Regional

“September tries its best to have us forget summer.” ~Bernard Williams

Sorry, but poison ivy puts on one of the more brilliant autumn displays of plants this size. Two common forms, usually divided into two species, are the small, semi-shrub (herb-like) plant that causes most of the dermatitis and the vine form that climbs tall walnuts, hickories and other lowland and upland forests.

An uncommon herb, pokeweed, seems to be drawing the attention of some who recognize it as something they have not seen or noticed before.

Corn is flowering. Corn is blooming. There are two flower groups: The tassel’s pollen blooms and the ear’s fruit flowers. There are hundreds and hundreds of small flowers, a little hint of sepals. They may not have petals, but they are still flowers. If you count the silks and the kernels, they match.

“The delicate sweetness of just-picked vegetables is always worth savoring.” ~Samin Nosrat

A plant whose vegetative parts live year after year is a perennial. 

Trees are often used as a primary example, but most perennials live much shorter lives. 

Michigan lilies, either individuals or patches of them, appear to “jump” around, including those not routinely disturbed above or below ground. 

The lichen-covered nest held two chicks in 2021 and two again this summer. The female repaired the nest this spring, laid two eggs, incubated them; and feeds the hatchlings.

A Reedsburg nurse has been hired at the Pines Senior Living in Prairie du Sac.

Carrie Georgeson is the new campus administrator. She takes over for Deb Pete, who retired after nearly eight years at the helm. ElderSpan Management, which operates the facility, made the announcement this week.

Healthfirst, Hope House and Sauk County Public Health have collaborated to present a webinar aimed at parents and children who are facing one of the challenges of adolescence.

A very long time ago, there lived a butcher. One day, as he prepared an ox for dinner, a man walked up and marveled at his skill. He moved with the grace of a dancer, separating hide from flesh, meat from bone and muscle from muscle. He explained that average butchers destroy a knife every month, because they hack.