Early May 2020
There is a
house in Eastmorland they call the "heart house" and it's been the ruin of many a poor boy...
Well, I don't really know about that whole bringing anyone to ruin part. But the heart house is called that because the
exterior is decorated with many a heart such as that row above the garage door.
Here's a photo showing some detail:
The house
stands apart from the others in our neighborhood. It looks nothing like the
rest which are mostly cookie cutter and designed to be chosen from a catalogue
by World War II veterans looking to settle down and have children. This one was built in
1939-40 by the owner, supposedly all by himself. The current owner has a
background in historic preservation and remarked on Facebook that old Madison trolley rails were used in some of the concrete pours as rebar.
When I first saw the house, I thought that it had a vague look as if it was from a fairy tale with those steep peaks, gables of various sizes seemingly placed randomly, and it's general lack of symmetry. Had the siding been brown, I would have been surprised if two blond children didn't wander up to the door. I found this old photo showing some of the original heart decoration and more of that cottage in the enchanted woods vibe:
Back in the
day, kids thought it was haunted and rumors floated about the younger set that
the large rocks in the front yard were in fact gravestones. The original owners
apparently had a pet monkey(!!) for a while and its appearances in windows freaked
out many a child.It was on a
lot that was larger than the standard one and in the big backyard the original
owner put a neat, fantastical table shaped like a crescent moon with star
stools which further added to the fairy tale look.
Sadly, the
house was sold a few years ago and the lot was riven in twain. The backyard
shrank, the table & stools disposed of, and a new house erected in their place.
********
Last month the Frau and I trekked up north to the cabin owned by a couple of friends that lies outside of the town of Mountain, in the northeast corner
of our fair state. As noted in a previous entry, I was there back in October by
myself but this time I would not only have my Frau with me but there would also be a few other people there to make this a true gathering.
We lucked
out and had extremely nice weather. Everyone was in good spirits having
received a Covid vaccination and determined to go out and have fun after more
than a year of sheltering at home and social distancing.
My walk at Heritage Sanctuary earlier in the month proved handy when I stepped out of my car and saw
this:
A trillium!
The cabin is
on the shore of the Oconto River and I took my friend's dog, Wolfy, out for a walk
along the shore.
As evening
set in, our hostess set out to start a fire. She pulled the tarp off of the woodpile
and got a sssserpentine ssssurprise.
The poor snake was probably just taking a nap when it was disturbed by a human. Everyone
pulled out their phones almost simultaneously to find a website that would identify it. Was it a
highly venomous timber rattlesnake? Or just a harmless cousin like a fox snake?
Despite finding info that the timber rattler doesn't live this far north and
east as it sticks closer to the Driftless Area, it gave us all a fright.
Before long it slithered off into the woods, presumably to find some dinner,
and one of my friends who, like me, was to sleep outside promptly moved his tent farther away from the trees and towards the
cabin.
With the snake off prowling the woods or more likely, just trying to find a spot where it wouldn't be bothered by some pesky humans, folks started to gather around the fire. I was the last one to arrive and ended up with the sole remaining Adirondack chair which was a bit rickety and I quickly noticed that one of the arms was loose. After a short time, I leaned back just as the chair had decided that it had had enough and gave up the ghost.
Luckily
Wolfy was there to lick my ear for comfort.
They have a
sauna as well but we didn't use it this time. It was, unsurprisingly, built by
a Finn over in Minnesota somewhere.
The sauna is
really nice in the autumn. You can sit around in it for a spell and sweat it
all out before stepping outside in the chilly air and rinsing off. I have not
done the sauna in the winter, however, but I hear from Finnish-Americans I know that
it's quite invigorating and best paired with booze, preferably some fine akvavit.
Hopefully
we'll head back up later in the summer or in the fall.
********
Bonus photo
– a flower seen on a recent walk in our neighborhood. No idea what it is but I managed to get a decent picture of it.
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