Great Lakes Views

Coming Out of the Water

2010-06-17T20:50:00.010-05:00

I didn’t realize last time, when I called my post Reflections, that I would soon be reflecting on my 18 months of writing this blog, but that’s what I am doing today. If you have been a follower of this blog, even on occasion, you know that I have not posted anything in almost three weeks and now I have decided this will be my last post, at least in this spot.

It’s not because I don’t continue on a daily basis to watch the water outside my door. I do. It’s not because there aren’t issues about the Great Lakes to write about. There are. It’s not because I don’t have time to write (writing this blog doesn’t take much time) or that I am no longer interested in my environment. I definitely am.

I think it is more because I don’t want to become like the old lady who repeats and repeats and repeats herself to the point where no one hears her anymore. I could post more pictures about my neighborhood. I could post more reports about use or misuse of our waters. I could muse more about how I love where I live and how I am a Great Lakes Gal, but I think the time has come for me to stop.

That’s not to say that my interest has waned – far from it. Writing this blog has only increased my passion for the Great Lakes. I still plan to see more, learn more, and act more, and I will continue to follow other blogs, which do such a good job on informing me on my passion. If I have sparked your interest in this topic, I urge you to follow them, too. The sites I will continue to follow are the ones listed on my Blog List (see margin at the left).

In my very first posting, It’s Day One, I wrote that when I go swimming at the lake, I first wade in slowly before I take the plunge. What I didn’t comment on was how I come out of the water, but I could have said is that when I’m done swimming, I am wet and maybe even cold, but happy that I took the plunge. That’s how I feel about this blog. It’s time to come out of the water but I am leaving it glad I came in. I learned so much these past months, and I hope you have learned a little along the way too.

I’m glad I went swimming. Thanks for coming into the water with me.

Reflections

2010-06-01T19:46:00.008-05:00

Water has reflective properties. That may not be exactly how a physicist would describe the way light changes direction at the water's edge, but I am sure you know what I mean. Who has not stood at the edge of a pond or a lake or even a bowl of water, and marveled at this phenomenon?

A poet would have different words and thoughts on reflection. Reflections on reflections, so to be speak. For now, I prefer to follow the advice given to writers – show, don’t tell, and I am going to show you three water pictures that show reflection.

The first two were taken this weekend in Western Massachusetts at a place called the Bridge of Flowers. Look carefully to see how the ovals are formed. The third photo was taken in my own backyard, at the local marina.

More on the Eco-Nightmare

2010-05-27T08:16:00.003-05:00

Today I am following up on two things I mentioned in my last post about the BP Gulf Coast Oil Disaster.

1. It seems that Rush Limbaugh is blaming the Sierra Club for the whole thing. Why? Because he says the “greeniacs have been driving oil drilling offshore.” If you can stomach hearing Rush rant (it’s only a minute but a minute of Limbaugh seems like an eternity) you can click here. You can also click here to make a contribution to Sierra Club in their attempt to make Rush their top fundraiser. It’s worth $10, or even more, to send Rush a message on this issue.

2. I made reference to deepwaterhorizonresponse.com as a place to go for more information on what is happening in the Gulf. I didn’t realize that this website is sponsored by BP. The same website is listed in the BP ad today on the back page of the first section of the New York Times, where BP tells us what they are doing . Not exactly an objective third party are they?

The BP Eco-Nightmare

2010-05-24T10:25:00.005-05:00

A while back, I wrote about changing the name of the Asian carp to make it sound better and therefore less threatening – and maybe even edible. (See January – What’s in a Name?) But changing the name of this invasive and destructive fish will not change its impact on the Great Lakes. What’s in a name that can change things?

However, right now I am not thinking about fish. I am continuing my thoughts about the disaster in the Gulf Coast. This morning I read two commentaries on naming this disaster. If you’ve noticed, in some places it is referred to as the Deepwater Horizon Blowout. That’s what CBS’s Sixty Minutes called it.

Joe Romm in his acclaimed blog Climate Progress wondered what we should really call this disaster. He then referred his readers to Dominique Browning who has an excellent post in her blog Personal Nature. Browning makes a connection between the floods in Nashville and the Gulf Coast disaster, which she says we cannot call either a leak or a spill. Neither do justice to the geyser that, hour after hour, day after day, is pouring out in the water. Both posts are worth reading.

