Madison Essentials Magazine August-October 2016

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 1

MADISON ESSENTIALS m

a

g

a

z

i

n

e

CONTENTS august–october 2016

publisher Towns & Associates, Inc. 126 Water Street Baraboo, WI 53913-2445 P (608) 356-8757 • F (608) 356-8875

essential arts Jeff Noska......................................46

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

dining

editor-in-chief ajohnson@madisonessentialsmagazine.com

North and South Seafood & Smokehouse...............................24 Oliver’s Public House.......................6

publication designer

food & beverage

Amy S. Johnson

vol. 47

Beer is Thicker Than Blood: Oktoberfest.................................52 Old Sugar Distillery.........................36 Sjölinds Chocolate House.............16

Jennifer Denman

copy editors Kyle Jacobson, Krystle Naab

advertising director

home

Amy S. Johnson ajohnson@madisonessentialsmagazine.com

(608) 356-8757x105

advertising coordinator Kelly Hopkins khopkins@madisonessentialsmagazine.com

(608) 445-5556

Add a Sunny Space to Your Home..................................40 Sharing Spaces with Feathered and Furry Friends...........................60

landmark Van Slyke House.............................20

nonprofit

graphic designers Susie Anderson, Crea Stellmacher, Barbara Wilson

Friends of Wisconsin State Parks...56

pets Avoiding Parasites with Your Pets...32

administration Jennifer Baird, Sandy Carlson, Lori Czajka

contributing writers Jeanne Carpenter, Chelsey Dequaine, Jeanne Engle, Kyle Jacobson, Yvette Jones, Kay Myers, Jessica Pastelin, Lillie Perry, Steve Royalton, Lori Scarlett, DVM, Representative Chris Taylor, Liz Wessel, Elizabeth H. Winston, PhD, Joan W. Ziegler

photographer

service Covenant Presbyterian Youth......28 Porchlight Products, Part II............34 Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law..............10

shopping Zip-Dang........................................12

travel A Park for All Seasons....................54

well-being

Eric Tadsen

How to Go to Therapy...................49

additional photographs Simon Anderson, Uriah Carpenter, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Degnan Design Builders, Deb Flanders, Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, Kira Jacobson, Maison Meredith Photography,

including From the Editor................................4 Contest Information......................62 Contest Winners............................62

(continued) madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 3

additional photographs (continued) Jeff Noska, Porchlight, Inc., Port Huron Brewing, ZDA, Inc., Ledell Zellers

additional copies Madison Essentials Magazine is

available free at over 150 locations.

If you would like a copy sent to you, please send mailing information and $3 (payable to Towns & Associates) for each magazine to Madison Essentials Magazine, c/o Towns & Associates, Inc., 126 Water Street, Baraboo, WI 53913.

subscriptions

To purchase an annual subscription (4 issues), send mailing information and $12 (payable to Towns & Associates) to Madison Essentials Magazine, c/o Towns & Associates, Inc., 126 Water Street, Baraboo, WI 53913.

Or sign up for a FREE online subscription at madisonessentialsmagazine.com.

comments

We welcome your questions and comments. Please submit to Madison Essentials Magazine c/o Towns & Associates, Inc., 126 Water Street, Baraboo, WI 53913 ajohnson@madisonessentialsmagazine.com.

advertise

To place an advertisement, please call (608) 356-8757x105 or email

from the editor I have learned it to be true that with each passing year, life flies by faster and faster. I’m having a difficult time even contemplating this fall issue (in June) when it feels like summer has only just begun.

One thing I look forward to, though, is the end of the election season! The process started so early, and I am more than ready for it to be over, never mind by the time you’re reading this. Isn’t there a better use for the money being spent? But before it ends, there is one very important thing left to be done: voting. No matter what your party affiliation, we want your vote to be cast and counted, so we asked Representative Chris Taylor of the 76th Assembly District to provide an update on Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law. We hope this information will make the final process easier for you.

We could call this our Wisconsin parks issue because we’ve included two articles on the topic. First we focus on various locations within the Dane County parks system and what you will find and can do at each. Then we feature Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, which celebrates 20 years of “Preserving, Promoting, Protecting, and Enhancing Wisconsin state parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas.” That pretty much says it all, and it’s good to remind everyone who makes sure our parks are beautiful, entertaining experiences.

There are also articles that encourage you to connect your home with the outdoors. First by allowing the outdoors to filter into your home through a screened-in porch or sunroom. Then by discussing how to make your yard animal-friendly, whether it is for a dog, cat, or chicken. Making sure the area is safe is of the utmost importance for these family members. Speaking of pets, we’ve included a helpful piece with tips on how to avoid parasites in your dog, cat, and you.

ajohnson@madisonessentialsmagazine.com.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission by the publisher, Towns & Associates, Inc.

Watch for the next issue November 2016.

Cover photo taken at Zip-Dang by Eric Tadsen.

Photos on page 3: top—taken at Oliver’s Public House by Eric Tadsen. middle—by Jeff Noska. bottom—taken at Zip-Dang by Eric Tadsen.

4 | madison essentials magazine

We also have food, chocolate, and spirits, and a bit of art and shopping. We have a contributor explaining how to go to therapy (and in a later issue, how to do therapy), and we feature another historic landmark: the Van Slyke House.

And finally, a wonderful story about Covenant Presbyterian Church’s youth.

I wanted to tell you about them as soon as I learned about the inspiring work they are doing on a volunteer basis here at home and outside the state. There are two parts to the article, one written by the youth ministries coordinator and the other by one of the youth participants. I’m sure you will be as impressed by them as I am.

Remember to take time to enjoy the fall before it disappears as quickly as the summer did, and to get out there and vote!

amy johnson

Photograph by ZDA, Inc.

all rights reserved. ©2016

Family Crafted Spirits

An All-American brandy made from American native grape wine and distilled in our copper still.

Aged two years in American oak barrels making it soft and sweet.

PRAIRIE DU SAC, WISCONSIN wollersheim.com

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 5

essential dining

Oliver’s

PUBLIC HOUSE

Steak & Eggs

by Jeanne Carpenter

Trendy farm-to-table restaurants with seasonal menus featuring names of local artisans are almost the new norm in Madison. Add a funky bar with a mixologist in a man bun serving up craft cocktails, and poof: you’ve got the magical recipe for a successful business, right?

Not quite. For every farm-to-table dining room that opens, two others close.

In this capital city of chefs striving to outdo one another in the sheer number of farmers they can list on the menu, only a few restaurants truly stand out.

One of the best is tucked away in a new mixed-use building on Old University Avenue.

Oliver’s Public House, open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, and serving up brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, may just be the best-kept farm-to-table secret in Madison. Located off the beaten path 6 | madison essentials magazine

in a quiet neighborhood, Oliver’s has developed a loyal following. In fact, if Bar Manager Ricky Pajewski doesn’t see regular customers on certain days at specific times, he gets a bit worried.

“If Larry the Uber driver isn’t coming in the door on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. for his usual bloody mary, then I know I should probably check our Facebook page because he’s messaged us that he’s running late,” Ricky says. “Our customers are our family. They know it, and we know it. So we treat each other like family.”

That feeling of family starts with staff— from line cooks to dishwashers to bartenders to servers—most of whom have worked at Oliver’s since it opened in 2014. And that’s how owner Bob Harriman planned it; he went through an extensive interview process to find the right people. Ricky, Executive Chef Patrick McCormick, and General

Manager Jessica Kucza run a tight ship, working together to make sure every meal served is the best possible.

“When we started this venture, all of us agreed there were two things we were going to try and do better than anybody else,” Bob said. “First, we committed to walking the walk in sourcing quality, healthy food from local farmers. Second, these folks dedicated themselves to working together as a team, to caring as much about each other as they do about the food they’re serving to our customers. And succeeding at both is what has set us apart.”

Oliver’s Public House indeed succeeds at sourcing quality local food. Chef Patrick keeps a spreadsheet of purveyors divided into “big box” and “little box.”

Big box are items that can’t be sourced locally—think scallops and shrimp (we live in Wisconsin, after all). Little box items come from local farmers. Of the 30 or so purveyors he uses, 25 are little box—meaning local farmers supply the vast majority of food at Oliver’s Public House.

One of the most popular menu items featuring little box foods is an omelet served during brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Simply called “Willi’s” and named after local cheese maker Willi

Lehner, the omelet features caramelized shallots, house-cured bacon, spinach, apples, Willi’s Bleu Mont Bandaged Cheddar, and chive hollandaise. It’s not uncommon to see Willi himself sitting at OPH Burger

Oliver’s on a Sunday morning ordering his namesake omelet with extra greens and a mountain of extra black pepper.

While much menu tends the seasons, on both the

of the lunch and dinner to change slowly with one dish is a mainstay starter and entrée menu:

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 7

Mariachi Band on the Run

Eggs Benedict

Since 1971 Italian Specialties & Delicatessen FrabonisDeli.com Fraboni’s Regent

Huge Deli Featuring Take-Out Dinners & Homemade Entrées —Try our housemade frozen pizzas­­—

• Hot & Cold Sub Sandwiches • Party Subs & Antipasto Platters • Homemade Deli • Lasagna & Mostaccioli • Spaghetti with Meatballs • Gluten-Free Pastas & Sauces • Homemade Pasta Sauces • Meatballs & Sausages (hot or mild) • Italian Recipes & Housewares

San Marzano tomatoes

&

authentic extra virgin olive oil from Italy

Seared Scallops and Shrimp. Large scallops and gulf shrimp are seared in a pan with house-cured bacon, roasted mushrooms, and diced, poached potatoes. Four ounces of Weissbier are added, with the scallops and shrimp meticulously plated and served on a bed of creamy grits and greens.

Another popular dish is the Hand Rolled Tagliatelle. This pasta is made in-house, and this dish is served with nettle pesto, Sartori Montamore & Romano cheeses, toasted sunflower seeds, and oyster

mushroom chips marinated in olive oil, salt, and pepper and then roasted into what can only be described as a umami masterpiece.

Chicken and beef entrées are sourced from local farmers, and even much of the fish comes from fisheries in Wisconsin and Michigan. The kitchen bakes all of its own bread, bagels, muffins, focaccia, rolls, and buns, many of them coming from Chef Patrick’s own “Bob the Blob” starter culture he created himself nearly five years ago.

Pianos for the Centuries

Imported Olives & Olive Oils, Tomato Products, Artisanal Pasta & Cheeses, Frozen Filled Pastas Only from Fraboni’s: For Over 60 Years…

Our Original “Porketta” Roast

Two Great Locations!

M-F 9-7; Sat 9-6; Sun 9-5

108 Owen Road • Monona 608-222-6632 M-F 9-7; Sat 9-5; Sun 11-4

822 Regent Street • Madison 608-256-0546

8 | madison essentials magazine

New, Used, & Restored Pianos

farleyspianos.com 6522 Seybold Road | 608.271.2626

“We truly try to make everything from scratch. We don’t make our own wholegrain mustard, and we don’t make our own ketchup, but we do make eight quarts of aioli three times a week for frites,” Patrick says.

Diners are invited to eat at either one of the many solid hickory tables in the warm, inviting dining room or at the big square pewter bar, where Ricky concocts original cocktails. While the bar menu also changes seasonally, locals know to ask for Ricky’s legendary Mariachi Band on the Run, made with Reposado Tequila (aged in wood at least two months), fresh lemon and lime juices, strawberry rhubarb shrub fortified with white wine vinegar, and ginger syrup.

Coming this summer will be a reboot of Oliver’s Bloody Mary, made with ingredients grown in the restaurant’s new bloody mary garden. Ricky plans to make a sustainable bloody mary mix, with in-house smoked tomatoes, garden-grown fresh green peppers, roasted poblanos and jalapeno peppers, fresh herbs, seasoning, lemon and celery juice, horseradish, and siracha. Ricky is already looking forward to serving the first locally grown bloody mary in Madison.

Owner Bob Harriman beams when he talks about the assembled group of dedicated people who truly are the essence of Oliver’s Public House, and

the idea that perhaps someday Oliver’s garden will be the source of produce for both the restaurant’s entrées and its drinks.

In the end he said, “We are in it for the long haul. We’re committed every day to doing the right thing. We know that doing the right thing is not always easy, nor is it always rewarded right away. But we are here to stay.”

Jeanne Carpenter is a cheese geek and food writer living in Oregon, Wisconsin.

Photographs by Eric Tadsen.

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 9

e ss ential service

WISCONSIN’S Voter ID Law

OTE

by Representative Chris Taylor Few things are more precious in a democracy than a person’s right to vote.

Currently, 16 states require voters to show photo identification before voting.

Proponents argue voter ID laws help guard against election fraud, while opponents point out little evidence of widespread fraud exists and these laws unconstitutionally restrict the right to vote. A 2007 report by the Brennan Center for Justice concluded that being

struck by lightning occurs more often than voter impersonation.

In 2011, the Wisconsin legislature passed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country, according to criteria by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Voters who do not have the correct identification are able to cast a provisional ballot, but they must then produce identification to election inspectors within three days for their vote to count. In other words, they must make a trip to obtain the correct identification and then make a trip to their clerk’s office to provide it. In Madison, for example, only 41 of 123 provisional ballots were counted.

After being tied up in litigation for the better part of three years, the identification requirements for voting in Wisconsin just recently went into effect.

The Wisconsin Voter ID Law creates hoops that many eligible voters can’t jump through or don’t know about.

10 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

The confusion over the Wisconsin Voter ID Law, both because of the complex nature of the law itself and because of prolonged litigation, is evident. A recent Marquette poll indicated that 16 percent of Wisconsinites, or over 900,000 people, either don’t think they’re required to show photo identification to vote or don’t know whether or not the law is in effect. Additionally, we know that over 300,000 Wisconsinites don’t have the required photo identification needed to vote.

