Happy Rush Day!

A friend just wished me a Happy Rush Day. It took me a minute but then realized today is 21/12.

Here's a bit of 2112 from Milwaukee in 2013, a show I was at.

Happy Solstice!

We are here:

Happy Winter Solstice!

I held the beer so tightly in my hands: Rauchbier by Goldfinger Brewing Co. & Maplewood Brewery

"Is that the brewery that makes Pulaski Pils?" I asked myself when seeing "Maplewood Brewery and Distillery" on a can of this beer. Truth be known I've never had Pulaski Pils but I am surprised at this considering I grew up in Chicago a block from Pulaski Road and had a Polish grandmother. Casimir Pulaski Day meant a day off from school and time to go cause low level mayhem in the alleys. Driving into Lincolnwood always prompts a bit of derision towards the northern burb. I mean, Crawford Avenue?

While Maplewood distributes here in Madison, I've never had any of their brews. And so their logo prompted a bit of interest but no trepidation due to a beer of theirs that I didn't take to. Let's taste what you've got. Unlike Maplewood, Goldfinger does not distribute here in Madison but I have been to their taproom. The beers my Frau and I had were excellent. I think they do decoction mashes and they proudly advertise that their beers are lagered in horizontal lagering tanks, though I don't know what the orientation of the tanks does to the beer. Whatever brewing voodoo they do, I am all for it as the beers of theirs I have known and poured into my maw were overflowing with Maillard goodness. And they came in mugs with a generous head, as is proper, letting my nose have a thrill instead of being all sullen and jealous of my tongue.

Even if I was unfamiliar with Goldfinger and had, perhaps, a less than stellar experience with a Maplewood beer, I still would have bought their Rauchbier collaboration because Rauchbier is just like manna from heaven and hope springs eternal. I don't recall the can indicating what style it was, a smoked Märzen, for example. Nor do I remember if the can indicated what time of wood was used to the smoke the malt. I always presume it's beech wood unless told otherwise.

My cans indicated they were filled on 24 October and I bought them Thanksgiving weekend.

My pour would have made the barkeeps at Goldfinger proud as my glass was topped with a few fingers of off-white foam. (Pre-photo, that is.) It was loose and frothy and lasted what I think of as an average amount of time. The brew was copper colored and clear with a goodly number of bubbles to be seen inside. A sweetly scented smokiness hit my nose first followed by dash of cherry and a faint bit of grassy hops. Ooh la la!

A medium-light body held a lovely smoke taste which was accompanied by a slight malty sweetness. The hops took on spicy notes in addition to the more green ones from the aroma. And there was lots of fizz which cast an astringent shadow over the beer. For the finish, the fizz ganged up with the hops and washed away the maltiness leaving a really nice dryness with the perfect level of bitterness.

I suspect that the more than generous amount of carbonic acid here dulled my tongue because it became progressively harder to taste the malt and hops - a bit like when you overindulge in some potent salt & vinegar potato chips. They were basically smothered by all that fizz. This was a liquid palimpsest with the carbonation at the fore but the Rauchbier still barely visible beneath. And so, while the first few gulps were very tasty, the smoky satisfaction dissipated all too quickly.

Bummer.

Junk food pairing: I paired by Rauchbier with a bag of Herr's Jalapeno Poppers Flavored Cheese Curls. They have a rich cheesy flavor and just enough heat to make you feel it. Plus the jalapeno complements the smokiness well.

Even more Connections

I can't believe I missed this: James Burke has a new series of Connections that came out last year. It's called Connections with James Burke. I shall have to check this out.

IN DORSET NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM!

This looks like a fun documentary and I am jealous of folks who got to see the show.

Alien On Stage is a Documentary about a unique crew of Dorset Bus Drivers whose amateur dramatics group decide to ditch doing another pantomime and try something different.

Having never done anything like it before, they spent a year creating a serious adaptation of the sci-fi, horror film, Alien; finding ingenious solutions to pay homemade, homage to the original film.

The show is a crushing flop but fate gives them a second chance to find their audience. Whilst still adjusting to the idea that their serious show is actually a comedy, the group find out they’re suddenly being whisked from their village hall to a London West End theatre to perform this accidental masterpiece for one night only.

