Da 4 Bears

6/26/06, 6:22 am.
61º F, Cloudy, N wind 5 mph.

Good morning,

We took a day and went to the zoo on Friday We have been talking of doing that someday on our normal supply run for a couple of years now. The only problem was, that by the time we finished Bible sturdy, there was only time for either shopping or the zoo in Green Bay. So .... Friday we just decided to go and then do the supply run afterwards, when there was not Bible study to interfere. Most importantly the reason is that we are planning to head to Old World Wisconsin in Eagle after Bible study tomorrow.

We had a good day at the zoo. I have been there once before about 5-6 years ago and was impressed with it then. I still am. For a small city, Green Bay does a good job. The current attraction is the acquisition of a couple of giraffes and building a new building to house them. Their compound is right next to the lion’s, separated by a chainlink fence. The two lions were laying down next to the fence, keeping a very close eye on the the giraffes, as though they were sizing up a meal or two.

We wandered around the zoo for a couple of hours, totally seeing everything. We wore out our legs, at least I did. Forgot to put on my knee brace and pop a couple of pills, regretting it. The zoo is very kid and handicap friendly. There were a lot of each present and enjoying themselves. In our great planning, we forgot to take Margriet’s camera along and the map to get to the zoo. Fortunately, we had a Green Bay map and my camera in the car. Green Bay is putting in "roundy-rounds" at many intersections. The type they are putting in are not nice, but they look nice. There is only one lane in a too small circles. If there is any amount of traffic, it is difficult to access the circle and all but impossible for a semi-truck. The distance between the exits is also too short. Can’t get a turn signal turned on and if you do, the radius of the turn shuts it off immediately. No one knows who is turning when or where! Got behind a semi that had to do a couple of back ups to make the turn. Someone needs to do some redefining I think!

Since we would not be able to make a supply run on Tuesday, we did it after seeing the zoo. Not really too many things to pick up, but some were important. One important item were some tomato cages. For some reason I thought we only had 4 plants but we really have six. Guess we will need to pick up a couple more the next time we get close to a Fleet Farm!

On the return trip we stopped at Sloven for the fish fry they have. Actually I had the trout boil and Margriet had pan fired walleye pike. Both were good as usual. I had to help Margriet finish her meal. The trout boil is all you can eat, but I could only eat one helping. That is a bit unusual for me. Normally I eat too much. Not often I am a good boy. We haven’t been to Sloven for a long time, so it was time to stop as well as it was getting late in the day.

Saturday, before the rains came, the wind was up some and I went into the woods to cut a smaller cedar tree down to make a couple of fence posts. Since it was only 4-5" in diameter at the base, I didn’t even get out the chainsaw. Bowsaw and axe did a very adequate job. I peeled it and just finished when the rain started to come. I had forgotten how easy it was to slip the bark from a green cedar. Didn’t take long at all since there is so much sap in the wood. Will cut it into sections and plant it. There is a good number of cedars about this size in the woods, so should not be short of fence posts for some time. Don’t have a big need for them either come to think of it.

Yesterday was strawberry Sunday at church. There sure were a lot of strawberry desserts to consume. Margriet made a cheesecake (from scratch and very good) as did several other gals. Guess it is the dessert of choice and there were not too many folks complaining about it. Strawberry season normally hits it’s peak on Father’s Day, but this year seems to be a bit later. I see the wild strawberries are also producing now too.

The area is really becoming covered with many wild flowers. The ditch lines, fence lines, openings in the woods, and fallow fields are becoming filled with red, white, yellow, blue, purple, orange, and varying textures of green. It really is becoming more beautiful as the summer continues. I am sure all of the rain has helped. The last round of rain started Saturday afternoon and is continuing off and on since. Looks like it will for a few days more. Yesterday was fairly wet, so I was forced to watch a couple of pretty good car races on TV. Both were road races, one NASCAR and the other Champ cars. Both races had some serious crashes, requiring the race to be stopped to clean up the wreckage. No one was seriously hurt, but it sure looked like there should have been.

After Bible study tomorrow, we are heading south probably ending at a Super 8 motel in Whitewater. We will probably go to Old World Wisconsin on Wednesday and then head home. Who knows though. We might find some detours along the way - either direction. Weather may have a say in the matter too. Appears there may be some rain, but we are sure we will find something to do and be amused a bit. The rain jackets are already in the van and the camera batteries charged. Suppose we should pack our toothbrushes too?

Time to get the day a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,


Chris <><