American Indians invented snowshoes, presumably in a snowier era. For centuries, snowshoes have been used for transportation in Wisconsin, though these days, snowshoeing is a recreational way to exercise while getting in touch with nature. Because Crossroads at Big Creek now owns fabulous new snowshoes and new skis [thanks again Raibrook Foundation, 4-H Youth leaders [...] Read more »
“Color in the Garden”
“What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” –Shakespeare in “Romeo and Juliet“ The flowers most people associate with love are long stemmed red roses, which, even with the name of rose, do not smell as sweet as wild roses. Domestic flowers need [...] Read more »
Beech Trees and The Big Read
During summer, it’s easy to overlook beech trees. They are just a part of the ubiquitous green of the growing season. But this time of year, when leaves are absent from most other trees, the doeskin-colored leaves give us some much appreciated color here on the peninsula. A naturalist colleague often remarks that the trunks [...] Read more »
Snowshoes at Crossroads
Snowshoe hares live in some of the more remote parts of Door County, but we don’t seem to have snowshoes at Crossroads at Big Creek. We don’t, that is, have the large members of the rabbit family. We do have quite few snowshoes, thanks to the young people who are part of the 4-H Engaging [...] Read more »
Lecture: ” Lessons from the Commercial Garden”
Lessons from the Commercial Garden — Maximizing Seasonal Displays! Join the Door County Master Gardeners Association at a free public program, Lessons from the Commercial Garden — Maximizing Seasonal Displays! on Tuesday, January 17, at 7:00 PM in the Collins Learning Center. Caleb Whitney and Kristen Peil – owners of Green Side Up (GSU LLC) based [...] Read more »
Master Gardener Lecture: Think Spring!
Join the Door County Master Gardeners Association for the lecture: “Think Spring! What’s New for 2012?” on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the Collins Learning Center. Brush off the cold and THINK SPRING! Your garden may be asleep for the winter, but now is a terrific time to start planning for [...] Read more »
Ring in the New Year
A young visitor to Crossroads at Big Creek wanted to know whether it is New Years Eve or New Years Day that the trees add their annual ring. You know…..ring in the New Year. It’s true that trees in our climate have annual rings, and so do fish. Yes, fish scales have annual rings. Biologists call [...] Read more »
Halcyon Days
“Halcyon Days” are soon to arrive at Crossroads at Big Creek. This is a time of idyllic calm and tranquility that settles in around the winter solstice (December 21 at 11:30 pm this year). The term shows up in poetry, once or twice in Shakespeare and even in modern articles and essays, yet I am [...] Read more »
Learn About the Promise of Pine Cones
The children who visit Crossroads at Big Creek are full of riddles like,”Where do baby Christmas trees come from?” And we answer, “The Wood Storks bring them.” Adults ask questions too, like, “Don’t pine trees grow from pine cones?” Actually, like all trees, pines grow from seeds. Cones are made up of specialized tree leaves called [...] Read more »
Greeting Card Birds
Images of wild birds decorate a surprising number of holiday greeting cards. Another Crossroads tradition, a Christmas Eve afternoon lecture describes the birds and reveals this year’s Crossroads Greeting Card Bird of the Year. (Cardinals won the last two years by appearing on the greatest number of holiday greeting received by the naturalist.) The 2:00 [...] Read more »