With wobbly sets, awkward acting and special effects requiring 'more luck than judgement’, will their West End debut be alright on the night? This bus driving crew are our space heroes. Their bus station is our space station. Dorset is outer-space and where is the Alien? It’s behind you!

R.I.P. Zakir Hussain

A few days ago several shows by Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain started appearing at Dime. While it took a couple days for it to sink in, it finally occurred to me that he had died.

He was, I take it, primarily a tabla player and, as far as tabla players go, the most widely celebrated here in the States, if not the West. In addition to performing with fellow Indian musicians, his discography includes sessions with Van Morrison and George Harrison; and he collaborated with John McLaughlin, Pharoah Sanders, and several times with Mickey Hart.

This is part of his performance with Rahul Sharma who plays the Kashmiri santoor, a type of hammered dulcimer, here in Madison on 27 April 2017. Although my sources files says the performance was at the Overture Center, the show was at Shannon Hall at Memorial Union. The notes describe this as "Various 'light classical' pieces".

The winter's bitterness is lost

I checked my email today and saw that Lake Louie has a new brew: Winter's Tale.

Taproom only. It sounds not bad. And it was the Genesis song that came to mind first and then the work by Shakespeare.

And now Robin Shepard informs me that Wisconsin Brewing Company's brewmaster Kirby Nelson has a barleywine and a wild rice doppelbock (Manoomator Mk II?) coming later this month.

He, Robin, also notes that Full Mile Beer Company and Kitchen and Working Draft Beer Company have collaborated on a smoked Helles. I look forward to tasting this brew. 2025 will be the Year of the Rauchbier, I just know it.

Christmas has come early!

The H.P. Lovecraft Society has a new Dark Adventure - The Temple, based on H.P.L.'s story of the same name.

As the Great War drags on, German U-boats prowl the North Atlantic, torpedoing military and civilian vessels alike. When a shipwrecked man is recovered at sea, he tells a strange and disturbing tale of his experience on a German submarine. Has the experience driven him mad, or did his voyage reveal unseen monstrosities at the bottom of the ocean?

Errol Morris & Jacob Soboroff on Separated

Perhaps our greatest living documentarian (and University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus), Errol Morris, has a new movie out called Separated which looks at the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from their aspiring immigrant parents at our southern border. It's based on the book Separated: Inside an American Tragedy by journalist Jacob Soboroff. Sadly, it seems that it had a very brief theatrical run in New York to qualify for Academy Awards and will only be available to stream. It comes to Amazon and Apple TV on the 17th of this month. Perhaps a DVD/Bluray release...?

The pair were recently interviewed on ReasonTV and it was very interesting - and disturbing.

Is it January already?

It was a chilly morning yesterday. More like January than early December.

Piper spent a lot time in bed and I caught her as she was cleaning a rear paw, a.k.a. - pusher.

We were invaded by a flock of starlings yesterday. Perhaps they were grabbing a bite to eat on their way south. My Frau managed to snap some pictures.

There is no dark side of the loon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark: Dark Side of the Loon by Lake Louie Brewing

So what is the difference between Lake Louie's Li'l Louie Lager and their Wisconsin Vacation Lager?

This question came up as I was checking out their website in preparation for this very entry you have before you. They both appear to be Miller/Bud types of beers. Perhaps the former is akin to Miller Lite since it has a lower A.B.V. than the latter. Lake Louie's website is one where ad copy reigns and revealing the ingredients comes piecemeal, if at all.

This reminds me of an exchange I had on Twitter several years ago. A beer writer whose name I cannot recall (wrote for Forbes, perhaps...?) posted a tweet saying that Goose Island was coming out with a new beer, Four Star Pils. I asked him if it had been brewed with then new, fruity tasting hops or with more tried and true Nobley ones.

Bad mistake.

