Arrival I first spotted the hummingbird at our cabin on May 9.  It was flying in circles at the corner of the overhang, where, over many years, Kathie has hung…

“Nevertheless, she persisted.”  Mitch McConnell of Elizabeth Warren, 2017 Pale Indian Plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium, formerly Cacalia atriplicifolium*) has been variously described as “conspicuous but rare” by Iltis and Cochran, “a…

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”  (Pete Seeger, 1959 and made famous as “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds, 1965) “A time…

Thomas Dale Brock, of Madison, Wisconsin, passed away on 4 April 2021 at the age of 94, due to complications from a fall. He was born 10 September 1926 in…

Because of Covid most of our spring burns were canceled (needlessly!). So it was a great boon that the first week of November (Election Week) the burn weather was outstanding!We…

We were prevented from  burning in 2020 because of the corona virus pandemic. I found two photos from the same location: 2019 (dormant season-early March burn), and 2020 unburned. April…

My work on Thermus aquaticus has been reported frequently because of its significance in DNA technology. Who knew it would also play  a role in the corona virus test? This…

We have been burning our oak savannas at Pleasant Valley Conservancy "annually" for the past 20 years. They have always been dormant season burns, either late fall or early spring.…

Since my post yesterday, Wisconsin DNR Forestry has canceled burn permits for natural areas. (Burns for agricultural purposes are still permitted.)

These are fearsome times, with a modern plague raging  across the land. Unfortunately, the full significance of the epidemic only became evident in late March, just when burn season was…