Mid May and it was us you saw road-trippin’ Chevy Chase style down to Baraboo, WI. Loaded up my folks Gerry and Sharon Salwey, and Tom, Hawken and I. Tom packed the van so well, Grandma didn’t have to be strapped to the roof top in this goofy movie.

If you are looking for a delightful place to rent a place down in Baraboo region, we’d recommend Prairie Hill Farm. The owners are special people with an eye towards things we cherish. The farmhouse has paths mown around the land, a beckoning swing that called me every late evening, and solitude. We were able to be outdoors from daylight til dark as at home, and roamed freely on the lovely property.

The sweet melodies of the whispering pine trees featured in Aldo Leopold’s books, spoke deeply  in a rich whispy voice to me. Amidst the eager chatter of touring people, I was sunk so lovely and peacefully in the midst of nature’s nest. I could easily see and hear the voices of the past and present all connected.  I know the green fire in the wolves eyes that changed Aldo’s life.

Flow like water and shine like the rising sun,

Sue Roskos

My eldest sibling Tim Salwey and my sis-in-law JoJo White, hosted a luncar structure trout habitat installation on the Yaeger Valley Creek. They sent out the call and the C-FC High Schoool FFA class signed up. Also friends, neighbors, the Waumaundee Rod and Gun Club and family showed up to lend a hand, chat or offer support. The whole process was interesting to watch as the skidloader, excavator and the huge crew assembled along the creek.

We assembled in Tim and JoJo’s yard and sang Happy Birthday to salute Grandma Melvina Salwey who turned 97 years young on that May 15th day. What better way to honor the woman who with her late husband Willard-is the reason we all cherish trout. She did get to visit her 100 yer old friend Clarwin Klein who promptly told her she best listen to his story-cause he’s older than her!!

Not just wishin’ we were fishin’!!

Sue Roskos

May 11th, 2010 was a blustery, windy driving rain that pounded into the gushy surface of the newly plowed path along First Pond on our property. The Leopard frogs were muted as they wished for warmer weather. The carp were motionless in the morning newness. I lifted my eyes to the heavenly skies and off the Big Bend roost an immature Bald Eagle flew on renewed wings. I lifted my fingertips up-ward and sang the ancient song and asked God, Creator, Spirit for a strong sign to stir up my soul with renewed peace and love. I sank deeper into the mud and the cattle have been locked off First Pond Pasture after the cleaning of the path of fallen logs. I made it half way through the clay, mud mixture and the rain was pelting me. I actually stopped and knew I’d see something in the pause. A yellow and red honeysuckle dodged the raindrops merrily. Then I plodded on with saturated hair, soaked snowpants, boots mudded up to their tops and a serenity that surpasses all human understanding. I was pausing again and the squack bird flew from a resting spot in the reeds 3 feet away from me. A leggy bird with orange feet and a brown/gray feathered body and a sharp, long beak for spearing. I blessed and released the days and sloshed my way back from chores and into a warm shower.

The evening venture to Big Bend and along First Pond were the big sign I asked for. There so deep in the mud were wolf tracks, next to coyote tracks, my tracks, Sandhill Crane and deer tracks.

Feel the connection to yourself and the river that runs through you,

Sue Roskos

The WI trout fishing opener proved to be another hallowed holiday within the Salwey Family. The short version of the story will warm your heart more than a winter fire crackling in Santa’s fireplace.

Three elves picked up Uncle Kenny Salwey from his home and loaded up the rehabilitating Kenny in his blue sedan. Kenny was 2 weeks post-op from a hip replacement. We roadtripped with him to a fishing region that was easily accessible for him and for our 3.5 yr old son Hawken.

Uncle Tim Salwey and Aunt JoJo White presented Hawken with his own fish pole. Tim then escorted Hawken to the creek holes as friends and family gathered along the creek banks. The anticipated arrival of Hawken and Kenny prompted a bantering and chatting that is conducive to eloquent fish tales being told.

I retreated to fish 15 minutes and returned to find Hawken with 2 brook trout. The rest of the 10 adults all smelled like skunk after we fished for 2 hours.

Uncle Kenny chuckled all the way back to his place commenting that together we all probably have caught 5,000 fish over the years and today we’ve all been outfished by a little boy. We all basked in the beauty of passing along the tradition of fishing opener to the youngest member of the Salwey family.

Flow like water and shine like the rising sun,

Sue Roskos

The backwaters are bursting with activity and celebrates Spring in it’s unique way. Lily pads are popping under the pressure of the rolling carp. The water is churning and appears to be boiling with the thrashing and motion of the carp doing their Spring thing.

