My Birkie story began in the 1970’s when my grandparents, spurred by maintenance problems, decided to sell their arctic-cat sleds and buy two pairs of Finnish made wooden skis. It may have also been a heart attack my grandfather suffered that caused the change-over. Whatever the inspiration, their purchase and his ensuing knowledge of waxing and tarring changed the way my brother and I experienced winter. I was about 3 when I first put on skis, though it was a few years later that I stood at the top of the first hill on Loop A on the Wintergreen Ski trail, just east of Park Falls on highway 70, a feeling of terror I had never imagined surging through me. The bottom was flattened out with previous skiers falling, and I wanted more than anything to get through that flat bottom and up the short hill that followed. I followed my brother, who being 4 years older usually could get through it. Most of time time, I did not. But each year we returned to these trails, taller, stronger, and ready to try again. We skied through the jokes of elementary school, the trials of middle school and high school. I skied alone, I skied with everyone. We rarely took our skis out in southern Wisconsin where we lived, but when we were up north, we couldn’t wait to be on the trails again. One year my grandfather packed a lunch and hauled some wood to a spot on a county trail where we roasted hot dogs and drank hot chocolate. I had no idea that I could eat outside, in the snow, in the middle of the forest, and how good it would taste. By skiing with us, our grandparents introduced us to the national forest in winter and taught us that it was just as beautiful and open to us then as it was in the summer. With the right clothing. Our grandfather has since died, and our grandmother lives outside of the forest closer to family. Last winter we were sharing time at her house during the week of the Birkebeiner. She told us how they always listened to the Birkie finishers on the radio. My husband, three children and I had just spent several days skiing at the Palmquist farm and all I wanted to do was more skiing. That is when I suggested to my brother that we register for 2014. He had never entered any kind of race. I had never been in a ski race. But we loved to ski, we loved the trail, the woods, the often-perfect snow. We signed up for the full race. Then the trail run. That is when I realized what a training endeavor this would be. The entire course is made up of Loop A hills! In January a death in the family brought us near the northwoods once again. It was the weekend of the Birkie Tour and we signed up again. It was during the last 9K of that crisp ski day that I had an overwhelming sense of my grandfather’s presence in the woods. It was more that him being there, though he was truly a man of the woods, from working in timber to trail grooming to snowmobiling and finally skiing. I felt a part of him living through me as I sailed down hills and struggled back up. I overheard some men taking a break and discussing carbon skis and wax. While I had barely any wax left on my well-worn touring skis, I had my grandfather and the gift that my grandparents gave to me when they trading their sleds for skis. It is partly for them that I ski this year, to say, thank you.

Mining

Dear Senator Risser and Representative Hulsey, I am deeply opposed to the way in which the Republican-led legislature is willing to repeatedly turn their attention away from the very things that make Wisconsin great and towards an ambitious but vague goal of increasing business opportunity and job creation. The mining bill is a short-sited but far flung hope that jobs are as easy to create as softening a few loop holes and bringing in the earth movers. If I had to chose one thing that makes me call Wisconsin "home", it would be the northwoods. It is in the lakes of the Chequamegon that I learned to patiently wait on fish to bite, to watch the sky, to anticipate the changing weather. In this forest I listened to my grandparents tell me the stories of my family and I learned how to be quiet. In the winter months I sought the silence of skiing as well as the courage to tackle surprisingly hilly terrain. I left Wisconsin after high school to pursue education and international experience. But as my own family grew, I longed to see my children in the woods, to pass on to them the life that I learned while visiting my grandparents in Fifield. But my return has been bitter sweet. The forests of northwest Wisconsin are precisely in the area marked to become nothing more than a means to line the pockets of an already wealthy business and provide a few jobs, many of which will be temporary and unnecessary once the mine is under operation. I am astounded at the lack of vision of this legislature. Have they not sat in a canoe in one of the lakes that will be destroyed by mining? Have they not seen an eagle nesting along the shore? Is our deprivation of the land so acute that we cannot agree there are trees, water and animals and yes, even dirt, that is worth preserving? Please continue to oppose mining in northwest Wisconsin. Sincerely, Amy Grunewald Mattison

To the Department of Natural Resources of Wisconsin: I am writing in strong opposition to the implementation of Act 168 to open our state parks to hunting. I am also dismayed that such a drastic change to the basic composition of our state parks has been enacted with little information offered to the public. If such a change is to benefit all residents of the state (plants and animals included) then why hasn’t the idea been offered openly? The first I heard of it, well after it was approved by the legislature, was on a day-time radio program, something that most people who work during the day would not have heard. The state parks were created to be a refuge -- for plants, animals and people alike. If the proposed changes prevail, the parks will become yet another natural area that I feel unsafe to take my young children to for exploring. The “closed” areas of hunting are adjacent to the areas open. How can I hike safely knowing that hunters are within feet of my children and me? We do not own a cabin in the woods or land to which we can escape. We live in a large city, surrounded by adequate parks, but we need the long trails of the state parks to truly experience the natural world. We visit the parks in the early spring, when trees are just beginning to show signs of life (and when the hunting period will be in effect). We long for snowy winters when we can ski on the many groomed trails and snowshoe on others (also when the hunting period will be in effect). And during the fall, when the most dramatic changes take place, when we love to camp, and when many other outdoors-minded families go to their land to hunt and explore, we seek out the state parks (during which time there will now be hunters with guns on the trails). All it takes is one mistake by even the most outstanding hunter to make this law the precursor to an unnecessary tragedy. My family and I seek out the state parks regularly, year-round, because they are the one place where we can go and freely explore the natural world without fear of being mistaken for deer or other animals being hunted. We moved to Wisconsin from another state in part because of the respect this state has shown for its natural resources. I will not visit the parks during the open hunting season, and will seriously consider moving our family to another state where the rights of hunters and hikers are equally respected. Please reconsider the implementation of Act 168 to allow hunting in our great state parks. Sincerely, Amy Grunewald-Mattison

