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I changed the look of it recently but haven’t quite figured out all the bells and whistles yet, so bear with me.
about The Author
Living & work(ed) in Madison, Wisconsin (2005-2025)
After retiring from military service, I began living the civilian life in the Madison area. “Retirement” is a bit of a misnomer here; after becoming civilianized, I had to get a job because a military pension isn’t quite enough to pay the bills. I worked at a bank that folded after the financial crisis, then for state government before I finally called it quits.
US Air Force (1984 – 2005)
I spent half my professional life in the military at far-flung bases all around the world, the point at the tip of the spear defending the freedom of Americans (so they told me).
Posts
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I spent a big chunk of the day today burning piles of buckthorn and honeysuckle, both invasive species, which volunteers had been cut out of the wooded areas alongside the University Ridge segment of the Ice Age Trail about a year ago. These areas were so overgrown with buckthorn and honeysuckle that it was impossible…
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I had some time for a quick trip to the arboretum this afternoon and I wanted to know how far a lap around the Curtis Prairie was, following the roads that ran around the perimeter by the tall trees. I guessed it would be about 2.5 miles and was surprised to learn it was just…
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The first big snowfall of the year gave me the motivation to dig my snow shoes out of the corner of the garage where they’d been buried for months, so I could take them to the arboretum and stomp around in the fresh snow — but first, I there was the little matter of clearing…
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It took a little while but I believe I can finally call the Verona segment done. I’ve started this hike from the north end, I’ve started from the south end, but both times I never went far enough to get all the way across. Today I filled in that short gap I left in the…
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I was having that dream where I’m back at school except that I was at one of the many technical schools I attended when I was in the military. It was the first day of school and according to the calendar I was expected to show up in my dress blue uniform, but all I…
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I was out on the Ice Age Trail again this morning, this time at the north end of the Table Bluff segment to help three other people with trail maintenance. A few of the “dips” (drainage ditches) on the trail had eroded or were clogged with silt or both, so we cleaned them out and…
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I’m still trying to finish up the Verona segment. It seems to be the segment that won’t let me finish. I walked the first 0.6 miles from KcKee Rd at the northern end (plus the last 1.2 miles of the Madison segment) on 11/5/2025. I returned to the southern end today, intending to knock out…
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Today’s weather wasn’t the best for hiking: cold, overcast, windy, and just a little bit of drizzle. I went for a hike anyway. I wanted to complete a segment of the IAT I’ve been to before, the Gibraltar Rock segment. I’ve climbed to the scenic overlook of Gibraltar Rock many times, but up until today…
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Today I took a little walk down part of the Montrose Segment southwest of Madison. I still have to walk about a mile of this segment to complete it!
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Not really hiking the Ice Age Trail, more like trail maintenance. I spent the morning and part of the afternoon today with volunteers working to remove buckthorn and honeysuckle from a wooded area at the University Ridge golf course. I was led to believe that buckthorn was the worst of the two to handle, but…
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