Joe’s blog received several comments about the name. Everyone seems to agree that BP needs to be in the description just like Exxon Valdez was and still is following that disaster. Hear Exxon and what do you think? Oil Spill. Hear BP and what do you think? Not just the corner gas station anymore, that’s for sure.

There are several places you can go to learn what the public can do about the disaster, which I am afraid is not much. One place is the Sierra Club website. I found that the Wisconsin Chapter, named after Sierra Club founder John Muir, who was from Wisconsin, site is the easiest to use for contacting officials. Another site is the Deep Water Horizon Response site, but notice how they are not calling it what it really is. The BP Eco-Nightmare.

Addendum: In a press conference this morning, Senator Dick Durbin (D,IL), expressing frustration with the party responsible for the oil gush, said that BP should no longer stand for British Petroleum, but rather Beyond Patience. Good one, Dick.

It Can Happen Here

2010-05-22T11:01:00.002-05:00

I can't get the pictures of the Gulf Coast oil spill out of my mind, yet there isn't much I can do except be horrified. From what I have heard, even those down there who want to help have had their hands tied, unable to get the materials or permits they need to help. And quite frankly with the extent of the damage, how much can be done anyway?

So this morning I did the only thing I know how to do and that is to write a letter. I sent it to my local newspaper and it may or may not be printed (sure it will, they print everything). I am posting it here so others can see it, too. In case anyone asks, you saw it here first! Here it is:

The pictures and news from the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill are horrifying. When I hear about the destruction of this valuable ecosystem, one that may never come back after this devastating event, it makes me very sad. In addition, to call it an accident, adds insult to the injury. We are now hearing how many mistakes were made in construction and operation of the oilrig and how government agencies were at fault, too.

Maybe this could not have been totally prevented, but certainly more could have been done to save both the workers who were killed and the environment. Will we use this as a lesson? I would like to think that we would see, now more than ever, how we need to be weaned off fossil fuels.

If this event does not hit close enough for you, imagine such a catastrophe right outside our own homes in Lake Michigan. We may not experience an oil spill, but other cataclysmic events could destroy our ecosystem. Think of the effects pollution, invasive species, and water diversions can have on the Great Lakes. The destruction may not occur as quickly and as visibly as that which we are now seeing in the Gulf Coast, but don’t think it can’t happen here. It can and it will unless we protect this precious water.

Evolution of a Lighthouse

2010-05-15T18:26:00.007-05:00

Lighthouses have a following. Some think them romantic; others think of them in the context of adventure and the high seas. I am not smitten with lighthouses except for the one that says ‘home’ to me when I see it, yet when I heard about the opening of the newly restored Southport Lighthouse, I had to go see it. They have been working on its restoration for quite a while and it finally opened this weekend.

The lighthouse dates back to 1866, but it is not the first lighthouse in the Kenosha harbor. Actually, Kenosha, which used to be called Southport, has had some kind of beacon reaching out into Lake Michigan since 1837, when a 10-foot oak tree was set on fire every night during shipping season. I learned that from the museum display inside the newly restored lighthouse keeper’s house. That’s an artist's rendition of it above.

The 1866 lighthouse could house two families, one upstairs, and one downstairs. Kenosha couldn’t have been such a bad assignment for a lighthouse keeper because it was near a thriving town. I remember a few years ago visiting the lighthouse at Raspberry Island in the Apostle Islands, and the keeper there was isolated for weeks on end. Even today at that sight, in the summer an employee of the National Park Service is out there alone, except for the tourists who come during the day. I suppose it’s a great summer job for a college student who wants to spend the summer reading, writing, or just contemplating. As a full time job for a family, I’m not so sure it was.

The current lighthouse, The North Pier Lighthouse, the one I always show pictures of and means I’m back home, dates back to 1906. It wasn’t always red, but I happen to like that it is now. You can learn more about it on-line at various sites. The new museum at the 1866 Southport Lighthouse traces the history of the Kenosha Harbor, and also has some displays of different kinds of lighthouse lenses.

My husband and I have a difference of opinion when it comes to which lighthouse we like best. I like the North Pier one best – I like that it is red and how it looks against the water and sky behind it. He likes the old brick of the Southport Lighthouse. If you are in our area, you should come and see them both as well as see the exhibits at lighthouse. Then you can decide for yourself which is more romantic or adventurous. Either way, it’s worth an hour of your time.

