Wisconsin Stinks

The alfalfa field was just starting to bloom and occasionally a whiff of floral essence would drift across the road. Then the farmer mowed it into rows while we were at lunch. Fine. It was pretty to see the rows flowing along the contours of the hill. Then the farmer came to pick up the rows and blow them into the wagons he pulled behind. Fine. It was fun to watch the action. Then the farmer came and sprayed liquid manure fertilizer on the field. Not fine. Ewwwwww!

Lost

Sometimes Jennifer plots me a route that takes longer than what I would have planned using a map. One day recently I was trying to get her to help me get to someplace faster and it took, oh, about an hour longer. Some of that was because I had to stop and take pictures of the new-to-me landscape, and part of that was because some of the roads were quite narrow and winding. Ah, but what is time against views like this?

My Strategy

I used to head out of town, then turn onto some road I hadn't been on before or recently and find what there was to find. After wandering aimlessly, making wild stops, turning around to go back, and taking many pictures, I would decide it was time to head home. I would drive in one direction, knowing eventually I would reach a main intersection that I could find on the map, so that I could plot the fastest route home. Now I do all that, get lost out there, take my pictures, bond with my Wisconsin, but instead of using the map to get back, I turn on Jennifer, my trusty GPS navigational device, and touch the right icons to get her to tell me how to get home. Sometimes, when I get back and look at my pictures, I haven't a clue where I really was when I took that one, but hey, I had a great time doing it!

How I Got Here

My business partner said we should expand to Wisconsin. I told her it was insane to have two businesses, especially one three hours from home. But I agreed to a trip to talk her out of it it, get her to bring her focus back on our existing business. Four days later, I made an offer on the building she brought me to see. A few months later, she left the business. I still love it all, having the business here, the customers who visit, my building, the wonderful kind amazing local people, the land, the seasons, all of it. It was a crazy idea.