Almost immediately, if not in his first reply, the guy turned into a snide jagoff and began addressing me as if I was the Mrs. Grundy of the beer world. Accusations that I was an obstinate puritan unwilling to consider the new and novel came first. My retort was that I simply wanted to know the ingredients before I spent my money. I am merely a humble consumer and in no way was I opposed to the existence of pilsners with nouveau, fruity hops; I just wanted help in deciding whether to go all in with a 6-pack or to dip my toes in the water with a single bottle.

Before long, his pal Michael Kiser (the marketer behind Great Beer Hunting) waded in and went on the attack. At one point, I told the original fellow that he had changed the direction of the conversation and moved the goal posts - in order to be an even bigger jerk, in my opinion, although I didn't write that. He sneered back "I can move the goal posts if I want to." I could easily imagine the guy hunched over his keyboard writing in response to disaster victims who are short on potable water, "Let them drink Westvleteren."

What an asshole. So were they both, both assholes.

It took me years but I eventually learned my lesson and left Twitter. A few or more years ago I heard that my original interlocutor was no longer reported on beer for a living and I now see that GBH is on indefinite hiatus. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel even a smidge of schadenfreude.

So back to Lake Louie. Their site's description of the beer at hand, Dark Side of the Loon, says "This rich and complex American Stout finishes as smoothly as a majestic loon gliding across a moonlit lake in hunt of its prey." Just ad copy. Can I get a bit more than a simile, please? I don't know what makes a stout American beyond being made in America, perhaps. How does it differ from an Irish or English stout? My guess is that either it has been laced with Citra hops or it is very potent and I see that it's 7% A.B.V. Does it lean sweet or dry? Was it blended with a soured portion of IPA?

Dark Side of the Loon is a recent addition to the Lake Louie portfolio. I think heard tell of it a month ago or so. An email I received shortly thereafter features a picture labeling it as a seasonal so, once it's gone, it's gone until at least next fall. I was going to lament that a brewery that has Kirby Nelson as an employee lets an autumn go by without a doppelbock is a crime but I see that Lake Louie does now have one called Mallaggie, a Märzen doppelbock. Not sure if it's being packaged or is just available on tap. And, to be honest, I am not sure if Lake Louie operates independently of Wisconsin Brewing Company or who. Brewmaster Kirby Nelson may spend his time fulfilling brewing contracts while someone else keeps the Lake Louie lamp trimmed and burning.

Even if the Lake Louie website isn't particularly helpful, the can does note some roasty flavors in addition to the major selling point of smoothness.

How many other beer labels are there that depict nature all red in tooth and claw and bill?

This beer got brownie points right off the bat for having a head that stuck around while I fumbled with my phone's camera. It was a lovely tan hue and jiggled when I moved the glass. And the beer's name was true to its word as this stuff was positively Stygian. If I held my glass up to a light at just the right angle it appeared a deep mahogany but, for all intents and purposes, this was the kind of beer that H.P. Lovecraft would have had at his side as he chronicled the events witnessed by Randolph Carter. A strong smell of roastiness wafted into my nose as I took a whiff as did an astringent one. Was this stuff really only 7%? I caught some stone fruit too as well as faint bitter chocolate and some herbal hoppiness. No fruity hop aroma!

My first sip revealed a medium body and a decent fizziness. I tasted milk chocolate, plum, some roast, and that boozy taste. Oh, and some of that herbal hoppiness and absolutely no tropical fruit. The stone fruit and chocolate flavors faded on the finish allowing the hops to share some bitterness to make for a perfectly dry denouement. I found that the much-touted smoothness appeared as the beer warmed and indeed the stuff became positively velvety as it went down. The smoothness helped minimize the boozy astringency, which I appreciated.

Once up to temp, this is one very, very tasty beer. The chocolate/mild roasty flavors are really nice and I was happy Loon steered away from the more intense roasted flavors that lend more of a bitter/burnt taste. It's not that I don't like these flavors, it's that American brewers tend to overload dark beers with them whether they be stouts, porters, dunkels, or schwarzbiers. You don't need to use black malts in every dark beer. The hops lovingly balanced the overall taste perfectly. Plus they give just the right amount of dryness to complement the luscious, satiny finish.

