Navigation

Category: Nature

  • St. Louis River Estuary Makes A Comeback

    By ,

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a host of partners have been working to restore the St. Louis River estuary and help local communities reap the full benefits of a clean, healthy environment. The estuary, located at the head of Lake Superior, was designated as an “area of concern” due to a legacy of chemical […]

  • Algoma’s Bird Bistro Program Aims to Build Bird-friendly Community

    By ,

      Five years ago, a volunteer group of seven bird-loving residents of Algoma came together in pursuit of helping their city achieve Bird City Wisconsin status, recognizing communities that enhance bird habitats through landscaping and public education. In 2013, the city achieved that designation and in the years since, the committee has continued hosting and […]

  • Southern Door Students Planting Garden May 22-25

    By ,

    Elementary classes are all signed up to help plant the Southern Door Schoolyard Garden. The school needs volunteers to help. It is a really fun activity for all ages and levels of gardeners. Planting dates are all day Monday, May 22, all day Tuesday, May 23, and the morning of Thursday, May 25. Volunteers can […]

  • Door to Nature: Flowers of the Buttercup Family

    By ,

    Editor’s note:  While Roy Lukes died at the age of 86 on June 26, 2016, his nature articles will continue to live on in Door County Living with the help of Roy’s wife, Charlotte, who has agreed to continue providing work from Roy’s extensive archives. For that reason, the article includes both their names.   […]

  • Editor’s Note: Nothing But Bluebirds All Day Long

    By ,

    Normally I have no truck with all those SAD sacks suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seems to me like a pathetic excuse made by weaklings who have to take a winter vacation in warmer climes because all the grayness makes them feel icky. Maybe even a little woozy. Shine a light, I say. But this […]

  • 7 Tips for Cycling Safely in Door County

    By ,

    Door County’s quality roads and scenic vistas lure cyclists from throughout the Midwest. A good grasp of the rules of the road for cyclists and drivers will help you enjoy them safely as you share high-speed back roads and distracting stretches of scenic beauty.   Always ride in the direction of traffic. For one, it’s […]

  • Saving Our Shores: Kevin Kiehnau, Organic Valley

    By ,

    Kevin Kiehnau knows both sides of the water pollution story. The Sevastopol native went from being a conventional dairy farmer in 1979 to becoming certified organic in 1994. Now he manages farms across five states for Organic Valley. He knows farmers are stubborn when they have been using certain practices for decades. “It’s really hard […]

  • Saving Our Shores: John Jacobs, Green Valley Dairy

    By ,

    For John Jacobs, a first-generation farmer in Krakow, Wisconsin, farming is all about achieving balance. “Nutrients need to be in balance in the soil, in the cattle and in the people,” he said. “You only get one chance a year and I’m not going to live forever. I want this stuff to happen now. I […]

  • An Artistic New Life for An Old Door County Tree

    By ,

    On April 22, millions of seeds and tree saplings were given a chance at life through plantings across the nation in honor of Earth Day. But in one small corner of the Door Peninsula, it was a towering old tree that was given its own special recognition. Hidden among a Liberty Grove forest thick with […]

  • Eye On the Night Sky: The August Sky in May

    By ,

    by John J. Beck At 3 am on May 25 (assuming clear skies) we can see the same part of the sky as we would from the same location on Aug. 15 at 9:25 pm. How does that work? First some basics. The earth rotates on its axis 360 degrees in 24 hours, and the […]

  • Weather Wizard: The Trout That Almost Wasn’t

    By ,

    Returning home from a four-hour drive, and after a long week of work, I found myself melding with a big comfy chair in my living room. The late afternoon sun pouring in the bay windows and dog resting at my feet, I was comfortable and content. But this spring day had too much to offer […]

  • Celebrate Earth Day with Crossroads

    By ,

    Earth Day will expand to a frenetic month devoted to environmental education at Crossroads at Big Creek. They will collaborate with a number of groups to increase awareness of our uniquely wonderful planet Earth. Earth Day starts at Crossroads at 1 pm with a “Sucker Run” Earth Day Hike. The odds are good (though not […]

  • Our Five State Parks

    By ,

    We devoted our 11th Sustainability Issue to our five state parks. While we tackle big questions of funding, master planning, the future of the parks and their history, we also profiled each one, providing their basic facts and the story of how they each came to be. Click on each poster, illustrated by Ryan Miller, […]

  • Join Park Naturalist to Learn About Timberdoodles

    By ,

    Love is in the air, literally, at Peninsula State Park. Male timberdoodles, a brown, chicken size game bird, entice mates with a spectacular, circular sky dance at dusk. Join the Peninsula State Park naturalist on April 21 or April 28, 8 – 9 pm, at the Nature Center. After seeing a taxidermy timberdoodle up close, […]

  • 2017 Sustainability Issue: How Sustainable Are Our State Parks?

    By ,

    In no region of Wisconsin is the state parks system as important to its people and economy as it is to Door County. With five state parks, including one often referred to as the prize of the system – Peninsula – Door County has more state parks than any other county in Wisconsin. They draw […]

  • Celebrating Wings in Watercolor

    By ,

    An Illinois artist with a passion for birds and watercolors is giving bird watchers, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts a new perspective on Midwest game birds with an exhibit of paintings that capture the complexities of various species’ wings. “Watercolor Wings,” part of the Reflections on The Ridges art and lecture series, is the work of […]

  • Eye On the Night Sky: Orion’s Nebula

    By ,

    by Mike Egan Up high and proud in December’s sky is the magnificent constellation Orion. The best that the winter sky has to give us! Three bright stars, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, all in a row, define his belt, and hanging from this belt are several stars that would be the scabbard for his sword. […]

  • Beer Bingo, American Dream Theater & More Weekend Plans

    By ,

    It’s all about good music, creative pursuits and the great outdoors this weekend on the Door Peninsula. Check out our top picks for the weekend ahead! Friday, March 31 Riders In the Sky Perpetual crowd-pleasers, this Grammy award-winning quartet mixes authentic Western music with yodeling, rope tricks, and a whole heap of crackpot humor in […]

  • Crossroads Is Going to the Birds (and Butterflies)

    By ,

    Crossroads at Big Creek welcomes another season of providing lifelong experience-based learning on science, history and environment with the unveiling of its newest addition: an accessible bird and butterfly garden. Situated around the Collins Learning Center, the bird and butterfly gardens will enhance the organization’s mission of connecting people of all ages and abilities with […]

  • Dirty Deuce, Logan Creek Hike & More Weekend Plans

    By ,

    Winter is showing no signs of slowing down in its final days! Stay warm with our top picks for the weekend ahead. Friday, March 17 Musical Mathematicians Join Door County favorites Dirty Deuce for a rockin’ good time at Carrington Pub’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. 8 pm. Saturday, March 18 Beauty and the Beast Catch […]