We learned at the April election that there’s also a lot of confusion between the documents needed to register to vote, the documents needed to get a voter identification card, and the documents actually needed to vote. This information can be found at gab.wi.gov /elections-voting/photo-id and bringit .wisconsin.gov.

Students often have the most challenging time figuring out what they

need to register and vote. Student IDs issued by most Wisconsin colleges and universities are not accepted for voting.

In fact, only 3 out of 14 four-year public universities in Wisconsin have student IDs that comply with the Wisconsin Voter ID Law, although University of Wisconsin schools provide students with additional free voting identification cards. The law is especially hard on out-of-state students and those without a driver’s license. Students also have to provide proof of current college enrollment.

The Wisconsin Voter ID Law also directed the Government Accountability Board (GAB) to conduct a public informational campaign in advance of the first election to which the voter identification requirements would apply. Though the GAB received funds to develop this campaign and, with a few minor changes, it could be easily launched, they need money to execute it and buy radio and television time. $250,000 was recently approved by the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to the GAB for this campaign prior to the fall elections. It is imperative that every person eligible to vote is able to do so in the August primaries and the November general elections. The state has an obligation to make sure each voter knows what they will be required to present to be able to vote.

November than those who came out in April. Voter confusion hurts democracy, and it is more important than ever that we get out the word about the documents needed to register and cast a vote.

Representative Chris Taylor is a Democrat representing the 76th Assembly District, which includes downtown Madison and part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Representative Chris Taylor

An estimated one million more people will turn out to cast their vote in

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 11

es s ential shopping

Local Flare and Individual Attitude Puts the “Zip” in

Z ip-D ang

by Chelsey Dequaine

You know it: that local boutique or shop you can enter and feel like every item was ordered specifically for you. It’s quirky. It’s different. It’s full of character and a creative energy that seems to remind you to express yourself. It’s the kind of space Zip-Dang owners Natalie and Mike Bass set out to create on

Monroe Street, and they did it without really creating a plan to do so.

After traveling the country for six years selling their vibrant and expressive line of skirts, orangyporangy, Natalie and Mike settled in Madison to open up shop. 2016 marks Zip-Dang’s sixth

year of business. “Everything is really personal to me at our shop,” Natalie says. “I pick everything myself. It’s not just about making money.”

Zip-Dang offers upcycled and recycled traditional and classic men and women’s clothing, such as t-shirts, hoodies, and dresses, that incorporates eco-friendly materials. The shop also offers smallbatch handcrafted art prints, wood panel art, and gifts. “Madison is home for us,” Natalie says. “We love being in the Monroe Street neighborhood, surrounded by families and homes.”

The shop provides warm and friendly customer interactions and Natalie and Mike take their customers input into consideration when ordering products. “A big chain won’t be able to do that,” Natalie says. “We try to carry something people like, and we keep

12 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

the things people like.” Sydney Hale Soy Candles by Sydney Hale Company, which donates 10 percent of its sales to dog shelters, are a top-selling product.

“People love them.”

Natalie, an Omaha, Nebraska native, has lived in Madison most of her life.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin– Whitewater. After graduation, Natalie worked in graphic design and advertising for nine years. An unexpected layoff inspired her to create orangyporangy in 2005, although she wasn’t entirely skilled at sewing. Mike, a Platteville, Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire graduate, had experience sewing for the theatre department in college and taught Natalie how to handle a sewing machine. She began selling orangyporangy at the Dane County Farmers’ Market that same year. “He taught me patience,” Natalie says. “I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into what was happening at the time.

I knew how to design a website and everything just evolved.”

Natalie began putting her college printmaking skills to use with Mike’s help, who also knew how to create screens and screen print. “We lived in a tiny apartment off East Wilson Street, washing screens in our bathtub,” Natalie says. “The idea of opening a shop started

WEEKEND BREAKFAST

GATESANDBROVI.COM

3502 MONROE ST MADISON 608 819 8988

to grow in the back of my mind as I saw people around me who had them.”

The Monroe Street location, which is also located near their first house, became available, and the cards fell into place. “It suddenly made sense to

us,” Natalie says. “My favorite game as a kid was to play shop. I would line up all of my things and put price tags on them. I shopped with my mom a lot.

This was something I always wanted to do without realizing it.”

The expression Zip-Dang stems from MIke’s dad, Jim Bass, who said

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 13

it after tasting or seeing something extraordinary. “It was part of his vocabulary,” Natalie says. “It was one of the store name ideas right away.”

Even before Zip-Dang, Natalie’s hobbies were shopping and creating her own personal style. “I was always happy when I could find a shop that was unique and different and didn’t feel like everything else,” she says. “That’s something that was always important to me. I don’t follow the latest trends.

I focus on creating pieces that will last and that help women create their personal style.”

An ongoing goal for Zip-Dang is to remain a genuine shop. Natalie strives for that goal by ensuring everything is made by independent artists and small

businesses. The space within Zip-Dang was built by Natalie and Mike. It’s partially finished in some spots at all times. “It’s real,” Natalie says. “The space is constantly evolving.”

In addition to supporting independent artists and the Shop Local, Buy Local movement, Zip-Dang focuses on products made in the United States by small businesses. “That’s what makes our store a unique experience,” Natalie says. “We want to do something different at all times.” That includes selling items from new artists and exposing the artists she and Mike meet at art fairs. “We are giving Madison a chance to experience artists they may otherwise have not seen work from.”

On the first Friday of every month, ZipDang hosts a themed event, such as its April Cat Lover’s Party. Customers were welcomed to the shop by one of Natalie’s cats, Tab, and shopped feline-inspired clothing, art, and gifts, even cat bow ties (a huge hit!). “We are focused on putting more thought and time into planning these events,” Natalie says. “We like providing an event every month. It’s our chance to socialize.” The events also give Natalie and Mike a chance to support their favorite local beers and tie in local bakeries, food, and nonprofits.

A percentage of the funds from the Cat Lover’s Party were donated to Dane County Friends of Ferals.

On top of Natalie and Mike’s love for critters with nine lives, choosing to host a cat-themed event also was on trend with popular items in the shop. “We have

14 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

three or four cats at all times,” Natalie says. “And two german shepherds. For some reason I didn’t do any cat products the first two years of business. As soon as I did, all the cat lovers came out.”

Zip-Dang also has a big demand for Mike’s local print series. He produces a series on Madison craft beers, farmers markets, and five Madison-area lakes.

Mike’s most recent series is focused on Wisconsin folklore and mythology. “He adds three or four new prints each year,” Natalie says.

Social media outlets, such as Facebook and Instagram (@ZipDangShop), have taken off within the last few years.

“People walk in because they saw something on Instagram,” Natalie says.

“We post all of our new items there. It’s

the best possible way to keep up with what we have in the store.”

Chelsey Dequaine is an assistant editor for a Madison-based newspaper and a freelance writer.

Photographs by Eric Tadsen.

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 15

e ssential food & beverage

Sjölinds Chocolate House “A lot of people think making chocolate is the same as making chocolates,” explains Sjölinds Chocolate House coowner Tracy Thompson as she begins to describe what she does for a living at her chocolate shop in Mt. Horeb. While the difference may be one simple letter, in reality, it’s like comparing a Kraft American Single to a bandaged cheddar.

One is mass-produced, the other is handmade. Almost anyone can taste the difference.

Unlike most U.S. big-brand candy bars made from chocolate owned

by Mars, Incorporated; Nestle; or Hershey Company, Sjölinds (pronounced SHOO-linds) Chocolate House makes its own chocolate. That means Tracy starts with raw cacao beans, then roasts, cracks, and winnows the beans before grinding them into a paste. The beans undergo conching—further grinding into a liquid—from anywhere between several hours to several days. Then other ingredients are added, such as milk products, sugar, vanilla, or cocoa butter.

After that, the chocolate is put in sheets, and flavors develop for about 30 days.

Finally, the chocolate is tempered—a process of heating and cooling that gives the chocolate the shine and snap of a handmade, high-quality chocolate bar.

“The result is a small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate that celebrates the individual bean from which it was made. Each chocolate ends up having its own

16 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

by Jeanne Carpenter personality, and that’s what makes it fun,” Tracy says.

In 2006, Tracy started making handmade chocolate at Sjölinds Chocolate House in downtown Mt. Horeb at 219 E. Main Street. What started as a romantic idea of running a little coffee and chocolate shop part-time while raising a family has blossomed into a full-time, familyrun, downtown artisan chocolate and coffee shop that doubles as a bakery and café, and is today the heart of the community.

In addition, Tracy and her husband, Chris, have now brought their two daughters into the business, and this past winter, built a new Sjölinds Chocolate Factory on the east end of town at 150 Lillehammer Lane. All chocolate is now made at the factory, while the downtown shop focuses on making bakery items and serving espresso drinks, quiche, and daily lunch specials. Each member of the family sports several hats: Chris is the resident accountant, part-time baker, and staff artist—his artwork graces the

walls at the downtown shop; daughters Erin and Melissa have morphed into master bakers and chocolatiers; and Tracy, a trained pastry chef who started the whole enterprise, does anything and everything in between.

“When you run a small business as a family, you rapidly learn that everyone has talents that have never been tapped,” Tracy says. “Our youngest daughter, Erin, was a ballet dancer that came back from New York to bake with mom, and in six months time, was doing it better than I ever did. Melissa, our oldest daughter, is our chocolate genius in residence. People love her behind the counter.”

With its personable service, smalltown feel, and Scandinavian flair and influence, Sjölinds Chocolate House fits perfectly in Mt. Horeb, a village that traces its roots to Norway. In fact, in the 1800s more than 75 percent of the community was Norwegian. The name Sjölind comes from Tracy’s mother’s maiden name, and her daughters designed the shop’s signature logo, a Scandinavian flower that graces every package of chocolate. The flower is pressed into a wax seal that binds handtied twine on individual chocolate bars.

The Thompsons do all the packaging themselves, by hand.

One of Sjölinds’ most popular chocolate bars is the Wisconsin Butter Chocolate.

“So many people say they don’t like milk chocolate, but what they don’t like is bad milk chocolate,” Tracy says. “Instead of using all sugar, we add milk powder. It

mellows out the acid in the chocolate, making it almost a dark milk chocolate.

And then we replace a portion of the cocoa butter with clarified butter.”

Other chocolate bars include Gau’s Chocolate, made with a combination of cow and goat milk products; Wisconsin Milk, made with cow’s milk; and Malted Milk Chocolate, made with— you guessed it—malted milk powder.

“We get to play around, and that’s what makes it fun. People are looking for unique flavors,” Tracy says.

In addition to house-made chocolate, hot chocolate mixes, and homemade marshmallows, Sjölinds Chocolate House carries a variety of chocolate bars from around the world, handmade confections, and European-style housebaked items, including chocolate walnut scones, cheese danishes, and cinnamon spirals.

Daily lunch specials include Swedish Meatballs for $6.50. The recipe comes from Tracy’s great-grandmother, Annie.

Meatballs are served in cream gravy with lingonberries and limpa, a Scandinavian dark rye bread made with orange zest, anise, and fennel. Another popular lunch item is the Potato Sausage Plate.

At $7.25, it includes several Swedish potato sausages, served with potato salad, pickled vegetables, and a slice of limpa. Attempting to finish everything on the plate may exude an “Uff da” from customers.

Finnish savory pies are also popular.

For $5.95, customers have their choice

Sjolinds bakes several quiches daily, including Mushroom Cheddar, Tomato Pepper Jack, Broccoli Swiss, and Caramelized Onion Blue Cheese. of beef with mushrooms and onions; sausage with potatoes, onions, and prunes; or vegetable, with cream cheese, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, and an egg. While waiting for lunch to be served, customers can order a coffee, espresso, or latte, and either chat with their neighbors in the big front community room or work at a laptop in quiet, smaller rooms in back.

A room at the far end of the downtown shop is kid and family friendly, with a glass door that is often closed by mothers so their children don’t escape.

Tracy reflects, “When we built Sjölinds, we thought we were just building a chocolate shop. But we grew into a bakery, café, and coffee shop because that was what the community wanted and needed. And now, the community supports our passion for making good chocolate. It’s become a win-win for our family and Mt. Horeb.”

Jeanne Carpenter is a cheese geek and food writer living in Oregon, Wisconsin.

Photographs by Uriah Carpenter.

Sjölinds Chocolate House 219 E. Main Street Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 (608) 437-0233 sjolinds.com madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 17

Pleasantly Surprising Madison Diners for over 30 Years…

Southwestern Cuisine is defined as a fusion of Spanish Colonial, American Cowboy, Native American, and Traditional Mexican ingredients and styles, with a focus on the creative use of “the red and green Chile” in all its forms, and always incorporating fresh, seasonal, regional ingredients.

The word “Cantina” is actually derived from the Italian “canteen” which means “cellar” or “vault”. Pasqual’s Cantina is the quintessential “vault of 100% Blue Agave Tequila” in Wisconsin! “Cantinas” are also defined as dining and drinking establishments centrally located near workplaces. Regular gathering places for the people.

Fresh, made-to-order flavor and soul served up in four creative and distinctive convenient locations.

