We’re a place of natural beauty, but a beauty yet augmented through our own, often agricultural, efforts. Our farming – big and small — is the envy of all America.
One need look no father than a new website, Wisconsin Happy Farm, to see the wonders awaiting at hobby farm. I’ve a screen shot of the website, and a description of it thereafter. It was my pleasure to learn of this web-based experience of hobby farming, as it will be to visit frequently. Take a look around the site – I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy what you find.
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new blog: The Wisconsin Happy Farm. We hope to fill it with stories and photos of farm animals, gardening, art and small-acre farming activities. We’ll have a few products to sell and we’ll even take a few off-site trips to learn from our Wisconsin neighbors and other farming friends.
Taking a trip and need something to entertain the kids? This blog is for you! Sick of winter and want to see something green? Here we are! Just love animals of all variety and want to see them frolic in the sun? We do too. This spring, we will grow: veggies, flowers and the content of this blog.
Ours is a virtual experience, so it can be enjoyed at anytime from anywhere, but we can also serve as a porthole, a window into the magic of Wisconsin and all it has to offer. Come with us on this journey.
Last weekend, Whitewater held its 2012 Freeze Fest polar plunge for the Special Olympics. It’s become a tradition in Whitewater, and this year’s plunge had more participants & more spectators than ever, successfully raising thousands for a worthy cause, while showing all involved a great time.
It’s a snowy day in Whitewater, with a high temperature just above freezing.
On this day in 1868, the U.S. House impeached Pres. Andrew Johnson, who was later acquitted by the Senate.
From the Wisconsin Historical Society, a reminder that Milwaukee once had a socialist mayor, among other socialist politicians:
1972 – Socialist Leader Otto Hauser Dies
On this date former Baptist minister and Milwaukee Socialist leader, Otto Robert Hauser, died in Madison. Hauser was born in Tubingen, Germany, on May 11, 1886 and immigrated to the United States in 1906. In Chicago, he found employment with Marshall Field & Co., and attended the University of Chicago Theological Seminary.
In 1915 he accepted a call to the First German Baptist Church in Milwaukee where he remained until late 1927, when he resigned to enter politics.
In 1916 Hauser joined the Socialist Party. He held a variety of posts in the party including serving as director of the “Milwaukee Leader.” Between 1932 and 1940, Hauser was secretary to Milwaukee’s Socialist mayor, Daniel W. Hoan. In 1945 Hauser helped to organize American Relief for Germany, and served as the organization’s president from 1945 to 1951. Hauser’s fundraising efforts enabled American Relief for Germany to send approximately $3.5 million in aid. In appreciation, the German Federal Republic awarded him the Cross of Merit in 1956. [Source: University of Wisconsin–Archives Department]
Google daily puzzle tests one’s knowledge of the states, and of public policy, today: “If you go for scenic drives in the states that rank 40th, 41st, 47th and 49th in population, you will be unable to see something visible in all the other states. What won’t you see?”
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun became the first major-league player to have a positive drug test overturned when he was informed Thursday that an arbitration panel ruled in his favor on appeal and decided against a 50-game suspension for the reigning National League most valuable player.
Many Wisconsinites have never heard of Kathleen Vinehout, a Democratic state senator representing western Wisconsin’s 31st Senate District. (Vinehout lives in tiny Alma, population 781.) She, like all her partisan senate colleagues, left the state in 2010 to prevent a quorum. She was not, and is not, as well-known as some of those who left with her.
She’s an educated woman (it’s Kathleen Vinehout, PhD.), an owner of an organic farm, and a relative newcomer to state politics (first elected to the senate in 2006).
More biographical information awaits in a column from Steve Walters of the Journal Sentinel appropriately entitled, Just Who is Kathleen Vinehout?
I’ll offer a few remarks on her delivery and appearance, and the look and feel of her campaign.
Appearance and delivery. Vinehout is a woman in her fifties, of conventional appearance. That she’s not as telegenic as Kathleen Falk is true; Vinehout lacks Falk’s elegant, finer features.
