“The patient sentinel will be entertained by a steady parade of wild creatures that move about in their daily routine.”

For the past five years during the first week of December I have made an annual pilgrimage to Palmquist’s “The Farm”, which is nestled amid the thick forests of North-Central Wisconsin.  The first trip there was at the invitation of and as a favor to a friend.  Each return-trip since that first visit, however, has been as a favor to myself.

Helen and Jim Palmquist, the resident hosts at “The Farm”, are the kind of good folks I grew up around.  Decent, honest, hard-working, country folk that freely open their home with a warm hospitality that has been a trait of rural living since our country was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  Rising well before dawn every morning, Jim sets the table, brews two pots of strong, freshly ground coffee and then checks the news headlines on the computer as he waits for the daily processing of local folk that drop by for their morning parlay even before the day has dawned.  For an hour or so each morning, colorful local characters solve the world’s problems and reminisce about the days and people long gone.  Eventually the early morning company heads out of the farmhouse door to begin their long day of work or appointed chores.

When the daily coffee club finally clears out of the kitchen, Helen arrives around 8:00 a.m. to begin the daily schedule of what she does best - cooking and baking.  This wonderful woman creates some of the most delectable cuisine that one has ever put his or her lips around.  Homemade breads, tantalizing pies, classic cookies and cakes, not to mention entrees that defy description especially after one had spent an entire day out in the fresh air observing the wild things of “The Farm”.  It’s all designed to addict the unsuspecting visitor to their special way of life and bring them back to “The Farm” again and again, thoroughly addicted to the enticing aromas and savory tastes that are concocted in Helen Palmquist’s kitchen.

The accommodations at the Farm are clean, neat and extremely cozy.  Fireplaces with roaring blazes play a key role in the rustic, pastoral atmosphere, as well as providing a welcome warmth and an ambiance of safety, security and home.  No television or radio takes center stage over the quiet and peaceful character offered up by the cabins of “The Farm”.  Whether visiting there with friends or on a soul-searching journey by oneself, there is plenty of time to relax, sort out your thoughts or catch up on your reading in the tranquil setting of the “The Farm”.  Each year my visit includes the reading of at least one book, which is done over the three-day stay by the fireside and in one of the observation towers scattered across a thousand acres of thick forest, wild meadows and tamarack swamp.

For this aging outdoorsman, the wildness of “The Farm” is the greatest draw and keeps me coming back year after year.  A rugged, tough and unforgiving land that is populated with a stellar cast of feathered and furred creatures ready to introduce themselves if one is just patient enough and willing to spend some time in the field.  At first light, I make my way to the chosen tower with bow and camera in hand.  A rucksack containing beverages, a sack lunch and good book goes along so that there will be no need to exit the tower until the sun sets in its glorious colors and darkness finally chases away the last remnants day.

Surrounded by the handsome north-woods landscape that subtly alters its appearance throughout the day with the rotation of the sun rays, one just naturally loses track of time and forgets about all of the concerns and the business that have been left back at home. Throughout the entire day the patient sentinel will be entertained by a steady parade of wild creatures that move about in their daily routine in an existence that is both cruelly harsh and yet strikingly beautiful.  This steady flow of wildlife, I must confess, is the core reason I return to “The Farm” each year.  The opportunity that is afforded for wildlife viewing and photography at this very special place is worth the trip alone.  Whitetails, Sika and Elk abound, not to mention the smaller species of two and four legged creatures that populate the northern woodland.  Personally there is nothing I would rather do that watch and study wildlife and that just happens to be a specialty of Palmquist’s “The Farm”.

And if taking a trophy animal to adorn the walls of your den is your main objective, well I think that Jim and Helen can help you out with that quest, too.  But don’t plan on it being an easy task that can be completed in a matter of minutes just because you are hunting within a high fence.  Big bucks get to be big bucks by using their wits and being smart.  The best hope of seeing one of “The Farm’s” big boys is by spending as much time as you can sitting in one of their comfortable towers during the daylight hours.  Hunting from dawn to dusk is good advice as the middle of the day has produced some of their bigger trophies.  Hunting the early rut will also improve your chances of seeing the larger bucks.  Regardless of the size of the animal you desire to harvest, just make sure that you bring your camera.  You will have unlimited opportunities to take some exceptional photos of the beautiful creatures that reside at “The Farm”.

Hopefully your stay in the tower will end with the blessing of one of “The Farm’s” dazzling sunsets that can close the day with a cascade of brilliant colors filling the soul with awe and humbling the spirit with its panoramic beauty.  I don’t know what it is about a sunrise and sunset in the deep woods, but “The Farm” has provided me with some of the most unforgettable and colorful photos in my photo morgue.  As the dazzling colors fade to black it’s time to head back to the comfort of the cabin and eventually into the farm house for a five star meal prepared especially for you while you were in the field.

This past year my annual visit to Palmquist’s “The Farm” yielded one doe, and over 1650 photographs of the sights, scenes, creatures and people of “The Farm”.  Good Lord willing, I will return in 2009 for another respite and to gather more photos of the wildlife and the human characters that frequent “The Farm”.  Regardless of the weather, the accommodations will be homey, the food will be exceptional and the hospitality and service will be warm and welcoming.  It always is at Palmquist’s “The Farm”.