Wake up! Wake up!

It’s official. Spring has sprung! Technically, it has for the last few days. However, not until now have I finally been in the mindset for it. I’ve been in denial, even with the warm, sunny days we’ve had. I was trying to maintain a little flame in hopes of one last winter flare up, but alas, it’s been snuffed out.

Everything is greening up…fast! Buds are popping out on the trees, tulips are peaking out from leaf beds, peepers and chorus frogs have begun their daily symphony under the stars, and farmers are in the fields, spreading manure or plowing (as I saw one Amish farmer doing on the drive back home for break).

How could one remain in denial after seeing this?

And the days are becoming longer! Forgot that one. It is doing wonders for my psyche. The late winter drear is always the worst, mostly because you know the end is near. To get out and enjoy part of the day after class has been great also! I broke out my bike again too, so a little more exercise doesn’t hurt either :) I put away some of the winter gear too (not that there were ample opportunities to use it) but still, I was able to pack it away for the most part. 

Ok I’m going to switch gears a bit…but it is related to spring in a round-about way in that the vernal season just brings giddy child-like enthusiasm to the surface.

A while back I wrote about finding my inner child through pottery painting. Well, I found another piece of it this weekend as a friend and I were hiking along the St. Croix River. The trail we hiked along was carved into the face of a limestone cliff that rose up from the river and was covered in bits of the broken limestone. A few times, we stopped to marvel at how calm the river was in the early evening. We looked down at the trail and then back at each other, sharing the same thought.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something ridiculously satisfying about whipping a rock as far as you can into water. For me, the urge to throw a rock is no different from swiping a finger through a freshly frosted cake or blowing on a dandelion puff ball. I am inexplicably drawn and overcome with the need to do it. Consequences (if there were any) be damned! The itch to do it will never cease until you do it.

One of our hypotheses (other than the urge) was the sploosh of the rock as it plunges into the water. You know what I am talking about.

I was also tempted to climb down to the water’s edge more than once to scope out some nice, flat stones. Although I am horrible at it, I love skipping stones. With the water so still, it would have been perfect! Again with the urges…

In addition to finding another bit of my inner child on this hike, I also had WOW (wildlife of the week) moment! Most of you know I have an almost absurd infatuation with raptors, and well, Bald Eagles are no exception. While we were hiking, I heard that distinctive cackling. I stopped to listen for moment, heard it again, and whipped my head upward. There were two eagles soaring probably no more than 20 yards above us. They were so close you could hear the whoosh as they dived and then powerful flapping of their wings after before they were out of sight. I can still hear it if I listen carefully.

I wish I had thought about it at the time, but in the words of Ronald Weasley….Wicked! (Just for you, Mandy :) Oh and for those of you who are also hopelessly enchanted with the world of Harry Potter!)

On a completely unrelated note…I have confession to make. I’ve broken my Facebook hiatus, if only for a few moments. At the time I took leave from Facebook, quite a few friends have had or have been having babies, and since then I’ve also been hearing through some grapevines, that more friends are now expecting. Needless to say, curiosity has gotten the best of me. 

I have no intentions of making Facebook a daily habit again, but since logging back in, I have yet to deactivate it and to go back on it since I first logged in again last week. I have been thinking on and off about slowing reintroducing myself, not quite sure yet though. We’ll see if that day comes. For now, I’m opting not to deactivate it again, mostly as a test. 

Wish me luck!

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Oh my goodness! It’s already March! I’m alive, I promise. I hope those of you have been following are doing well. HOW ARE YOU???

This past month has slipped away, almost literally I’d argue, especially with all the times I’ve very (un)-gracefully landed on my behind while walking to and from class. We’ve been so spoiled with nice, sunny weather in between all the little bursts of snow that I almost entirely forget about the ice that reforms overnight. And while I am really enjoying this nice, lovely weather, it kind of freaks me out a little also for obvious reasons. I hope we can at least get enough of a snowpack so that I might be able to break out the snowshoes at least once this year! I'm more than a bit jealous of all the snow they got at the lake in the past week and not being able tromp around it...

