Christmas Traditions in Driftless Wisconsin

Driftless Wisconsin, Driftless Wisconsin Events

My memories of Christmas begin with lutefisk and lefse, the Norwegian feast my mother made each year to celebrate my father’s Scandinavian heritage. The smell of lutefisk – a cod cured in lye – wafting through the house on Christmas Eve sent me in the opposite...

Driftless Dark Skies: Living in Space

Driftless Wisconsin

Wash: That sounds like something out of science fiction. Zoë: You live in a spaceship, dear. We have been living in space for over 15 years now. Since November 2000, over 220 people from 17 countries have continuously crewed the International Space Station. The ISS...

Learning to See

Driftless Wisconsin

“What do you see?” I remember that as the opening line of John Logan’s play Red performed at Forward Theater in Madison last year. It’s the question that the artist Mark Rothko asks of his new assistant Ken. Maybe to test him. Maybe to train him. It caught my...

Getting ready for winter and the holidays in Driftless Wisconsin

Driftless Wisconsin

“Hey John, how ya doing?” I asked a friend we met along the hiking trail out at the park. “I just bought my LP gas for 60 cents cheaper than last year,” he offered. In these parts, “how you doing?” means how are things stacking up for the winter. As in firewood, LP...

The change of seasons in Driftless Wisconsin

Driftless Wisconsin

Fall is my favorite time of year. Yes, the days do get shorter, yet the fall color and cooler weather make a body feel alive. And there’s no better place to feel the invigorating change of seasons than Driftless Wisconsin. The fall colors beg to be painted,...

Driftless Dark Skies: Planets at Dawn

Driftless Wisconsin

Early risers in the Driftless Area will be able to see three worlds slowly shifting in the eastern sky before dawn this month: Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Look for them an hour or so before sunrise, which is 7:00 at the start of the month and 7:35 at the end of the...