Each Little World

Speed the plow

I pulled my "plow" mug, out of the china cabinet during the winter and filled it with a gift of a bright yellow primrose. Now that my yellow primroses are actually in bloom in the garden and planting weather has finally arrived, it seems appropriate to share this traditional paen to farmers. It's a popular sentiment that was often printed on two-handled mugs with the words on one side and agricultural images on the reverse. It supposedly originated around the 15th century when it was a tune sung by laborers. Some versions spell it "plough."

Let the wealthy and great
Roll in splendor and state
I envy them not, I declare it
I eat my own lamb
My own chickens and hams
I shear my own fleece and I wear it

I have lawns, I have bowers
I have fruits, I have flowers
The lark is my morning alarmer
So jolly boys now
Here's God speed the plow
Long life and success to the farmer

There are all sorts of variations on this mug but my favorite may be Emily Sutton's sweetly colored print of a mug with more dramatic handles than mine has, but the same grouping of a couple surrounded by farm implements and animals.

Remembering George McGovern: 1922-2012

“We are the party that believes we can’t let the strong kick aside the weak. Our party believes that poor children should be as well educated as those from wealthy families. We believe that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes and that everyone should have access to health care

“We are at a crossroads over how the federal government in Washington and state legislatures and city councils across the land allocate their financial resources. Which fork we take will say a lot about Americans and our values.”

George McGovern, in 2011

The above statement is why I voted for McGovern in 1972 and why I am a Democrat today.

The wheels of justice turn in Wisconsin

A Dane County Circuit judge today ruled Act 10 — which aimed to limit public workers' rights to bargain collectively — is unconstitutional under both state and federal law. Grateful thanks to Lester Pines and the other Madison lawyers on the legal team. You can read early details of the story here.

Note: I don't know the source of this photo. If you do, let me know so I can properly credit them.

Our gal in Toledo . . .

. . . reporter Kate Giammarise — and our niece — interviews our man in D.C. during his recent Ohio stop. Here's Kate's story as it appeared in The Toledo Blade.

Men and women at work

In honor of Labor Day, a few images of workers from the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. We began a recent visit at the rooftop sculpture garden with these larger-than-life bronze figures, where there were also some attractive plantings that were holding up well to this summer's extreme weather. 

This is a view looking down at the elaborate mosaic work in the entrance floor from an upper floor stairway. 

Most of the artworks in the museum — not surprisingly — showed men as depicted by male artists. While the men were doing a wide variety of jobs, the women pictured tended to be doing a limited number of typical female tasks: spinning, weaving, and agricultural work. That's probably why I was so taken with this painting: "The Carpenter Shop of Sophie Christensen," 1899, by Maria Christine Thymann, a Danish artist who lived from 1867-1928.

Here's a critical view of some of the work in this collection from reporters Mary Louise Schumacher and Whitney Gould of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that appeared at the time the museum opened. (We did see signage that addressed some of these concerns on our visit last week).

Foliage Follow-up: 7.16.2012

A little something different for Foliage Follow-up this month: We saw this amazing Ginkgo biloba at the annual Olbrich Home Gardens Tour on Saturday. It is a state champion tree and one of the oldest and largest Ginkgoes in the nation. An unforgettable sight and a tribute to a Madison couple who love and value the trees on their property. They have a number of illustrious old trees, all of them healthy and in good shape from the attentions of arborist and tree historian, Bruce Allison.

To check out more interesting foliage, visit Pam at Digging.

Keep on keepin' on . . .

From the neighborhood couple who always give me a mental boost with their handmade signs:

The morning after

I made a wise decision last night and went to the 384th Solidarity Sing Along on the steps of the state Capitol in Madison. We sang union songs for an hour as the polls closed. The bagpipers, drummers and drum major from the firefighters' union joined us for a rousing round of solidarity. We'd barely turned around to leave when we started to get the bad news. As Matt Rothschild of the Progressive Magazine noted, it was a brutal night for progressives in Wisconsin.

But, as we've been saying for more than a year, "We're still here" and this morning the sun is shining. Just got an email from the neighborhood association saying that my polling place (Ward 77 at Toki School on the west side) had an 85% turnout and 298 new registrants; 1127 votes cast for Barrett and 425 for Scottie. In the 17 years we've lived here, it appears our neighborhood is getting more progressive! On a larger note, it looks like the good citizens in Racine did managed to flip the state Senate for us.

I don't believe any of us who took up the call in February, 2011, regret our efforts. We shared something in those days at the Capitol that was as unprecedented as it was unforgettable. What happened yesterday was a setback in a long struggle. The landmark progressive legislation that came out of Wisconsin 100 years ago took ten years to achieve. I figure we've got the first 18 months down. As my friend John Nichols noted last year, "The recall elections are not the start of anything. They are the continuation of La Follette's 'old fight' by Wisconsinites who know that this is a progressive state, with a progressive history and a progressive future." On Wisconsin. 

Staying on message in Wisconsin: Vote for democracy — and Barrett and Mitchell —today

One more message from the couple on Tokay Blvd., not far from my house. When I stopped to photograph this sign, I talked for a while with the homeowner who's been making and displaying these signs on his front lawn for months.

We both agreed that no matter what happens today, a foundation of participatory democracy has been laid that won't disappear. Thousands of people have worked long and hard, educated themselves along with their friends and neighbors, participated in historic events large and small. We've all been changed. Whatever the outcome of today's six elections*, there's no going back. 

I will see you tonight at the Capitol for the Solidarity Election Night Vigil and Sing Along from 8-9 p.m. with the intrepid Solidarity Singers. As Ed Garvey of Fighting Bob says, "Go in peace but keep your powder dry. Visualize the party on the 6th."

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and four state Senate races.

Staying on message in Wisconsin 4

I love this handmade sign urging Wisconsinites to support Tom Barrett and Malon Mitchell for gov and lt. gov. in the upcoming election. It's nested in a tall hedge on a corner property on Madison's west side. But what's even better is what's behind the hedge:

This is Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonia 1. Locally we refer to it as the First Jacobs House since it was built for Capital Times' reporter Herb Jacobs and his family in the mid-1930s. Today it's owned by Jim Dennis, an emeritus art history professor at UW-Madiosn. This Just goes to show you that no matter whether you live in a big house or a small house, a famous house or a just folks house, not many people in this part of Wisconsin will be voting for Scott Walker on June 5.