Pasqual’s Cantina is worth a visit for the first time… or the 100th time.

pasqualscantina.com

18 |

1344 E. Washington Ave. • 608-819-8002 Hilldale - 670 N. Midvale Blvd. • 608-663-8226 1851 Monroe St. • 608-238-4419 100 Cross Country Rd., Verona • 608-497-3333 madison essentials magazine

4-6 Se

Y r a oody M k pepper Pasqual’s BL • 1 teaspoon blac

rvings

ed aspoon celery se juice • 2 cups tomato dka or reposado tequila • 1 te aspoon sea salt vo • ¾ te vinegar • 1 ½ cups good juice on m le h es aspoon red wine fr te s 1 on • po es bl Ta ave nectar 2 • poons honey or ag d onion as ce di te s 2 on • po es r bl be cum shire • 2 Ta d diced English cu aspoon Worcester e • ¼ cup peeled an ared horseradish (optional) • 1 te ral dashes of hot sauce or to tast ep ve pr se s • on • 2 teaspo ced garlic 6 glasses • 1 teaspoon min ooth. Prepare 4 to d and cured sm til un s es oc pr le d your favorite pick nts in a blender an Place all ingredie ur bloody mary over. Garnish with onions, pickles, olives, and yo tail with ice and pour bacon, beef sticks, carrots, cock as condiments, such s. er pp pe pepperoncini madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 19

e ss ential landmark

Van Slyke House

by Jeanne Engle Imagine a stranger knocking on your door. You open it, greet the visitor, and she turns out to be the great, great granddaughter of the man who owned your home 150 years ago. That was Ledell Zellers and Simon Anderson’s experience last summer. They had the honor of being visited at their Madison landmark home by the descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte Van Slyke.

The Anderson/Zellers home, at 510 N. Carroll Street, was designated a Madison Landmark on January 31, 1972. It was built in 1856 for Samuel Fox, a successful hardware merchant, and subsequently sold to Van Slyke and his second wife, Annie, a few years later.

The Van Slykes lived there until their deaths in 1909 and 1911.

Napoleon Bonaparte Van Slyke was a yankee from upstate New York who came to Madison in 1853. He quickly immersed himself in civic affairs of the fledgling capital city. He helped form the first abstract and title company and the Dane County Bank. The bank reorganized in 1864 to become the First National Bank (predecessor of the First Wisconsin and U.S. Banks) with Van

Van Slyke House in early spring before many flowers are blooming.

Slyke serving as its president. He later became president of the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

As a member of Madison’s first Common Council, Van Slyke was criticized for netting only $79,000 from a $100,000 city bond issued in 1856 to finance early Madison development. More

criticism followed when he deposited the proceeds in his Dane County Bank.

He was cleared of any wrongdoing and remained a commanding force in Madison well into the 20th century.

Van Slyke also served as a regent of the University of Wisconsin–Madison for more than 30 years while John Bascom was president. In addition, during the Civil War Van Slyke was an assistant quartermaster general of Wisconsin, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

As a prominent early banker, Van Slyke financed many of the homes that were built on Big Bug Hill, the location of his own home. Bug Hill has been known at various times as Yankee Hill and Aristocracy Hill. Today this residential neighborhood is recognized as Mansion Hill, bounded approximately by Lake Mendota to the north, East and West Johnson Streets to the south, North

20 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Henry Street to the west, and North Butler Street (the edge of James Madison Park) to the east.

In 1976, Mansion Hill became Madison’s first historic district. The district contains the greatest concentration of unspoiled Victorian-era homes remaining in Madison. These buildings evoke an air of days gone by and the influence of early Madison’s movers and shakers.

The Van Slyke house was designed

by August Kutzbock and Samuel Donnel, who established Madison’s first architectural firm. The firm also designed the 1857 Capitol building that burned in 1904 and the 1858 City Hall that was demolished in 1954.

In the popular Italianate style, the Van Slyke house is refined, skillfully detailed, and compares to some of the best houses of this style in the United States. The Italianate style, suggesting the romantic villas of Renaissance Italy, was most popular in the country during the last half of the 19th century. Italianate is characterized by a low-pitched or flat roof; a balanced symmetrical rectangular shape; a tall appearance with two, three, or even four stories; wide, overhanging eaves with brackets and cornices; porches with banistered balconies; and tall, narrow windows with hood moldings.

These features are visible on the Van

Slyke house. Italianate houses could be constructed of many different building materials, and the style could be adapted to either high-priced or modest budgets.

The walls of the Van Slyke house are constructed of sandstone mined from a local quarry. The stonework is of a

form known as “block and stack,” in which large blocks are alternated with smaller stones and covered in raised mortar joints to highlight the variation in stone sizes. But, as Simon discovered when he began working on his home’s exterior, in some places grooves had been cut into the blocks and mortar had been applied to give the block and stack Living room ceiling in process (left) and decorative portion fixed (below).

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 21

Main upstairs bedroom in process (top) and finished (right).

effect. Originally, all the raised mortar was lime washed to highlight the effect.

The only external change to the original house had been the addition of a wooden two-story porch on the back. Ironically, that section needed the most attention when Ledell and Simon purchased the house, and has now been reconstructed.

The story of the interior was much different. The Van Slyke house had been divided into four apartments, as was typical of many Mansion Hill houses converted into multiunit residences, to meet the housing shortage following the end of World War II. Ledell and Simon have lived in their home since 2001. Prior to moving downtown, they lived in the Nakoma neighborhood. How did they find the Van Slyke house? “We walked the neighborhood and took down addresses of houses we liked. Then we used the city assessor’s records to find the owners and called them to see if they were willing to sell,” Ledell recounts. In the early 2000s, houses were not on the market—no “For Sale” signs in yards.

22 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

2016-17 Season

BY

CHARLES GOUNOD

NOVEMBER 4 & 6, 2016 OV E RT U R E H A L L

MU SI C BY

DANIEL SCHNYDER

LIB RETTO BY BRID G ET T E A . WIM BE R LY

FEBRUARY 10 & 12, 2017 CA P I TO L T H E AT E R

at O ver tu re Cen ter

BY

W. A. MOZAR T

APRIL 21 & 23, 2017 OV E RT U R E H A L L

Get your season tickets today and save!

Season tickets: 608.238.8085, or online at madisonopera.org | Single tickets on sale September 2: 608.258.4141, or online at overturecenter.org “It seemed as if people just exchanged homes rather than advertising them,” she says. Ledell and Simon were delighted to find the home and an agreeable seller.

like the Van Slyke house and others in the Mansion Hill historic district, help give Madison its civic identity and cultivate its sense of place.

The restoration of the Van Slyke house is on a “25-year rolling horizon,” according to Ledell. She adds, “I don’t see it as ever finished. We will continue to make it our own while restoring parts of the house that are important historically.

Simon enjoys doing much of the work himself. Because he also works fulltime, things are going to take a while.”

The focus of restoration efforts is now on a back bedroom.

Jeanne Engle is a freelance writer.

Photos by Ledell Zellers and Simon Anderson.

In 2010, Ledell and Simon were recognized by the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation with a stewardship award for ongoing preservation of a historic property. The Van Slyke house can be seen during the Mansion Hill West historic architecture walking tour, presented by the Trust. Tours are scheduled for August 25 at 6:00 p.m. and September 24 at 11:00 a.m. For details, see madisonpreservation.org/#!2016 -tour-info/ppop1. Historic buildings, madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 23

essential dining

North and South

PERFECTS SURF AND TURF

by Jeanne Carpenter

After 10 years of serving up awardwinning fare as Joey’s Seafood and Grill, Madison west-side restaurant owners Keith and Erin Stoesz needed a reboot. The Joey’s Seafood franchise had dissolved long ago, and their menu was always evolving. One night, as they were smoking brisket at home, they thought, “What if we did this full-time?

What if we rebranded surf and turf into something really good, really local?”

And then and there, North and South Seafood & Smokehouse was born.

“There was always some confusion because we had started out as a chain, but for the past eight years, we were doing our own thing as a locally owned restaurant,” Keith says. “We were ready to do something that was more us, more independent, more mom and pop.”

Fast forward to today. North and South Seafood & Smokehouse is located in the same strip mall at 6604 Mineral Point Road in Madison, but the dining room’s facelift of new, warmer colors and barn boards has transformed it into a cozy 24 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

eatery. The menu now centers around seafood and smoked meat, and the bar has been reborn with signature craft cocktails, featuring whiskey, bourbon, scotch, and rye. The couple worked with Three Count Beverage in Madison, a group of local bartenders who started their own cocktail consulting company, to create a new menu that includes two original drinks: the Mint Finley, a combination of vodka, lemon juice, strawberry shrub, and soda, and the Mineral Point Mule, with bourbon, lemon juice, honey, and ginger beer.

“Our bar now has some personality,” Erin says. “We feature all Wisconsin craft beers on tap, a great wine list with good variety, and our cocktails don’t use bottled mixes—we’re making every drink from scratch, every time. If I had to brag, I’d say we have the best fromscratch margarita on the west side.”

Erin should probably brag more, as nearly the entire menu, from pulled pork and Kansas City ribs to grilled shrimp and hand-battered haddock, is made to

Galveston - Brisket and Coconut Shrimp order from scratch and prepared with in-house sauces and rubs. This isn’t the kind of restaurant that pulls food from a freezer; meat is smoked nightly, and fish is delivered daily. A giant chalkboard lists what’s in season or on special each day, and when entrées are gone, they’re gone. Customers sometimes have to wait until the next visit if the guests before them got the last order of pulled pork.

Birmingham - Pulled Pork and Catfish

Daily specials include crab legs on Tuesdays, Urban Bourbon on Thursdays (featuring cuisines inspired by the Urban

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 25

Madison’s Listener Sponsored Community Radio Station Since 1975 Live Stream Show Archives Podcasts Calendars Articles and more!

In Nobody’s Pocket But Yours... wortfm.org 26 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Bourbon Trail in Louisville, Kentucky), and the prerequisite Wisconsin Friday fish fry with all-you-can-eat haddock.

Saturdays specialize in smoked prime rib, ready at 5:00 p.m., and Sundays feature beer-can chicken dinners. The restaurant gets incredibly busy during peak times, so call-ahead seating is available.

While neither Keith nor Erin have formal culinary training, the pair have worked with a variety of chefs over the years, and the menu reflects the food of their childhoods. Erin is from Texas, Keith from Minnesota. They met in Alaska, and have called Wisconsin home for years. The North and South restaurant name reflects not only the menu, but also their history.

North and South menu items are named after U.S. cities where dishes were inspired. For example, the Galveston brisket and coconut shrimp is named for Galveston, Texas, located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It features Texasstyle brisket smoked 10 to 14 hours and rubbed in salt, pepper, paprika, garlic,

onion, and mustard powder. The shrimp is hand-battered with Malibu rum and served with apricot dipping sauce.

Yazoo, meanwhile, is a dish of Kansas City-style ribs, smoked “low and slow,” full of tasty bark and rubbed with brown sugar, salt, pepper, and “other stuff,” Erin says with a smile. The dish is named for Yazoo, Mississippi, located on the river headed out to the gulf, so it comes with grilled shrimp basted in garlic butter.

Perhaps the most popular item is the Birmingham, named for—you guessed it—Birmingham, Alabama. Bone-in pork butts are smoked for 11 hours in a signature rub, and then served as

If the craft cocktails, seafood, and smokehouse entrées, sides, and more sides don’t fill you up, there is still dessert. pulled pork with seasoned corn-mealfried catfish. Warning: eating this dish may cause you to break into a Southern accent.

Then there are the sides, and more sides, and even more sides. In fact, this portion of the menu grew exponentially with the reboot, although not quite on purpose. Keith and Erin thought the addition of mac ‘n cheese

and stove-simmered beans warranted the removal of a few old-time favorites.

Customers asked for their return. The result is an extensive sides menu with all the favorites: hush puppies; sweet potato fries; skin-on fries; steamed seasonal vegetables; coleslaw; wild rice; and crispy-on-the-outside, delightfullygooey-on-the-inside potato cakes. The cakes are very popular and consist of shredded potatoes, egg, garlic, onion,

cheese, and Japanese breadcrumbs fried to perfection. “When we run out, people get upset,” Erin says. “So we try really hard never to run out of potato cakes.” Keith adds, “A lot of times, sides are considered an afterthought at a restaurant, and they shouldn’t be. A side dish should be able to stand on its own.”

If the craft cocktails, seafood, and smokehouse entrées, sides, and more sides don’t fill you up, there is still dessert. Each is made from scratch by Erin. Her key lime pie has reached nearnotorious status, with customers often ordering a whole pie for special occasions and regular customers ordering and eating a piece even when completely stuffed from dinner. Because, yes, it is that good. “We really take pride in making everything ourselves from scratch,” Erin says. “We truly aim for authenticity and hope people enjoy themselves enough to always come back.”

Jeanne Carpenter is a cheese geek and food writer living in Oregon, Wisconsin.

Yazoo - Ribs and Grilled Shrimp

Photographs by Eric Tadsen. madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 27

e ss ential service

Covenant Presbyterian

Youth

by Steve Royalton Picking kale in a field for a couple of days outside of the metro Washington D.C. area to then see it delivered to an economically challenged neighborhood later as you host a picnic for the families provides the ability to see firsthand the delight on recipients’ faces.

While serving in a food and clothing warehouse in Kentucky, a man pulls up a chair to tell of being a drug addict and living in crack houses, and then shares how much it means to have people care enough to help.

Our regular fall task of raking the yards of elderly church members yields one man coming to his front door in a

wheelchair, tears in his eyes, to share how much he appreciates our time and effort.

Faces of residents lighting up as Christmas carols are sung and cards are handed out at a local nursing home do not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

These are just a handful of examples of how the middle school and high school youth from Covenant Presbyterian Church have encountered the human

28 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

side of service work in the mission field.

We have found that when given the challenge to serve in meaningful ways, teens step up and thrive.

Our high school youth have been serving The River Food Pantry (The River) in a variety of ways for years.

They have served through the excellent in-house meal programs at The River on Friday evenings, and have encountered kids their own ages and younger from working-class families who are

struggling to get by. This always makes quite an impression because our youth realize economic challenges are not just found with adults sleeping in a downtown park.

