When I open the barn door and step into our little greenhouse, I gaze lovingly at the plants growing there. Then I get down to watering them with a yogurt container and a 5-gallon bucket. I don’t pay attention to the concrete barn wall while I’m working. That’s why I […]
I think I live in bike heaven. There is a bike trail that passes a few blocks from my house in Madison and travels to within a mile of my land in the Driftless Are:a. The Military Ridge Bike Trail runs along the Chicago and Northwestern Rail corridor that […]
I caught the end of a radio gardening show in the car last week, and heard the tree expert tell a caller that transplanting young oaks from the woods was a touchy business. First you must dig under it and cut the tap root. Then leave it in place for […]
Last Saturday was a day I wait for all year long – The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour . This great event happens every October, so put the first Saturday of October on your calendar for next year if you want to know more about what solar […]
Remember the scene in movies set in pre-plumbing days where someone tosses the contents of a chamber pot out of an upstairs window onto pedestrians below? Ha! Ha! Aren’t we glad we live in “Modern Times.” But the idea that we are safe from having someone else’s waste dumped on […]
Tiffany Wildlife Area at the heart of the Lower Chippewa River Basin is a natural wonderland where sloughs and old river meanders create a soggy maze of ephemeral ponds and wetlands along the river. From soaring riverside bluffs where eagles nest to swampy deeps that harbor night herons, bitterns and […]
So, here is my most recent publication, the cover story for this week’s Isthmus. Researching this piece turned me into a believer in the benefits of whey, and Tera Johnson has made me believe that her whey is best for both my body and my planet. Check it out: Tera […]
I learned a ton this weekend at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair on everything from straw bale building to how to make a solar food dryer that works in Wisconsin, but what I want to share today are five tips on how to eat in a way that is healthy […]
Influenced any good public policy lately? How many times have you called or written your representative and felt like you REALLY accomplished anything meaningful? Here is a chance to give policy makers a holler through a forum that might make a difference. If you missed the Sustainable Communities Public Policy […]
Digging in the Driftless 
