Situation all clear.

(Almost) all systems have returned to normal, as of about 6pm yesterday. The Great Flood of 2010 wreaked havoc in Riverotterland- you may know that we own and maintain an eight-family apartment building and four other duplexes besides the one that we live in, and had a total of three basement sewer backups 7/22. We're finally all clean and sanitized with the currently necessary appliances and hot water heaters running. I have a lot of people to thank for assistance and gifts and time and food and etc. So, in something like chronological order:


Kathy, for food, cleaning assist, extra gloves, hot shower, and gin-and-tonics.


Char and John, for emotional support, food, wet vac, dehumidifier, extra cleaning supplies, and cleaning help.


My mom, for understanding, a huge bag of rags and towels, bleach, dinner, and a box fan.


My boss, who gave me the week off. I didn't even have to ask.

Brain's workplace, who gave him the week off and sent "four womens, ready to work!" They did, too. Awesome.


Kreuter, for tireless work and good company.


My dad, for a dehumidifier and a box fan.


Mr Sebald, for - yes- a dehumidifier.


Pabst Blue Ribbon, for making the situation tolerable.


FEMA, for making a dramatic appearance two doors down with Scott Walker and news cameras, and allowing me to tell them ALL about the turds in the basement. With photos. Which I won't show you here. Here's a monarch butterfly instead.

We now have monarch caterpillars on that plant, fattening up and enjoying life, waiting to metamorphose into their next stage: metaphorically, I am as well, even if it's just back to normal.

Oh, crap.

We had Weather last night, alright. This is a pic from after it had mostly subsided. Treacherous flooded streets. Manholes and sewers spewing poopwater like geysers. Cars with blinkers on and people randomly pulling U-turns trying to snake their way through rising waters. Frantic calls to my mom in the next county hoping she could figure out by telepathy or satellite or something which streets were dry enough to drive on. Finally parking four blocks away and scrambling up the incline under I-43 above the flooding, then wading the rest of the way- soaked. Last night was...intense! At least I didn't end up in a sinkhole or struck by lightning. The constant- literally- sirens we heard while cleaning up the six or seven inches of shitwater from the basement served as a sobering reminder that there were lots of people out there who were worse off. Our downstairsika cooked us an amazing dinner and made me a gin and tonic, we comiserated with the neighbors, and then we got to work carrying bucket after bucket after bucket of Hepatitis C and gonorrhea and ringworm and ... out of the basement.

Home Depot was out of bleach this morning and sump pump hoses and dehumidifiers, expecting trucks from neighboring counties to bring more supplies for the gloved hordes. We had one bottle left from last week's sewer backup floating around down there.

Guess I'd better get back to work.

Amazing bat photos!

These are some amazing shots!

It took weeks for wildlife photographer Kim Taylor to rig wires over a pond and get photos of difficult-to-photograph bats over his garden pond in Surrey, UK. I hope you enjoy the link!

Thoughts on architecture, healing, and the Starship

Current Orthopaedic Hospital building.

So... I've been spending a lot of time at PT at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, part of a cluster of Columbia-St. Mary's related buildings. The OHW isn't that old, but they are building a new one. A much uglier one- see below.

I really like the original glass OHW building. It's so open, so modern. There is a fountain in the - ..um...front? I'm never sure what is "the front" in a non-new urbanism building that you are supposed to drive to, like Panera or Trader Joe's a couple miles north on Silver Spring. (Of course, the idea of "walking to the orthopedic hospital"- despite the fact that I live four blocks away...induces almost-non-ironic laughter.) Anyway, I spend a bit of time enjoying the fountain every time I am there. Water fountain on the OHW patio. I visit it every time I am there.

It is very soothing and something about the heft of the stones, the beauty of the water, and its the peaceful aura offer a contrast with the modern glass in a way which I greatly enjoy.

The new building, however, (below) looks like some kind of claustrophobic school building, nearly windowless.

New Orthopaedic Hospital, under construction. I hope it somehow becomes more attractive.

My PT explained to me that the vast amount of glass, though nice for humans, was an invitation for frequent and inadvertent bird suicide. That was part of the reason for the new design; it is possible that energy savings were also a factor, though I note no solar panels. Knowing that natural light is so important for the psyche (and therefore healing), though, I have mixed feelings about it. Plus, it's not as though they are going to tear down the existing building: it will be repurposed into much-more-convenient offices. Please, birds, try to remember.

And then there's the Riverwoods building just down the way. Whenever I give people directions to get there, I tell them, "It kind of looks like a spaceship." Doesn't it sort of look like the Enterprise? Sort of? (Just say yes. It will make me feel happy- or at least not crazy.)