Whenever we go to The River, we meet people who come there week after week to help. Some who are currently serving were previously the ones served.

They want to give back and it’s simply amazing. Over and over again I see our youth moved by the people they meet.

On the first Saturday of March each year, we have a great tradition of hosting a very large Trash & Treasure Sale. The youth, their parents, and many other adults from the congregation work for a week coordinating the sale. People ages 11 to 85 work together knowing their efforts will benefit many outside our own brick walls.

The Trash & Treasure Sale funds the local food and Christmas gift shopping programs, and provides money toward

Our youth have also gone to grocery stores to shop for nonperishable food items for individuals as well. It gives them a chance to learn what good food is and that it isn’t a bag of chips. They also work within a budget, something very few of them do on a daily basis.

This past December, our youth took part in the Christmas gift program of The River and purchased gifts for 32 of their clients. Again working within a budget, they shopped for specific things for people. It became even more personal when they addressed a package to an individual, sometimes someone their own age.

The youth have also taken part in the wonderful mission of the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. The bigger picture of hunger is seen as they are first shown the huge warehouse and given information about how much food it takes to do the job. During a threehour shift, they work in the warehouse packing food for distribution to food pantries located throughout southern Wisconsin. madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 29

mission trips. Mission trips happen every summer for high school youth and every third year for the middle school group. In July 2016, the mission trip was to St. Louis, where there was an opportunity for all to roll up their sleeves and break some serious sweat. Fifteen percent of the 2016 net earnings went directly toward the outside charities we worked with in St. Louis.

So why is this so important? In our church setting, we teach that serving others is a part of our call as Christians.

It’s a part of our covenant with God. In a secular setting, it could be seen as simply the right thing to do. People reaching out to other people not for any reward or grand prize. It’s about the human condition and not walking away.

Sizzling Steaks Homemade Soups

A Family Business for over 50 years

3005 University Avenue • 233-2120 Bar open 4pm • Dinner Served 5pm Closed Sundays & Holidays

www.smokysclub.com

From Steak & Hash Browns to Soups & Seafood, your hosts Larry, Tom & Janet are committed to serving the finest quality, prepared to perfection. In addition to great food, Smoky’s is great fun. The atmosphere is delightfully tacky & cocktails, generous.

Smoky’s was voted #1 steakhouse in the Midwest by Midwest Living magazine.

All credit cards accepted. Call for reservations—608-233-2120.

30 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Seafood

Martini Bob’s Martini Club

It can be easy to get fired up for a big mission trip or a fancy, special, onetime event. Every year, we see news stories about Thanksgiving meals being served, and that is good. But we see the real difference being made in the lives of people when serving others is a way of life. People are hungry and in need throughout the year.

Parents of teens can make a real difference, too. They have the greatest influence. Families go to great lengths to accommodate the demanding schedules of athletic or other programs.

There are great things to be gained from participation in these programs, but

where does serving fellow human beings fall on the family radar? A family serving together a couple of times a year can send a powerful message to teens. Make the time. Take the time. Smartphones and apps may be all consuming, but the only app needed for the gift of mission work is the application of one’s self. In my over two decades of working with teenagers, I have seen again and again that when given opportunity and the encouragement, teens respond.

Steve Royalton is the Youth Ministries Coordinator at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison.

Photographs provided by Covenant Presbyterian Church.

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 326 S. Segoe Road Madison, WI 53705 (608) 233-6297 covenantmadison.org

A Participant’s Experience My experience being involved in a Christian youth group has proven to be an unforgettable journey. I have done a lot through mission work, including locally, from Second Harvest Foodbank to an American Indian Reservation and everything in between.

At Second Harvest, we repackaged large quantities of food to be redistributed.

I loved working there because the employees were always upbeat and passionate about feeding Madison.

My favorite part of youth group was the mission trips. I would spend a week in another state with other high school students to do a variety of things, like gleaning crops, serving meals, and organizing secondhand retail shops.

One of my favorite memories was when we were in Washington D.C. It was scorching hot out, and my team went to

a neighborhood tennis court filled with lower-income housing. We went there to turn the tennis court into a garden so the people in the neighborhood could have fresh food nearby. While we were there, the man that ran the organization saw that we were struggling with the heat during our hard work, so he started to sing. In that moment, I felt a sense of joy wash over me and was ready to continue working. I always left the mission trips feeling good that I had the opportunity to help others and influence their lives in a positive way. This feeling encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and be of service in any situation.

Along with the mission trips, I made great connections with people my age.

Youth group is a really cool place to go have some fun while talking about topics that matter. Walking through the church doors and knowing that

by Lillie Perry

you belong to something great is an empowering feeling. I love that I have a safe place to talk about things I’m passionate about. Church has also been a place where I can trust people who would be willing to help me if I were in a bad situation. The community that has helped me through my journey of faith will always have a special place in my heart, and I love knowing that I will always have them.

This summer was my last mission trip, wrapping up my time at youth group before leaving for college. Looking back at my four years of youth group makes me realize I couldn’t have become the person I am today without the community of my church helping me along the way.

Lillie Perry was a Middleton High School Senior.

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 31

e ss ential pets

Avoiding Parasites with Your Pets

by Lori Scarlett, DVM

Madison is such a great place to live, particularly if you have a dog. There are a lot of dog parks to explore, good neighborhood sidewalks to wander, lakes in which to swim, and some parks allow dogs to walk on the sidewalks.

But with all these dog-friendly places, it is so important that we dog lovers are responsible dog owners. I’m sure many of us have been caught without a poop bag at one time or another. I’ve seen some people at dog parks look the other way when their dog is squatting. And I know the vast majority of dog owners don’t go out every day in winter to clean up their yard.

In the grand scheme of things, why does picking up poop really matter?

What’s a few turds between friends? Not

counting those of us who work in the veterinary field, most people find poop to be pretty gross. Nobody wants to step in it and smell it the rest of the day, and it detracts from a nice picnic in the park.

But besides the gross poop—gross in “that which can be seen”—there may be worse things in there that you can’t see. There are many parasites that are spread through poop that can infect other dogs as well as people. These are called zoonotic diseases and are the main reason you should pick up your dog’s poop after it has been deposited.

Do you have a new puppy? Roundworms are very common in puppies. They infect the pup in the mother’s womb and through her milk (roundworms encyst

in muscle and “reactivate” in a pregnant dog). Roundworm eggs can be shed by puppies and kittens within three weeks after birth. Puppies with roundworms often have a pot-bellied appearance due to the spaghetti-like worms in their intestines and leave a soft stool, but adult dogs with roundworms may have no clinical signs at all. The eggs are passed in the stool and then into the soil. These eggs are highly resistant to freezing and chemicals, so they stay in the soil a long time. Rodents and roaches can ingest the eggs and be infective to a dog or cat that eats them. A dog or person that is romping on soil that contains roundworm eggs gets infected by licking their paws or sticking their fingers in their mouth.

This is why children are more likely to be infected by roundworms than adults.

In people, roundworms don’t make it into the intestines, but rather “get lost” elsewhere in the body, most often in the eye. Inside cats are also susceptible to roundworms, as the eggs can be found in potting soil.

Hookworms are another zoonotic parasite found in dog and cat poop.

They are passed to puppies through the placenta and milk. Puppies and kittens with hookworms often have diarrhea, poor growth, and anemia, as hookworms attach to the inside of the intestines and suck blood. Adult dogs

32 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

may just have intermittent diarrhea.

Eggs deposited on soil are very resistant, but only develop into an infective larval stage when temperatures are above 59 degrees Fahrenheit—just about the time kids want to run outside in bare feet! You don’t need to ingest hookworm eggs to become infected. Infective larvae actually penetrate and migrate through the skin, causing very itchy, raised, winding tracts.

Tadsen Photography Drone/Aerial Imagery

Intestinal worms in dogs can be prevented with monthly heartworm preventative or regular deworming regimens. Not all medications eradicate all types of intestinal parasites, so it is important to have your pet’s poop examined by a veterinarian to make sure they aren’t infected. A dice-sized amount of poop is mixed with a solution that makes parasite eggs float to the top.

The sample is centrifuged and then examined under a microscope. The eggs are pretty to look at—well, to some of us, anyway—but veterinarians are always happy when none are found.

Giardia is a one-celled protozoal organism that can cause diarrhea in both mammals and people. The diarrhea will contain the Giardia organisms, which are then ingested by the next dog that might drink water in that location.

Giardia is generally found in small pools of water or moist environments, especially areas where deer or raccoons might drink.

There are other parasites besides the ones that live in the intestines that can cause zoonotic diseases. Ticks are a big problem in Madison. They are found in brushy areas and stands of pine trees, and hitch rides on deer, squirrels, other mammals, turkeys, and robins. Ticks carry lyme disease, which can be very difficult to diagnose in people. There is a good blood test to detect lyme disease in dogs, however, and it also can pick up anaplasmosis and rocky mountain spotted fever. Knowing if your dog has been exposed to a tick-borne disease can help you be more diligent about covering up, checking for ticks after being outside, and using insecticides on both your pet and yourself.

Fleas are plentiful in this area, too.

Besides potentially making your pet

Fully licensed - FAA part 333 Waiver Stunning stills and 4k video

tadphoto.com - etadsen@icloud.com - 608-469-2255 very itchy and infesting your house, they can also carry zoonotic diseases. Plague, currently more common in the western United States; typhoid fever; and cat scratch disease are all due to this small, blood-sucking insect. Fleas are also the intermediate host for tapeworms. If a cat or dog eats an infected tapeworm, they will develop the worms in their intestines. Children or adults who inadvertently swallow an infected flea can also develop tapeworms. There are many effective flea and tick repellants and preventatives on the market. Talk to your favorite veterinarian to decide which product is best for your dog and cat.

Please be a good dog owner and clean up promptly after your dog wherever you are. Parasite eggs can be in the soil even if you don’t see any poop at all, so remember to wash your hands and your kid’s hands after playing outside, gardening, or using potting soil. Use an effective flea and tick preventative on your pets so they aren’t bringing diseasecarrying insects into your home. Other dog lovers, non-dog lovers, parents,

children, and other outdoor enthusiasts will thank you! And maybe if we do a great job, all the parks in Madison will be open for dogs to walk through in the future.

Lori Scarlett, DVM, is the owner and veterinarian at Four Lakes Veterinary Clinic. For more information, visit fourlakesvet.com.

Lori Scarlett, DVM

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 33

e ss ential service

Porchlight Products PART II

by Jessica Pastelin When Porchlight Products launched in 2007, the goal was to give people struggling with barriers to employment, such as homelessness, mental illness, and physical disabilities, a hand-up rather than a handout. Porchlight Products employees transform Wisconsin-grown

produce into delectable, artisanal treats ranging from sauerkraut to jam to baking mixes, all while gaining valuable work experience and training in employability skills. Porchlight Products is featured in a number of local stores, and some staff are tasked with marketing activities, including handing out samples.

kitchen. Luckily, Porchlight received generous support from many donors during their four-million-dollar capital campaign, and will be breaking ground in June on a new housing facility that will include a brand-new, state-of-theart, 2,500-square-foot kitchen to house Porchlight Products.

Porchlight Products has grown since its humble beginnings. The number of trainees has increased from 6 to 15, and the product line has expanded from 4 to 12 different products. Not surprisingly, they have outgrown their

Al, who has a physical disability and has worked part-time in the kitchen for the past four years, said that he can’t wait for the kitchen to be “bigger” so that he won’t have to shuffle around the big machines to get his work done.

34 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

LeeAnne, the manager of the kitchen program, will be happy to have everything located on the first floor.

Currently it can take anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes just to bring up produce from the cold storage on the bottom level. When so much of the cooking is based on stirring at precisely the correct time, it makes it very difficult to have one employee be able to follow through with a process from start to finish. “As a manager, it’s also going to help to have designated work areas. I work with a wide variety of employees, and sometimes people just need space to do their projects. At this new location, it will be great for the employees to get that,” she explains.

If all goes as planned, Porchlight Products’ new kitchen will open sometime in spring of 2017. Meanwhile LeeAnne, Al, and the other Porchlight Products employees are gearing up for their busiest time of year, summer, when fresh local produce is in abundance.

To learn more about Porchlight Products and the many people who benefit from the job training program, visit porchlightproducts.org. You can

also find a list of the yummy treats they make and where to find them for sale.

To make your own gift of support to the Porchlight campaign, please contact Jessica Pastelin at jpastelin@porchlightinc.org or go to porchlightinc.org.

Photographs provided by Porchlight, Inc.

Doretha is excited for the new kitchen because it is closer to her home, so she will be able to work more. She travels with her walker by bus to the kitchen now and frequently has issues with maneuvering it throughout the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus and the large amount of students.

LeeAnne also envisions that the new kitchen will support her dream to expand the product baskets Porchlight Products offers. She cites plans for new themed baskets for the winter holidays, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day. Another of her ideas is to create housewarming baskets that lenders and realtors could give to new homebuyers.

“When I purchased my home, I enjoyed getting a ‘welcome home’ gift from my bank. A basket of delicious locally grown products is something unique, and the high quality of the products makes it honorable as a gift.”

Voted Best in Madison for 33 years Private Party and Meeting Rooms for 20-80

238-6445

2039 Allen Blvd. • Corner of University Ave., Middleton

www.imperialgarden.com madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 35

e ss en tial food & beverage

Honey Cap

Old Sugar

DISTILLERY When Cooper Greenawalt turns 21, his father, Nathan, owner/distiller of Old Sugar Distillery, will help him celebrate with a drink of 21-year-old rum. The year will be 2035. The rum will have been aged since 2014 in an oak barrel, giving it a velvetiness perfect for sipping.