It’s just as true that Vinehout has no reason to be concerned about her appearance; on the contrary, there’s nothing of it that’s different from many other Wisconsinites. If anything, she will look familiar and reassuring to many voters. Wisconsin is not Palm Beach, nor need it be.
(More pointedly, it’s rival Kathleen Falk who looks out of place when compared to many Wisconsinites. I’ve suggested that Falk should accentuate an elegant look – Falk is better off highlighting a difference than trying to fit in.)
Vinehout looks like many Wisconsinites one meets and on whom on relies each day. One’s own preferences matter not at all; it’s simply a calculation of how readily voters will accept a candidate’s appearance. Vinehout would have no trouble statewide in this regard.
As for her delivery, it’s quite good – she speaks naturally and well. See, immediately below, a clip from Vinehout discussing why she’s running:
She will need, however, a more specific, concise message. She describes herself as genuine, and I’d say she comes across that way in the video. She’ll need, however, to use that aura of the genuine to deliver a strong, sometimes biting, message.
Her campaign website. Vinehout lacks Falk’s high-profile endorsements (AFSCME 40, WEAC teacher’s union, EMILY’s List). In a Democratic primary between Falk and Vinehout, those endorsements are nearly invaluable. (Nearly: if Vinehout’s task were impossible, she wouldn’t be running.)
Yet, an endorsement-deficit has not kept her from putting together a first-class campaign website.
Bright, confident, optimistic: there’s a sunniness to her website that’s comforting, and distinctive from other campaign sites (others being so serious and affected, often with dark blues and reds to convey gravitas).
Vinehout will have trouble against Falk’s endorsements, and would have a much tougher time if a bigger Democrat jumped into a recall primary. Her problem is becoming Gov. Walker’s opponent.
Still, if she were to win the primary, I’d guess she’d be as strong an opponent to Walker as others now talked up. Mostly unknown statewide, to be sure, but smart, educated, straightforward and relaxed in appearance and manner. She’d do particularly well in a crowd or before a live audience. (I’ll illustrate this more fully tomorrow.)
The Walker campaign has talked about the ‘two Kathleens’ as politically indistinguishable and equally unworthy of the governor’s office. Nonetheless, one can be sure that they see Vinehout’s engaging, optimistic presentation as a significant challenge in a general election.
Whitewater’s Thursday forecast calls for snow, with a high temperature of forty-one.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM.
Google’s puzzle for today is one for travelers: “What word will you use for “taxi” if the airport code of your destination is OSL?”
Can a baby aardvark be cute? Yes:
Brookfield Zoo is happy to announce the birth of an aardvark on January 12, 2012. Because of the dedicated care provided by the Society’s zookeepers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and nutritionist, the now healthy 13-pound calf has a bright future ahead of it. Although the calf will not be on exhibit for several months, zoo guests will be able to view it via a live video monitor In the near future.
A newborn aardvark, which weighs about 4½ pounds at birth, is very fragile for its first few weeks of life. To ensure its best chance for survival, Animal Programs staff decided to assist the calf’s 7-year-old mom, Jessi, in rearing her infant. Since its birth, the unsexed calf has received around-the-clock care that has included a neonatal examination and extra hydration and supplemental feeding when needed to make certain it is healthy and gaining the proper amount of weight. The supplemental aardvark formula the calf receives replicates the fat, carbohydrates, and other nutrients of a mother aardvark’s milk composition.
For several weeks following its birth, the calf spent nights at the zoo’s Animal Hospital being cared for by the veterinary staff and brought back to its mom in the mornings. Aardvarks are nocturnal and Jessi sleeps during the day, giving the calf uninterrupted time to nurse and get all the nutrients it can from its mother’s milk. This scenario mimics what would take place in the wild: a mother aardvark would leave its burrow to go forage for food during the night and return in the morning to sleep while the calf nurses.
