Coming soon, 23 December 2025

Seen before a screening of The Secret Agent which was excellent and came replete with title cards.

I was surprised to see a trailer for Sirāt as I'd recently seen that it will be opening the spring 2026 season at Cinematheque on 22 January.

Coming Soon: 14 December 2025

Seen before Sentimental Value. First we were treated to a commercial from the Metropolitan Opera before a whopping 9 trailers. Uff da!

Song of the day, 23 December 2025

Spending solstice among the trees

After a walk at Acewood, I was off to Token Creek Park to once again help out with a bit of oak prairie restoration.

Last month the project attracted only 3 of us but this time around there were 12-15 hardy souls. As she did last time, our organizer began the proceedings by reading a poem by Mary Oliver. When she had finished, we grabbed our gear and headed down the trail.

At the work area, we split into two groups with one cutting down the dreaded buckthorn and applying herbicide to the stumps while the other cut the trees into burnable pieces and did the same for piles of felled trees from previous ventures.

As with Acewood earlier that morning, Highway 51 provided some white noise in the background but otherwise the park was peaceful. It was an absolutely lovely day with the sun bathing us in its light and warming the day up into the 20s. 

When the burn pile was ready, the purifying flames were lit. We had a big fire that kept those of us working near it quite warm.

I had first met the organizer on the bus last year and was introduced to her boyfriend last month but the rest of the crew were new to me. Very friendly folks and they all seemed to enjoy themselves out in the woods for a couple hours. 

My physical therapy/strength training is paying off as I broke one of the saws. Oops. Sorry Dane County.

Towards the end of the day our organizer read another poem by Mary Oliver. I believe it was "When I Am Among The Trees".

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

Six of us stayed to end and chatted amongst the long shadows before dousing the coals once they had burned down most of the way.

 

 

What a fantastic way to spend the solstice! My (gloved) hands touching trees, digging in the snow; the sun on my face, the intense heat of the flames. The air was brisk but the sun illuminated our work area and brightened our moods. I found the company to be wonderful as folks were in good cheer and happy to chat with the old duffer.

 

Our organizer is off to a farm outside of Mazomanie ere long where she will spend six months clearing more buckthorn and other invasive species in exchange for room and board. She is such a kind soul with a great love for nature. Her passion for trees is infectious and her enthusiasm for insects is unique amongst the non-entomologists in my experience. Her encounters with the sublime are to be envied. I shall miss her at these outings and now I have to go through some rigamarole in order to find another group doing this same work.

 

If only every solstice were spent in the woods like this one, with good company and full of mirth.

A solstice stroll

The morning of the solstice I took a walk at Acewood Park. Despite the omnipresent din of Highway 51 hovering in the background, it was rather peaceful overall.

I found that the city had decimated a portion of the eastern side of the park with felled trees littering the ground. 

While I saw no rotten wood, I am no arborist and so there could very well be a legitimate health reason for taking the trees down. Still, it was very sad to see many a lovely tree lying in pieces on the ground.

The areas on the southern end of the park had been spared, for now, anyway, and it was a joyous stroll through that bit.

The obligatory Deakins-eque photo.

The arch was bare but it will bloom again. April will be here before you know it. 

Song of the day, 22 December 2025

I started singing this to Piper as I was doing dishes this morning.

Monday morning, Pipe sure look fine 

The Wonders of Wisconsin

You may think they are the Wisconsin River, the Dickeyville Grotto, or perhaps Copper Falls but you'd be wrong. They are, in fact, dairy products. At least at Sassy Cow.

Don't forget to brush those underfurs

While I was at MadCat today seeking out Christmas meals for my sweetpea cat, Piper**, I wandered a bit and came across the aisle with brushes. Realizing that getting her a brush was on my to-do list, I did so. And so she got a Solstice brushing while she relaxed in the evening sun.

 

 

**She got 2 cans - turkey and quail & pumpkin.

The Sheep Detectives

This looks to be a hoot! Out next spring.

R.I.P. Mick Abrahams

Mick Abahams passed a couple days ago. Ian Anderson has penned a tribute at the Jethro Tull site.

Happy Solstice!

 We are here:

I am heading out this morning to enjoy some time in the woods.

New tunes

Thanks to MadCity Music, I now have Still Moving by Justin Adams & Mauro Durante. Their show here in Madison last month at The Bur Oak was great and I'd been meaning to get an album of theirs ever since. And now I finally did so.

While there I spied a zine and grabbed the last copy - Jenny's Show by Moritz Junker. Why yes it is weird for a comic artist to interview himself in a comic strip.

My sweetpea

A bit bright for Pipe.

Later that night...

"Hello, hooman." 

 

 

My sweetie pie playing with her new toy. 

Song of the day, 19 December 2025

I am not an opera fan but there are exceptions.

Sorry Van Galder

Good news. We're getting direct flights to Boston and so no more antelucan bus rides to O'Hare for me. This shall makes things easier as I've gotten into the habit of heading out there to visit a friend and his family as well as to explore the New England. Back in October my friend and I decided to visit Salem next year. Perhaps we can do our version of The Crucible.

Song of the day, 18 December 2025

What is the difference between Norwegian meatballs and Swedish ones?

Somehow I have found myself at restaurants rather a lot this month. This is partly due to a dance card that has been more full than I could imagine until very recently. Although I am looking forward to my social life slowing down a bit so I can catch up on things, having a busy and rewarding social life is a problem I gladly take on.

