(delightful music) (gentle piano music) - Hi thanks for watching.

I'm Brian Ewing.

- And I'm Traci Neuman.

We are the producers of the digital first series of "My Wisconsin Backyard".

Each week we post a new short story to our website as well as our other social media platforms featuring the fun things that people are doing outside right now and how it is benefiting both their mental and physical health.

- That's right, and we'd like to share some of our favorite stories that we've put together over the last few months.

We hope you enjoy.

(air puffing) (air pump humming) (air puffing) (air pump humming) - Physically it helped me get out of my shell and understand the possibilities of what I can do.

Like I put up a roadblock on what I couldn't do and it kinda helped me get through that roadblock and told me it's okay to fail, you know.

Like just long as you try.

(brooding organ music) My disability is a little bit lower.

My spinal cord injury.

So like I do have leg functioning.

I can transfer to my car, put my chair in, jump in my bike and then ride off into the sunset.

(somber organ music) In high school, I was playing a lot of football, skateboarding a lot.

And then I joined the military.

I was an engineer on an aircraft carrier, which was fun.

I mean, it was good.

I got to see some places that I wouldn't be able to see at 19 - 20 years old.

I was going to school, was going to (indistinct) university.

I was breaking up a fight and I got shot in my back.

I got a 22 in my spine and one grazed the back of my head.

Was super depressed after that.

I slowly, just, like it was, I spiraled out of control.

(wheel spinning) (upbeat techno music) And then, attempting to like learn how to do that.

How to live with that and how to like how to feel up, like how to feel better about yourself.

Like triathlon helps.

It helped me like grow and not just as like a disabled person but as a human in general.

(upbeat techno music) Find who's supportive of you.

I thought that I was gonna be able to walk again.

And as you can see, my legs work, but I cannot walk.

So, that's one of the biggest things that people try to wrap their head around is, "Hey, I'm going to walk again."

The truth is you may not.

And if that comes down to it, what are you going to do?

(upbeat techno music) The biggest thing is to get into a wheelchair crowd.

Especially a sport.

Cause you'll find a lot of people that are doing things that are doing really good things with their life, with other people.

And they'll help you achieve your goals.

Whatever goals those are.

I mean, you know, I can't do a triathlon per se but I've done many a triathlons.

I can't ride a bike, but I ride a bike.

You can do things.

Everything's out there.

There's really nothing you can't do.

As long as you pursue it and you want to do it.

You want to finish it.

(upbeat techno music ends) (upbeat music) - My name's Ben Wiesner and I kite board.

It's kind of like wakeboarding with a kite up in the air and you get all your power from the kite and stuff, some kind of boat.

Basically you go out when the wind is about like 20 miles per hour or so even more and wind direction also has to be the right direction cause you don't want to be blowing off shore.

So you want the wind to be coming a little bit on shore and parallel to it.

So you can ride out and back.

And also if you fall, it'll blow you right back on the shore and not out to sea.

(upbeat music) Mainly the spring and the fall are the best wind seasons.

The winter's good too, but it's a little chilly to go out.

Some people do go out and have really thick, dry suits that don't let any water in, but yeah, I usually just stick to the fall and the spring.

Summer I go whenever I can, but wind is usually lower during the summer and a little more sporadic, so it's harder to get out there.

(upbeat music) As far as gear, you need the harness, the lines that go from the harness to the kite and the handlebar and then the kite itself and a board which is a little bit lighter than a wake board.

Then you can do it with a surf board, you can do it with the normal, the board like I said that's like a wake board.

And those either have straps that you just kind of slip into, or you can use it with boots, which has you fastened into it.

I have straps, and I've worked in my words, a way towards boots as well.

So straps you start out with, they're easy to escape from.

So in case you're falling, you can get out of them real quick.

So, and boots, people use boots when they get a little more into doing tricks.

(upbeat music) It's a lot of fun.

It takes a little bit of getting used to, a little bit of figuring out, but once you're into it, it's just the best escape for me.

