10X LENS: TICKET TO A NEW WORLD
A 10X magnifying lens is giving me a glimpse into a world of exquisite detail at the boundary between the plant and animal kingdoms where drama plays out among flowers and insects.
A PATH ALONG OUR ICY PAST
Walk the Ice Age Trail with the Badger Science Writers and learn about Wisconsin geography in the terminal-moraine landscape.
HAND RAKING OUR FIELD FOR FUN AND PROFIT
We are really feeling like farmers now that we have started to convert an acre and a half that was full of brome grass and wild parsnip, sumac and prickly […]
UNDERHILL HOUSE BECOMES A CLASSROOM
We hosted Highland Middle School’s 60 students for a tour of Underhill House last Friday. Highland is a nearby village with 842 residents, and its school system is pushing the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Digging in the Driftless 