The Corona Diaries Vol 41: I Need My Fix

(early November 2021)

A couple days ago I noticed a brace of unfamiliar birds on the feeder out front.

They hung out underneath the feeder and in our honeysuckle bush for quite a while. As best as I can figure out, they were American Tree Sparrows. My Birds of Wisconsin book notes that they migrate south from Canada to spend the winter in Wisconsin. They picked a fine weekend to spend here as we're in a brief warm-up with highs in the 50s. Still, there's something a bit sad about being reminded of the passing of summer by seeing that the aestival birds are gone and their winter cousins are here.

********

In a couple days I am setting out on a short vacation. It will begin with a quick trip to Endeavor and the retail outlet of Andy's Meats, the meat processing facility for Chicago's Andy's Deli. A friend and I are looking to stock our freezers with enough kielbasa and other Polish delectables to last us through the winter.

After I get home and empty my cooler, I will immediately jump back in my car and head for Osseo, 150 some odd miles up I94. That evening I am to meet 1-3 high school classmates for dinner. I haven't seen any of them for 30+ years so it should be fun evening of reminiscing and catching up.

After that I have sundry plans to do some hiking. I am thinking of walking a stretch of the Buffalo River State Trail the following morning before hitting the road once again. This time I'll take Highway 53 north to the Chippewa Moraine State Recreational Area where more hiking awaits. The Frau and I were there back in 2009 and we stood on a ridge and watched a storm approach as a flock of hummingbirds gorged themselves on the many feeders at the interpretive center.

From there I continue north a short way where a hotel room awaits me in Chetek. With that as my base of operations, the trip will continue with a mix of hiking, visiting a brewery or two, and eating at a supper club. Plus, just enjoy the northwoods and not being at work.

It looks like there's a chance for snow up there so I must remember to pack appropriately.

********

I recently whipped up a batch of beef paprikash.

I have this weird problem of never adding enough paprika when I make it. The recipe calls for X amount of it but I never measure. Plus, I split the paprika payload between smoked and unsmoked varieties and worry I've put too much of one or not enough of the other in and, without fail, the result is too little paprika. It still tasted pretty good and was some hearty fare on a chilly fall evening.

********

I've been to the movies a few times recently. The first was to see the Icelandic film Lamb.

I'd seen the trailer a few times over the summer and it made the film out to be a horror flick. While there were elements of the genre, I don't think it is a true horror film. It's slow and contemplative, in large measure, which mirrors life in rural Iceland, I'd imagine. There wasn't any dialogue for the first several minutes, for example. Plus, witnessing the birth of a lamb with no dialogue nor music creates a raw, earthy atmosphere.

Without giving too much away – the trailer gives rather a lot away, in my opinion – the story is thus: a couple who have lost their daughter find that one of their sheep has given birth to a human-sheep hybrid - a shuman, if you will. They take it in as if it was their daughter. The husband's brother shows up and relationships become very strained. At one point the child-chimera's father returns…

I really liked this movie. Low-level tension hung over everything and there was a lot of Nordic stoicism too so, when tempers flared and passions were loosed, they were all the more dramatic. There was an element of fantasy to it as well in the form of some folkloric elements and I just found that all of these ingredients added up to an enticing tale.

After Lamb, I went to see the latest James Bond movie.

I had read that about 40 minutes of it had been filmed using an IMAX camera so I went to see it at our local IMAX theater. Apparently, there is a small number of IMAX cameras in the world and Christopher Nolan had most of them tied up so the Bond filmmakers couldn't shoot the whole film in the format. Regardless, it didn’t disappoint.

While I rather like Daniel Craig as Bond, I was forced to ban my Frau from viewing his outings several years ago as the British secret agent as she enjoyed seeing Craig's butt in Casino Royale just a bit too much for my liking. I am unsure how well that ban has held up.

No Time to Die has a sepulchral feel to it that hangs over the events of the story. Quite appropriate for the ending, which I won't spoil. It was a fine Bond movie with plenty of chases, pretty women, and stuff blowing up. I am looking forward to seeing who is cast in the role next.

********

My latest read:

The Nature Fix chronicles the latest research into what experiencing non-man-made environments does to our brains and how that knowledge is being employed around the world to make folks happier and healthier. The author, Florence Williams, is a journalist by trade so it was written for the layreader – like me.

The gist is that we evolved in natural environments, not cities, so our brains are wired in a certain way so as to flourish best in certain respects in fields and forests instead of urban canyons and office cubicles. In general, people tend to be more at ease, less stressed, and focus on the positive when out in nature as opposed to being in cities.

Williams notes that this isn't really a new idea and quotes Frederick Law Olmsted as saying that nature "employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it". Olmsted designed some parks down in Chicago but I am not sure which ones. Didn't he work on the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893?

We meet a Korean park ranger named Park Hyun-Soo who works at the Jangseong Healing Forest which is dominated by cypress trees. He touts the benefits of the activities offered there such as mediation and tea ceremonies. Hyun-Soo also promotes the effects of the phytoncides from the trees as there is research that shows inhaling them can reduce stress and blood pressure.

Later we meet and follow a group of veterans with PTSD going on a rafting/ camping adventure in Utah. For some, the exposure to nature was a mere diversion. For others, it brought them out of their shell and they found some happiness in socializing for the first time in a while.

Williams is even-handed in her accounts. She admits that nothing is a cure-all and that being in nature can affect different people differently.

A very interesting read and highly recommended.

********

Bonus photo. Here's a picture of a very naughty cat that looks rather angelic because of the way the light comes in over her head. Don't be fooled!