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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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Before the weather changed to plunge us into a subzero deep freeze overnight, I had the opportunity to tramp around in the UW-Madison arboretum yesterday while temps were still in the high teens. NOAA said it was 14 deg F but my dashboard thermometer said it was 18 deg F, which somehow seemed, I dunno,…
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After almost a week of near-zero weather, the temperature when I got up this morning was a much more bearable 14 deg F! And it was supposed to get up to a balmy 20 deg F! We’re having a heat wave! I haven’t been out and about much in the past week due to the…
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For the first time in ages, I gave blood once again today. According to my donation history, which I can review online — because doing anything these days requires an app or an online account — the last time I gave whole blood was on July 25th, 2024. I donated platelets on August 7th, 2024,…
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It was way too cold to go wandering through the woods today. I went for a hike anyway. Temps this morning were between 15 and 20 degrees, according to the NOAA. The thermometer stuck to our front window read 12 degrees when I got out of bed, 14 degrees when I left the house at…
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After spending all morning writing a blog post about yesterday’s hike along the Eagle Segment of the Ice Age Trail, I got the itch to drive back and re-visit it, maybe finish off the tail end of the trail I started yesterday, and walk a bit more of the trail on the southern end of…
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After morning chores, I drove about an hour east of the Madison area, turned south just before Delafield and drove past Scuppernog to get to the north trailhead of the Eagle Segment of the Ice Age Trail. This was a spur-of-the-moment choice with no planning at all. I just wanted to go for a hike…
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Drove out to Palmyra this morning to hike a stretch of the Blackhawk segment of the Ice Age Trail. The drive takes about one hour each way and I wanted to get back before dark, which at this time of year drops pretty quickly shortly after four-thirty, so I wouldn’t be driving through rush-hour traffic…
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Even though it’s very tempting to stay inside all day where it’s cozy and warm, I layered up and drove to Swamp Lover’s Preserve on Scheele Road, just past Cross Plains, to hike a few miles of the Ice Age Trail. I’ve been to this stretch of the IAT three times this year to do…
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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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