EATING LOCALLY – INCLUDING YOUR BOWL
While I was sanding and finishing our kitchen shelves ( see my post Turning Tree Trunks into Kitchen Shelves ) that were cut from thick slabs of cherry wood harvested […]
Author Archives
Denise Thornton
THE BUILDING OF UNDERHILL HOUSE
For the benefit of readers who may be linking in to learn more about the building Underhill House, I offer an index of posts that cover some of the processes […]
A GREENHOUSE WITHIN THE GREENHOUSE
In mid-February, we planted the greens that we expected to transfer to our greenhouse in a few weeks when the cold temperatures subsided, and the weather became a little […]
PLANTING INTO THE POLAR VORTEX
Doug and I try to eat as locally as possible, and with a year-round farmers’ market in Madison, we are still getting apples, and root vegetables grown last year – even cabbages, which are so much sweeter and more flavorful than anything that has been drenched in petroleum while being […]
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN HOW WE CREATE AND USE ENEGRY
I’d like to share my second article that appeared recently in The Dodgeville Chronicle. I’m covering a 4-part series of evening presentations called “Floods, Droughts, Land and Energy: What Is Wisconsin’s Future.” (Check out the first installment How Will Global Warming Affect Wisconsin.” “We all have a role to play […]
THE VANISHING FLOWERS OF WINTER
Thanks to the polar vortex, this winter has had some real teeth here in the Midwest. I have listened to many complaints about below zero temperatures and our thick blanket of snow. I’m looking on this winter the way I might have gazed at the buffalo if I could travel […]
WHEN THE ANCIENT WISCONSIN RIVER FLOWED EAST (new discoveries)
Anyone who lives in or has traveled through the Driftless Area (where Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa meet) can see at a glance that this is dramatically different from the land encircling it. Because this region was untouched by the last three glaciers, it is defined by rugged ridges and deep […]
HOW WILL GLOBAL WARMING AFFECT WISCONSIN?
Think globally – act locally! I got a chance to do just that recently when I read in the local newspaper, The Dodgeville Chronicle, about an upcoming 4-part series of evening presentations called “Floods, Droughts, Land and Energy: What Is Wisconsin’s Future.” We now live about 11 miles from Dodgeville, […]
STAYING WARM IN THE BITTER COLD
January 6 was the coldest day in the past 10 years here in rural Ridgeway. A newly-named weather phenom, known as a polar vortex, had descended on the Driftless Area. In downtown Dodgeville, -22F was flashing out front of the Wells Fargo Bank – and a brutal wind produced a […]
FOILING DEER BROWSE
Deer are the largest and most dramatic wildlife most of us see on a regular basis. This summer we enjoyed watching a mother and her two fawns regularly explore their botanical buffet within feet of our bedroom window. They were incredibly endearing at such close range, but a cloud hung […]
Digging in the Driftless 