My wish was to make an easier path for little legs, strollers and people with impaired mobility to have easier access to the backwaters when touring. With our friends that run a nice bulldozer and excavator, my wish was granted. A special thanks to Timmer and Jeffrey Reglin from Reglin and Hesch Construction from Waumandee for being accommodating and made it all seem so easy. The Sandhill Cranes, deer and coon have left their tracks etched in the bulldozed soil along First Pond along with my size 8.5  black tingley boots. I noticed a two foot long scratch in the soil with three claws on it’s tip. I’m dreamily gazing @ the nesting geese and ducks are floating. Then I notice a shimmering, slick dark animal inch-worming it’s way down the path towards me. It appears as an otter all curious and I stop to enjoy my first experience of seeing an otter on shore in our backwaters. He was out for a morning walk with me and eventually plopped back into the water and turned his head to watch me as I passed by him to check the beef cattle herd.

What have you been seeing out in nature?

Flow Like water and Shine like the Rising Sun,

Sue Roskos

Spring arrived in WI early, but always on time. The clouds and winds have whipped in and whirled the rains our direction. The Canadian Honkers have become quiet and less visible as I walk past their nesting spots. The deer blocks I put out have remained un-touched. Our 3 year old son has mentioned to me, “I’m a little deer.” He crouches alongside the deer block and hasn’t yet taken a lick. The blocks are up on Thunder Lane and it’s a vista for Big Bend and the backwaters. It’s a contemplative, reflective spot where time stands still as Hawken lies on my legs. We watch the sky for gnats, butterflies, airplanes and birds. Where looking for coyote scat and deer trails is cherished. 

Tom and I had been preparing for his departure and teaching  days spent in Viroqua for Organic Valley’s annual class that Doc Paul Dettloff leads.  The glorious weather prompted extra activity this year on our farm. By the middle part of the day prior to Tom departing for 3 days and 2 nights, the universe slapped us up as the treadmill sped up again. A call from the stockyards wondering if we wanted a load of black feeder lambs. We decided to take them. Then we needed to vaccinate, castrate and immunize our lambs prior to turning them out on pasture with their Moms. Hawken was smitten with the lambs and carried them around while Tom held the lambs and I did the tagging and vaccinating. 

Our dear Patzie, Ed that is-helped us that day with fencing and getting Tom ready to rollout of town. The vet phone was adjusted to allow ample time to get calls completed, we thought. Tom was in cattle pasture and discovered a dead cow with a calf trying to suck on her udder. He returned to find Hawken and I and then proceeded to intercept Patzie to help. They hopped on the gator and Patzie was insistant on wanting to tie the beef calfs legs together when they caught it to haul it home. Tom pounced on the agile calf and hung onto the balling calf with one hand and eventually they hog tied the kicking calf with a rope. Tom mentioned he was desperately trying to help hold that calf so Patzie didn’t get whacked on the back of the head. Then they smartly decided to conatin the calf with a sturdy pen in t he barn on our lower farm. Then Tom popped in during Hawken’s bath and appeared concerned all over again. Rosie, a pet cow had milkfever. He was able to easily catch the cow and ran an IV of calcium to her out on pasture. We found frozen colostrum milk in freezer and I thawed it out for the orphaned calf. With Hawken tucked in bed, I started the process of warming cow’s milk. I poured the milk into a calf bottle. I flipped the barn light switch on and the resting calf was all tucked in a corner. I sweetly murmered words and then the calf stood up and charged me. A 90 lb. black angus  heifer calf is quickly shoved into a corner with a plastic bottle filled with warm milk shoved in it’s mouth while I’m smiling.  1/2 hour later-I’m still smiling and have gotten but a few drops in the calf that perpetually charges me. I grab it by it’s ears and hold her. Tom walks in and attempts to get the calf to suck and I head up to the drug room to get the tube feeder. I called friends of ours the next day and asked them to come pick up the  spirited calf as a gift….please..just take the calf as a favor to me. I haven’t spoken with them since to see how the calf is doing.

Feel the Spirit of giving while you are living,

Sue Roskos

A day to come and tour our farm will be August 21, 2010. Midwest Bio-Ag has put a corn test plot in this Spring here. Doc Paul Dettloff has given us corn to plant and test growth on. A great way to get up close with our animals, pastures and see the critters and places I write about for free. Dress for being outdoors of course and we look forward to seeing you!

Cumulus clouds float freely like white puffs of cottonballs in the sunny Spring sky. I’m wow’ed and vow to sow the seeds of Spring with lightness and follow the way of the clouds. Clouds go with what is and go with the flow of wind or no wind. They know to let go and float freely and when they need to rain they do and when they float it’s always the place to be. There’s so much to learn from nature and the more I know the less I know, I know. It’s all good and the muskrats swim merrily on First Pond and Sunrise Slough. They paddle and watch me watch them. I have a daily escort as I check the beef cattle herd. A pair of Canadian Geese honk their approval and swim alongside me as I walk the sinking path.  The path is a lower place and yet it’s a higher place. A dead muskrat lies @ my feet as I notice it wasn’t  on the path yesterday. I send it back into First Pond as my eyes notice a mature Bald Eagle sitting above Big Bend. I salute and thank the Spirit for all this is seen and un-seen. It’s heaven on earth when my mind chatter vaporizes and it’s manifesting in every moment. The water flow stops and time opens up.

