By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis joined the mass exodus to the gloriously blossoming natural world Sunday with a patrol of the Driftless area where Phyllis photographed trilliums and other wildflowers, and the keeper finally caught a breakfast trout. Increasingly aware of age-related limitations, the keeper did not …
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Category:Nature
Slaughterhouse North
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter There was a time, not so long ago, when Wisconsin was considered to be a national leader in conservation. We had a long and storied tradition of vigilant stewardship for our lands, waters, and wildlife. Former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, a longtime environmental activist, was …
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Kickass and Women Hikers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in being continuously awed by women, but never more so than when it comes to “taking a hike.” There has been recent news of Jessica Killinbeck of Mt. Horeb hiking all of the Dane County parks; and Halora Kiddes, Sun Prairie, …
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The Neal Wiseman Gallery
Down in the Loxahatchee
Kickass and the Third Insect
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper hesitates to repost a photo, but after several sharp-eyed viewers—Jan and Gene among them, pointed out the presence of a third insect in the keeper’s butterfly-wasp photo, and Gina claimed to have photographed an invisible wasp, it was obvious that …
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Kickass and Butterfly Wasp Photo
By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, often called upon to console the keeper over his shortcomings, steps up now to moderate his—the keeper’s excesses in claiming a camera coup in the area of nature photography. Having long been intimidated by photo friends who consistently produce sensational shots of scenes and sunsets and wild critters …
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Oh, Christmas Tree
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Each year, in the family holiday tradition, my wife and I venture out to buy our Christmas tree. We’re lucky enough to live across the street from a big tree lot so we don’t have very far to go—we can walk right over. It’s very convenient. It’s also nice to be …
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Devolution
Artwork by Michael DiMilo This past weekend, my brother and took a trip to the family cabin in order to take in the pier, an autumn ritual. It’s a long ride to get up there, just under a four-hour trek, but the fall colors were just reaching their peak, so it was very scenic, although …
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The Blurry Line
Artwork by Michael DiMilo This last week, my family and I took a mini-vacation to the family cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. The cottage has been in our family for a little over fifty years and sits on a beautiful spring-fed lake. After my father passed away, my mom—as she’s fond of telling—used to …
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Brooding Parasite
Artwork by Michael DiMilo The brown-headed cowbird has a notorious reputation as a brood parasite, a bird that relies on other species to raise its own young. A cowbird will find a host nest, destroy or evict one of the original resident’s eggs, and replace it with one of her own. The host bird will …
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