Cold and Colder

I finally got my cranberries and made cranberry sauce, cranberry mustard, and cranberry juice with 20 pounds of them.  I tried making my own craisins with the last 10 pounds, but it was a horrible failure; the final product tasted like burnt fruit leather.  It was simply awful and I had to toss it into the compost.  I'll try again next year with a smaller amount. Gosh, I hate to waste food!

We have had little bits of snow here but nothing is sticking so far.  The weather varies between cold and colder.  Rifle hunting season opens today and I'm sure the hunters would like a couple of inches of snow on the ground to aid their tracking.  Tom was out early this morning and let two nice does go by.  I think he's waiting for the buck with the big antler rack that shows on his deer cam.  He did get a nice buck already with his bow right in back of the house. 

On Veterans Day we went to the American Legion Hall in Butternut for their dumpling, sauerkraut, and pork loin dinner.  It is their biggest fund raising event.  As usual, the food was great!  I'm glad we went early because they ran out of dumplings just after 6:00 p.m.  Tom had gone to help make dumplings the day before. He said they made over 400 dumplings (and these are BIG dumplings made German style with shredded bread and mashed potatoes).  There is no problem getting Lara and Ed to eat at this meal!

I did get the new garden box filled with dirt and compost, and I still have some bags of leaf mulch in back of the chicken coop that I want to put on my forest garden raised beds.  I'd like to make them as high as the raised beds Sepp Holzer makes so I will just keep adding material to them till I like the way they look. 

I sure miss my chickens.

On other cold (political) fronts, the recall of Scott Walker has started.  Within 48 hours recall workers had already collected 50,000 signatures.  Great!  Between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. TODAY on the State Street side of the Capitol in Madison is a Recall Walker Kick Off  Rally.  There will be a marching band and singers.  Also, Teamsters Local 662 and members of Teamsters Joint Council 39 are sponsoring a canned food drive to help local food pantries, so if you go to the rally please bring a can of food with you for them.  And to keep up with Recall Walker information, visit http://www.wearewisconsin.org/.

I have to add this YouTube video of Scott Walker when he went to Chicago.  "Mic checks" are all right!

Regarding the Penokee mine issue, the information exchange potluck dinner on November 16th at the Bad River Community Center in Odanah went well.  Another potluck  will be scheduled for next month. I'll pass on the information when I get it. 

Our Special Olympics bowlers are going to the state tournament in early December.  All of them made 1st place at the Regional tournament in Eau Claire.  Hurray!  Congratulations to Justin, Anneliese, and Nino!

This has sure been a busy November.

Mining Update

Here are a couple of links to updates and who to contact on the proposed mine affecting the Bad River Watershed:

http://savethewatersedge.com/polluters-over-resources-bi.html

Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business

Senate Select Committee on Mining Jobs

Sen. Neal Kedzie is the Chair of the Senate Select Committee.  Here is a link to a recent article regarding his views:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111027/APC0101/110270495/Wisconsin-State-Senator-Neal-Kedzie-defends-sweeping-changes-water-permits

Senate Bill 24

There will be a photography exhibit highlighting the wilderness area to be affected by the proposed mine opening on November 14 in the Capitol Rotunda in Madison. 

There will be a potluck dinner at the Bad River Community Center on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. This is an opportunity to voice your opinions and get current information with respect to the mining issue. If you go, don't forget to bring a dish to share!

You know, no matter how many supposed jobs this proposed mine would bring to the Northwoods, the fact of the matter is that there will come a time when the mine would no longer be profitable and mining would shut down -- just as the old mines did -- and the Northwoods will be in the same bad economic straits it finds itself now, but without the iron ore as a natural resource and with a devastated wilderness area. And who knows -- what is to stop the mining company from suddenly deciding to sell its interests to China and reneging on any conditions imposed on it by the State should it grant permission to go ahead with the mine? How many times have communities in this country been left high and dry by such corporate actions?


On another issue -- RECALL SCOTT WALKER -- the effort begins NOVEMBER 15, 2011, NOT EARLIER.  See this article.  Don't be confused by dirty tricks.  I'm ready to sign! I believe that people are more important than corporations.