Old Sugar Distillery, at 931 E. Main Street in Madison, has been in operation since 2010. Nathan, a 2004 University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate, hails from Michigan, but came to Madison

because he liked the lakes and enjoys sailing. He gained his appreciation for spirits from his father, who had an interest in cognacs and French liqueurs.

Because Nathan is half Greek, on his mother’s side, he decided to produce an ouzo. Americanaki Ouzo “packs a punch, but is surprisingly smooth,” Nathan says. He is pleased that his grandfather, to whom “family was everything,” was able to see the distillery before he died.

by Jeanne Engle Nathan’s passion is Old Sugar Factory Honey Liqueur, the first spirit he produced. He wanted to make rum from local sugar beets, but, according to law, needed to use cane sugar. So Nathan developed his honey liqueur with sugar beets, raised in the Midwest, and Wisconsin honey. Mix this liqueur with Mexican horchata (a rice beverage made with cinnamon and, sometimes, vanilla) and you have Gringo, a favorite at the Old Sugar Distillery Tasting Room.

The Tasting Room was an afterthought for Nathan, who originally wanted to produce spirits for wholesale distribution only. During the time he was obtaining his distiller’s license, Wisconsin changed its laws to allow distilleries to operate tasting rooms. So, on faith, Nathan built his tasting room with the stills and aging barrels visible.

One stipulation of the law was that only spirits produced on site could be served.

Nathan’s creativity is shown in the Tasting Room cocktails. Among them are: Honey-Cap, the most popular— Honey Liqueur with honey and lime

36 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

juice, muddled lime, and soda water; Main Street—Queen Jennie Whiskey with bitters, sugar, a dash of Americanaki Ouzo, and orange or lemon garnish; and for the chilly season, Chai Toddy—hot chai with Americanaki Ouzo and a touch of sweetened condensed milk.

Old Sugar Distillery spirits are produced with a copper pot, which continues to be made by Colonel Vaughn Wilson of Alma, Arkansas. Nathan was familiar with Colonel Wilson’s work. The Wine & Hop Shop, where Nathan had worked for five years prior to opening Old Sugar Distillery, has one of the Colonel’s stills on display. The advantage of the pot still is more caramelization of the spirits during the distillation process because of direct fire to the still. The final product is more robust and flavorful.

Rather than immediate bottling after distillation, Old Sugar Distillery spirits are aged in small batches in American oak barrels that come from a cooper in Minnesota.

“Most distilleries don’t bother with this aging because it’s an expensive process.

The upside is that we don’t have to wait 10 years for a product to be good. With small barrels, there’s more surface area relative to the amount of volume, thus a more flavorful and mellower spirit,” Nathan says. “Working with state and city officials to obtain a license to produce spirits was much easier than working with the feds.” At the time he began his research into the distilling business, there were not many people

of whom Nathan could ask questions.

Now there are about 20 craft distilleries in Wisconsin and more than 750 in the United States.

Nathan believes in supporting other local, Wisconsin, and domestic businesses, and in being environmentally friendly. He purchases grapes for his Brandy Station traditional-style brandy

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 37

THE

UNIVERSITY CLUB

PUBLIC WELCOME Monday - Friday Breakfast - Lunch 7:30 am - 2:00 pm

EVENTS Weddings Rehearsal Dinners Special Occasions UCLUB.WISC.EDU | 608.262.5023 803 STATE ST. MADISON WI

Famous for Steaks

Home of the 20 oz.

Bone-in Tenderloin

• Friday Night—Fresh Pan-fried Lake Perch • Saturday Night—Prime Rib • Sunday—Chicken Dinner • Late Night Bar Menu & Happy Hour (Beginning at 10:00 p.m.)

• Seasonal Outdoor Dining in our Grotto • Corral Room Available for Private Parties OPEN DAILY

Mon-Fri Bar Opens at 4:30—Dinner at 5:00 Weekends Open at 5:00

For Reservations Call: 256-3570 Entrances at

116 S. Hamilton & 115 W. Main Street tornadosteakhouse.com

from Mitchell Vineyard, located between Oregon and Stoughton. This spirit is in high demand and will be available again in September. Sorghum for Queen Jennie Whiskey comes from Rolling Meadows Sorghum Mill in Elkhart Lake. Sorghum makes for a smooth, mellow whiskey, less sour than bourbon and less harsh than rye.

Sky High Fruit Farm in Baraboo is another local vendor. Nathan has purchased one-fourth of its apple crop to make a special apple brandy. Because this specialty brandy will take one and a half years to age, look for the finished product the summer of 2017.

Old Sugar Distillery has collaborated with six local breweries and will be releasing whiskeys in variety packs made with beer from each of them in December—just in time for the giftgiving season.

Nathan could purchase glass bottles from China, but he buys them from a factory in Missouri. “The factories here are cleaner and more energy efficient, and there’s no environmental cost of shipping the bottles across the ocean,” he says. Old Sugar Distillery uses about 20,000 bottles a year. Labels are printed in Chicago. The bottling operation is done at the distillery and doesn’t take

38 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

more than about 40 hours a year. Spirits are bottled about twice a month.

In addition, Nathan supports area nonprofits. Each year, he gives several hundred gift certificates to charitable organizations to be used for their fundraisers.

Old Sugar Distillery spirits are sold primarily in Dane County liquor stores and supermarkets. Customers can also order spirits online or purchase gift boxes ranging from $50 to $130 at the Tasting Room. A new addition to the selection is the Harvester, a drink made of Door County cherries, local apple cider, and Queen Jennie Whiskey, sold in one-liter bottles.

The Tasting Room is open Thursdays and Fridays, 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; and Saturdays, noon to 11:00 p.m., with bottle sales until 9:00 p.m. Local appetizers from Underground Food Collective and Banzo of Madison are served.

The Tempest Oyster Bar and Tex Tubb’s Taco Palace each feature two cocktails on their menus that are made with Old Sugar Distillery spirits. Another two dozen area bars and restaurants also offer a variety of Old Sugar Distillery spirits.

Cuba Libre

“Our product sells best where you can make a local sales pitch,” Nathan reflects. That’s why he worked with Capitol ChopHouse on a special dinner earlier this year. The menu paired cocktails made with Old Sugar Distillery spirits with local food. Another dinner is planned for early 2017.

Old Sugar Distillery is a distinctive venue available for private parties, such as reunions or wedding receptions, for up to 100 people. Customers can bring in their own catered food.

What is Nathan’s end goal for Old Sugar Distillery? “I have no aspirations to be the biggest craft distillery in the Midwest. I

want a strong local following rather than a weak nationwide following!”

Jeanne Engle is a freelance writer.

Photographs by Eric Tadsen.

FRESH • SUSTAINABLE • DELICIOUS

• Live Maine Lobster • Marlin • Tuna • Salmon • Alaskan King Crab Legs • Friday Fish Fry featuring Bluegill & Lake Perch • Saturday Prime Rib Join us for Oyster Happy Hour Featuring $2.00 Oysters & Smalls Menu Mon. – Fri. 4 pm – 7 pm Fine Oysters Fish • Steaks 120 East Wilson Madison, WI 608.258.1443 www.tempestoyster.com

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 39

es s ential home

Add a Sunny Space to Your Home

by Yvette Jones Most of us have dreamed of adding a room on our home where the sun filters and a warm breeze lightly ruffles the pages of our favorite book. A number of NARI builders and remodelers create rooms like this and we talked with Abe Degnan whose firm, Degnan Design Builders, recently won a NARI award

for just such a space. Like many NARI members, he takes the time upfront to help explore the options thoroughly. The Degnan team has years of experience in both remodeling and building new homes, and they find that although many homeowners have strong ideas about what they want, they often

screen porch to a three-season space to a four-season sunroom has a noticeable effect on the tenor of the room, and can impact the mood of your entire house. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of a space that is closer to the outdoors, as well as a space that is totally enclosed.

Will it be a place where you work on crafts, read, garden, entertain, or sit in the sun with your morning coffee?

haven’t considered all the possibilities.

Abe walks prospective clients through several key questions before beginning a design for outdoor living space.

First Abe urges you to consider how much of an outdoor feel you want in the new room. The progression from a 40 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Paramount to that decision is the way you plan to use the room. Will it be a place where you work on crafts, read, garden, entertain, or sit in the sun with your morning coffee? Living in Wisconsin, it’s important to consider whether the room will be a space you use year-round.

While your budget for the project may incline you to minimize, Abe points out that the craftsmanship required for a screen porch is more labor intensive than people realize, with both the inside and out requiring exterior-grade materials. In addition, virtually all the work requires finish-grade carpentry.

A good screen porch can be a major expense, so it is worth considering whether a three-season room would be more useful.

Year-round spaces, like sunrooms, often end up becoming the favorite room in the house, but in many cases it’s at the expense of another room. While sunrooms are desirable, before you spend money on new construction, it’s worth looking around your home. Is there a way you might be able to remodel underutilized space and create a sunlit room from space you have?

Often a three-season or screen porch can strengthen your home’s connection with the backyard, as was the case with the award-winning design. This Town of Bristol home had a large deck off the main floor of the home, and although the back of the home had an exposed lower level, the deck had no stairway down to the backyard. The homeowners knew they wanted to replace the aging deck and include an enclosed area protected from bugs in the plan.

The design process helped the homeowners consider every option.

Placement of the screened area was critical since the homeowner wanted to retain views from an office and other

areas in the lower level, as well as the main floor great room and dining room.

Degnan Design Builders created a dozen variations on five main concepts to address the views and determine the

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 41

proportion of the room. The chosen design was an asymmetrical octagonshaped screen porch, which saved the views from the master bedroom, office, and great room.

The new deck wraps around the back of the home, with a stairway leading into the yard. The screen porch, accessed through a door off the deck, accommodates a round dining set and two reading chairs perfectly, which is not surprising since the owners purchased them in advance and each alternate design showed the furniture in place. A radiant heater in the screen porch provides comfort in cooler temperatures, and is energy efficient in that it turns on only as needed.

Every detail of the project received careful attention, from the materials to the roofing design and decking patterns. The Trex posts on the deck match the Trex decking, and glass balusters provide a wide view of the yard. A horizontal stainless steel cable railing surrounds the cedar-framed screen porch, where the decking pattern precisely follows the octagon shape of the room.

Degnan Design Builders stained the cedar and painted other materials to match the Trex decking. Since the

42 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

underside of the deck was visible from the office, they wrapped the treated beams in a cellular PVC product that could be painted, and painted the underside of the deck.

Abe says, “Many of the decisions were not typical, but they were well thought out and exactly what the homeowners wanted for themselves.” He appreciates this careful approach and sees the satisfaction the completed project provides when people design spaces that reflect their unique likes and needs.

He used, as an example, a screen porch built primarily for cats, which has provided years of pleasure.

“People who love their home and their neighborhood tend to invest in their home for their own enjoyment,” Abe says.

“People need to decide if they are doing something for themselves. People who love their home and their neighborhood tend to invest in their home for their own enjoyment. They don’t view their home as just a commodity,” Abe says.

No matter what kind of porch you have in mind, a professional remodeler will help you design for your style of home.

You can choose to match the context, or do a porch that makes an intentional design intervention to define the house differently. Either way, Abe stresses the importance of working in context,

making a project everything that it deserves to be but not turning it into something out of character with your neighborhood. You can improve a home from any era by adding useful and beautiful spaces that furnish enjoyment, indoors and out.

Yvette Jones is president of designCraft Advertising in Madison, and serves on the board of NARI Madison.

Photographs provided by Degnan Design Builders.

The following NARI members were involved in the project mentioned in this article.

Degnan Design Builders 134 Ethun Place DeForest, WI 53532 (608) 846-5963 degnandesignbuilders.com

Design Electric of Madison, Inc. 6320 Monona Drive, Suite 203 Madison, WI 53716 (608) 221-3563 designelectricmadison.com

Wisconsin Building Supply PO Box 258 Windsor, WI 53598 (608) 846-5445 wibuildingsupply.com The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) represents people who work in and with the remodeling industry. NARI professionals are expected to be licensed and insured, educated about current industry standards, ethical, and dedicated to excellent customer service.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE REMODELING INDUSTRY

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

NARI®

| 43

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE REMODELING INDUSTRY

Spotlight

World Class Theatre…World Class Experience Visit our website to see our exciting 2016 season!

Bring your own picnic or indulge in our Picnic Baskets for your group.

Relax and take in summer theatre at its finest.

Beautiful Spring Green, Wisconsin (608) 588-2361 • americanplayers.org

Cheers!

These 23 ounce tumblers are handmade without the help of molds, machines or elves, meaning each variation is intentional.

A perfect piece of art for hot coffee in the morning and cold beer at night.

littleluxuries 230 State Street

●

608.255.7372

44 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Smell, Look and Feel Great.

American Provenance’s Body Spray is your all natural way to smell your very best. With four signature women’s scents, from citrus to floral, we have timeless fragrances to make every day glamorous.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. americanprovenance.com

Brutta = “Elemental”!

A curated collection of things we love…

Pizza Brutta has always offered Campus and Vilas neighborhood diners authentic wood oven pizza in its finest, simplest, most delicious form…But NOW Middleton and far West Madison diners can conveniently enjoy it too!

NEW LOCATION 6712 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave., Middleton (608) 841-1882 • pizzabrutta.com

Tabletop, textiles, home décor, unique yet affordable specialty foods and fun wines and spirits. A personal, satisfying shopping experience in beautiful Spring Green, WI. SHOP LOCAL. ENABLE YOUR TABLE… AND YOUR SENSES. 122 N. Lexington St., Downtown Spring Green (608) 588-2351 • convivioshop.com

Convivio Enable your table

Color Your Kitchen

Functional shouldn’t mean boring!