Junk food pairing: Dark Side of the Loon will pair well with nutty, smoky foods such at Barbeque Nutchos or Smokehouse Nut-Thins.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 118 - Plea: Look at the animals, look at you

(Read #118.)

Some residents of Heartland Farm Sanctuary, just south of Madison in rural Stoughton. You can help them out here.

Meet the animals yourself.

GREEN BLAH!

Some intrepid fans/filmmakers have produced a documentary about the history of the Green Bay punk scene called GREEN BLAH! The History of Green Bay Punk Rock "The First Ten Years or so...". Considering this teaser was posted a decade ago, the movie has been in the making for some time.

Hopefully this will screen at the Wisconsin Film Festival in the spring.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 118: An inauspicious start to the new year

{Watch the lovely prelude.}

(late January 2024)

The new year did not start well. My Frau did not make Hoppin’ John.

It was a mix of her ongoing health issues and just feeling depressed which is obviously intimately tied into those aforementioned health problems. I hoped that this was not a portent for 2024 and that she would find relief, if not being cured outright, soon. It has been heartbreaking to witness her struggles over the last year and I really didn't want a repeat.

Although I knew it was going to happen, I was still saddened at the news that Valkyrie Brewing had closed. You may recall that this was my stop of choice for some muscle relaxant after my hikes at the Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area. I shall miss their Whispering Embers dearly.

Their last call was on the 6th and the intrepid editor of the Barron News-Shield, Ryan Urban, was there. You may recall him from earlier entries as we met on Twitter and have gotten together for a few beers on a couple of occasions.

Saturday’s farewell event featured many of the elements of a Saturday at the brewery. Games of cribbage were going on at nearly every table, game after game was played at the vintage pinball machine, friends and strangers alike conversed with enthusiasm and laughter, and there was music—for this occasion, by Kaptain Karl and the Dirty White Boy Band. Many people brought flowers and gifts for the Lees, and there was a cake, which they cut together with a sword, of course.

In addition to lamenting the loss of their amber restorative, I will miss the Viking theme of their taproom. Despite being in a former creamery, it eschewed the sadly fashionable industrial chic of so many taprooms and instead owners Randy and Ann Lee created one with a cozy, Nordic ambience. A real third space vibe where one could comfortably practice drawing runes and contemplate raiding monasteries.

Speaking of beer, now that it’s winter, one of my all-time favorites is once again available: Tippy Toboggan from Vintage Brewing here in Madison.

It’s a Roggenbock, I guess you’d say. That is, a German-style hefeweizen brewed to bock strength and with the healthy addition of rye to the customary grain bill of wheat and barley. And so it has the banana/clove flavors of a hefeweizen along with the earthy-spicy taste of rye. As someone with a lot of Central and Eastern European blood, I love rye. And with an A.B.V. of 6.9%, it keeps the chill at bay on cold winter days.

********

We had a few good snowstorms the first half of this month which made for some pretty scenery as well as great walks at my beloved Acewood Conservation Park. Temperatures got rather chilly too which made those walks a bit shorter than they would have been otherwise. It’s all-too easy to just stay inside on winter days and watch the TV, browse the internet, or do chores that you put off all summer and autumn. But it’s important for me to get outside regardless of both the temperature and the fact that the dryer vent needs cleaning.

Just after the first storm of the new year, I headed out to Acewood. The arch was bare.

While some folks and dogs too had come through already as evidenced by their tracks, the path was empty during my time there.

While the bare trees gave off a feeling of emptiness and death, there were critters aplenty out and about. This squirrel seemed to be taking a breather from scurrying around. I hoped that it was relaxing after a hearty meal. It looks well-fed.

I heard a woodpecker and somehow managed to track it down and, believe it or not, get a decent photograph of it. I think it was a hairy woodpecker.

A few days later we got several more inches of snow and the backyard was a veritable winter wonderland so I wandered around the house to check out the scene.

The house sparrows were ravenous!

 

It wasn’t long before we got yet another big storm and even more of the white stuff. This necessitated another trip to Acewood.

I found that the entrance to the path was snowbound as the wind had whipped up after the blizzard had ended and now my way was barred by drifts.

