On a dark and stormy night last week in a number of different locations along the path around the Falls, Mother Nature decided to push the start of the fall wood-cutting season. The rain and wind Wednesday night combined to topple all or major portions of three mature trees in this observer’s farm yard, closing one driveway but missing the buildings and power lines. That same gust of wind tore off a number of shingles, but these are replaceable.
Other property owners suffered similar fates. The east side of Kelly Lake was particularly hard hit. In other places, there may not have been damage to buildings, but the almost straight-line rain found its way into homes where it was never expected. This caused a few people to jump out of bed to deal with the deluge coming through windows.
The cracking off of major limbs seemed to be without discrimination as a giant weeping willow, a huge maple and a substantial box elder growing in the farm yard met the same fate. As with any change in status in nature, there are the good and bad aspects, if one wants to look for them.
The fallen limbs almost formed a “circle-the-wagons” shape around the center of the yard. The downed trees provided an opportunity for a different theme for the week’s personal wellness program. Variety in a wellness program is a positive aspect of the incident.
The trimmings were piled on the raised fire pit in the center of the yard. This provided another opportunity to work out latent fire building addictions that reside not too far beneath the surface of this former Boy Scout camper’s subconscious. This is another positive stress-relief aspect.
Cutting the larger sections into firewood will add to what is quickly becoming a close-to-record stockpile of fuel for the coming winter. Some would argue that the willow and box elder will be marginal firewood, but what they may lack in BTUs per cubic foot will be made up by the volume in the growing stack. That growing stack is another positive aspect of that Wednesday night storm.
A recent conversation at Gene’s Power Equipment had to do with the fact that the fuel mixture in chain saws tends to lose some vitality if it is left sitting too long. That should be less of a concern, as a lot of fuel will be running through that Johnsered saw. It is a positive that outdated fuel will not have to be discarded.
The thinning of the trees offers a different view out the west windows of the house, and if variety is valued, that may be positive. Unfortunately, the remaining portions of the trees are rather scraggly looking, which is not positive. Additional trimming of the trees may be necessary to bring some balance to the look of the survivors. A storm-induced separation of this magnitude can leave a lasting impression.
Speaking of lasting impressions, the cracking sound of a tree splitting can be memorable. Some sounds can be drowned out by the wind and rain in situations like that.
Memorable sounds in some schools may be changing, at least according to a story that appeared earlier this week in a Green Bay daily newspaper. It seems that the number of students opting to take part in musical activities in a number of the metro schools is on the downswing. One could look to several different factors in that pattern, but today’s time pressures in students’ busy lives and the renewed emphasis on academic success, rather than electives, are two that seem to be toward the top of the list.
That pattern of fewer students opting for music has not gone unnoticed in the Oconto Falls School District, but the trend line is much more stable than in some areas. A strong music tradition will continue to draw students, especially if older siblings in the family have been active in music. Marketing can be part of the story. Whether the marketing originates from instructors or from students who are currently involved, it has shown positive results.
A somewhat less understood fact is that there is a high correlation between active participation in music and higher achievement levels in other areas, especially math.
Time and choices among a number of options are the real issues.
Sometimes dedicated use of time and choices about what to do are made by outside forces on a dark and stormy night.
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