Riverwoods.
Someone once told me that the Human Resources building right on Port Washington Road "looks like an insane asylum." I prefer the Enterprise. I didn't get a picture of that one- the old Scott Paper Company, repurposed; you can see that one for yourself, just to the east of I-43, if you are so inclined.

Water privatization

Cheryl Nenn is interim executive director of the Milwaukee Riverkeeper. She and I have had our differences, really just one disagreement- about the Estabrook Dam issue- but I deeply respect her, her education, opinions, and knowledge. Someone called her my "frenemy", but (even though I love neologisms) that is completely inaccurate: she and I are adults who are able to have rational conversations, usually via email, and can agree to disagree.

She wrote this article against the proposal of water privatization for the local daily paper, and I love the title: "Public asset belongs in public hands." Milwaukee has a long, proud Socialist history, and this will- I hope-continue to be yet another part of that history.

"Water is essential for life. Access to clean water is a human right. But in the hands of a for-profit company, water easily can be denied to those without the resources to pay for it.
In many communities that have privatized their water systems, jobs have been lost, salaries and benefits of workers have been cut, and monitoring and services have been reduced or delayed."

Please read the rest of her editorial for yourself. She concludes, "Finally, we... will lose control of it through privatization, and we forfeit our responsibility to hold a private corporation accountable (emphasis mine). Throughout the term of a 99-year lease, we will vote generations of elected officials in and out of office but will have no way to 'vote out' or hold a private water company accountable for its performance. [This does sound vaguely similar to how the DNR is run, though, doesn't it.] Other cities, such as Mequon and Felton, Calif., have incurred significant expense to take back water systems from private hands."

And, as Sura Faraj posted on Facebook, "200+ showed up (at Monday's hearing) to protest water privatization. We scared the security guards with our chanting. They threatened to put us in jail, because "This is a place of business." Alders temporarily held the matter. We want a resolution that says privatizing our water will be taken off the table permanently. Until then we will continue to organize. What can you do? Call your Alder 286.2221 and say so." Here's more on the subject.

What do you think? Post a comment-contact our elected officials- contact Cheryl and let her know what you thought of her editorial. Spread the word. Drink tap water. Keep the discussion going.

I don't mind the rain

Look what it brought. Lupines!

Alliums, a giant onion.

White bleeding hearts. Janine from Gracious Gardens gave me this plant- it's now huge.

Yellow irises, one of my favorites. I liberated their rhizomes from the nearby neglected cemetery- the grave of a 12-year-old girl was covered with them like a sack of potatoes; the rhizomes were so choked together that the flowers weren't coming anymore, only swords. Now they bloom again in the cemetery too.

...and we lived forever after, in a cottage by the sea

On Sunday Brain and I walked around Long Lake so that I could look at all the lakeside houses that I was coveting- the ostentatious mansions, the cottages with bleeding hearts and low stone walls, the beat-up old ones with outhouses just a bit too close to the water's edge. This sweet doomed angel, next to a cottage for sale, is about to be torn down to clear the view for a planned new house. (We enjoy our vacations thoroughly.)

You can see the campground from this spot. When we are camping, I always find cottages to think I want, but I realized that if I actually had one, I wouldn't be there; I would be back in Milwaukee, worrying about the place. Plus, I enjoy the allure of the new. That's the thing about camping: you can put your tent anywhere and explore all the crazy little places you never knew existed.

UWM's Freshwater Sciences- PRO!

Below is the body of an email I sent the Harbor Commissioners.

I am writing as a citizen concerned about our city, our region, and our waters. I feel that the proposed site for the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences on the Lake Michigan shore is perfect for several reasons: first, it makes logical sense to have it located there, directly on the water. Second, although it is offsite, it is close to the main campus- within easy walking distance. Third, it is a chance to show off our shoreline. Cities like NYC and Baltimore have beautiful, amazing structures on their shorelines, showcasing both the architecture and the water. An innovative and well-designed structure would build on the momentum started by the Calatrava. Make it a green building that uses passive solar for heating and light- or that could even generate extra power to add to the grid, like the Aktivhaus, and we will have something amazing for future generations.

Sincerely,

The River Otter

You can email the Harbor Commissioners before tomorrow evening to support the School of Freshwater Sciences on lakefront site - here are the addresses. I got one response right away. http://cli.gs/1HWNTQ. There's a meeting tomorrow night, too: attend the Public Hearing on May 28th at 6 PM at City Hall in Room 301-B and share your opinion. I would attend if I were able.

Why is this different than the County Grounds issue? See above.

David Schulz Aquatic Center update

See updated post on the Aquatic Center here.


Work continues. Water slides are up; big piles of dirt are down.

Photo taken yesterday, looking east from Green Bay Avenue.

What's tappening?