Gift your own kitchen…or others with our wide selection of kitchen and dining accessories.

2322 Atwood Ave. • (608) 238-4331 stonefenceofmadison.com

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 45

e ss ential arts

Jeff Noska Pursuing the Challenge

by Kay Myers When you’re young, time passes slowly.

You wait forever for your parents to finish an errand, a 20-minute drive to a relative’s house feels like an hour, and getting through the afternoon to the next recess is an eternity. There are moments like this as an adult as well, especially when you’re a parent, teacher, or an artist. You wait patiently for your child’s turn at a dance recital, for your semester to end, and for your ideas to come to life by creation of your hands.

Time is also sneaky, and somehow, without warning, days, months, and years pass.

With determination, inspiration, and the desire to rise to the occasion, an artist can make art for a living. “Right now I’m a 60-year-old potter and it feels 46 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

good,” Jeff Noska tells me. “I’ve had a fantastic life so far, and I’m excited about what I do, whether it’s making pots or teaching. I feel invigorated. I’m active.

My mind is constantly working to not only create better work myself, but to encourage my students to challenge themselves in ways they haven’t thought about before.

“One of the things I’ve been very fortunate with is when I was young, even going back to high school, I find recollections of having a real broad base of industrial arts. You know, taking welding classes and woodworking classes; I always loved making things and working with my hands. I’ve always found great pleasure in that, and I’ve always found it to be challenging. I

love to challenge myself in ways that I find to be unique. My industrial arts background really roughed me out and rounded me when I got to college to start looking at art and the big picture of art, and it was so magical to be able to do that and not have to think about a regular job or a career. It’s part of my programming!” Jeff laughs, “I’ve never been programmed to be on a five-yearplan or, I mean, that’s not necessarily true because when I went to graduate school one of the questions they asked was, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ But as I looked at that, I did perhaps make decisions or set goals for a career, but it was more a career as an artist, not as a teacher or administrator.”

A Minnesota native, Jeff earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Superior. His peers and professors were a source of constant inspiration. They swayed him to challenge himself and develop his skills and techniques—to grow as an artist.

“Although there wasn’t a big art community up there [at UW–Superior], I was made very aware of it because we were close to Minneapolis, and there was this fellow, Warren Mackenzie, a very well-known potter at U of M, and I responded very well to his work,” Jeff says. “Perhaps the work was a bit more simplified than where I wanted to go, but the work ethic and ability to make things that encourage other people to use them and invite art into their lives rather than buying expensive sculpture

that lies around in precious areas of their home…to celebrate objects every time you sit down to dinner or coffee.

“And then I did my graduate work at the University of Notre Dame with Bill Kremer, who was another fantastic inspiration. He did very large-scale ceramics and continued to push me to develop and said, ‘Learn how to make big things and fire big things.’ He gave me the freedom to pursue things that I wouldn’t have done without that experience.

“Conceptual art was just beginning to take root when I was in school. I really responded to earthworks and stuff like that: Richard Serra and Joseph Beuys. I really responded to Beuys working with felt and butter and things like that, and I was influenced by the work of John Cage, especially his work Indeterminancy.

I never really had much interest in pursuing art conceptually. I found the hidden magic within the material and how to manipulate it. That’s really what I’m about. You take a lump of clay and give it some life and some meaning and form.”

Jeff’s work is made with precision and certitude. He has been influenced by the landscape in which he grew up outside of Duluth, Minnesota, as well as that which he moved into in Dousman, Wisconsin (between Milwaukee and Madison). It seems many artists are influenced by the place that surrounds them. Each interprets this in their own way. For Jeff, architecture and his creative history with both woodworking and welding influence the ceramic pots and sculptures he creates.

“A lot of my pieces are more related to rural architecture: silos and graineries and barns,” Jeff explains. “[My interest is in] the nuances in buildings that have often been changed over the years and show remnants of the process. Windows that have been moved or marks where people whacked the building with the tractor or stones falling out of silos or barns. I’m not deliberately trying to represent those ideas, I’m merely trying to suggest them as design elements. If the surface is too blank, you’re really just looking at the form. But if you have

cutouts or notches or dashes, it draws your eyes to it in a way that makes you think about the form a bit more or asks you to take a second look. They say people walk through museums and look at a piece of art for five seconds. So if I can make people slow down and look for a few more seconds or for a minute, they’ll see more than if they just take a glance.

“I kinda grew up in the country and had an uncle who farmed and still have a cousin my age, who I was close to, who still farms. When I relocated to southern Wisconsin it used to be all farmland, now it’s all subdivision.

There are still remnants of silos and barns and UW–Waukesha (where Jeff teaches) has a hundred-acre off-campus field unit, the UW–Waukesha Field Station. It was once a small working farm. There’s a couple barns out there, and a machine shed and corn crib, and in 1997 I collaborated with Chris Davis-Benavides, who is now at UW– Milwaukee, to build an anagama wood kiln. It’s about 25 feet long x 6 feet high x 6 feet wide. It’s a lot of fun and a great collaboration between schools.”

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 47

biggest difference to working with metal or wood as opposed to clay is that clay is a much more friendly material in the sense it’s so manipulative and it bonds together any way it’s handled and records that information. Where you really have to work to get a feeling into wood or metal, which is so cold and hard, clay is immediate in its 10 or 15 minutes or half hour. You can do what you can’t do with other materials.

Speaking with Jeff, I can tell he is as passionate about teaching as he is about creating art. He tells me how motivating it is to see his students rise to the occasion and challenge themselves to better develop their skills and ideas. In return, it motivates him to continue to grow and change. It challenges him.

“I don’t only teach ceramics, I also teach sculpture and 3-D design, and that’s kind of what keeps me active making sculpture,” Jeff says reflectively. “I want to be an inspiration to my students. I don’t just want to talk about it, I want to show them and be very active in the process along with them. I also teach

drawing—intro to drawing. I sketch all the time. That’s how I work out ideas.

I always draw things out so that I can see the template or pattern, so I can see the shape or get a much firmer grasp of what those shapes are before I get started, even before I wedge up clay. I think it keeps me sharper when looking at my own work.

“I still like working with wood and fine furniture—doing joinery. What I was most interested in was getting wood to stick together without any mechanical fasteners or glue—everything being dovetailed and wedged together. I still find that to be kind of exciting. The

“Clay is so manipulable, and once you learn a few processes, your limitations go away. You can pretty much make whatever you want. That’s what’s exciting. Even if you’re repeating things, you’re getting better at it. You do grow even though it’s not that noticeable to the common eye. That’s the huge part about art. As an artist that’s been active for decades, it’s the way you perceive objects and forms. There’s just a greater depth than if you’ve just taken a few art classes or have an undergraduate degree. Even with those things, it’s still not enough to really investigate art or get a sense of what art is. Art is the biggest, most beautiful thing out there.

The whole idea is here’s how we do it, and here’s how we get better at doing it.”

I ask Jeff what his advice is for newbies and novices. He laughs and immediately says, “Never give up! Never stop! Once I started making art and making ceramics, I’m just one of those persons that never stopped. And I know a lot of people who have fallen off the wayside and given up. It’s hard, but if you have a passion, if you truly love it, it’s like being married. If you’re not in love with the person you’re married to, you won’t stay married. With making art, if you don’t love it, you’re not going to stick with it!”

Jeff’s work is available at his studio in Dousman, Wisconsin. He is open year-round, but a great time to visit is during the Kettle Moraine Studio Tour the second weekend of October. You can contact him through his website compositeclay.com for more information or to schedule a visit.

Kay Myers is a local artist and freelance writer.

Photographs by Jeff Noska.

48 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

e ssential well-being

How to Go to Therapy

by Elizabeth H. Winston, PhD

Maria constantly worried about what others thought of her, often felt overwhelmed with fear and stress, and once went to the emergency room because she thought she was having a heart attack. She was reassured by ER staff that she was not having a heart attack, but rather a panic attack, and was encouraged to seek mental health support.

If you have experienced anxiety, depression, or other mental health problems, or are going through a difficult life transition or stressful time, you may have sought or considered seeking psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a general term for a therapeutic process to address psychological concerns. The term psychotherapy does not refer to a specific kind of theory or approach to helping. Counseling is a broader term that is used to describe this kind of help and refers to any situation in which someone seeks advice or counsel from an expert.

anything else you would like known.

At the end of the intake, the therapist will give you feedback about his/her understanding of your situation and whether psychotherapy might help.

Sometimes the therapist will explain that you meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis, such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or adjustment disorder. If you are diagnosed with a disorder, the good news is that there are a lot of empirically supported treatments for these disorders. For example, we know that cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and time-limited psychodynamic therapy work for depression.

Your therapist may suggest a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

Medication can be prescribed by your primary care provider or a psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in mental health). Some individuals meet with

a psychiatrist first to get a specialized evaluation of their particular situation and to get medication recommendations.

Some psychiatrists have training in psychotherapy and offer this in addition to medication management. Others focus primarily on medication and may refer you to a psychotherapist. Once a client is stabilized on medication, their prescription can often be managed in primary care.

Psychotherapy typically occurs in 45- to 50-minute sessions once a week or every other week. You and your therapist should develop mutually agreed upon goals for your work together. This will help you know what to talk about in therapy and will help track your progress. I often ask new clients, “What would you like to change or improve in your life?” to prompt them to think about goals for our work. Your therapist can help you focus on your goals and can ask the right questions to help you move toward improving your life.

How does does How psychotherapy work?

psychotherapy work?

Psychotherapy is typically a one-on-one meeting with a highly trained mental health professional. This professional should be licensed by the state to practice psychotherapy and have a Master’s Degree, a PhD, or an MD. At the first visit, the psychotherapist will conduct an intake session. In this session, the therapist will ask several questions to get to know you, hear why you think you need help, and discuss madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 49

positive experiences with a therapist.

Once you start asking, though, you will be surprised how many people you know who have sought therapy. Like any profession, there are a lot of good therapists and some not so good. Also, finding the right fit is really important.

In fact, research on psychotherapy suggests that the relationship between the therapist and client is the most critical agent of change.

mid town pub 2405 Allen Blvd. Middleton, WI.

Full Menu: 11a.m. - 1a.m. 7 days a week!

Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials Prim dwiches ers - Mini prime rib san

608.826.5129 Fish Fry

midtownpub.com

Neighborhood Bar

What should should I look for in afor What I look psychotherapist? in a psychotherapist?

Psychotherapists are legally and ethically obligated to protect confidentiality.

Anything said in therapy stays there.

There are important exceptions to confidentiality, which the therapist should discuss at the beginning of your first meeting. Meeting with a frequency of once a week or every other week is what I call a “working therapy.” After clients have done a 4- to 12-month course of therapy and feel a lot better, but still want support, they often transition to monthly visits. If you meet every three to four weeks, this is more of a “maintenance” therapy. Not much change can come from this, but any changes already made or the benefit from receiving supportive therapy can be maintained.

Like most quests these days, people often start their search for a therapist on the internet. Psychology Today, a popular and reputable national magazine, hosts a website for those seeking professional help. Therapists post profiles describing themselves and their practices, and individuals can search in their area for those who specialize in their concerns or issues. Even in a relatively small city, like Madison, there are a lot of options.

Your primary care provider can be a good referral source, as can friends and family.

Unfortunately, people don’t always talk readily about being in psychotherapy, so it can be hard to hear about others’

50 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

There are many considerations when seeking a psychotherapist. You should confirm proper training and licensing by the state. You want to make sure the therapist has expertise and interest in the particular problem you want to address. For example, most treat people with anxiety and depression, but you may need someone with special expertise in alcohol and drug problems, trauma, or bipolar disorder. You should seek a therapist who is sensitive to and knowledgeable about your particular background, culture, and identity.

A psychologist typically has had four to five years of graduate school, with training in the research and practice of psychology. Some psychologists also offer psychological testing and assessment for court, school, or health care referrals.

Other mental health providers, such as social workers, have typically had two years of graduate school. Social workers may be more likely to focus on the client in the context of the greater community and may be able to connect clients with resources they need.

Marriage and family therapists will likely look at a client’s problems in the context of their family system. Highquality psychotherapists come from all different backgrounds and training.

Services provided by mental health professionals include individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. If you are seeking couples or family therapy, make sure that you find a therapist who is trained and experienced in these specialties.

How to pay for therapy?

How to pay for therapy?

If you plan to use health insurance to pay for a portion of the cost of therapy, you should contact your insurance company to ask who you are permitted to see. When insurance companies contract with providers, they typically negotiate a lower cost for treatment.

This means less cost to your insurance and to you, but it may mean that the therapist sees a higher volume of clients per week in order to compensate for less income per client. Therapists who do not contract with insurance companies usually cost more, but may see fewer clients per week and will likely have more availability.

What to expect.

What to expect.

What psychotherapy What if ifpsychotherapy is not helping? is not helping?

If you feel like your therapist is not helping, you should discuss your concern. Explain what is and isn’t working, and request changes to accommodate you. If you find that your therapist is not a good fit, let it be known you would like to find someone new. If you can articulate what you are looking for, your therapist may even be able to refer you to another who would be a better match. This may seem hard to do, but it is excellent practice in giving feedback and ending relationships that are not working for you.

You have to recognize the difference between a therapist who is not helping and one who is challenging you to look at yourself and do the hard work necessary for personal growth. If you leave because it is uncomfortable, you

miss a great opportunity for change.

This is therapy: learning about yourself, creating change, and working towards a better life in the comfort of a caring, helpful, therapeutic milieu.

Elizabeth H. Winston, PhD, is a Madison psychologist who provides psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and consultation. elizabethwinston.com.