I get a little adrenaline going, it's outside and it's with nature and it's just a blast to do.

(upbeat music) When you're up, and it's kind of relaxing, when you're just cruising along, and it's just a great feeling.

You feel like you're flying a bit and yeah learning new tricks is always something that I like to do.

And even if I fall, it doesn't really hurt too much, cause you're landing on water, so you might have a little sting for a minute but other than that, you're good to go.

There's different levels to it.

It's not as scary as it looks.

It's a lot of fun and a lot safer than you would think.

There's a lot more control there than you would think.

So I would say if you have any fear towards it, don't worry about it.

You have someone that can teach you and help you figure it out.

And you'll just have fun with it.

(upbeat music ends) (waves crashing) (waves crashing) - Takes like a minute.

(waves crashing) 34 9.

That's what it's been like the last couple of weeks, been pretty steady.

(calm piano music) - It's really enjoyable when you get out there and you look sometimes, you look into shore.

It's just beautiful.

Especially like the winter and the fall landscapes are just beautiful.

You can look at some of the landmarks.

(calm piano music) It's nice to be outside.

And then when COVID hit last year we started swimming here all the time because the pools weren't available, and still swim here more than we used to.

I do still do some swimming in the pools but they're not as accessible as they used to be.

So this is always here, you know weather and waves permitting.

- It's so invigorating.

It's just when I'm in the water, and I'm at a comfortable body temperature, I don't want to get out.

(calm piano music) This was an excellent way for me to keep swimming through COVID.

So it was a great way to maintain my fitness.

- It stings on your face for a couple minutes and then it's okay.

But if you're suited up with a proper equipment, it's, you're gonna to be a little chilly for the first couple of minutes and then you're comfortable.

- I think it is amazing.

I am so grateful to have this beautiful body of water here.

(calm piano music ends) (chainsaw whirring) (joyful guitar music) - Ice sculpting is instant satisfaction.

You don't have six months or eight months to get it done.

Ice sculpting you have to get it done right there.

When we create an ice sculpture we are transmitting the message that you need to live in the moment, you need to enjoy what you see in front of you.

(joyful guitar music) (chainsaw whirring) The more practice you get, the better tools you get the easier it becomes and the easier it becomes for us to transmit a message through the sculpture.

(chainsaw whirring) The message is love.

The message is we are all going through very very hard times and we are all struggling and these are cold days and better times are coming.

- I like when we get to inspire kids or adults, you know when a kid says, sees an ice sculpture and they are like, "Wow!

That's amazing!"

I think the fact the we're struggling with the weather and the cold and freezing our fingers and the fact that it's so hard I think it transmit the message of hard work, and discipline and creativity.

(torch whirring) The biggest thing, the biggest satisfaction is if we get to inspire anybody to create not only another ice sculpture but any other art form, it opens their minds like, wow, if they can do that with ice I can do anything.

(joyful guitar music ends) - If you walk onto my property and you start walking around and seeing the animals and your mood has changed for the better almost instantly.

This is Nugget.

He was raised in my house.

I'm a nurse, in June it will be 40 years.

My mom's a nurse.

Two of my sons are nurses.

My daughter-in-law's an anesthesiologist.

Care is the, care is the word.

Hey, Dorothy!

When I got Dorothy, I took her to the hospital to go visit a patient.

After that, the joy that brings to people, I thought why not?

Ever since then I share my videos with my patients at work.

It takes them to a different place.

(rooster crowing) It's very healing for them.

For a moment it's not medicine, it's life, it's animals and people.

(calm guitar music) At the nursing homes there was a 100 yr old lady who said, "I've lived to be a hundred years, and I've never touched a sheep before."

Hi Daisy!

They were gonna be slaughtered.

So Daisy, I was told was abused.

My adult goats were at a sale barn.

The meat guy comes to get 'em.

Clover's the mama.

Ooh, that was my finger.

This is good for the soul, for sure.

Just makes you a better person taking care of something whether it's people or animals.

I love my job.

I love animals obviously.

