Just one day away from ….
Just one day away from May as I start this. As I looked at the weather forecast tonight, I can’t wait. Temperatures over the weekend are predicted to be in the eighties. That for sure should bring out the Mayflowers. As I drove around today it looks like they are doing quite well in the April weather. In a few places it appeared to look like the ground is carpeted in blooms.
It appears the Amish schools are closed. Is that just for the early spring days, or are they just taking some days off ?
Another spring sign is the wild plums. Jan Schmidt always told us when the plums start blooming, it’s a good sign the orioles will be arriving soon. So time to get out there with the grape jelly. I’m ahead of the game as I still have a jar left over from last year.
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I sure like my car. It seems all I have to do is get it started and it will head out, destination unknown. Well, that’s close, but this week it took me to Pray. I’ve been there before, but it is interesting to note Pray Avenue is one of the roads that starts on the Taylor County line and runs clear through the county into Jackson County.
There are a few interruptions. Like three miles into the town of Hoard it has to detour around the Popple River, but then comes back until it crosses Highway 29.
Then it gets mixed up with County Trunk P and K and if our main street wasn’t named Main Street, and County K and Wisconsin 98 weren’t there it would simply be Pray Avenue.
At the 26 Road, County K swings west a half mile, then heads south, winding its way to Granton.
At County H, if you turn east a half mile, you’ll find Pray Avenue has started again, a half mile north of H. Then it is just a straight shot south through the rest of York township, Grant and finally Washburn townships before entering Jackson County.
The last three miles in Washburn township are part of the Clark County forest and I don’t recall if anyone lives in that space or not. Just before you get to the county forest you’ll see a cranberry marsh on the left, which makes for two places a different ag crop is grown in the county.
There isn’t a sign telling you are now in Jackson County, but the road is blacktopped and the fire number turns red from our blue signs.
Pray looks like things are going pretty good with one bar thanking everyone who had been there to make their open house a success. Across the road another establishment was adding a porch, and I should mention, Pray also has a railroad passing through.
One time when I made the trip down, I turned to the east and went through City Point. At least that shows up on the official state map.
It will take another trip down as I drove by a road called Saddle Mound, but didn’t take the time to check it out.
Once on State Highway 54, it is pretty much a lonely trip from there to Jackson County K where I would turn north toward home. Just prior to K is an Indian Pow Wow grounds and a sign telling the world about a man named Red Cloud who was killed in the Korean War. He had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was noted that Red Cloud was buried nearby and it also told that the tribe had balked at moving to Nebraska and came back to their old home in that area.
Coming through Hatfield I drove along the river and noted a lot of people were out getting their cabins or homes ready for summer. Won’t be long as a crew of workers were busy at the campground getting things ready.
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I could have finished this last week, but decided to wait for Saturday. That would be May 1st and the weatherman predicted temperatures in the 80’s. Well, he was right. The last I looked at my indoor/outdoor thermometer it was a cozy 87. So far I haven’t opened a window and the indoor reading is still a cool 74. It should work well so the A/C isn’t needed just yet.
The nice weather has changed the farm scene as well. From spreading liquid manure to tilling the soil and planting some crops.
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Did you see the picture on television the other day when President Biden bent over and picked a dandelion and handed it to his wife Jill? That was my favorite thing. To pick the first dandelion I saw and bring it in the house for Florence.
Right now I’ve got a problem. The two vases I was using worked fine, but the wind would blow them over. I decided to add a few small stones to help hold them up. That worked until this spring when I had flowers in them when it really got cold and it froze the water and broke the vase.
The other vase is too small for the tiny stones so I guess I’ll just have to go shopping for something else to put them in.
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From a former TRG employee, more recently a resident of Muncie, Indiana, this was on Facebook this morning. My sister always wanted to marry the mailman but my mom and dad wouldn’t letter.
