GUEST POST BY DELLA HANSMANN If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve seen the term “whole trees” a number of times. Doug and Denise have decided that they want their new home to be a whole tree house. They won’t be living in the air, however. Here’s […]
When we first walked our land, it was a week before Labor Day 2003. I’m sure there were wild flowers everywhere, but I can’t remember them. I was trying to feel the whole 44 acres at once. What is too big? Was it too little? Was it too flat? Was […]
I vividly remember the fireworks of flavor that erupted with my first taste of pizza. I was about 10, and our family was dining with friends. The pre-Martha Stewart mothers in our crowd competed to feed 10 to 20 people at a time with something tasty that didn’t break the […]
GUEST POST BY DELLA HANSMANN Whole Trees Architecture and Construction Before you even start thinking about the specific design of your building, you can have a huge impact on its comfort and cost by choosing the site wisely. Issues of solar gain, prevailing winds, and drainage are key, as well […]
I totally believe that we are what we eat and that food is profoundly political. Likewise, I believe we are what we read. Those two concepts will be blending together this fall as my alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison, (Go Badgers!) launches its first common reading program that will reach […]
Today my post is a link to an article in On Wisconsin that I wrote this spring about Anne Topham, the godmother of goat cheese. Anne milks her goats and makes her cheeses on Fantôme Farm in The Driftless Area just a few miles from my own 44 acres. Wisconsin […]
Today’s guest post is written by Della Hansmann of Whole Trees Architecture and Construction , a young architect who is designing the house we expect to build in 2012. See more here. You don’t have to make a building more expensive or technologically complex to make it sustainable. Before entering […]
When I say we have a pond on our land, you need to realize it is a tiny, little jewel box of a pond. The former owner, making use of Department of Natural Resources grants available at the time, dammed a little ravine and created a modest water catchment basin. […]
Last Sunday, the sun was shining. The birds were singing. Doug and I were dipping buckets of water from our tiny pond and hauling them in our Powerwagon (learn about the tool that has turned us into superman and wonderwoman here) to all the places we started new plants this […]
I’ve read that pioneers called their wagons prairie schooners. If they crossed my acre and a half of restored remnant prairie today, they would be sailing over a sea of flowers. I can totally relate to the bees. I am drawn to this blooming bounty and am fueled by it. […]
Digging in the Driftless 