As predicted, the semester is proving to be a busy one (like all of them!), hence the month—long—wait. I know, I know, excuses, right? Perhaps a little…it has been nice out also, after all… At any rate, a busy semester…’nuff said! J

I think we the exception of physics, I am enjoying my classes for the most part. Although—side note, here!—as much as I gripe about physics, I did have an “Aha!” Light bulb moment last week, so I guess not all is as lost as I thought. My two writing courses are probably my favorites I’d say. I geeked out a bit last time over them, so I will spare you the rambling if only to say that thoughtfulness, creativity, and horrible puns know no bounds!

If anything hasn’t been school related in the last month, I probably haven’t done it…Oh wait! There have been a few events of note…probably the most prominent of them being the annual Schell Brewery Bockfest in New Ulm, MN. While it was an excuse to consume awesome beer and spend time with some great people, there is also interesting historical and cultural significance to the creation and seasonality of bock beer. (This is going to be the geeky note!)

As one could guess from the name alone, New Ulm is a town rooted deep in German tradition. It also happened to be co-founded by August Schell. Soon after, Schell founded the brewery in 1860, the oldest in Minnesota and second oldest in the country. Today, the brewery, and all of the buildings near to it, including the Schell Mansion are some of the oldest buildings in the region. During the Sioux Uprising, all of the buildings were spared because of the initial hospitality and kindness of the Schell family had shown to the Dakota Sioux as the brewery was first becoming established. To the right is a photo of the brewery in the 1930s.

So the creation of bock? Well, the exact circumstances surrounding the origins are little hazy, but it is said to have been first brewed as a heavy lager in the town of Einbeck in the 14^th century. It was designed to provide sustenance for monks during Lenten fasts. In the 17^th century, brewers in Munich adopted the Einbeck beer, and due to the heavy Bavarian accents, it was pronounced like “Ein bock.” Literally translated, bock means “goat” in German, which is why there are often goats in the labels of bock beers as a sort of visual pun.

Another part of the historical and cultural tradition of bock beer is that is traditionally brewed in the fall, left to ferment over winter and the tapping of it in late winter/early spring signifies the end of winter and beginning of spring. This also coincides with the celebration Fasching (aka Fasnet, a dialectic version from Swabia, is how I learned it from my host family) or what is also commonly known as German Mardi Gras on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This festival commemorates the expulsion of bad spirits of winter (death, darkness, destruction) in order to allow the annual life cycle (resurrection—think of the green up in spring!) to begin again. People dress up as witches or evil spirits in order to symbolically drive out the evil spirits. The name of the festival refers to fasting during the Lenten season, where Christians traditionally abstained from meat, alcohol, and festivities until Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. Altogether, Fasnet combines both pagan and Christian beliefs to symbolize the coming of the new annual cycle.

So in New Ulm, the Bock fest is always held the Saturday before Lent and Fasching celebrations, which are also held throughout the day. My day spent at the brewery was awesome and not only for the cultural and historical notes. The costumes of some of the people there were the highlights, actually, along with the polka band! However, I don’t think I’ll able to listen to “the Ring of Fire” for a very long time. I lost track of how many times I heard it after about the 12th time!

The first thing I noticed after hopping off our bus was that I was a bit underdressed compared to most people, especially without a bomber hat (I'll be prepared next year!). Just about everyone was a wearing one. Some people even had homemade ones made from Schell beer boxes and lined with fur! And if people weren’t wearing bomber hats, most were wearing football-type helmets adorned with deer antlers or other animals (saw a crow and a cat at some point throughout the day). One man standing behind us in line was wearing a fedora with a squirrel lying belly up, drinking from a Schell can. Beside this there was also a group of people wearing traditional Fasnet costumes with the wooden masks! (You can imagine my excitement!) I wanted to get a picture, but sadly didn’t trust myself to bring my camera and the phone died!

Here are what many Fasnet costumes look like though (these photos were shamelessly pilfered from Google images)

So….that was a very lengthy Geek Note. Wow, apologies on that one. When I’m not enjoying a good beer fest, though, it’s been all about school to be sure and work, of course. Oh, and still applying for jobs for the summer. I’m beginning to become a little disheartened with each passing day and no bites on the lines I keep dropping…Hopefully it will all pay off soon though!

Now, back to that thing called homework...

Bis dann!...Or BOCK ON!