When the cold settled in at the beginning of the month, a friend and I took our dinner at Fratelli's Trattoria. Not our first choice nor our second nor our third, we settled on it as our initial choices were all closed on a Monday night and Monona Drive threatened to become the Donner Pass if we didn't get food into our bellies soon. I'd been to Fratelli's once before while this would be my companion's first time.

The minestrone was tasty with a lovely tomato flavor despite missing an ingredient I've had in every previous take on the soup that has crossed my lips. Alas, I cannot recall what it was. Beans? Gah!

My salad was very tasty with the dressing adding a nice herbal accent. I.e. - no iceberg lettuce and a nice Italian dressing. I missed having freshly ground black pepper sprinkled on it straight from the mill, though.

My fellow eater had a hankering for fried calamari and it proved to be delicious. I appreciated the lemon wedges and enjoyed the bright flavor the juice added.

The pizza was mighty fine. High marks for the generous application of pepperoni and I only wished that it was been a bit more well-done. Brown that cheese! I take that back. Brown the cheese and sprinkle some herbs on there.

The oil-vinegar combo for dipping ended up being a culinary Rorschach test. What do you see?

My previous visit had been with my wife and I found that my dinner there with someone different made new and happy memories. 

I spied some ghost pepper caramels from Madison Chocolate Company at the co-op. 

While they were tempting, I was just not a big enough fan of caramel to make the purchase. Still, my curiosity remains as to just how spicy these treats are.

Last month I chronicled my venture to Stoughton and the Sons of Norway lodge there which was having their annual Christmas bake and craft sale. I bought a bag of Norwegian meatballs and they remained in my freezer for a couple two tree weeks until finally becoming dinner.

The nutmeg was just the right strength and they made for a fine, hearty meal that kept the cold at bay.

There was a fellow of Norwegian extraction at the Historical Society when I worked there. He knew many an Ole and Lena joke, lived in Stoughton, and visited family in Norway every year. One day not long after having had Swedish meatballs I approached him with a query of some import.

"So Jim, what's the difference between Norwegian meatballs and Swedish ones?"

He replied with characteristic Nordic seriousness, "Norwegian meatballs taste better."

A couple weeks back I did my duty and made sure that Ahan's tom yum soup was still delicious. 

I can assure you it was and it almost makes me stop longing for Wah Kee's soups in the winter. Almost.

Not too long ago I made my second stop at Molten Monkey for some of their fine Detroit-style pizza but I think I accidentally deleted the photos of that fine pie whose only defect was that it was missing garlic. This was my failing.

Also missing was a stop at Tipsy Cow in Sun Prairie with my stepson. There I had some delectable cheese curds and finally noticed that their burgers contain about half a cow. A multi-patty delight.

I took stepson out more recently before a stop at the supermarket so he wouldn't deplete my bank account by merely grocery shopping. We went to Fin Sushi at his request.

My salad was fine and the cucumber-avacado roll I ordered proved a fine vehicle for large doses of wasabi. The kid enjoyed the King roll and another type that was all decked out.

I do believe that I ate all of his julienned cucumber.

Last night a co-worker and I dined together to celebrate the holidays and send him off on an extended vacation. He was in the mood for pho. We made a last minute audible and so, instead of our usual meal at Saigon Noodles we ended up at Viet Town.

I revisited the spring rolls which were excellent. They still had that stick of rolled and fried rice paper wrapper which gives you a surprising crunch on your first bite. Ingenious.

I called the spring rolls with the crispy egg rolls. Here the crunch was on the outside.

Delicious.

My companion's pho:

He commended it highly saying that the broth was even more flavorful than that of Saigon Noodles.

For my part, I tried the Quang-Style Noodles. 

They were very tasty indeed. Quail eggs? I think it was chicken broth with a nice dose of turmeric plus other seasonings. It had a nice mellow taste which was soaked up by the noodles. There was much slurping at our table, I will confess.

I shall conclude with a photograph of the Westworld pizza guy at Woodman's in Sun Prairie just biding its time before springing to life and going on a rampage.

Beer is tasty, December 2025 edition

The Robin Room is a nice little place. Set in a small storefront on the 800 block of E. Johnson, I found it to be warm and comfortable when I met someone there for a couple drinks and a chinwag earlier this month. It felt as if I could turn around and see a roaring fireplace behind me yet there was only a bar there. Our little table proved to be quite cozy, the perfect setting for the intimate conversation we had. And I found it to not be overly trendy. The Surly Hell was tasty and my company was magnificent.

I heard recently that The Borough Beer Co. & Kitchen had closed. Now I see that it happened back in the summer. Black Rose Blending is also no more, it says here. This is further evidence that I am quite out of touch with the Madison craft brew scene. Neither of these businesses folding had quite the impact of, say, Ale Asylum closing its doors but, coupled with no new breweries opening (I think), demonstrates that the craft beer industry ain't what it used to be in these parts.

And now Yuengling shall be expanding their distribution to include Wisconsin next year. Hmm. I wonder how that will go. Isn't the beer market still contracting?

In addition to my inaugural visit to The Robin Room, I also stopped in at Karben4 recently where I met a friend who shared some of his homebrew with me, an old ale.

He brews it for Thanksgiving every year and has done since 2015, I believe. It's a mix of fresh beer and some from the previous year which gives it that old school English feel and taste. Ron Pattinson would no doubt approve.

And, since we were at Karben4, we sampled this year's batch of Night Call, their smoked porter.

I certainly wouldn't mind more smokiness but it is still a great brew. I also wouldn't mind if it was still brewed year-round but I'll take what I can get.

Hill Farms construction, 16 December 2025

Those new apartments are coming along.

Song of the day, 17 December 2025