Tag Archives: nature

A September haiku

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

My slightly melancholy ode to the fleeting season . . . September Swallows gathering Morning fog on the water Summer has ended I was looking for a video of swallows gathering to illustrate and found this one. Yikes! Calling Alfred … Continue reading →

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Oh, cruel harbinger!

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Yes, I know it’s the end of August. But couldn’t we wait just a little longer for the autumn colors to arrive???

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Tenacity

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I don’t know what kind of tree this is, but I have to admire the tenacity with which it continually regrows branches/suckers that have been cut off. You can see scarred burls from years of pruning all along the length … Continue reading →

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Ice Storm!

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I know states to our south frequently get ice storms, but they are rare in Wisconsin. We usually get snow instead. However, we had a significant ice storm this week Monday through Tuesday evenings. Which, ironically, came exactly 100 years … Continue reading →

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Field trip!

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Katherine Wikoff

We try to take our dog on a field trip once a week, just to give her some new sights and smells and not to mention a thrilling opportunity to ride in the car! Today my daughter and I went … Continue reading →

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Is climate change cyclical?

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Although most media reports on climate change focus on looming disaster, I’ve read some interesting articles recently that look backward and provide some long-term perspective. Melting glaciers are revealing ancient human artifacts as they recede.  Beneath ice thousands of years … Continue reading →

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Crab-apple season (photos)

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

I have mixed feelings about our crab apple.  On the one hand, it’s a beautiful tree, especially covered with soft pink flowers in spring.  But it also dumps piles of fruit on the ground every autumn.  Which the chipmunks love, as you … Continue reading →

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Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

It all depends on your perspective . . .  Yesterday I happened to look up through the branches of our crab apple and silver maple trees and saw that the leaves way, way up there were suffused with late-afternoon sunlight. … Continue reading →

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September Mint (and other photos of summer’s end)

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

September is here, and Mother Nature is wrapping up summer here in Milwaukee.  After a busy August, I now am back in school (I teach at Milwaukee School of Engineering) and catching up on chores around the house whenever I … Continue reading →

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Sun-Dappled Silver

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Maple, that is.  As in the silver maple tree in our backyard. Something about the pattern of sunlight splotches and scaly bark caught my eye.  This old tree is a veteran, a real survivor.  The power company comes through every ten … Continue reading →

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