Author: Lisa

Human Nature as Seen Through Landfills

Written on April 8, 2016.

Have you ever heard of middens? They are basically really old landfills. The word comes from an old Scandinavian word, moedding, which means an old dump for human domestic waste. People have always produced waste. That...

Bonnie and Clyde visit the woods (reprint)

Written on April 8, 2016.

I understand that it is welcome to see something green in the woods after winter, but please keep in mind that the welcome glint of green you see spells trouble for our native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. That green you see...

Welcome Spring!!

Written on March 20, 2016.

Did you see it? A beautiful sunset on your drive home at 6:30 in the evening. I smelled it the other day. The scent of rich soil heated by the midday sun. Surely, you heard it! Red-winged blackbirds, cardinals, even Sandhill...

The Long Forgetting & Great Remembering

Written on February 21, 2016.

My friend Ken Williams, a horticulturist at Ringers Landscape Service in Fox River Grove, wrote a great blog post about TLC’s 25th Anniversary Brunch last month. I think it captures the spirit of the event and the essence...

Of Loons and Climate Change

Written on February 13, 2016.

I remember the first time I heard a loon. My husband, Tom, and I were camping one summer in northern Wisconsin near a small lake. That first night, we heard an eerie sound that I didn’t recognize. “What is...

Weather and a Changing Climate

Written on February 13, 2016.

Interesting weather this winter, wasn’t it? Last December brought tornadoes to the south and a blizzard to west Texas. Locally, we set some near-records for daily high temperatures in late December and again in January...