Although cold and windy, the sun made it, if not exactly pleasant, then much more bearable.

I saw a fair number of tracks beyond those of people and their hounds on my walk such as these which I believe were made by a mouse.

They hop atop the snow and you can see the marks its tail left here.

All in all, a wonderful walk, cold be damned.

********

Despite being the bowels of winter, I found a portent of spring at Farm & Fleet. They were taking orders for chicks and honey bees for pickup when the winter is over or nearly so, at least.

Speaking of animals, one of the movies I saw this month was Gunda.

Gunda is a documentary but an unconventional one. The title is the name of the sow on the poster above and we follow her and her piglets along with other farm animals including a one-legged chicken who despite its disability, gets along rather well.

Shot entirely in gorgeous black and white, it is pure cinéma verité as it features no narration nor any music and the camera is a fly on the wall, so to speak. I gotta tell ya, Gunda’s piglets are cute as all get out. We viewers just watch as the pigs, the chicken, and some cows simply get on with life. They eat and sleep and wander around the barnyards they call home.

I got lost in watching some creatures with whom we share this planet go about their lives. We hear them grunt, snort, moo, etc. They eat and poo. And did I mention that the piglets are as cute as the dickens? It was difficult not to ponder what was going through the animals’ heads and to not anthropomorphize them. I mean, piglets like to run and play just like human children do. Watching that chicken was inspiring as it didn't let a little thing like missing a leg stop it from roaming the barnyard with determination.

The cinematography is amazing with the camera normally low to ground putting us on the same level as the subjects, inviting us to view them as equals instead of we humans smugly looking down upon the animals from on high. And somehow director Victor Kossakovsky and cinematographer Egil Håskjold Larsen managed to get a camera in Gunda’s home to give us some intimate scenes as the piglets suckle, sleep, and spend quality time with their mother. In addition to being low to the ground, the camera was also able to get us up close to the animals. They never seem to feel like distant subjects and instead are more like pets.

I have read that Kossakovsky and producer Joaquin Phoenix are both vegans and the message here is basically “be kind to animals and don’t eat them”. By and large, though, the movie doesn’t preach this and instead tries to endear the animals to you by just letting them be themselves. The ending, however, was heart breaking and had me in tears.

Gunda and her piglets are out and about in the farmyard. An enclosure is set down with a small entry and the piglets scurry inside. The camera pulls back and we see the enclosure lifted up and hauled away by what I think was a tractor with a forklift implement attached.

Tears ran down my face as Gunda zipped around looking for her children but it was all in vain. Her grunts seem to grow ever more desperate as she darts this way and then that scouring every inch of the yard. Alas, she was never to see her piglets again. (Or so we are led to believe.) This scene is several minutes long and really tugs on your heart strings.

Piper watched the movie with me and I gave her a big hug afterwards. She came away with wet fur, I can tell you.

********

Bonus photo. Back in 2019 a transformer at the Madison Gas & Electric power plant on the isthmus had a little problem and exploded. A friend had this harrowing sight on his drive into work on that day. That jogger seems rather nonplussed.

 

 

(Look at the animals.)

The Corona Diaries Vol. 118 - Prelude: Look at the animals - aren't you glad to be one?

 

 

{Now read more in #118.}

They say that elderberry is the healer: Elderberry Healer by NessAlla Kombucha

I continue to work my way through NessAlla Kombucha's brews. It's a Madison company where brewers ply their trade just across Starkweather Creek from me so I get to support a local business as I indulge my fancy for kombucha.

With a name like Elderberry Healer, I was expecting my sampling to provide some pukka health benefits.

While I haven’t been ill since I drank this stuff, I am not convinced that I can attribute this wholly or even in-part to it.

Elderberry has a reputation for being a good treatment for colds and probably other ailments. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, it’s possible that elderberry will make you feel better if you have a cold or the flu, but the jury is still out.

So, with the salutary effects being questionable, I am left to consider the gustatory ones.

In addition to elderberry, this kombucha features hibiscus, ginger, licorice root, and oil of grapefruit. Regardless of whether it’ll help with a cold, it sounded very tasty.