Planet watching

Not our planet. For an hour or so tonight we waited for clouds to part and the sun to peek through and then dashed over to our friend's telescope to see a small black spot on a bright white circle. Cameras clicked, voices confirmed that we were seeing what we should be seeing: our neighbor in the solar system circling the sun. We marveled at this dot and for me anyway, I forgot about what is going on here on earth. Our kids mixed in with their friend and made new friends under an oak tree where they created a house of sticks, fit for a king squirrel. Even the lake, known for its green glow and distinct fragrance, spread out below us looking crystal clear from the hill. The actual celestial phenomena, the transit of Venus, has happened before in my lifetime. I don't remember it at all. Maybe there were clouds, or maybe we were just too busy, our one summer when both Ryan and I worked in a hospital. But this one I will remember. And whether it is the story of how the transit of Venus helped scientists of long ago understand the bigger world in which we live or if my memories are of the kids gathering sticks and running up and down the hill, this one I will remember. Just a mile away people were gathering to see if history would be made in a recall election of our state's Governor. That didn't happen. And as much as this defeat crushes the work and hopes of many of us, the planet watching helps. Not our planet, just for a moment. But who knows? Maybe there used to be people just like us on Venus watching the night sky until greed and comfort decimated their planet.

WI needs balance -- take a look at MN

This came from a friend in MN...glad to know our neighbors are thinking of us in the upcoming election on Tues! With permission, I'm posting it on my blog: Minnesota leaves Walker’s Wisconsin in the dust Since January 2011 Wisconsin has had a one-sided state government under Scott Walker. At the same time, Minnesota has operated with a balanced government: a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature. Through April 2012, Wisconsin lost 12,800 jobs while Minnesota gained 38,800 jobs, and while Wisconsin’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, Minnesota’s unemployment rate is down to 5.6 percent. Over the past year and a half, Minnesota took pragmatic positions on a number of policy issues, while Walker passed short-sighted laws that weaken Wisconsin's educational system and threaten the well being of its environment. An educated workforce is key to strong economic growth, and Wisconsin’s fishing, hunting and tourism industry, and its general quality of life depend on sound environmental policy. If Walker stays in office, education will suffer, and air and water quality will deteriorate. Electing Tom Barrett on June 5 will bring balance back to Wisconsin. Barrett has a solid record on economic development, education, crime, and protecting the environment. No more playing catch up to Minnesota.

Koen walked today! I was rolling out pizza dough that didn't want to be rolled out when I saw him moving from his favorite spot in the kitchen, the pantry, towards his second favorite spot, the garbage. What he spotted was a tub of hummus on the counter and was so focused, he forgot to get down and crawl. He proceeded to eat out of the hummus tub I handed him while standing on his own. I think we have a toddler in the house! We won't have to worry about forgetting the date, as today is also Rob's birthday. Way to go Koen!

Jump Start to Spring

A week ago Ryan took the boys sledding while I sat on the couch and read the newspaper (Koen napped). We knew the end of the snow was coming, but there was plenty to sled on. By Tuesday it started warming and water rushed down the gutters and seeped into the frozen ground. Wednesday brought a hard enough rain to clean things up a bit, and Thursday I could smell the sweet spring dirt. Friday was cold and windy, but Saturday a warm front moved in and we moved out -- of the house and into the yard, street, anywhere that was unsheltered and in the welcomed sun. Everyone emerged from their houses, groups of parents and kids gathered together basking in the warmth of the sun and conversation. Kids made up games, rode bikes up and down the sidewalk, and shed layers of clothes as the afternoon went on. But it is tiring. Just breathing in the air for hours at a time when I am used to being in the heated domes of home and car and store made me sleepy by dinner time. We sprung the clocks ahead, but I feel like I am an hour behind. Elliott collapsed on the couch, no meltdown, no whining, just pure, beautiful exhaustion. Dietrich put his head on the table after he was done eating. They still rallied for bedtime and put on their usual show, but it was subdued and short-lived, the air now turning cooler and beckoning them towards a deep sleep. And it calls me too. I'm sure we'll have another dumping of snow -- after all, it isn't even April yet -- but what a treat. What a joy to be given a taste of spring so early.