I love to sing “Ewe are so Beautiful to me-Can’t You See??  You’re everything I hoped for, you’re everything I need.” That song has many meanings and the latest is the ewes have lambed on our farm.  They are loafing and grazing on pasture and the youngest are being tended in the shed.  Last Summer I personally selected the male sire to utilize for the ewes to be bred to. Yeah, my first solo sheep purchase. I  bought a load of feeders and a male to service the female sheep. Let’s just come to the conclusion that he appeared inferior in height to actually reach the females. Tom and I stared @ the wide gap between them and just laughed that the buck needed a 5 gallon pail to stand on to reach the ewes. The buck never really grew and we opted to sell him and purchase a different buck. This Spring the joke is on us. That seemingly too short buck apparantely was able to impregnate all five ewes for the gestation period matches when he was in with the ladies.

Stories-it’s all stories,

Sue Roskos

Easter week we had invited out Jim Solberg to visit our farm and meet us. Jim is a talented photographer and writer for several newspapers. I will share a short section of his time here with you now and how the day un-folded. Tom drove him out in the Farm Truck and I drove the Cavalier to the backwaters through pastures. Jim mentioned about his desire to not walk great distances. I had a plan and Tom first agreed to it,then later we sprang it on Jim. Yep, we’d by-pass the mobility issues and forget walking too much-he’d ride in our sturdy Michicraft Canoe if he wanted.

Now Jim and us have never met and this was me inviting him to come and share nature that we all hold in high regard. We all agreed to bring the metal canoe closer to where Jim was standing in our pasture on the banks of Sunrise Slough. Tom mentioned about the other wooden paddle and I was watching and pointing @ the geese and ducks. I had this vision of Tom and I pulling the canoe from where it was tied to a tree through the boggy grasses over to Jim-why would I need a paddle for that? Silly guy!  We arrived @ the canoe and Tom turned the girl over and exposed her belly to the sun. Then he started to put it in the water and I am inquiring what he was doing???  Then the jokes again on me. This time we didn’t have to pull the canoe like last week. There was actually water and we could put the Michicraft in the water and paddle..oh-there’s one paddle. The other paddle is keeping all of Jim’s camera equipment company in the back of the truck. We giggled and thought it’s all about the stories and a lady pointing in the sky or @ the water.

Jim was  kind to put up with all the humor and he even wrote us into part of his weekly column. He also included a photo of the Voyager’s as he called us as we pulled up  to him in the Cadillac of Canoes and he eyed us up and said he trusted us. He got in with all of his camera equipment and it was a sharing of nature and paddling with hearts filled with Cranes, geese and ducks. Thanks Jim for the photos and we look forward to your many returns and Hawken wants to show you more chickens and the rest of the farm too.

Feel the Spirit of the Backwaters,

Sue Roskos

Canoe Can Do!!

Sue Roskos

We’ve been trimming apple trees in the Spring breeze. For marketing purposes-we classify the apples as natural. Spring time is when we apply Organical to the base of the trees. Organical is a product that we purchase through Midwest Bio-Ag and it is listed as an item that’s compatible with heading towards organic certification.

Tom was caught in my trap when I offered a hand with pruning some of the 60 trees that we have in our orchard. We’re on the vet route and then I’m jabbering about a lovely day and how burnt the regions along landowner’ creek’s are from them wishing weeds and small trees would go away. The van bounces over the sections of local highway that are all broken up from the winter weather. Then I put the bait out and sweetly mentioned that Hawken and I would gladly prune the trees while he was @ the Duck’s Unlimited Banquet in LaCrosse with Dave Leske and Greg. I hear a gasp and then he says, “I’ll get @ that with Hawken!”  I croon, “I’d be happy to prune the trees-I did some last year.” ‘Please Sue, hold off.” I caught him in an easy set and he’s looking for a way out. “Now Tom, what are we going to do with all the produce. What’s a few extra branches. I’ll take my time.” I’m having too much fun and he spies my eyes. “OK,  You got me good Sue!”  I am true to my word and take my goat hoof trimming snipper, and clip off the extra branches on the upper region of the orchard. There’s a Red Tailed Hawk that lives by the trees next to the Sauer Mill Road Bridge. She flies over and celebrates Spring with Hawken and I clipping branches from the Orchard Trees.

Trees are starting to blossom!

Sue Roskos