Friday, July 8, 2011

Beer, Blues and Illegal immigrants..... yowza!

OK.  It;s the 16th annual Beerfest in Beautiful downtown Wixconsin. I think I have gone to about thirteen of them.  It is a real simple concept... thirty or 40 small breweries and distributors bring in about 100 different kinds of beer..... Ales and Lagers and Stouts, oh my..... one ticket gets you all the beer you can drink.  AND... I live within walking staggering distance from the even grounds down by the river.

It is also a great way to meet drunken fools, sample styles of beer and ale only available in limited quantities. This is not for Coors Light drinkers. It is also a charitable event; proceeds are donated to the local Domestic Abuse Shelter.
So.... that is what I am doing tomorrow from 3-7.   Every SOB in town will be there (Society of Oshkosh Brewers) a group dedicated to make strange, exotic and wonderful tasting home brews.
Al and Katy

And another really really good thing about the beerfest is that old SOB, Al, will be bringing Katy and she whips up a fantastic Mango Salsa and some beer bread... yummerz.

So that covers Saturday... and Sunday, if my memory serves me correctly about recovery time.

I have been dealing with illegal immigrants... of a sort. I handle them with a chainsaw.  Basically... there were plants, trees introduced into America for a wide variety of reasons that have taken over or threaten native vegetation. I am cutting down a couple of Russian Olive, Asian buckthorn and a European Black Alder on a friends property.  All of them tend to be very invasive spreading faster than the common cold in a day care. The real trouble is that if they spread too much yu end up with a monoculture of one species with no diversification. The fruit is not good for native birds, the wood is too soft to use and all the species are short lived.  Unlike humans, where diversity is good and enriches our culture.... whatever that is.

12 comments:

Sherry Peyton said...

Boy you beery types use any excuse doncha?

Ya had me skert there for a minute with the chainsaw immigration thingie. buzz away, but don't do it when buzzed from beer!

squatlo said...

I was just reading about the monoculture problem with some kind of Chinese beetle that is ravaging ash trees across the midwest and spreading southward by the day. Apparently, lots of communities planted nothing but stately ash trees in their parks and neighborhoods, and now they look like A-bomb test atolls.
Spread the gene pool, diversify, that sort of thing, ought to be the lessen learned. Instead we'll release an asian wasp that eats Chinese beetles, and ten years from now we'll be trying to find a way to get rid of THEM, because they crap cyanide or something.
sigh...
The Beerfest sounds like a hell of a good time. We don't have those here... too many Bible Thumpers would be offended.

Randal Graves said...

Since when do you like beer?

Ahab said...

It sounds like an awesome beer festival, and it helps charity to boot!

Tree of Heaven (alianthus) is an aggressive, invasive species in my region. Is it a problem where you live?

susan said...

It's a good thing there's a lot of nutrition in beer. You're going to need some extra energy.

nonnie9999 said...

i hope you and the other SOBs had a wonderful time. ~hic~

Leslie Parsley said...

Just be glad you don't have that illegal Japanese alien, kudzu, in your area.

okjimm said...

Sherry... a beer buzz is a good buzz..had a great hefe weisen that was absolutely great... with aged gouda!

Squatlo... that would be the Emerald Ash Borer... wrecking some great stands of old ash and beech trees.

Ahab... I have heard of Tree of Heaven, but our real problem is the goddam Asian Buckthorn...really nasty stuff... the fruit is inedible for birds and mammals..crowds out all other vegatation and the thorns are nasty!!
Susan...Nonnie... The Beerfest was fantastic... every year I seem to come home with some dumb T-shirt... this year's says, "Beer is good food, A Pork Chop in every pint!" Still not sure what that means.

Leslie... I have read/heard of Kudzo... thank goodness there is none here, we have enough problems.

Life As I Know It Now said...

We are having trouble with the Ash trees dying here in Indiana.

The proceeds are going towards a good cause so drink away--well, now you are probably recovering from having a good time. :)

okjimm said...

Libs.... it WAS a very good time! not often I get to drink for charity! :)

Anonymous said...

It's nice to meet another responsible gardener! Before I killed off all the grass in my yard, I did a fair amount of research to find native plants to put back in. It always bothers me when I see stores offering plants that really don't belong here in Idaho. And diversity is the key to a healthy garden. I don't do much at all in the way of getting rid of pests - I let other pests take care of them to keep the garden in balance. But, when it comes to squash bugs, it's all out war. I haven't found any predator that can eat them fast enough.

S.W. Anderson said...

The beerfest sounds like fun. Just be careful if you're going to be near a river. ;)

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