Thoughts Clouding a Beautiful Morning

2010-05-04T12:03:00.005-05:00

This morning, I took my first bike ride of the season on my favorite lakeshore path. It was a perfect spring morning; the grass is green, flowering trees are budding, and the tulips are in bloom. I only rode about twenty minutes each way but I enjoyed every minute of my ride.

But as I rode south from my house, and looked out over the sun dancing over the sparkling water, I could not get the Gulf Coast catastrophe out of my mind. I tried to imagine my beautiful body of water covered in oil and even the thought of it upset me. I watched the seagulls preening themselves on the remnants of old docks and imagined them covered in oil, too. I saw fishing boats and thought about the fishermen, commercial and recreational, who suffer from ecological disasters such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico.

I stopped at a favorite spot to rest. It is at the end of a dead end street near where I used to live. My children used to climb these rocks and play at the beach in the small cove here. That was almost thirty years ago and I am happy to see that the water is still crystal clear here (although the beach has been marked as Private Property and I have to wonder about that).

This morning the wind was coming from the south. As I approached Southport Park, I was reminded that the sewage treatment plant is at the west end of the park. You can’t always smell it, and this morning’s odor wasn’t as awful as it could be. People have reported that in the Gulf Coast there is a pervasive horrible oily smell. I can only imagine it, but again, another reminder of the current disaster in the Gulf interrupted my enjoyable ride.

I don’t know what kind of similar event could affect the Great Lakes so quickly and so profoundly as an oil spill, but I do know ecological disasters happen. Can they be prevented? Some, I suppose, can be like the entry of the Asian carp into the lakes or preventing sewage and toxic materials from being dumped in the water. Can the experts think of all possible scenarios and prevent them? Probably not, but it sure would be comforting to see efforts being taken to prevent the ones that we know what to do about.

And The Beat Goes On

2010-04-27T10:34:00.003-05:00

You may not keep track of these things but I do, so I will update you on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision about Asian Carp. Chicago and Illinois – and the Obama Administration – continue to come out ahead in this continuing contest. In the words of Great Lakes Law

The Supreme Court’s order in the Asian carp case this morning says it all: “The motion of Michigan to reopen [Wisconsin v. Illinois] and for a supplemental decree is denied. The alternative motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied.” This effectively ends any hope for Michigan and the other Great Lakes states to get the Asian carp case before the Supreme Court.

Given the current court and President Obama’s ties to Illinois, this is not a surprising decision, but we can’t just blame the current court for wanting to stay out of this, although they had a great opportunity to make a difference in the health of the Great Lakes. Aspects of this dispute date back a century. The original case of Wisconsin v. Illinois goes back to 1922 disputing the reversal of the Chicago River.

Are there other ways to stop the carp invasion besides closing the locks? Maybe. One of the FAQs on the Asian Carp Management website asks “How can the public help prevent the spread of Asian Carp?” I have to say the answers seems pretty ineffective.

So what does this mean for the Great Lakes? Will we see a feeding frenzy this summer, next year or somewhere up the road? Only time will tell, but I don’t think we will have to wait as long as a century. During that time, whatever it will be, the efforts to stop the carp invasion will continue both in the courts and in the water.

Now It's Water in Conversation

2010-04-20T21:06:00.002-05:00

First, I wrote about water in reading, then in music. Today, it will be water in conversation because of a conversation I had today.

This conversation took place at the Kenosha Literacy Center where I volunteer in a tutoring program. In my teaching, I often use illustrations to encourage the students to speak English rather than their native language. This afternoon, I was working with two Mexican women, both in their early forties. They both women read, write and comprehend English fairly well, but their conversational skills are lacking. The only place they speak English is at the center because as one of them told me, the people in their family who do speak English outside the house have no patience to speak English to them at home.

The pictures I used today had to do with rooms in the house and what you do in those rooms. One picture of a bathroom showed a man taking a shower. Another showed a woman luxuriating in a deep bath tub. We talked about what the people were doing using words like showering, bathing, washing, soap, towel and so forth.

“Do you like to take a shower or a bath?” I asked, looking for conversation.

“No bath,” said one. The other nodded her head.

“You like a shower better?” I asked.

