Blogs

As promised the blackness has faded and the Folklore Village prairie has sprouted lovely green shoots over the rolling hills. I look out over the 40 acres and see nothing but green. Just green. Now I’m not complaining. Not one bit. I like green. But I know that in the depths of that green other colors are striving to grow and are begging to shine and be seen. How can I be so sure? Because I’ve walked through prairies before.

Today Folklore Village will be surrounded by whisps of smoke and the spark of gently burning prairie grasses and flowers.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service crew, along with their volunteers, are burning the FV prairie this morning. At the end of the day the withered grasses of last year will be charred on our 40 acre prairie restoration.

My doorbell rang a couple of nights ago and I paused, thinking “Who could this be? Should I answer it?”  I didn’t like that I’d had that reaction. Have you noticed that in this age of electronic communication, cell phones and caller i.d.

     If you have been to a Folklore Village event you know that many of our activities include food. Why? Because we believe not only in the sustenance and deliciousness of the meals (hooray Bonnie) but because we also like what happens around the dinner table (or snack table!). Community comes together when food is involved. It is bridge across people, place, time and tradition. Where you grew up, what your life is like, what activities you enjoy and other things do not matter.

Quick – list ten reasons you enjoy coming to Folklore Village. Are you counting them on your fingers? I bet you are! I’d love to read your 10 reasons to come to a FV barn dance or to enjoy a Cajun weekend, to invite your friends to a concert, to bring your family to a Saturday Night Social…you get the picture.  If you'd like to just share one reason, that's okay too! We are starting a “10 reasons to…” campaign. Soon you will start seeing cards, comments, etc. about ten reasons to participate in one of our programs.

          Yesterday morning as I was readying myself for work I heard the weather folks say “It’s foggy out there – turn your headlights on and be careful.” I walked out the door and the sun was shining brightly here in Dodgeville which meant the fog had already lifted and everything was gloriously covered in ice crystals and glistening in the sunlight. I grabbed my camera and took off for work…with a slight detour through Governor Dodge State Park.

During our lunchtime chat yesterday at Folklore Village we were discussing the weather (what else?!). Well, more specifically, we were discussing the cold and the wind, but were highlighting the beautiful patterns the wind makes in the snow and the other cool things that winter weather can do. (No pun intended.)  I mentioned that when I was little my dad and I took a mug of boiling water outside in the bitter cold and threw it into the air and it turned into an instant powder!