BOWL OF HEAVEN CAFÉ HOLLANDER CAFÉ PORTA ALBA

Elizabeth H. Winston, PhD

Photograph by Maison Meredith Photography

Regardless of how you go to therapy, you want to feel respected and heard while you are there. Your therapist should be on time, give you full attention, demonstrate you are being heard with meaningful comments and questions, and convey respect and caring. Your responsibility as a client is to commit to your goals through reliably coming to your scheduled sessions, collaborating on doing your work, thinking about or working on the problems you discuss between sessions, and paying your bill.

DUMPLING HAUS FLEMINGʼS STEAKHOUSE GREAT DANE PUB & BREWING CO. PASQUALʼS CANTINA SUSHI MURAMOTO

726 N. MIDVALE BLVD MADISON HILLDALE.COM

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 51

e ss en tial food & beverage

Beer is Thicker Than Blood

Oktoberfest

by Kyle Jacobson

Beer and Wisconsin go together like beer and Mondays, beer and dancing, and beer and beer brats. You’d almost think beer is in our blood, and, in many ways, it is. The overwhelming majority of the 100,000 foreign-born Wisconsinites in 1850 were either German, Norwegian, or Irish—places with strong brewing traditions.1 In addition, we really don’t get much time off from celebrating festivals, like St. Patrick’s Day and

Syttende Mai, with good friends and great beer. One festival shines above the rest, so grand it even has a beer to go with it: Oktoberfest.

the color by subbing in a lighter malt, now known as Vienna malt, for some of the heavier ones in the Märzenbier, and the Vienna Lager was born.

The origins of the style predate the festival, though the first Oktoberfestbier wasn’t brewed until 61 years after the first festival was held. That’s because a key ingredient had yet to be added, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

In 1871, Spaten Brewery introduced a darker Vienna malt, known today as Munich malt, and the world witnessed its first Oktoberfestbier.2 The Oktoberfest festival, however, had been in effect since 1810.

Over 20 generations ago, Bavarian brewers encountered a major crisis.

They wanted to drink beer throughout the year, but the summer months often produced sour and contaminated results. The only solution was to brew as much beer as possible before the days grew warm, leading to the creation of the Märzenbier, “March beer.” The beers were brewed with a heavy dose of malts and hops to preserve the flavor over the summer, then stored in cool caves and cellars. As the summer came to a close, around October, there were often many casks still full of beer. The casks needed to be emptied so the next brewing season could start, leading to city-wide merrymaking. Any guess as to what this event came to be called? Honestly, I don’t know if it ever had a name. This predates Oktoberfest by hundreds of years.

The festival began as a celebration of Kronprinz Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The main event was a grand horse race, which was repeated annually until 1960. By then, the festival had gone through many changes as different games and activities faded in and out.

One tradition stood the test of time quite well: drinking a lot of beer.

As technology advanced, the need to store beer for the warm months lessened.

In 1841, Gabriel Sedlmayr, brewmaster of Spaten Brewery in Munich, and Anton Dreher, brewmaster of Dreher Brewery in Vienna, worked together to lighten 52 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Being the thoughtful connoisseurs of culture we are, Wisconsites carry on the traditions set forth by our German ancestors in stride. Tanner Brethorst, brewery chief of Port Huron Brewing, provides some insight when it comes to brewing and enjoying Oktoberfest beers. “It’s more than refreshing, it’s satisfying…it just makes you feel more in tune to the time of year.”

That is really what beer drinking comes down to. It’s so deeply ingrained in our culture that I can find the right beer for not only the right season, but the right day. I can drink a crisp American Pale Ale on a hot summer day and switch over to a Belgian Quad (black wheat

Photograph by Kira Jacobson

ale) when the rain comes out. But we are entering the fall months, and between Brown Ales, Dunkelweizens, and Oktoberfest beers, I’m set for the season.

When September rolls around, my thoughts jump to visions of Munich malts and lagering. Every local brewery’s Oktoberfest is worth a try to see who nailed it this year. “Hops go in to balance that beer out, but they don’t play a starring role. If it’s a really tasty beer, you know it on that first sip.” Tanner’s words ring over the dancing Hallertauer hops in my head. I want to get that rich malt flavor balanced with the mildest hint of hops, and if everything finishes clean, I’m in.

Beer drinking has been adopted as a lifestyle by so many people in the United States, and Wisconsin is right up there with the best of them. When I point out I can expect a local tavern to at least carry Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious, Tanner adds, “You’re always gonna have some great Wisconsin craft beer along for the ride when you’re doing anything anymore.”

Camping, kayaking, stargazing, and polka dancing, no matter the way you relax or unwind, odds are there’s some great beer within arm’s reach.

Photograph provided by Port Huron Brewing

Instead of connecting Oktoberfest beer to art and philosophy, let the beer speak for itself. It’s so much a part of the festival, there’s little surprise we’re seeing Wisconsin do Oktoberfest as good as almost anywhere else. Jerry Schneider, one of Wisconsin’s favorite polka stars, played at Port Huron’s Oktoberfest last year, and Tanner couldn’t have been happier. “Jerry Schneider is playing in

our brewery right now. It’s Oktoberfest.

This is the best day of the year. Our Oktoberfest is surpassing Christmas.”

Of course, you can go anywhere in Wisconsin to experience some great festivities. Madison, Waupaca, La Crosse, Appleton, Chippewa Fall, New Glarus, Plymouth, Cedarburg, and Milwaukee to name a few. There’s something to waiting for that first keg to be tapped as you stand underneath with an empty mug. You’re surrounded by men in lederhosen and women in dirndl dresses, and you’re wondering why we don’t do this every day. The band picks up where they left off and everybody cheers as they drink down the newfound reason for the season.

We are tied together by lifestyles and cultures that share a commonality we’d almost have to fight to ignore. Take part in an Oktoberfest, drink an Oktoberfest beer, and know Wisconsin as a united people who can throw one hell of a party.

Jeder hört die Musik anders—aber der gemeinsame Tanz ist wunderbar.

Everyone hears the music differently—but the dance together is wonderful.

NEW AND SEASONAL BEERS FROM PORT HURON BREWING •

Prost!

1 2

•

Wisconsin Historical Society. wisconsinhistory.org.

German Beer Institute. germanbeerinstitute.com.

Kyle Jacobson is a copy editor for Madison Essentials Magazine, and a writer and beer enthusiast (sometimes all at once) living in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

Oktoberfest

Midwest IPA (Uses completely Wisconsin-based ingredients) There are no bad Oktoberfest beers in Wisconsin, but if we have to choose…

TANNER’S FAVORITES •

Staghorn – New Glarus Brewing

•

Oktoberfest – Capital Brewery

•

Gemuetlichkeit Oktoberfest – Tyranena Brewing

OTHER NOTABLE OKTOBERFEST BEERS •

Oktoberfest Lager – Lakefront Brewery

Point Oktoberfest – Stevens Point Brewery •

• Oaktober – Karben4 (technically not an Oktoberfest, but an ale that mimics the style)

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 53

es s en tial travel

A PARK FOR ALL Seasons

by Liz Wessel

Walk a prairie full of flowers, cool off with a hike in the woods, paddle on lakes or streams, bike twisted paths through autumn colored leaves, or ski loops that take you across prairies and over moraines. County parks provide an amazing variety of outdoor opportunities, and should you decide to explore the system, you will travel from one end of the county to the other across the seasons.

Beyond where you call home lies the Dane County Parks system. More than just 28 recreational parks, the system includes lands and corridors, such as forests, natural areas, cultural and historic sites, as well as wildlife areas.

There are shelters, playgrounds, dog parks, canoe launches, campsites, and disc golf courses. All of these added to further connect you and me to the land and water resources of Dane County.

I do a lot of hiking in the spring and summer. As days get nicer, I want to get outside. Spring walks tend to feature areas where plants are budding or bursting out of the ground. On the north side of Walking Iron Park, the starting point for trails is a prairie known for its pasqueflowers and prairie smoke. Start here and finish your walk along the creek or in the forested areas

of the park. Fortunately, the county has been able to preserve, create, and restore some prairie remnants across the system, assuring that you and I have the opportunity to see these and other varieties of indigenous plants.

For more lengthy summer walks, drive to Indian Lake Park. The trail system serves all seasons and is extensively used in the winter for cross-country skiing. I like the change in elevations, the multiple loops available, and the Ice Age Trail, which meanders through the park. At the end of the day, wander up to the 1897 historic chapel for a view of the park and the sunset.

More recently, I discovered Donald Park in the southwestern edge of the county.

Donald Park has great trails, as well as trout streams and springs. There is also an old homestead site. Extensive bridal trails mean longer hikes. On a summer’s eve or weekend, I’ve hiked until the light fades and then picnicked underneath the stars. I look forward to future explorations at McCarthy Youth and Conservation Park and the other bridal trail parks.

On a hot, sultry summer evening after working in front of a computer all day, pack a picnic supper and head to

54 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Brigham Park on the western side of the county to catch the sunset and late light lingering over the Wisconsin River Valley. For something closer to Madison, Pheasant Branch Conservancy has a loop around the wetland and into the prairie at the north end. Climb up Frederick’s Hill for a great view of a rising full moon and you might be serenaded by a local coyote pack.

Another favorite for warm evenings is Festge Park. The view south and up and down the Black Earth Creek drainage is beautiful. The evening might be punctuated by calls from cranes below.

And more than once I have stayed to watch for meteors as this park offers great views of the sky with minimal light pollution.

As summer kicks in, foraging for berries becomes a priority for some. Foraging falls squarely under the county parks’ missions of connecting people to the land and water resources. The berry season starts with black caps and moves to black berries in early August.

Blackberry pie is a tradition in my family. Berries, mushrooms, nuts, and edible fruits are all fair game.

Starting spring and lasting through summer and fall, trails are shared with

Photograph by Deb Flanders

bike riders. I envy the nine miles of single track trails that wind through CamRock County Park. As a hiker, I love narrower trails that provide some intimacy with the land. Watching mountain bikers navigate the twists and turns and elevation changes, I know that they are having fun and appreciate the landscape and what it offers.

CamRock, a linear park extending between Cambridge and Rockdale, can also be explored by water. Launch on to Koshkonong Creek and see the park from the water. When asked where people like to swim, Stewart Lake Park comes up as a favorite. Stewart Park, established in 1935 as the first Dane County Park, underwent a successful lake-lift several years ago to improve the lake. The surrounding park includes trails for hikers, cross-country skiers, and, of course, facilities for picnicking and spending a day at the lake.

make every outing special. Remember your most shaded walks of the summer and return to see the trees in their glory.

I like to return to Indian Lake Park for a long walk in the woods and a picnic supper. Prairies take on different colors and seed heads become birdfeeders.

Migrating birds enjoy the lakes and the habitats provided, so it is a good time to be out with a pair of binoculars.

one. It is also the time when you can actually figure out through tracks and other signs which animals share your favorite space. Add a little fun to a hike or snowshoe by including a “treasure” hunt—eyes and cameras only. Armed with a list of winter features to look for, from animal tracks to snow and ice features, what might seem like a bleak landscape comes to life.

Any activity is even more beautiful in the fall. The colors of the hardwood forests

Winter is a great time to see your favorite park in a different light or explore a new

What I enjoy most about winter walks is the quiet. Fresh, fluffy snow absorbs sound in addition to adding the magical touch to trees and grasses. Put on a pair of snowshoes and you can easily walk trails and frozen lakes. There are lots of trails to choose from in the parks.

This extensive trail network becomes a cross-country skier’s heaven with a few additional amenities. Indian Lake has a special warming hut for people enjoying the park’s natural winter playground.

For bikers, CamRock Park is exploring fat biking, bikes with extra-wide, lowpressure tires, on some of its trails.

Whether you live in urban Dane County or rural, the park system provides us with a broad diversity of recreational opportunities. And with more frequent calls to increase the time we spend outdoors because of the health benefits, the parks remain central to our quality of life. Go out in any season and enjoy and appreciate our wonderful parks.

Liz Wessel is the owner of Green Concierge Travel, which has information for honeymoons and other ecotravel at greenconciergetravel.com.

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 55

es s en tial nonprofit

Friends of Wisconsin State Parks Celebrates 20 Years of

Getting Wisconsin Outside

Mirror Lake State Park

by Chelsey Dequaine Lace up your shoes and feel the crisp breeze at your back. Summer may be coming to an end, but your outdoor adventures don’t have to. It’s time to explore Wisconsin’s many fine state parks. Friends of Wisconsin State Parks (FWSP), headquartered at 101 S. Webster Street in Madison, is the nonprofit to thank for keeping our parks in such fine condition. This year

marks the statewide organization’s 20th year working toward its mission of preserving, promoting, protecting, and enhancing Wisconsin state parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas.

Within FWSP, there are 82 local Friends chapters based throughout Wisconsin that work on their associated parks, trails, or recreation areas. The local

chapters are each 501(c)(3) nonprofits on their own. “We were organized to be the umbrella organization for all the Friends groups in the state,” says Bill Zager, president of FWSP. “From the Dells to St. Croix, Pattison Park’s waterfalls to Devil’s Lake, all the parks have their uniqueness.”

In November, FWSP will have a 20year celebration and awards banquet at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point. “’I enjoy being able to help the state parks,” Bill, who has been involved with FWSP since 2008, says.

“It’s one of the pristine properties we as taxpayers all own. It’s really something to be able to help the parks be in pristine condition and to promote them. It grows on you.”

FWSP carries out its mission through the following: • Preserve: FWSP sponsors the annual Work*Play*Earth Day projects around

56 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

the state in April, where volunteers and members complete projects and clean up state parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas.

• Promote: FWSP funds projects and issues grants to local chapters for educational programs and interpretive projects across Wisconsin parks, forests, trails, and recreation areas.