And I love the mix of animals and people together.

It makes for a wonderful experience.

(goose squawking) Yeah, you're a good boy.

I just feel like it's just what I do and it's magical for me, but I can't just keep them for me.

I have to share all this with people.

(calm guitar music ends) (calm piano music) - To see more of our short stories, check out our social media platforms or visit milwaukeepbs.org.

(calm piano music) (calm piano music) (waves crashing) (relaxing guitar music) - What is so noticeable about Lake Superior is it's wild nature.

It's so highly undeveloped when compared to the other four Great Lakes.

It has the longest shoreline of all of them, but yet it has the fewest amount of people living in it's basin.

One way to look at that is to consider that in all of the Great Lakes combined there's almost 40 million people inhabiting it.

Lake Superior has only about 700,000 people living in its watershed.

And so in terms of anthropogenic pressure put on it as a resource, it just doesn't compare to what is required of the other Great Lakes.

(calm guitar music) Lake Superior has the largest footprint of any fresh water lake in the world.

Its square footage covers 32,000 square miles.

And then when you couple that with its depth, Lake Superior averages almost 500 feet deep.

It reaches depths of almost 1300 feet deep, where Lake Michigan only averages about 280 feet deep.

Other ways to look at that, is Great Lakes contain 20% of all of Earth's fresh surface water.

And of that, over half of it is in Lake Superior.

Okay.

So, it contains over 10%, of all of the planet's fresh surface water.

You can fit all of the other four Great Lakes into Lake Superior.

So it's storing quite a bit of water for us.

And when it does it does it for a long time, for generations really.

So for example, a raindrop falling in Lake Superior will be contained in the lake for up to 200 years.

Lake Erie's residence time is only about two and a half years.

It contains a lot of water and it holds onto it for us for a really really really long time.

In terms of that water, what's so striking, when many folks visit the Lake Superior shoreline, is just how blue and crystal clear Lake Superior is compared to some of the other inland lakes that they've seen before.

And really that's indicative of what's known as an oligotrophic lake.

One that is very cold, very well oxygenated, very deep and relatively clean.

(relaxing guitar music) An oligotrophic lake has a relatively low productivity, biologic productivity, because it has fewer plant nutrients, lesser concentrations of organic carbon and its sediments, and really what it's indicative of, is a lake that's rather young for its evolutionary lifespan.

(energetic guitar music) So while all the Great Lakes provide an invaluable resource to us, there's truly none that are greater than Lake Superior.

(guitar music ends) (wind blowing) (people hollering) - Go Homer!

(upbeat music) - It's really just a sled and you come out here, find a hill, and there's not a lot to it.

Just get up there and slide down.

It's pretty fun.

I love the snow.

You know it's, one of the reasons why I moved back to the Midwest.

My family and I, we moved to California, in like the late eighties.

And then I moved back here, like in 2012.

I only had fond memories of all the seasons, of the fall and the winter, and I always missed that when I lived in Southern California.

Living out there was just kind of like, one year just kind of blends into the next because the weather is kind of the same.

(laughs) When we could, when I was younger, we would go out sledding, so it's something that I didn't do a lot when I was younger but I always enjoyed it when we went, you know and I knew my daughter would enjoy it, and she, you know, she was sledding since, you know, from her second birthday.

She just loves going down the ramp, the hills, so yeah, she really enjoys it, so.

And which I'm glad, I'm glad she likes it.

(upbeat music) (speaking Spanish) She said "It's fun."

It's fun.

Yeah, pretty much every time it snows she wants to get out.

She loves moving fast.

She's fearless.

(upbeat music) With the pandemic, there's nothing going on right now.

So, any time, chance I can get to take her outside we go outside.

I don't know how else to put it, I mean, it's part of living out here, you know, you find something that enjoy doing outside, and you get out there.

(upbeat music ends) Every once in awhile I thought about skiing and I thought, well I better do it by the time I'm 50.

I'm Arlene Wisotzke.

I'm 86, and I've just been having a grand old time with all of this snow.

