There are your typical Memorial Day weekends, with variable weather conditions, backyard barbecues and visits with close friends and relatives. Then there are those, like the most recent, that are indescribable for their richness of cultural experience.
The weather was near perfect. Temperatures soared into the high 70's under sunny skies on Saturday, just in time for the family campout down on the bend of the Pecatonica.
The rush of color exploding over the landscape in recent days offered generous opportunities for little fingers to grasp a fistful of flowery beauty for adult admirers to swoon over. Shooting stars, spring larkspur and the multicolored columbine now decorate the woods in natural splendor.
Grandson Luke took note of the magnificent blossoms blanketing the old apple tree at the campground, a descendant perhaps of trees brought in by 19th century settlers. At the age of five "Lukie" still harbors that urge to make mom happy with a colorful bouquet.
The kids had a blast - skittering through the woods in search of adventure and melting marshmallows over a late-evening campfire. Nick, Megan, and Luke and their little buddies, Brennan and Caroline, escaped with their parents from Chicago for the gathering and Darin and Sarah ushered Sydney Pearl and Baby Mackenzie in from Waterford in Racine County.
It was a reunion of dogs as well. We learned some time ago that the Hughes' yellow lab, Jeddi, and our Major are kinfolk, having been born on the same day at Candlewood Kennels in Portage. They don't look much alike - Major outweighs his sister by 40-50 lbs. but they share the same friendly, happy-go-lucky personality and got along famously after a thorough nose-to-butt scent check.
It was a fun-filled day on Saturday as moms and dads guided canoes laden with youngsters downriver to the campsite. Packed tightly into life vests in case of a spill, the kids enjoyed the trip, most notably when it came time to make the short leap to a muddy shoreline, left a mess by the recent flooding that lifted the river over its banks.
That night, a sky full of stars delivered a million points of light across the universe as we gathered around the campfire for a pleasant evening of relaxation and good conversation.
We were blessed with a couple of inches of much-needed rain over the weekend - enough to spring loose the corn in my food plots and give the garden a good dousing. The peas and beans are a couple of inches high and the beets will surely need some thinning.
Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday brought heartrending, but inspiring remembrances of those who paid the ultimate price for our continued prosperity and relatively peaceful communities. After the parade and ceremonies at the American Legion building in Blanchardville, a few of us traveled to Argyle where, with the help of a good crowd of onlookers, the Legion post dedicated a magnificent new veteran's memorial bearing the names of all area residents who have served in the military.
The speakers reminded us of the importance of remembering those who fought and died for our privilege of living in America.
"Freedom isn't free," they declared, and each generation of Americans must carry the heavy obligation of ensuring that our sovereignty is never compromised.
The sun broke through in the midst of the ceremony after cloudy, overcast skies dominated the morning. Symbolic, I thought, of the darkness of war giving way to the dawning of future peace and prosperity.
Always a poignant conclusion to each Memorial Day ceremony, the somber playing of taps at Argyle was especially well done. The echoing effect led one to imagine the ghostly sound reverberating all across the land, heard by each American citizen - perhaps, even, by those who sacrificed their lives to keep us free.
- Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
The weather was near perfect. Temperatures soared into the high 70's under sunny skies on Saturday, just in time for the family campout down on the bend of the Pecatonica.
The rush of color exploding over the landscape in recent days offered generous opportunities for little fingers to grasp a fistful of flowery beauty for adult admirers to swoon over. Shooting stars, spring larkspur and the multicolored columbine now decorate the woods in natural splendor.
Grandson Luke took note of the magnificent blossoms blanketing the old apple tree at the campground, a descendant perhaps of trees brought in by 19th century settlers. At the age of five "Lukie" still harbors that urge to make mom happy with a colorful bouquet.
The kids had a blast - skittering through the woods in search of adventure and melting marshmallows over a late-evening campfire. Nick, Megan, and Luke and their little buddies, Brennan and Caroline, escaped with their parents from Chicago for the gathering and Darin and Sarah ushered Sydney Pearl and Baby Mackenzie in from Waterford in Racine County.
It was a reunion of dogs as well. We learned some time ago that the Hughes' yellow lab, Jeddi, and our Major are kinfolk, having been born on the same day at Candlewood Kennels in Portage. They don't look much alike - Major outweighs his sister by 40-50 lbs. but they share the same friendly, happy-go-lucky personality and got along famously after a thorough nose-to-butt scent check.
It was a fun-filled day on Saturday as moms and dads guided canoes laden with youngsters downriver to the campsite. Packed tightly into life vests in case of a spill, the kids enjoyed the trip, most notably when it came time to make the short leap to a muddy shoreline, left a mess by the recent flooding that lifted the river over its banks.
That night, a sky full of stars delivered a million points of light across the universe as we gathered around the campfire for a pleasant evening of relaxation and good conversation.
We were blessed with a couple of inches of much-needed rain over the weekend - enough to spring loose the corn in my food plots and give the garden a good dousing. The peas and beans are a couple of inches high and the beets will surely need some thinning.
Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday brought heartrending, but inspiring remembrances of those who paid the ultimate price for our continued prosperity and relatively peaceful communities. After the parade and ceremonies at the American Legion building in Blanchardville, a few of us traveled to Argyle where, with the help of a good crowd of onlookers, the Legion post dedicated a magnificent new veteran's memorial bearing the names of all area residents who have served in the military.
The speakers reminded us of the importance of remembering those who fought and died for our privilege of living in America.
"Freedom isn't free," they declared, and each generation of Americans must carry the heavy obligation of ensuring that our sovereignty is never compromised.
The sun broke through in the midst of the ceremony after cloudy, overcast skies dominated the morning. Symbolic, I thought, of the darkness of war giving way to the dawning of future peace and prosperity.
Always a poignant conclusion to each Memorial Day ceremony, the somber playing of taps at Argyle was especially well done. The echoing effect led one to imagine the ghostly sound reverberating all across the land, heard by each American citizen - perhaps, even, by those who sacrificed their lives to keep us free.
- Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
