Hands in the dirt

Hands in the dirt

by | Jul 24, 2018 | Magazine Article

Midwesterners pay a lot of attention to sun and rain, and checking the weather report is part of our daily routine. Most of us, though, aren’t checking our mobile devices to see what tomorrow’s soil conditions will be. Perhaps we should. It turns out that, for all of...
The Edge of Anomaly

The Edge of Anomaly

by | Apr 27, 2018 | Magazine Article

Wilderness exists in all degrees, from the little accidental wild spot at the head of a ravine in a Corn Belt woodlot to vast expanses of virgin country. … Wilderness is a relative condition.—Aldo Leopold, “Wilderness as a Form of Land Use” (1925) Our four-car caravan...
Field Notes from a Christmas Bird Count

Field Notes from a Christmas Bird Count

by | Feb 7, 2018 | Magazine Article

It’s 5:30 am on a Thursday, a week before Christmas. The four of us stand under a starry sky on a country road a few miles outside of Blanchardville, peering into a darkened stand of white pine with our hands cupped to our ears. The temperature is near zero, so this...
Nature Boy

Nature Boy

by , | Aug 1, 2016 | Magazine Article

As we age, we often envy the excitement of the little boy who discovers a chipmunk burrow or the girl enraptured by a family of ducks on a pond. Sometimes, we wish we could go back in time and again experience that special joy of discovery.  For Door County naturalist...
Of Connection and Renewal

Of Connection and Renewal

by , | Oct 16, 2015 | Magazine Article

At times it feels as if we are exploring Mayan ruins in the forests of Yucatán, or searching deep in the jungles of Cambodia for unknown temple chambers of Angkor Wat. We sweat and stumble and hack our way through thickets of autumn olive and barberry, prickly ash,...