Earlier this year I was in Everglades National Park hoping to see alligators sulking in the swamps or beautifully plumed birds in flight. What did I photograph? A grasshopper. I know nothing about grasshoppers. Are they the same as locusts? …
I'm not a birder. My wife is. We've each chosen a hobby that relies on lenses. My wife can spot the subtle details that differentiate similar species of birds. I'm lucky to distinguish a turkey from a towhee so I…
If you live in Madison, Wisconsin, you probably know about Olbrich Botanical Gardens. In fact, if you live in Madison, Wisconsin, you've probably visited Olbrich Botanical Gardens. A stroll through this wonderful place is an excellent way to quiet your…
I went for a walk in Owen Conservation Park on Groundhog Day. It was sunny out and the sky was deep blue. It had been quite a wimpy winter so the ground was bare and the trees in the oak…
Before turning in, we could see a frenzy of snow flakes flitting through the lone light in the parking lot. The weatherman was right! By morning there was a foot or more of snow on the ground and on our…
The topic of conversation in the restaurant on Sunday morning was the weather, not the current sunny-blue-sky weather, but the forecast. A storm would be moving in Sunday night that could bring up to 13" of snow before moving out…
We had some really cold weather in early January. Nighttime lows were well below zero and daytime highs only reached single digits. So, what to do? Go north! Every summer my wife and I vacation with family and friends on…
Eight days until Winter. In Beatles time that's exactly one week. Our very mild autumn weather has finally decided to dress for the season. So, I donned some extra layers yesterday afternoon and went for a walk in Owen Conservation…
In September 2016 I wrote about attending an event sponsored by the Madison Audubon Society at Goose Pond Sanctuary where people were invited to help tag monarch butterflies to study their migration. This September I had another encounter with monarchs at…