• Protect: FWSP advocates on state park system issues in an effort to protect Wisconsin’s state park, forest, trail, and recreation area properties, and also hosts summit meetings around the state to inform and support local chapters.

• Enhance: FWSP funds tree and flower projects at park offices and high visibility areas for the enjoyment of park visitors, and chapters also use grant funding for projects that enhance parks, forests, and trails.

FWSP often receives information from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and disperses it to local chapters. In November, the organization will have an all-day workshop where experts from across the county will speak on subjects, such as fundraising or promotions, for representatives of local chapters. The FWSP board meets four times a year along with additional executive board meetings.

reconnect

with the good life With clean, fresh waters to play in, miles of biking and hiking trails to explore and vibrant festivals filled with activities, there is simply no better place to reconnect with the good life!

www.visitgreenlake.com | 800-253-7354

Bill joined FWSP simply because he developed an interest in Wisconsin’s parks. Bill, who lives in Amery, was involved with Friends of Stower Seven Lakes State Trail stretching to St. Croix

Falls, and continues to be involved with the chapter. He became FWSP president two years ago. “When I volunteer on our local trail, I run into people,” he says. “I met a guy who had a trailer on his bike,

Yellowstone Lake State Park

Devil’s Lake madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 57

and he said he was heading home. I asked where that is, and he said Omaha, Nebraska.”

Bill also met a group of East Coast high school students riding their bikes from California back to the East Coast, raising money for disabled veterans. “It’s always interesting,” he says. “Seeing things like that fires you up.”

After attending several state park national conferences, Bill has noticed volunteerism seems different for today’s youth than it was for his generation.

“Nationwide, the younger generation seems to want to volunteer for projects, like a specific clean-up day,” he says. “They don’t want to join the organization.”

FWSP has a core group of members in addition to a larger email list of potential volunteers. Groups report volunteer hours they have worked. In 2014, FWSP had 7,000 volunteers who served about 154,000 hours in the state. “Wisconsin has dedicated volunteers,” Bill says. “But we are always in need. The individual

Accessible fishing pier at Mirror Lake State Park 58 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

Capital Springs State Recreation Area

parks are where the majority of volunteering is done.”

For those who want to make a financial donation, it can be done in a general amount or toward specific items, such as flowers for a park entrance. FWSP also helps with naturalist programs, providing the training and education programs at the parks.

Patricia Loosen, executive director of FWSP, says having the headquarters in Madison works well because of the organization’s relationship with the DNR parks bureau and other collaborative partners located in Madison. Nearby Madison parks include Mirror Lake State Park and Devil’s Lake State Park, both in Baraboo, and Lake Kegonsa in Stoughton. Adventure goers also can walk Capital Springs State Recreation Area in Madison, along with Capital City State Trail and a portion of the Badger State Trail.

FWSP’s photo contest will be open until August 31. A committee chooses the best photos and the winning images appear in a calendar that is included in Natural Resources Magazine. The photographers also are recognized at the annual awards banquet.

Chelsey Dequaine is the social media/ community specialist for designCraft Advertising and a freelance writer.

Photographs provided by Friends of Wisconsin State Parks.

“As people in Madison use those trails and state park facilities, they tell people about it,” Bill says. “A lot of the park users are quiet people, but it’s important everyone knows how much these trails and parks get used. I encourage communication.” Bill suggests informing the DNR and local government officials.

“We are proud of the parks, and we want to keep them the way they are.” madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 59

e ss ential home

Sharing Spaces

with Feathered and Furry Friends

by Joan W. Ziegler

DOGS

When it comes to designing for dogs, it is important to consider their hunting, herding, and protection instincts. A mulched, looped path suits dogs who need to patrol—a feature that is also beneficial to homeowners who want easy access to their gardens and young children that want a place to run.

Rather than searching for urine tolerant plants that don’t exist, leave an open area with mulch or pea gravel and train

photo Marcia s Hansen Timothy Hughes Photographic

Sharing your yard with man’s best friend requires both sacrifice and planning. Max, my large black lab, loved to cool herself in soft earthen beds excavated in my garden. Fisher, a golden retriever, beat a patrol path around his yard. Zeppelin the cat loves a perch to hunt from, and chickens need to scratch and peck. It may be easier for us to be trained than for us to train our pets. By observing their habits, you can incorporate them into a yard that is pleasing and beautiful for all.

site planners landscape architects garden designers 831.5098 zdainc.com

OUTDOOR OUTDOORCREATIVE CREATIVE 60 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

your dog to eliminate only in this space.

Consider installing a post or upright log for dogs to mark their territory. We trained our dog to eliminate in the same location by always taking him to the spot when he was a puppy after eating, drinking, or when he awoke from sleeping.

Virtually synonymous with dog ownership is the need for fencing.

The limitless possibilities of fencing materials allow for flexibility in design beyond standard chain link. With any fencing, consider how you might utilize plants, including vines, to soften its appearance.

CHICKENS

Although not necessarily considered pets, chickens are delightful animal

additions to the backyard. In addition to providing fresh eggs, they are an incredible tool for pest control because they eat up bugs and even common weeds. Furthermore, their manure can be used to fertilize gardens and they’re able to eat many leftover table scraps.

The first step to incorporating chickens is to study permitting regulations in your area. The City of Madison allows chickens in most cases, but there are further guidelines for flock size, rooster ownership, and siting of the coop.

With a bit of creativity, the sky is the limit for chicken coop design.

From recycled materials to at-home construction to an elaborate chicken paradise, a coop can become a beautiful garden feature. Basic principles to keep in mind are to ensure there is adequate space for each chicken, proper ventilation and temperature control, careful protection from predators, and ease of access for cleaning, collecting eggs, and feeding. When a coop is not properly sited and chickens are free to roam, they can be destructive by eating tender, young vegetable plants.

Remember that chicken wire is an excellent tool to keep chickens in a run and out of the garden, but it is not made to keep predators, such as weasels, out.

I know I am not alone in learning this lesson the hard way. Siting a coop and other enclosures for chickens allows you to control where they are foraging.

I have my coop near raspberries and strawberries, where they provide excellent natural pest control for asparagus and munch on Japanese beatles. Chickens are a prominent example of urban agriculture and a way to teach your family about where their food comes from.

CATS

Cats do not abide by property boundaries and often roam the neighborhood regardless of whether or not they are welcome. Keeping cats entertained in your own backyard can be a difficult task, but artful use of screening and landscape structures provides opportunities to scratch, climb, perch, and hide. Planting in dense groups and planting pollinator species not only gives owners something to appreciate, but also attracts a variety of insects for cats to chase. If you chose to let your cat outdoors, providing them a safe, secure place to explore is essential.

Accommodating the needs of your pets does not require relinquishing the beauty of your landscape. Rather than banish pets to remote edges of your property, provide spaces to accommodate their inherent needs. Dog houses, chicken coops, and fences can all become design features that highlight your own aesthetic preferences. Often our backyards are no-digging, no-

wandering zones, but perhaps those are things our domesticated counterparts need most.

Joan W. Ziegler is a horticulturist and garden designer and winner of the 2015 Perennial Plant Association Merit Award for Residential Landscape Design for ZDA, Inc. Landscape Architecture, 4797 Capitol View Road, Middleton.

Call (608) 831-5098 or visit zdainc.com.

Photographs provided by ZDA, Inc.

madisonessentialsmagazine.com

| 61

advertiser index association

Community Shares of Wisconsin...............7 Dane Buy Local.........................................56 Green Lake Chamber of Commerce....57 Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce.59

entertainment

American Players Theatre........................44 Betty Lou Cruises.......................................51 Cambridge Winery...................................25 Ho-Chunk Gaming....................................64 Madison Opera.........................................23 Olbrich Botanical Gardens......................63 The Wild Dandelion...................................22 Wollersheim Winery & Distillery.................5 WORT...........................................................26

home & landscaping

Garden Search & Rescue........................23 Home Elements & Concepts...................41 ZDA, Inc.......................................................60

dining, food & beverage

Bavaria Sausage Kitchen, Inc.................52 Bering Bounty LLC.....................................15 Bonfyre American Grille...........................20 Brickhouse BBQ.......................................... 11 Calliope Ice Cream..................................27 Cambridge Winery...................................25 Captain Bill’s...............................................51 Charlie’s on Main......................................59 Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream.................9 Clasen’s European Bakery.......................55 The Chocolate Caper..............................59 Firefly Coffeehouse...................................59 Fraboni’s Italian Specialties & Delicatessen............................................8 Gates & Brovi..............................................13 Hilldale........................................................51 Hop Haus Brewing Co............................... 61 Imperial Garden West..............................35 Jordandal Cookhouse.............................50 La Rocca’s Restaurant & Pizzeria............59 Lil’ Buddy’s Popcorn.................................59 Lombardino’s Italian Restaurant & Bar.....................................5 Manna Café & Bakery..............................12 Mariner’s...................................................... 51 Mid Town Pub.............................................. 50 National Mustard Museum......................53 Nautigal......................................................51 Nick’s Restaurant.......................................27 The Nitty Gritty........................................... 11 Nonno’s Ristorante Italiano......................37 Norske Nook Restaurant & Bakery..........10 North and South Seafood & Smokehouse..........................................24 The Old Feed Mill Restaurant..................23 Old Sugar Distillery....................................36

Oliver’s Public House..................................6 Opus Lounge.............................................14 Otto’s Restaurant & Bar............................43 Pasqual’s Cantina............................ 18 & 19 Pizza Brutta........................................45 & 50 Quivey’s Grove..........................................37 R.P. Adler’s Pub & Grill...............................39 Riley’s Wines of the World..........................9 Sa-Bai Thong..............................................58 Samba Brazillian Grill................................ 31 The Side Door Grill and Tap..................... 31 Smoky’s.......................................................30 Tempest Oyster Bar...................................39 Toot & Kate’s Winebar..............................40 Tornado Steak House................................38 The University Club....................................38 Villa Dolce..................................................59 Vintage Brewing Co..................................46 Wollersheim Winery & Distillery.................5 Ziggy’s BBQ & Ice Cream.........................59

services

Coachman’s Golf Resort & Event Center–The Hampshire House............22 Elizabeth H. Winston Ph.D., LLC................49 Four Lakes Veterinary Clinic....................32 Madison Taxi..............................................10 Monroe Street Framing.............................48 Open Door Center for Change, LLC......29 Renu............................................................16 Tadsen Photography................................33 Towns & Associates, Inc............................ 61 Union Cab of Madison.............................28

shopping

American Provenance.............................44 Arcadia Books............................................ 11 Artisan Gallery...........................................47 Cambridge Winery...................................25 Cluck the Chicken Store..........................25 Convivio......................................................45 Farley’s House of Pianos.............................8 Fitchburg Center.........................................2 The Gingko Tree.........................................34 Hilldale........................................................51 Iconi Interiors & Consignment.................42 Karen & Co./Sassafras................................5 Lidtke Motors..............................................21 Little Luxuries..............................................44 Mystery To Me............................................58 National Mustard Museum......................53 Playthings.....................................................7 The Regal Find.............................................9 ReThreads...................................................14 Stone Fence...............................................45 Terese Zache Designs...............................15 Vanilla Bean...............................................29 Wollersheim Winery & Distillery.................5 Zip~Dang....................................................13

CONTEST Win a $50 Madison Originals® Gift Certificate!

Question: What local Madison restaurant was previously the franchise Joey’s Seafood and Grill?

Enter by submitting your answer to the above question online at madisonessentialsmagazine.com, or by mail with your name, mailing address, phone number, and email to: Madison Essentials Magazine c/o Towns & Associates, Inc. 126 Water Street Baraboo, WI 53913 All entries with the correct answer will be entered into a drawing for one of two $50 gift certificates.

Contest deadline is September 16, 2016. Gift certificates will be honored at all current Madison Originals® member restaurants (see madisonoriginals.com— subject to change).

Good Luck!

Winners Thank You to Everyone Who Entered Our Previous Contest.

The answer to the question “What Madison business owner previously taught science in New Glarus?” is Kyle LaFond of American Provenance. A $50 Madison Originals® Gift Certificate was sent to each of our winners: Jennifer Frank and Lori Gessler of Madison.

CONGRATULATIONS! 62 | m a d i s o n e s s e n t i a l s m a g a z i n e

ESCAPE TO THE TROPICS! TROPICAL CONSERVATORY Open Daily 10am to 4pm EXOTIC PLANTS, TOWERING PALMS, FRAGRANT ORCHIDS, A RUSHING WATERFALL, COLORFUL KOI FISH, AND FREE-FLYING BIRDS Conservatory admission $2, ages 5 and under free FREE ADMISSION EVERY Wed. and Sat. from 10 am to 12 pm

visit www.olbrich.org 3330 ATWOOD AVE • MADISON, WI 53704 Phone 608.246.4550 • Events 608.246.4718

PROUD TO BE A TRAVEL GREEN WISCONSIN DESTINATION

VOTED ONE OF THE TOP TEN MOST INSPIRING GARDENS IN NORTH AMERICA

BY HORTICULTURE MAGAZINE

MADISON’SCASINO COME GET YOUR

COME GET YOUR

100% SMOKE-FREE | OVER 1,200 SLOT MACHINES CASUAL DINING | OPEN 24 HOURS JOIN US FOR YOUR NEXT BIG WIN

51

Madison’s Casino offers the most generous slot machines in the region with an average payout of 95%. Play any of our 1,200 themed slot machines and enjoy SMOKE-FREE gaming.

During your visit, sign up for our free Rewards Club and relax at our Gamers Grill for a casual meal anytime of the day.

39 90

12

Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison is located off of Hwy 12/18, just minutes from downtown Madison.

4002 EVAN ACRES RD., MADISON, WI 53718 | 608.223.9576

MADISON

ho-chunkgaming.com/madison