Between the Bars

Top 15 ways to beat the heat!

Milwaukee will be under another heat advisory this coming week. Forecasters predict a high of 98 degrees on Monday and 100 degrees Tuesday.

Sure, there are things you can do to avoid being scorched, like running cold water on the inside of your wrist. Apparently, your wrist is a quick-cooling spot because your blood vessels are close to the surface of your skin and will cool your body temperature when it's in contact with cold water. (Thanks, Mom!) So, yeah. Just sit there. With cold water on your wrist. Watching the day wane. That sounds pretty lame to me!

I guess you could also sit in front of a fan all day long. Maybe work on your Darth Vader impression by talking into the whirling blades. "Luke, I am your father!" Even the geeky side of me doesn't find that remotely amusing.

Finally, a day that warrants a bike ride

I don’t ride my bike year-round – I’m a lazy-ass wimp that won’t even attempt zipping around the wintry streets of Milwaukee. What I find more enjoyable is floating through the fresh, mild air during an unseasonable and crazy warm late winter afternoon, like today.

The day brought the kind of weather that sends people to their closets to dig out shorts and flip-flops. While I didn’t go scrounging for shorts, I did manage to pull my bike out of the garage and take it for a quick roll along the Oak Leaf Trail after work.

Did you know that the City of Milwaukee provides free maps of the area's bike trails? They're available to download as PDFs, or pick one up at your favorite, local bike shop.

Get out and enjoy the trails and the weather!

It's winter. Let's not overreact.

Note: Some of the content of this post was updated for 2012. Between the Bars continually updates the many posts available here, though it's possible some details may have changed. Consider calling first if you have specific questions about the business or activity mentioned in this post.

The snow began to gently fall at about 10 a.m. this morning just as I stopped by the break room for my second cup of coffee. My coworkers, who seemingly had been waiting all morning for the flurries to begin, were peering out the second floor window and, in chorus, raised objection to the first major snowfall in the most vulgar of ways – a heated singsong of profanities that reverberated off the vaulted ceilings of our office building.

The “die, Old Man Fucking Winter, die” sentiment was echoed throughout the office all afternoon as the white stuff continued to cover streets and cars and rooftops and lampposts inch by inch.

Snow-pocalypse: Milwaukee edition

We are used to local media needlessly hyping up every snowfall around here. Because of this typical alarmist coverage, many people weren’t buying into the reports of this week’s blizzard warnings.

Of course, then we awoke on Wednesday morning to a shit-ton of paralyzing snow.

The total accumulations from the snow-pocalypse of Milwaukee reached about 16 to 18 inches of windblown snow in the area, pushing the total for the week to nearly two feet. Hundreds of motorists were caught in massive traffic backups, schools were closed, and buses and airplanes were brought to a surprising halt.

 

For most of Milwaukee County, by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, schools, stores and offices were already closed in preparation for the impending blizzard, including Milwaukee Public Schools (which hardly ever happens), area shopping malls, and the Milwaukee Art Museum. Mitchell International was forced to stop all flights due to whiteout conditions later in the night and the Milwaukee County Transit System had to suspend bus service. The whole city was pretty much on lock down.

Learn to love the snow

Note: Some of the content of this post was updated for 2010. Between the Bars continually updates the many posts available here, though it's possible some details may have changed. Consider calling first if you have specific questions about the business or activity mentioned in this post.

Oddly enough, the talk around the water cooler today wasn't about the Packers game; folks were openly complaining about the several inches of snow that fell over the weekend.

I won't partake in the winter woe-is-mes going on at the cooler - I was actually stoked about the first snowfall.

But if you’re like my co-workers who had to shovel their driveways Saturday morning, you probably didn’t welcome the snow with as much gusto as I did. That's probably because I have much less to gripe about since my landlord always handles the heavy snow lifting...

Prime tree sawing weather

The first snow of the season swept into Milwaukee last night, which, for me, happens to be perfect timing.

Eric and I were just lamenting over how this could be the first year we make our annual excursion to Buffalo Bill's for our cut-your-own-Christmas-tree tradition without there being any snow on the ground.

It just didn’t seem right to tromp around the farm without our winter boats on. Though, the lack of white stuff would probably make the entire searching, sawing and hauling process much easier. Still, not having to shake the snow off our balsam fir before bringing it inside to decorate just wouldn't feel right.

Needless to say, I was stoked to hear early forecasts of impending snow. The weathermen were calling for 2-4 inches in southeastern Wisconsin, and when I got up this morning, I sprang out of bed to peek out the window and, sure enough, the parking lot, rooftops and tree branches were covered in several inches of fluffy snow.

If you’re contemplating finding a place to chop down a fresh fir to haul home and decorate, I searched the web and found a couple of other places to consider:

• Noffke Tree Farms in Mequon
• Stumpf's U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm in Cedarburg
• Green Acres Nursery in New Berlin
• Bentz Road Farm in Pleasant Prairie
• Muskego Choose and Cut in Muskego
• Popular Creek Tree Farm in New Berlin

If you feel inclined, check out this site for a you-cut tree farm near you.

Well, I have to get geared up for some prime tree sawing. I’ll let you know how it goes, but until then, check out my recap from one of our previous cut-your-own-Christmas-tree farm outings.

Under water

It’s one of those days when I’m thankful for the simple things – a dry basement, electricity...

Last night, Milwaukee got pummeled by nearly eight inches of constant rain in a mere two-hour time span, causing widespread flooding – the most I’ve EVER seen around here.

The ungodly amount of rain raked havoc on all of southeastern Wisconsin. Rivers rose over their banks, cars were submerged, streets and highways were utterly impassable, the airport was closed, homes were completely decimated as basements became ponds, and a massive sinkhole swallowed up an unsuspecting SUV.

Feels like spring

We’re in the middle of a melt-down and I couldn’t be happier. I know some folks that love the brutal cold and snow of Midwestern winters, but I’ve had enough of it this year. Being able to see patches of grass gives me a more optimal sense of joy. And the lack of cold means that there’s new opportunity to get back outside and enjoy the city!

Join Milwaukee Urban Gardens and the Urban Ecology Center for the first annual Seed Swap. Today, gardeners from all over Milwaukee can share and take home a bounty of plant seeds to use during the upcoming growing season.

If you want to get out and enjoy the sun and fresh air today, take advantage of Saturday’s Family Free Day at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Enjoy the spring-like weekend weather, Milwaukee!

Welcome back, winter

Note: Some of the content of this post was updated for 2010. Between the Bars continually updates the many posts available here, though it's possible some details may have changed. Consider calling first if you have specific questions about the event mentioned in this post.

Earlier this week, our long lost friend, Old Man Winter, decided to make another appearance in Milwaukee. As much as a foot of snow fell over parts of southeastern Wisconsin, the largest snowfall we’ve seen all season.

And just as Milwaukee dug out from under mounds of snow Wednesday morning, Forbes magazine, which tends to rank cities based on arbitrary categories, released their latest list: America's Worst Winter Weather Cities. Milwaukee generally ranks pretty high on these lists, which isn't always good, especially when it comes to the aforementioned list.

Welcoming winter

The temperature is dropping, snow is falling and the year is ending. This can only mean one thing: Winter is here!

Yep, despite already enduring a fair share of freezing rain, snow and subzero temperatures, the calendar winter just arrived. Officially winter began yesterday morning (December 21) and will not end until March 21.

I can hear you grumbling.