The brew was a lovely red color – hibiscus is good that way – tinged with brown and a bit hazy. On first sniff my nose caught mildly sweetened tea with a great floral element. It also smelt of elderberries with just a hint of anise.

My tongue was quite pleased to be greeted by a healthy fizziness and tasted of elderberry, hibiscus, a hint of ginger zing, and, thankfully, slightly sweetened tea. I say “thankfully” because I’ve had kombuchas that could compete with the sweetest teas of the South for sheer cavity-inducing terror. The ginger became more prominent on the finish and the anise flavor reared its head here too.

This is an excellent brew! I appreciated the restrained sweetness and adored the elderberry-hibiscus combo. I am not a big licorice root person and, luckily, it was not a major player here but did add some nice contrast as did the zip from the ginger.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 117 - Postlude: Holy crap, there's a marzipan museum!

(Don't forget to read entry #117.)

The Corona Diaries Vol. 117: Another Year Comes to a Close

(late December 2023)

You may recall from an entry or two ago that I had received a photograph from a friend of mine last month that depicted lefse being made. Well, December began with the promise of homemade Norwegian flatbread being fulfilled as he stopped by on the first of the month with a few sheets for us. Well, for me as my Frau is avoiding gluten these days.

If that wasn’t enough, the lefse was accompanied by a host of canned vegetables, sauces, and jams courtesy of his sister who, I was told, had "gone apeshit with the canning this year" and was perhaps going to parlay her food preservation skills and open a business. Wisconsin law was changed fairly recently allowing folks to sell home-canned foods without a license on a small scale.

There was pear jam and hot sauce; there was pickled watermelon rind, garlic, and peppers. If we had a pantry, it would have been stocked for the winter. I celebrated the bounty by whipping up a Virgin Mary garnished with the pickled garlic which was quite tasty and kept the vampires (and the Frau) away.

Living in Wisconsin, you know I had to also garnish the drink with cheese, finely aged cheddar, in this case.

The next day, the gang of turkeys that stalks the neighborhood traipsed through our backyard. They seemed appreciative that there was no snow as they pecked away at the ground.

On the following day, my Frau and I hit the road in the morning for Chicago. Our plan was to meet up with my mother and then head downtown. The drive was uneventful and we made good time as many faithful were at church and the Bears had a bye week allowing less faithful fans to go to church or just sleep in. We arrived at my mother’s place, put her in the car, and then drove down to the Jefferson Park El station where we caught the train.

Our first destination was the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza. The Blue Line’s Washington stop is at Daley Plaza, which was quite handy. Exiting the train, we made our way up to the street, and voila! We were at the market. As were hundreds and hundreds of other folks who were getting into the holiday spirit.

Truth be known, I should probably not be allowed at Christkindlmarkts as they have many – too many – opportunities for me to be led into temptation by all of the marzipan on offer. I am a sucker for those marzipan pigs, Glücksschwein. The line for the nearest sweets shop was out the door but I waited patiently as people slowly wended their way through the store. My mother and Frau remained outside as facing my inner marzipan demons was something that I alone could do.

Once inside, I eagerly scanned the shelves for the precious sweets amongst other cookies, candies, and a plethora of holiday themed trinkets. When parents weren't looking, I darted in front of small children to get a better look at the shelves and make sure they didn't attempt to get their grubby paws around the last of something I wanted.

I cannot recall when I became addicted to the luscious mix of sugar and ground almonds but I blame my German blood. The Germans love the stuff and view it with Teutonic seriousness. Hell, they even claim that it was invented in the German city of Lübeck. Marzipan made there is apparently recognized by the EU as a traditional regional specialty which I suppose makes Lübeck the Marzipan Capital of the World.

Due to our second destination, I wasn’t able to buy shopping bags full of the stuff and so I settled on this.

I love stollen. I love marzipan. These are two of the best foods ever invented. I just had to have them. And oh mama, were they good!

Having confronted my marzipan demons and lost, we headed to a stall and got some mulled cider. Further wandering found us in front of a stall selling paper stars that you could illuminate. Like a junkie to the needle, my Frau’s eyes grew wide and she stepped up to the counter determined to have one. Perhaps more specifically, have me buy her one. And so I did. It came nicely folded and fit in a purse just fine.

