The Wisconsin Writers Association’s Facebook page is showcasing speakers and sessions that will be taking place at its 75th Anniversary Conference on October 6 and 7.
(https://www.facebook.com/WIWrite).

Thanks to the Wisconsin Writers Association, I’m grateful to find my poem on p. 41 of the March 2023 Creative Wisconsin Magazine:

Caution appareled, I shudder

to shoulder tasks undone. On city’s

sea, I swim circles on old roads

to keep worry afloat, at bay.

Until a raccoon runs at car:

inscrutable Hari Kiri.

I flee north where Kitchi gami

scatters agates, where copper knives

slipped between strata of northern

lives reveal ancient ways. I sit,

drowse on studded beach. Truth squeaks in,

speaks between layered wake and sleep.

Earlier wisdom reawakes.

Manoomin lured first peoples west,

harvests filled canoes, winter cured.

On rough skerries cormorants called.

Inland, indigenous folk found

spiritual nest with eagles.

Naked in rest, I ride creation’s

crest, slide down a foamy funnel

to dream inside a furling wave.

Lake, land, sky tremble, tumble, mix.

Roar in rhythmic composition.

Shore winds blow genesis. Behold,

unlimited Superior.

Forgot how much fun creating a PowerPoint is! Looking forward to meeting with the Arena Historians to discuss “Exploring Caves of the Driftless” on Sept. 19. The presentation begins after the Historians meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at Grandma Mary’s Brisbane Hall, right on Hwy. 14 in Arena.

For more on “Wisconsin Underground” and “Minnesota Underground,” visit Henschel Haus Publishing.

from facilitating a genealogy writing workshop at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, last month: Genealogy often calls out serendipity. The experience of entering a strange cemetery and somehow walking directly to the marker you hoped to find is a not an uncommon occurrence for family historians. Nor is stumbling across one ancestor while looking for another. Or, for no particular, reason picking up a book containing the reference you need … and then immediately turning to the page with the long sought-for information. Search long enough and you may well find what you were seeking — or even a new cave passage if that is you passion.

Growing up, a short stack of books would arrive beneath our Christmas stockings–Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, Ginny Gordon and other series titles to join classics on our shelves like Black Beauty, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, and many more. These days I’m always eager to receive the latest catalog from Arcadia Books in Spring Green, where I have my eye on several new releases.So, I’m pleased to report that Minnesota Underground: A Guide to Caves & Karst, Mines & Tunnels is on sale at Henschel Haus Books (https://henschelhausbooks.com/…/minnesota-underground…/). Use code CAVES and get $5 off at checkout, only at the Henschel Haus Books website.

Honored this month to be profiled in the UW Retirement Association newsletter, The Sifter. See p. 8: https://uwramadison.org/…/Sifters20…/2021.10%20final.pdf. And the full text:

I retired as a part-time communications specialist with the School of Human Ecology in 2014 and quickly missed so often walking into Nancy Nicholas Hall, with its perfect blend of historic and new design elements. Back then, I could not have predicted the changes to come. Like the recent 116F-degree temperature in the Pacific Northwest, several developments surprised me, though my general direction has remained the same.

Freelance writing and editing projects in the fields of community banking and higher education have become chapters of my past. Yet, I still write. After decades of family history research, Henschel Haus, Milwaukee, (https://henschelhausbooks.com)  published Elsie’s Story: Chasing a Family Mystery as well as new editions of Wisconsin Underground: A Guide to Caves, Mines, and Tunnels; and, most recently, Minnesota Underground: A Guide to Caves & Karst, Mines & Tunnels (co-authored with Greg Brick).

Related to Elsie’s Story, I now write a monthly genealogy/family history column for Voice of the River Valley (www.voiceoftherivervalley.com). The family history interest is engrained: I still can’t throw away childhood artifacts like a Silver Streak sled, a carom board, and a music box-purse my Aunt Elsie gave me. Related to the Underground books, I contributed to a National Speleological Society-spearheaded website recognizing 2021 as the International Year of Caves and Karst—https://driftless.caves.org.

An unexpected role is as a caregiver for my husband, Michael Knight (like me a UW-Madison alum), who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease two years ago.  We enjoy cooking together, culling family photos, doing jigsaw puzzles, and playing Scrabble.

As I’ve done most days for 27 years in every season and weather, I walk from our log house in the woods up to our “bunker” overlooking the Wisconsin River, with the Lone Rock bridge visible in the distance. Grounding also comes from working in our woods and gardening, which leads me inevitably back to the kitchen.

Like the vista of the river valley, retirement has led to a broad view and, on particularly windy days, the exhilaration of risk.

Posted at Henschel Haus Publishing: Both Wisconsin Underground and Minnesota Underground were recently reviewed by Ben McLeod in Big River Magazine. Read the article here (pdf).

Genealogy Workshop Coming Up. I’m happy to present “Where to Begin? Untangling Genealogy” on Saturday, Mar. 13, 9 a.m. – noon, at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point. Also happy for the discussions that will ensue and what we’ll all learn!

In this Coolest Coast-Manitowoc County video, Wisconsin Speleological Society volunteers lead a tour of the caves visitors can see here. Several caves are open to the public generally; a few on guided tours only.

Wisconsin’s Natural Heritage Conservation Field Notes reported in December on the first vaccine trials to combat the fungus causing white nose syndrome. At least one of the two vaccines tested were shown to increase survival in males and reduce levels of the fungus. Additional trials are underway this winter.