KITCHEN PROJECT
We decided our first house project would be remodelling the kitchen to our liking, a project that has come along, slowly, but is almost finished. We removed all the cabinets and counter top and hired a local craftsman to texture the walls before painting them. We picked a color to match the existing counter top, a shade of green called "Spring Break." After painting, we reinstalled the cabinets containing the kitchen sinks. Then we began laying down and nailing the hickory hardwood floor. Arranging the wood pieces in a pleasing random pattern is kind of like working on a puzzle. I laid out the pieces, five rows at a time. Then I mulled it over for a bit, to make sure we were both happy with the look, before Mike nailed them down using a pneumatic nailer. We just finished nailing the last floor pieces on Wednesday. I can't wait until everything is back in place and the kitchen is complete!
 |
| Kitchen before. |
 |
| Mike starts to lay out the wood floor pieces. He soon handed that job over to me. |
 | |||||
| The walls are painted, some of the cabinets are back in place, and the first rows of wood floor are nailed. |
Shortly after we arrived at our new home we discovered a pair of robins raising a family in a nest right outside our front door. We did our best not to disturb them for the next two weeks, and went in and out the back door. We watched as the the three baby robins matured and then fledged on July 21, the day after these photos were made. In researching the life cycle of the American Robin I discovered it is the Wisconsin state bird.
SINGLE-SORT RECYCLING
Hayward has single-sort curb-side recycling service. I sorted glass, plastic and paper, each in separate containers, for recycling in Juneau and I can't get used to the idea that everything here goes in the same tub, all mixed together. Someone actually sorts this stuff at the delivery end?! Also different from Juneau--only plastic bottles (#s 1-7) are recycled here. Plastic containers, like those used for strawberries, are not recycled, even if they are #1. Don't know why. Seems a waste. The recycling container is picked up once every four weeks.
We've made two trips to Bayfield, a small community on Lake Superior, about a 1.5 hour drive from Hayward. Our first trip was at the end of July to see Ricki Lee Jones at the Lake Superior Big Top and then a week later we went up again to see Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Two terrific concerts in a big top tent!
Bayfield, along with nearby cities, Washburn and Ashland, have declared themselves "ecomunicipalities," each doing what it can to promote the health of Lake Superior and the Lake Superior basin for the benefit of residents and visitors. In 2006, residents of Bayfield participated in Study Circles to read and discuss the concepts put forth in the book the Natural Step for Communities, a framework developed in Sweden to help communities live in a way that is more sustainable for the earth: http://www.naturalstep.org/
The Bayfield area is home to a number of fruit orchards. On our second trip, we visited Blue Vista Farm, one of the few farms in the area that is certified organic. You can pick your own berries here if you wish.
Our morning rides have become a delightful ritual. A favorite goes past one large lake and four smaller ones along small, winding roads with lots of trees/shade and very little traffic. It's about a 20-mile ride. We see blue herons and wild turtles (painted turtles) almost every time we do this ride
 | |||
| Spring Lake is one of the larger lakes. |
 |
| It has a sign telling people this is a "quiet" lake and to keep a certain distance from any Loons observed and their nesting areas. |
 |
| Cattails grow along the shores of many of the lakes. |
 |
| Four Painted turtles sunning themselves on a log. |
 |
| Bird house row. |
We've been buying fresh organic produce from a 4th generation family farm, Wheatfield Hill, in Durand, Wisconsin. Chris sold her produce out of her truck several times a week in Hayward through Labor Day. We bought sweet corn, tomatoes, cantalope, watermelon, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers from her. The most delicious produce we've ever tasted! Hayward has a Fall Festival later in September and Chris will be there. Can't wait...
HEARTLAND VELO SHOW
We went to the Heartland Velo Show in Madison the last weekend of August. There were various builders showing their bikes, some other bike-related vendors, and some interesting seminars. On Sunday, there was a vintage bike expo. This was the primary reason Mike wanted to go--to share some of the vintage bikes he's collected with other vintage bike enthusiasts. Mike put pics from the show on this blog page: www.biciak.blogspot.com
We were happy to find that Madison is a very bike friendly city, with some great bike trails. We spent some time downtown and walked along a pedestrian-only street, State Street, that goes from the Capitol to the university campus.
BLUE MOON ART TOUR
The Hayward/Cable area has a vibrant arts community. Over Labor Day weekend we had our first opportunity to meet some local artists at the 5th annual "Blue Moon Art Tour." There is a mini artist colony just north of Cable on Blue Moon Road. The four artists who live there had their studios open for the tour and gave demonstrations of their work.
No comments:
Post a Comment