didn’t walk off until I picked my bird up!  I was going to walk back to the farm with the turkey over my shoulder when I spied three deer ticks climbing up the hand that was holding the bird’s legs.  I left the bird there with my sweatshirt and gun over it to ward off coyotes for a bit and hiked in for the four-wheeler.  El and Scout came back up with me, and Ellen took some pictures of me and my 16-pound bird for posterity.  Anyway, she is planning on roasting my bird this week while Ben and Drew are here from Colorado to hunt the third season.  For those of you who care, after registering my turkey online, I cleaned up the bird's breats and cut them into pieces - the size of a deck of cards maybe.  El will dredge those chunks of turkey breast in seasoned flour and then brown them in oil.  She roasts the browned meat along with a mushroom and wine gravy - use wine instead of water with a gravy mix.  I love this served with wild rice and a rhubarb dessert.  It don’t get no better.  

On Wednesday evening, I joined the Raymond James financial table at the 13th annual NASA fundraiser in La Crosse.  Rick Elsen invited me a while back to join him and his wife Paula, his uncle and my longtime hunting buddy Bud Veale, Dan Mauss, the Richard Ristows, and Batman for the event.  The money raised goes to support the North American Squirrel Association’s charitable works helping the physically challenged and seniors enjoy the outdoors.  The all-volunteer activities NASA helps with include: fishing, hunting, skiing, shooting, and playing golf.  I have written about Bud and I and Rick going on a NASA pheasant hunt where 80-something Bud can ride on a specially designed UTV and still shoot pheasants.  Anyway, we had fun, a great prime rib dinner, and some people actually won prizes.  The Ristows took home a huge flying canada goose mount, Paula won a bow case that was filled with fishing tackle, and Bud - who almost always wins at these things - won the next to last gun raffle - a .22 rifle!  Dan, Batman and I got a rock.  Oh yeah, Batman is actually Ed Flick the owner of County Wide Animal Control, nice young man who helps people with animal problems - like bats.

On Friday, I was subbing at De Soto High School when football coach Ev Wick dropped by and told me De Soto 8th grader, Drake Kumlin had some special guests at school.  Some folks associated with the Holmen High School football program were there to surprise Drake including Holmen assistant football coach and former Green Bay Packer D-back Craig Newsome.  The Holmen group was at De Soto to show support for Drake who has won a battle with cancer.  Very cool surprise.  Nice effort by the Vikings and Newsome who played with Green Bay in two super bowls, winning Super Bowl 31.

Until next time, get out - Ben and Drew will be here from Colorado this week to hunt the third Wild Turkey season.  I sure look forward to that.  I enjoyed the NFL draft this last week and I am pumped by the Packers’ choice of Wisconsin Badger Vince Biegle.  Okay, before I forget, remember Mother’s Day is next week.  Enjoy.

Grouse Hollow Journal for April 27, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for April 27, 2017 by Greg Koelker

I am tapping this out while sitting out on the porch on Sunday morning, and I just heard a shotgun blast echo down the coulee.  Maybe it was a successful turkey hunter.  I was too lazy (or maybe too smart) to get out of a warm bed to go turkey hunting this morning.  Yesterday, I had a great Earth Day though, starting up the ridge in our woods early and ending on the Mississippi River near Redwing later.  

The sunrise here was worthy of an Earth Day dawn with a brilliant horizon and soft breezes and lots of songbirds and gobbling turkeys.  After leaving my mug of hot coffee set on the hood of the truck, I walked along a field near the woods where I set up on a gobbler still on the roost.  It gobbled for awhile but then flew down and apparently got closer to me by the volume of the gobbles.  I was seated in a fence row, but I imagine I moved as the bird moved away.  Anyway, it and two others toyed with me for an hour before I moved on.

The start of my season was a week ago, and that was interesting enough I guess. On Wednesday morning last week, after a night of restless sleep, I woke up five minutes before my alarm - set for 4:45 - went off.  Ellen wished me good luck and I tramped downstairs. I turned on the coffee maker and got dressed.  El had filled my thermos and insulated coffee cup with hot water before bed.  Remarkably, the thermos was still steaming hot.  Outside only the yard light glowed.  The sky was pitch black and a breeze came out of the north.  

When the F150 roared to life, a weather man said it was 50 degrees out and guessed that the wind should subside.  Corn leaves blew across the road in the headlights reminding me of Halloween as I crossed the dark ridge.  I could see trees swaying in a stout north wind.  Up at the back gate of our place, I pulled the cab into the wind and climbed out with my coffee cup and thermos.  I relaxed behind my four wheeled windbreak, sipping hot caffiene, hoping the north wind would take a break.  I tried to listen for turkeys, one of my favorite opening morning rituals but it was hard to hear much in the wind.  The wind was cold even while sitting out of it; for a moment, I contemplated heading back to my warm house and hunting later or taking a nap in the warm cab.

As the horizon started to glow, the wind - as it often does at dawn - started to fade.  I could hear songbirds.  Then I heard a gobble off to the south.  The bird gobbled again and I thought I had it on my radar, so I poured out the rest of my now cold coffee, pulled on my jacket and shouldered my camo boat cushion and Wilma, my .10 gauge turkey special, and headed out to hunt that bird.  I hadn’t taken ten steps when at least four toms gobbled to the north, most likely from down in the Oak Hollow.  I reversed course and took off for the Oak Stand where I had a blind set up.  