Show time neared so we left Daley Plaza for the Cadillac Palace Theatre where we were to see The Wiz. My Frau loves The Wizard of Oz in all, well, most of its incarnations. She has very fond memories of watching The Wiz as a girl so this production was a must-see for her.

Our tickets were e-tickets and of course I found that I could not get to the website to retrieve them and neither could the Frau. And so I went to the box office head bowed in shame to plead my case. Paper tickets were issued and in we went. I don’t recall ever having been to the Cadillac Palace Theatre and found it to be a lovely old place.

The production was a hoot. I am not a big fan of musicals but even I couldn’t help but get into it and sing along to "Ease On Down the Road". My mother enjoyed it too and my Frau, of course, loved it. The music and performances were wonderful and it was also just a big, colorful, melodic spectacle.

********

As December wore on, the days got colder and shorter. A few decorations, including the star I bought at the Christkindlmarkt, went up. My newest holiday tradition is getting a stollen from Batch Bakehouse here in Madison. A few days after placing my order I zipped over there and picked it up.

Although Batch does not lace their stollen with marzipan, their dough is light and fluffy and extremely tasty nonetheless.

********

One day an invitation to go out for dinner came from a friend of mine. I first met him back in the early 90’s when I landed a job at a cafeteria in a private dormitory. Eventually he would teach me how to cook after I had graduated from dishwasher to prep cook. He, my Frau, and I spent a dark, chilly evening at Toby’s Supper Club, tucked away on the far southeast side of town. The place was packed.

Oddly enough, it was my first time there. Or, if it wasn’t, it had been decades since the last time. After 20 minutes or so, we got a table in the no smoking section.

It’s been a couple decades now since we had genuine no smoking sections at restaurants. I suppose the sign must draw the attention of Millennials and Gen Zers who are incredulous that people were allowed to indulge their tobacco habits inside restaurants in the not too distant past.

Once seated, we were treated to an archetypal Wisconsin supper club experience. Beer, Old Fashioned cocktails, relish tray, and so on.

Since my friend and I no longer work or bowl together, we don’t see one another anywhere near as much as we used to. And so we all passed the time in good company chewing the fat and catching up.

********

It was the solstice on the following day so I celebrated by hiking Morton Forest, which I’ve written about previously.

Most of the trees were bare and there was a definite chill in the air but, fortunately, it wasn’t particularly windy. Walking through scattered copses of evergreens, I could smell their brisk scents.

Much of nature had closed up shop for the season as these withered berries (wild grapes?) attest to. 

I ran into no other hikers on the trails and I can certainly understand folks not wanting to walk them in the cold or to spend time amongst the leafless trees.

There was an occasional squirrel or bird, but the place was fairly still and quiet except for the crunching of leaves beneath my feet.

But I still need to be out in the forests, leaves or not. While the scenes had a sense of death, of ending, walking them now will make traipsing the trails come the spring even more sweet as life in the woods is renewed.

********

I rounded out the day by heading down to Olbrich Park for the annual winter solstice bonfire held by a local neighborhood association.

From a distance I could see the flames roaring and hordes of people milling about as the rhythm of a drum circle grew louder as I drew nearer.

The primal soundtrack was perfect for doing what human beings have been doing for thousands of years: staring at a fire and taking comfort in its warmth.

The same group does a summer solstice bonfire and these events are really nice with families aplenty in attendance. They aren’t commercialized with vendors everywhere hawking their wares or with lots of other activities going on. Instead they’re all about socializing with your neighbors and enjoying the decidedly offline and fairly simple pleasure of a bonfire.

The local news outlets came down and I was caught on camera. My boss spied me on the nightly news.

********

Bonus photo. Back in June 1977, Elvis was on what would prove to be his final tour and he played here in Madison on the 24th. On his way into town, his limo drove by a fight at the intersection of Highway 51 and East Washington. Elvis had the driver pull over and he leapt out to break up the fight. Here’s the marker.

 

 

(Now watch the astonishing postlude!)