Grouse Hollow Journal for August 3, 2017 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for August 3, 2017 by Greg Koelker

We had 5 inches in the rain gauge one morning a couple weeks ago and we found a half-a-dozen trees down including one big box elder down on Scout’s kennel when the storming finally moved on.  Fortunately, Scout was in our house.  During the downpours, much of our gravel driveway decided to go sightseeing down the coulee.  Easy enough for us to take care of with the John Deere and a blade.  Not everyone is so lucky.

The recent storms bring out the best in our dedicated lineman crews.  We lost power last evening and the lights were back on around 1 AM.  Thank you for working those long hours Vernon Electric.  You just don’t appreciate electricity until it is turned off.  

Of course, all the credit doesn’t stop there; up on our ridge, a limb and power line came down in the storm onto our neighbors Phil and Karel Leisso’s home, sparking up some smoke thus prompting a visit from the Stoddard-Bergen Volunteer fire department.  I know that our local and county and state police departments were busy with calls in the bad weather and no doubt telephone linemen too.  City, Town, and County road workers worked long hours getting roads cleared and blocking high water spots and iffy bridges and such.  Terry and Jim, our town road crew along with town chairman Jeff Cermak, deserve a ton of credit and many thanks for all they do all year long, but especially when they have to go out in extreme weather in the night to keep our roads safe like they did last week.  

Most of our roads were open this morning - our newspaper was even delivered and the mail came.  Anyway, I saw a t-shirt online this morning with the slogan on it, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.  If you can read this at night, thank a lineman.”  As a former English teacher, I agree, and with an emphasis on thanking a lineman, and a whole lot of others.  Maybe we need another line that says if you can get home to read this, thank a - fill in the blank.

We saw on Facebook many pictures of flooding and wind damage.  El’s sister Barb sent her a picture of Burton, where the Grant River has gone rogue and washed out into the town and on Brother Bill’s fields and turning the Burton Tavern into Burton Tiki Bar - we saw a picture of someone driving a flat bottom behind the tavern towing a person in an innertube.  Down in Boice Creek where Barb and Chuck cross to get crops in and we cross to hunt deer, the crossing is now a five foot drop into the creek.

That next day, Ellen and I began working on the box elder tree on the kennel - mostly El.  She used the Fiskars limber to cut off and drag away limbs and pile firewood.  I mostly ran the chain saw and called for breaks.  I hate cutting ditch wood (box elder) as it is gnarly and snaps and twists and springs unpredictably under the saw and is worth near to nothing for firewood - although I guess it is prime for outdoor wood burners because of its tendency to smoulder.  Gus Picar came up with his saw and helped on Saturday and suggested we could pile some limbs on his PicFest bonfire pile.  Speaking of smouldering, that’s what I was after a couple hours of working out in the heat.   As of Sunday, we have the yard mostly cleared but still a lot to cut on our trails when it dries out.  

Until next time, get out - the reason I was in Madison last week Wednesday was for a hearing on Assembly Bill 411 in front of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage.  After the politicians spoke, about 25 citizens testified on the bill  (5 supported AB411 while the rest were opposed) that would restrict conservation wardens from entering private land without a tip or complaint.  You can see the testimony online at Wisconsin Eye and/or read my article, co-written with Dean Bortz, in the newest issue of The Outdoor News.  Enjoy.