After I got the windows on the blind opened a bit, I did a yelp call with my REEL Turkey call.  I got immediate gobbles in return, so I just shut up.  I had birds come in.  A hen walked past me putting softly.  I thought I was golden for a moment.  At least one gobbler came up calling loudly to the point that the hair on my neck was standing up, but I never saw it and the hen in the field wasn’t impressed enough to bother calling to the tom to get it to come out.  Go figure.  Over the course of the morning, I hunted four places, pulled in birds, but could never quite seal the deal and finally quit around 1 p.m.

One of the highlights of Ellen’s week was going to the big horse show in Madison with her sisters Barb and Kathy on Friday.  They also visited niece Sarah’s new home that is “almost” ready for habitation - June maybe.  Ellen said she really enjoyed the opportunity to see some of the lesser known breeds and all the displays at the stalls.  She said the owners are so friendly and eager to answer questions and are ready to talk horse stuff.  She visited with the lady that owns CR Quarter Horses south of Prairie du Chien, a place we often drive by and admire for their beautiful animals.  

One of the highlights of my week were the old fashions at Rockies Friday night, uh, well they were a highlight, but I really meant to tell about about something that happened at sunrise on Friday morning when I was leaning up against a downed tree in the Corner Woods, calling occasionally, trying to attract the noisy gobbler from down in the hollow.  The sunrise was only starting when I became aware of a change that cued my senses up to more than just turkeys.  What I saw was simple but remarkable.  The sun’s rays were slowly starting to create patterns of color and light and sunbeams through the new foliage around me from high up and down to the forest floor.  It started small, but the light kept changing the picture until I wished that I had one of my good cameras.  I finally realized that this was a moment I should just enjoy since only I got to experience just that spot at that time.  It was a, well, soft and spellbinding instant there in that quiet morning woods shared with a few song birds and squirrels, no camera, no one else, just the newly sprouted woods and early sunshine making one master piece after another as I recorded in my mind, such as my old brain is.

Anyway, back at the ranch from hunting early on Earth Day, I had breakfast with Ellen and then drove north to Redwing, MN to meet Gordie and wet a line.  I got to beautiful Colville Park ahead of him.  There was a Minnesota Tournament Trail Walleye fishing contest going on out of this landing.  I talked to the friendly couple who were setting up a water tank for the fish to be released into later.  They said this was the first of 17 walleye tournaments they would run around Minnesota.  They were headed to Big Stone Lake next weekend and would make stops at Lake of the Woods and Mille Lacs to name a couple over the summer.  There were 50 boats entered in the fray for a top prize of $5,000.  

Inspired, I went back to the car and put a chunk of crawler on a small jig and tossed it off the dock.  I immediately hooked a sheepshead.  Sheepshead can be fun to catch and good to eat but I released this one.  I really impressed a couple of little kids walking out to a boat to go fishing with their granddad.  Gordie appeared shortly thereafter and we launched his boat without incident.     

We fished a lot of water from northern Lake Pepin up to the Redwing dam, catching up about our families and lives and our world views, making plans to fish up on Shell Lake soon with our friend Jake Ekern, and hooking quite a few fish.  Gordie got a dandy northern pike that weighed 7 pounds and I caught two walleyes - one an 18-incher that is the main course - grilled on a cedar plank - for tonight.  We both landed other fish including half-a-dozen sheepshead and a few striped bass.  

Once I hooked something that took off and dived.  The drag on my fishing reel started whining and the creature commenced to strip almost all the line off my reel before I got to reeling some of it back in and tighten the drag just a smidgen.  Wow!  I had the “fish” - a big carp, sturgeon, monster walleye, catfish, turtle, or a sea monster maybe - almost to the surface by the boat where we could see it, but suddenly it was having none of that and made another strong run.  It could have pulled us back to Redwing if we could have guided it I think.  Anyway, it or I finally broke my line.  Now here is the funny part.  Just then, 25 yards from the boat in the correct general direction, a beaver surfaced. When we saw it, there was a bit of a “what in the h-e-double hockey sticks?” moment; then we laughed so hard.  The apparently tired, but nonplussed rodent just paddled slowly over to the nearby shore and sat there watching us, no tail slap, no diving or anything, so we are pretty sure that’s what I hooked.  Okay, even if it was one of the huge carp rolling in the crick nearby, or a big catfish or turtle or sturgeon or Russian mini-sub, we are going with the beaver, just for a better story’s sake.  It is too bad though; I was just thinking about how much fun describing us netting a big, angry beaver and trying unhook that little jig would have been.    

Until next time, get out - anyway, I got home in time for Eli and Pat to show up from the woods.  They had been turkey hunting all day, chasing turkeys and had stories to tell of gobblers that outsmarted them more than once during the day, missed coyotes and lots of movement of blinds and birds moving to where they had been.  It is good to hear it happens to others too  We shared a libation or two, more stories, and Ellen made them supper.  With the sunshine and perfect temperature, Earth Day doesn’t git no better.  Oh yeah, Ellen and Scout came back from a walk this morning with a bag with three four-inch morels in it.  A good sign for the immediate future I’d say.  Enjoy.