I first started thinking about bottled water being just kind of weird when What's Tappening asked to be my MySpace friend (very politely).

One vivid image they put out there is to imagine a bottle of bottled water being one-quarter full of oil - since that is how much petroleum it takes to make the bottle, fill it, and transport it. I like my refillable Sigg bottle. It is my comfort object.

Some people where I work fought to get recycling bins put in the break room. I really didn't care about it, because I just don't use recyclables at work. But they're there now. I guess I just think it's better to reduce (or the "other R," refuse) on the front end.

Fond memories part IV

Every fall DH and I go up to northern Wisconsin and camp alongside one of the little lakes in the Nicolet National Forest. It's a very special place for us. Because we go up after the high season- usually September or October- it's very private, quiet.

One time I was down at the water in the early morning and there were several Northern River Otters swimming together, cavorting and making schnurfing noises. I called to DH to come down, to bring the camera. I was so excited, and of course I scared them away. The next year I watched and waited, carefully, quietly, and didn't see any of these amazing and elusive creatures. I cried on the last day of our vacation with this deep and brutal disappointment.

The picture is of the lake: dawn, cool and crisp. The otters are hiding.

Sterling Spring Water Company

A few years ago I was at an estate sale where there were many fondleable, weird items from the middle part of the last century. One thing that caught my attention was an old bottle labeled

"Bottled at the Source

1053 N. 115th Street Wauwatosa

Sterling Spring Water Company"

I had never heard of this, and wrote the label information in my notebook (what the hell am I going to do with an old bottle, cool as it may be? I have enough crap [although, if anyone is sufficiently intrigued, this site has one for sale for $10. As of this writing, it's item #S-417]). Do any of you have any further information on it?

The company does not seem to still be in existence, but here is a map of that address.

There is at least one spring still in use in Milwaukee, the Bay View Iron Well, which I used to drink from copiously. It always seemed ancient and pure and mysterious, even though everyone knows about it. If anyone knows about this Sterling Spring Water Company, though, please post a comment about it.

Here is a photo of that area now, where 115th street crosses over Underwood Creek, courtesy of Google Street View. It is interesting to note that the watershed divides just west of there, at approximately 124th street. Is there still a spring there? Is it safe to drink from?

Upcoming events

Putting these down the drain means drinking them later.
April 18th, 2009, is Medicine Collection Day- residents of Milwaukee County can bring unused meds to the Miller Park lot by the Sausage Haus. Never put unused meds down any toilet, sink, or drain- water treatment plants are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater. Don't worry that the racing sausages are going to get high on your unused Oxycontin: all medicine collected will be destroyed by law enforcement or a federally licensed incinerator. You can bring prescription or over-the-counter medication, ointments, sprays, inhalers, creams, vials and pet medications. For more information (including neighboring counties' dropoff sites), see the MMSD web site. You and your loved ones don't want to be swimming in or drinking other people's Ortho Tri-Cyclen or Abilify, or eating fish that did either.

Earth Day cleanups- Saturday, April 18th, in Kletzsch Park (meet at 0830)- rain or shine- dress appropriately; also, the Milwaukee Riverkeeper's river cleanups are occurring at multiple sites the same day- see their website for more information.


Save the date for the first annual MRPA Lincoln Park cleanup, Saturday, May 16th- meet at Solly's at 0800. Further details forthcoming.


Kletzsch Park Weedouts- invasive species removals every Saturday in May from 0900 to noon. Wear suitable clothing for moving in the brush. Meet at the Pavilion at 6560 Milwaukee River Parkway. Help keep our Wisconsin treasure, the Trillium, from being overtaken by evil garlic mustard. Trilliums in Kettle Moraine, photo taken May 2007.

Feliz Pascua!

Rain barrels

Using rain gardens and rain barrels helps the river: during heavy rain events rain pours off of impervious surfaces such as home and garage roofs, running almost directly into storm sewers that feed into the river. The rain never has a chance to soak into the earth and filter into the groundwater, and then we have flooding with no replenishment of waterways during the hot dry season.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentenel had an article yesterday on the benefits of rain barrels and rain gardens.

Contact the MMSD to get your own rain barrel;for further benefit, you can hook it up to a rain garden.

"Freshwater Capitol of the World"

Today's Journal-Sentinel business section offers this interesting article-http://www.jsonline.com/business/40878037.html
"The economics of water 'will define the region for the next 30 years,' says Dean Amhaus, who runs the Spirit of Milwaukee, a civic promotion agency that coordinates efforts to craft a modern image for the metro region on behalf of the Milwaukee 7 economic development group.
'Water has positive connotations in many ways,' Amhaus said. 'It's environmental. It's economics. It's innovation. It's technology. It's biotech. It's big.'"