I like the seeing all the different scenery.

And I like the exercise of it.

I really enjoy that.

I just have a really good sense of balance.

I don't worry about falling and I always think, "It's snow anyways, it won't be hard."

The reason I'm like this is because I have kept occupied with activities of all different sorts, all through the years, and going to exercise, working out.

From May to October, I'm sailing here every day, and then I take walks, and, oh, I Rollerblade.

I forgot about that.

I Rollerblade too.

The secret is just really stay active as much as possible.

Well, I'm gonna keep on as much as I can.

My knees are a little bit, you know, complaining a little but I still manage to go.

Yeah, and I hope till at least 90.

- Where are you?

(keys jingling) Oh, there you are.

(metal clanking) This is Robin.

Hello princess.

How are you?

Hi, this is Robin, our moose at Milwaukee County Zoo.

She is 12, going to be about 12 years old.

She was an orphan in Alaska.

And so we took her in and raised her.

Kind of spoiled here.

Aren't you Robin?

Let's head inside.

So what we do, actually, So we have a little moose bell for her.

(bell jangles) (chuckles) Well Wisconsin does have a few moose, but not very many, so it's very rare that you would see a moose in the wild, in Wisconsin.

This is the only chance you would probably get to be this close to a moose, and really understand why it's important to do conservation in your daily life to protect animals like her and other animals that live in Wisconsin and then throughout the world.

So Robin is about 800 pounds here.

So a little bit more right now.

And generally what they eat in the wild is vegetation.

So she loves willow.

She loves, and actually in the winter they eat a lot of bark, whatever they can find.

So this is an antler from a male moose, only the male species of deer have antlers with the exception of reindeer and caribou, females do have antlers for that species.

This is actually bone.

So it grows until it hits a certain size, and then they shed the velvet which you can kind of see a little bit here.

Those are actually lines from blood vessels because like I said, it is bone, so it's constantly growing.

And then they'll shed it out right before winter.

And they will start growing again right away.

They're actually, especially in Minnesota, their numbers are really declining.

They're very impacted partially by habitat loss but also by diseases from deer.

They're finding that moose, as the climate's changing a little bit, they're not as adapted to those sorts of paths like other animals are.

So we're losing a lot of moose in the United States.

There's not a lot left.

(upbeat guitar music) - The best time for surf is usually the fall, the winter and the spring, the cooler months out of the year.

A lot of times we like that cooler air over the warm water.

So fall's perfect, you know, summer heats up that water, gets it nice and warm and then fall, that air temp drops and those gale force winds move in and really push that water and make some good waves for us here.

(upbeat music) We surf the natural wind driven waves just like they do on the coast.

You know our, obviously our windows for opportunity are lot shorter here.

A lot of times we're surfing, you know, anywhere between four and twelve hour windows, whereas sometimes on the coast you see, four day windows for surf.

If you know what to look for and when to look for it you can definitely find some good waves.

(upbeat music) A lot of people are getting into surfing right now.

It is one of those sports where you can socially distance where you can go out there on your own or with one or two other people and some space between you and do it, you know, safely.

I will say the first few times you go out definitely a little uncomfortable.

Feelin those waves hit you and the weight of water draggin you around, but at the same time the more you do it, the more comfortable you get, and the more fun it becomes.

It's funny because I would say that the most difficult part of surfing is everything that takes place before you hit your feet.

You know it, when you get on your feet then you can ride the board, control it, have a good time but it's the paddling out, you know, getting hit by those waves, having that current dragging you around, when you finally get up, pop up and get on your feet it's actually the easy part, in my opinion.

(upbeat music) There's so many factors that I love about it.

Being outdoors, in these naturally driven waves, having a chance to kind of have some solitude out there.

And then on top of that, the rush of, you know, riding down, gliding down the face of a wave, you know, right out in the open waters.

(upbeat music ends) - Thanks for watching My Wisconsin Backyard.

- See more of our short stories, visit our website or check out our other social media platforms.

(calm piano music)