Since 1992, there have been nine aardvarks born at Brookfield Zoo…for more on aardvarks go to www.CZS.org/aardvark
I wrote before, at FREE WHITEWATER, about Democratic recall candidate Kathleen Falk’s campaign announcement. (See, Reviewing Kathleen Falk’s Recall Campaign Announcement.) The post was part of an ongoing series on candidates and advertisements during the 2012 Wisconsin elections. I’ll survey the range of candidates for state and federal office, and I started with Falk.)
These were impressions only of the politics, and not the merits, of Falk’s campaign.
Readers may recall that I thought her first video was poorly done, and displayed her to her disadvantage. Considering her long time in politics, her appearance, delivery, and website were surprisingly mediocre.
Since that time, her campaign has a kept the same video on her campaign website, but the presentation frame for that video shows a more attractive candidate (with her hair down) than the one who speaks in the video (with her hair pulled back.) I’ve embedded that video, again, and a second one from a subsequent, outdoor campaign announcement. Remarks on each follow thereafter.
The videos. Falk should always appear with her hair down, as she does in the photo below, and as she does in the presentation frame of her campaign announcement video. Her campaign tacitly acknowledges as much by using a presentation shot that shows her with her hair down, before she begins speaking (with her hair pulled back). It’s as though they want to offset an unflattering, two-minute video with an attractive still shot.
It would have been better to re-shoot the original than merely to augment the original with a still image that presents an awkward contrast to Falk’s appearance while speaking.
She’s naturally lovely, with an elegance in her features – it’s foolish not to show a candidate to his or her best advantage.
Falk should always adopt the style from the photograph immediately above.
In the second video, where she addresses a crowd outside, she’s at a better advantage. It would have been stronger still if she stood away from a lectern, with only a microphone between herself and the crowd. A long, cloth coat (navy) would have been her best choice.
Why do I write about these apparently small matters? Because they’re not small – there’s a role in a campaign like this for an attractive, serious woman who presents herself as an elegant, stylish alternative to Gov. Walker. To be delicate in my answer, if there is to be such a Democratic woman in this race, it’s Falk alone.
As for the GOP governor, whatever his strengths, and however many his supporters, Gov. Walker is neither handsome nor graceful.
Many of the Left’s most successful candidates have been elegant, graceful, affluent champions of working Americans. It matters little that there’s a seeming contradiction between candidate and constituency – it matters more that it’s effective. If the Right will describe her as a limousine liberal in any event (and they will), she might as well get some mileage out of it.
The message. If no one’s thinking about Falk’s appearance, it’s because of the contention that she promised to veto a budget that did not repeal collective bargaining restrictions in exchange for union support.
Conservatives are gleeful about what they consider a candid but damaging admission; even some liberals think the charge was damaging.
Falk and a state teachers’ union (WEAC) were quick to deny a direct promise. Falk contends that she’d veto a budget without restoration of collective bargaining rights in any event. (It’s a contention she offers in the second of the videos I have embedded, above.)
I don’t think the harm is a charge (servility to unions) that any Democrat except Herb Kohl would face; it’s that Falk began her campaign this way. On the defensive is no place to be. It’s a worse place to begin.
If it should be true that Kathleen Falk and Kathleen Vinehout are the only two Democratic candidates in the race, then Falk’s union endorsements are all to her advantage (and wasted time on a kerfuffle about them won’t matter).
But if, as just about every progressive that one meets believes, there will be other Democrats candidates, then lost time may matter a great deal. Falk’s problem is not Vinehout, but candidates not yet declared.
She could have used a smoother start to solidify an effort against those yet to enter.
Best to all the contestants, and appreciation to those supporting the contest —
Mark Twain T-shirt Art Contest for K-12 Students
For the fourth year in a row, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a local partnership to bring the national Big Read initiative to Rock, Walworth and Jefferson County. Mark Twain in the Rock River Basin will be the focus of this year’s Big Read in southeastern Wisconsin. Led by the Irvin L. Young Library in Whitewater, the Arrowhead Library System in Rock County and UW-Whitewater’s Young Auditorium the Big Read will provide a host of activities and in-school outreach.
