Because I don’t live on my land yet, I have to drive there, and I am painfully aware of the gas I’m burning up. It’s one of those shades-of-green things. I feel the work I’m doing on my 44 acres is good for the planet, but that good is sooted […]
Though I’ve already applied some of it, I’m still digesting the feast of info from 20th Energy Fair of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) June 19-21 near Custer, Wisconsin. It’s a great gathering of people who are learning how to live more lightly, and it just feels good to […]
I first walked my land on Labor Day Weekend 2004. I was responding with a pounding heart to the topographical nuance of a protected hollow where a ravine and another, wider valley meet under a big bowl of sky. I was already bonding to the rows of toddler pine, spruce […]
Half of our 44 acres are filled with rows of strapping, teenage White Spruce and Red Pine planted by the previous owner. These trees grow naturally in Northern Wisconsin, but usually exist only by human intervention in the southern part of the state, where we live. The Red Pines in […]
Building a house is a big frigging deal! The Real Estate Blog says that 2.1 million houses were built in the U.S. last year, and that half of them are now sitting empty. I don’t even want to think about the cost to the environment and the boost in our […]
I didn’t learn about Conifer sex till it smacked me in the face. Our land has 22 acres of teenage pines and spruces as part of a certified tree farm, so how did I fail to notice what was going on sooner? I have been walking among them, cutting out […]
Digging in the Driftless 