Tag Archives: nature

A September haiku

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!

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

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!

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!

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?

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)

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

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)

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

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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