The Big Read activities begin with an art competition for K-12 students. Students in Rock, Walworth, Jefferson Counties and surrounding communities are invited to submit their own Mark Twain inspired artwork. One design will be chosen as the official Big Read 2012 logo and printed on 100 give-away Big Read t-shirts. Up to 20 other designs will be chosen and exhibited at Studio 84, in Whitewater.
The competition submissions are due on March 15th by noon to the Young Auditorium. The winning entry will be given a hardcover copy of The Collected Works of Mark Twain, two free t-shirts with their artwork, and four tickets to Mark Twain Tonight! starring Hal Holbrook, April 21, 2012 at 7:30 pm. The student’s teacher will receive 2 tickets to Mark Twain Tonight! Finalists have their work displayed at Studio 84 in Whitewater. Interested art teachers and students may receive full details by contacting the Young Auditorium at 262-472-4444 or online at http://youngauditorium.wordpress.com/.
This National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Grant gives young adults the opportunity to learn more about reading, writing, different cultures, and encourages them to explore their interest in these areas. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Local sponsorship supported is provided by Fort HealthCare, American Family Insurance, The Janesville Gazette and the Daily Jefferson County Union.
“This year’s Big Read already has twenty-two area libraries signed on as partners which is the most we’ve had yet,” noted Ben Strand, Development and Assistant Director of the Young Auditorium. “The T-Shirt Competition is a great addition to the list of Big Read events, because it is another way for young adults to get involved and be active in learning, and also because it helps them express themselves through their designs. We are still looking for more volunteers to help coordinate children’s events, lead book discussion in their communities and to promote activities in throughout the area. The full roster of Big Read events keeps growing. Check with your local library or the Big Read blog for updates.”
For more information about The Big Read please visit www.neabigread.org.
The Young Auditorium is a 1,300 seat performing arts center located in Whitewater that serves southeastern Wisconsin. Each season the auditorium presents the best in touring professional productions from Broadway, Rock & Roll, Shakespeare, Family Friendly Favorites and Ballet. Over 500,000 K-12 students have experienced educational performances through the Horizons Matinee Series. The facility boasts two all-purpose rooms for up to 120 guests for special receptions, dinners, or business meetings. A non-profit organization, the Young Auditorium has special benefits for Members; and discounts for groups. Special email offers and giveaways area available via free email updates from ArtsENews. www.uww.edu/youngauditorium Information: 262-472-4444 Tickets: 262-472-2222
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. For more information, please visit www.imls.gov.
Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit www.artsmidwest.org.
It’s a Wednesday of scattered sprinkles and a high of forty-three for Whitewater.
On this day in 1980, in an astonishing upset, the US Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviet team at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-to-3. The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.
Here’s the last minute of that historic — still exciting — game —
From the Wisconsin Historical Society, a reminder that our weather could be much worse, as it was on this day in 1922 –
1922 – Ice Storm Wreaks Havoc
Unprecedented freezing rain and snow assaulted the Midwest February 21-23, 1922. In Wisconsin the central and southern parts of the state were most severely affected, with the counties between Lake Winnebago and Lake Michigan south to Racine being hardest hit. Ice coated trees and power lines, bringing them down and cutting off electricity, telephone and telegraph services. Cities were isolated, roads were impassable, rivers rose, streets and basements flooded, and train service stopped or slowed.
Near Little Chute a passenger train went off the rails, injuring several crew members. Appleton housed 150 stranded traveling salesmen, near Plymouth a sheet of river ice 35 feet long and nearly three feet thick washed onto the river bank, while in Sheboygan police rescued a flock of chickens and ducks from their flooded coop and a sick woman from her flooded home. Icy streets caused numerous automobile accidents, but the only reported deaths were a team of horses in Appleton that were electrocuted by a fallen power line. Sources: Wisconsin newspaper accounts, February 22 and 23, including the Appleton Post-Crescent, the Sheboygan Press, Waukesha Daily Freeman, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern.
Google’s puzzle of the day is one an engineer could love: “Over the Hooghly River stands an iconic cantilever truss bridge that uses a surprising number of nuts and bolts. How many?” more >>
