Rubbing the Badger’s Nose

I went to the Capitol on Friday.  I’m not very adept at city life.  Cities are smelly and noisy and filled with hustling bustling people who all seem to want to go through the same spot at the same time.  Everyone wants to be heard and no one listens.  I hadn’t been there half an hour and I already had a headache.  But I had my camera and when I got inside the capitol building the din and smell of the city subsided somewhat, so I began taking pictures.

Before you get too high an expectation about these photos understand that I have zero experience with indoor shooting and I have to admit, my lack of experience with this kind of photography has given me a newfound respect for those of you who can do indoor photography.

Wisconsin’s capitol building has a central rotunda with four wings.  In each wing of the building is one aspect of the government.  One wing has the Wisconsin Governor’s office, one wing has the Wisconsin State Assembly, one has the Wisconsin State Senate, and the fourth wing contains the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Now, a long time ago I had a conversation with a woman I had a huge crush on.  She lived in the building where my dad operated a business and she had this huge Sheepdog.  You know the kind with the long white and gray fur.  A really sweet dog.  The dog’s name was Motley, if I remember right.  Her dog wandered through an open door and into my dad’s shop.  She walked in behind apologizing for her dog and she said something to me that stuck,  “He’s funny like that, whenever he sees an open door he just walks through.”

I’ve been like that ever since.  Whenever I see an open door and it looks like something interesting, I just walk through it whether I’m invited or not.  That’s how I was last Friday as I wandered around inside the capitol building.  I saw an open door, I went through it and took pictures.

Inside one of the legislative chambers.

Off of this chamber is another meeting room that I always seem to end up in, because when the congressman aren’t around the door is always open.

Mostly because it has a picture of this Wisconsin native.  Some of you may have heard of him.

Now you might be asking, so you endured a headache brought on because of the smells and noise of the city to take a picture of Admiral Leahy?  Or was it to take pictures of the Capitol?  The answer would be neither.  It takes something extraordinary to get me to willingly and of free mind to travel into a city.

Something like say, some dear friends of mine getting married.

Outside the governor’s office is a statue of a Badger.  Rubbing the Badger’s nose is said to bring good luck to newlyweds.  Congratulations Jason and Kathy!

Sam’s Allergies

It’s nice to see Sam resting like this.  He has suffered from various skin allergies since birth.  The last two or three years have been the worst.  He would startle awake by something causing him to itch and start scratching or licking to make it stop.  His vet said there was nothing that could be done.  The answer to Sam’s stress was really quite simple.  Find a new vet.  Sam has three issues now that he’s getting older.  The skin allergies being one, but now he’s also developing cataracts, and, according to the last vet, is developing cancer.  The new vet says he finds no evidence of Sam having cancer and the developing cataracts may have something to do with his skin infection.  That’s right, skin infection, not allergies.  He gave Sam some antibiotics to treat the skin infection and now he rests comfortably – no more licking or scratching.

Beer-butt Chicken

One reason I rarely go out to eat is because I like to cook and am actually kind of good at it.  I’ve even learned how to do a couple of things quite well — especially if it involves a grill.

And it just so happens that I have one!  My parents invited me to the homestead this weekend and when my mom, who also works as a prep-cook for one of the local chefs, told me what she wanted for dinner — well, I decided to arrive early.

Some people will fuss over which kind of charcoal to use and will swear by this brand or that brand and that you got to sprinkle this stuff on it, and, quite frankly, I prefer Kingsford simply because it burns evenly which helps me gauge the temperature.  So add charcoal.  I prefer using a chimney to start the coals.

To prepare this meal, I used an indirect method to charcoal.  That keeps the heat from being directly beneath the chicken.

My parents have gotten fancy with the way they do beer-butt chicken.  They actually use a stand that you set the beer can inside of and then slide the chicken over the top of the stand.  Really all you need is a can of beer — drink half of it — and shove it inside the chicken and use the beer can and the chicken’s legs to stand it on the grill.  Remember to marinade or season the chicken with your favorite rubs before-hand.  I used a can of Miller beer for the chicken and enjoyed an ice cold St Pauly Girl while cooking.

Add in your favorite sides, in this case corn on the cob and sweet taters, cover and let cook.

Remember to turn the corn and taters at regular intervals and in about an hour or so…

Beer-butt Chicken — the finest in redneck grilling!  Served with fresh corn on the cob from Illinois, cranberries from Wisconsin, sweet-taters from Carolina, potato biscuits from the grocer’s freezer and an ice cold Sprecher Root Beer, and I had a labor day meal fit for a workin’ man.

Happy Thanksgiving

My father is passing family traditions to me, one of which is saying grace before holiday meals.  I thought I’d share this year’s grace and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Dear Lord we pray,
For those gathered, for friends near and far, for loved ones dear and departed. Thank you for this day and this bounty before us, and we pray that there shall be many more days such as these. In Jesus name, Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!