SCHUMACHER FARM NEWS
Judy Borke, Site Coordinator, 849-4559

The main part of the granary being lifted to its new site at Schumacher Farm.

There was much excitement down at the Farm on August 31, when the long-anticipated granary and attached shed at last arrived. This is the first structure addition as part of the Friends of Schumacher Farm's plan to replace outbuildings that had once been at the Farm. Thank you to the Vincent Lacy family of Fitchburg for donating the granary, to Bob Childs Movers and Joe Daniels Construction Co. for the actual move and reassembly, to Dane County Parks Department staff for the site landscaping, and to Eagle Scout Sam Zelinka for scraping and painting the structure. It looks right at home!

Following the Friends' annual Harvest Fest and granary dedication on October 3, the remaining activities for 1999 include the season's final hymn sing-along at the farmhouse on Sunday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m., and Holiday Teas during December. Anyone interested in the tea's schedule or in making reservations can do so by calling the Farm's office at 849-4559.

A Wild Time in the E-Way

(Earlier this summer we received this message from Ken Siemers, natural areas manager extraordinaire in the E-Way. We're pretty sure that every word is true).

Well, there I was, minding my own business out in the E-Way this morning, uprooting Queen Anne's

Ken Siemers demonstrates the highly effective tools he uses to combat weeds and mosquitoes in the E-Way.

 Lace (pulls easy when the ground is wet, no shovel needed!), when I was set upon by an apparently infuriated turkey. The kind with feathers, not the political right-wing kind. With ferocious squawking and wing-flapping it came toward me, then about eight feet away it started circling me. Not wanting my eyes plucked out, I retreated and started leaving the area, thinking perhaps it was so hyper because it had young nearby. When I'd gotten maybe 20 feet away I was suddenly rushed and circled again. Decided later that perhaps this was a second bird, in the belief they usually aren't solitary critters. Anyway it was a helluva lot more exciting than when I scared up a deer last year in the E-Way. The deer had sense enough to go the other way. The turkey(s) didn't seem to understand the hunter-prey relationship! Or maybe they've learned their manners from the Red-winged Blackbirds, who also resent my presence. Maybe I'll start wearing a cow bell so they'll know I'm coming and we can avoid future territorial disputes.

I'll let you know if I'm assailed by bison, yeti, or Godzilla. I wouldn't be surprised.

A Word From the Parks Director
Ken LePine

In July of 1959 Dane County was fortunate to purchase three acres of land from Vincent and Bernice Marx for Fish Lake County Park. For more than 40 years now this small but active park has provided countless hours of recreational pleasure to many in northwestern Dane County. The park is used year round for fishing access to Fish Lake. It is not uncommon to see the parking lot as full in the winter as it is in the summer. Since 1984 Vincent Marx and other Marx's family members have taken care of the grounds maintenance under a special contract for services. They have done a wonderful job of keeping that park clean, neat and making it a very pleasurable place to visit. Vincent has taken a personal interest and pride in this facility.

Little did Vincent or Bernice know that, at the end of the century, Fish Lake would be attracting such attention. You many have read in recent newspaper articles or have seen on television that there is a major effort to put together a partnership between private, non profit and government agencies to preserve more of the lands surrounding Fish Lake and in doing so, preserve the lake itself. The Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation, Department of Natural Resources, Dane County Parks, Town of Roxbury and many other groups and individuals have been working on a method to preserve 200 plus acres, over 1200 feet of shoreline and provide resource protection and recreational opportunities on one of Dane County's most unique and beautiful lakes. What an historic opportunity we have as we move into a new century of cooperation with our community partners in this major project.

-Ken