“Shower, yes, but not this shower. Not like this.”

I was puzzled. Did I not understand? These women were both well groomed and had impeccable hygiene, but they went on to explain in their broken English that in Mexico they do not stand under a shower. One laughed and said “with a cup” and demonstrated by tilting an imaginary cup over her head. She then searched for a word and I suggested the word she wanted was “rinse”. Yes, that was it. They rinse off from water in a cup.

They went on to tell me how in Mexico they save rainwater, including cooking water, which is then used for plants. They giggled when talking about how they save water when using when the toilet. They clearly know about water conservation better than I do. They have always been careful with water using techniques that conservationist are now trying to teach the American public.

I felt very American during that conversation and more than a little guilty. Sure I have stopped running water when I brush my teeth but as I have said many times before, I can’t stop myself from standing too long under the shower. I left my tutoring session thinking more about water than language and realizing that as so often happens, the teacher had learned something from her students.

Water in Music

2010-04-14T19:37:00.002-05:00

Here’s a change of pace for you.

My last post was about water in words. I had not planned to write today about water in music but when I learned that it is this week’s theme one of my favorite radio programs Exploring Music , I felt the need.

Listening to Bill McGlaughlin’s program is often part of my early evening routine. I have learned so much about music from Bill and this week is no exception. The brief introduction to the topic on the WFMT website (WFMT produces the program; I listen to it on Wisconsin Public Radio) says:

In the 5th Century BC, water was classified as one of the four essential elements. Over the centuries artists, poets, philosophers and composers have returned again and again to the mysteries of water for inspiration. This week, we’ll focus on Water Music with works by Vaughan Williams, Mahler, Debussy and (of course) Handel.

Listening to water music is a very pleasant change from thinking about water shortages, bottled water, water pollution and all the other not so pleasant water-related topics. Actually, I have had a very nice day when it comes to water – I swam a half mile this morning, sat in a hot tub for a bit, and drank cool water to quench my thirst following an unusually warm spring day. And I washed the dinner dishes while listening to Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, which was written about a cave in Scotland but hearing it always takes me to Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park in Maine.

Yes, today was a good water day for me.

No Shortage of Water Related Reading

2010-04-08T16:49:00.002-05:00

There maybe a water shortage, but there is no shortage of reading materials on the topic. I have been taking advantage of an empty schedule and a raw April afternoon to read the special issue of National Geographic on Water, Our Thirsty World. A few weeks ago, I downloaded a digital copy of the issue, but I am still partial to holding the volume and flipping pages. However, there are some additional features such as videos online so you can check them out if you like. I plan to later, after I spend more time with a cup of coffee and my “real” issue. Whichever way you choose to look at the magazine, there are good articles, including one by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver, and as always fabulous photography and illustrations.

I did read some things on-line today. Great Lakes Echo reports that there has been an increase in the number of pelicans on the Illinois River. They speculate that this could be a potential solution for the Asian Carp invasion. Is that tongue in check? Or should I ask, is that fish in pouch?

Also, on WaterWired, I learned a new term – hydrophilanthropy. This website is written by “AquaDoc” AKA Michael E. Campana, whose describes himself as a hydrogeologist, hydrophilanthropist, and Professor of Geosciences at Oregon State University. Dr. Campangna defines hydrophilanthropy as the “altruistic concern for the water, sanitation, hygiene, and related needs of humankind, as manifested by donations of work, money, or resources”.

Although the website is fairly academic, it’s worth reading more – and you can also learn on it what the acronym WASH means.

Also on my pile of reading materials is Water by Steven Solomon. I recently heard Solomon talk about his book on the radio and thought it would be interesting. He traces the history of water and how it has shaped civilization. I started the book, but it too is fairly academic and forgive the pun, a bit dry. I am sure there is a lot to learn but on an afternoon like this, it might be a bit somnifacient. Now, there’s another good word for you.

Water, Holidays and Other Thoughts

2010-03-28T09:37:00.002-05:00

After I wrote about bottled water the other day, I went to the grocery store. I had a lot of shopping to do in preparation for the upcoming Passover holiday, so I went to one of the larger stores in my area. As I entered, right in the front of the store were huge palettes of bottled water. Cheap bottled water. Or so it seems. Those bottles are filled with hidden costs for both the consumer and our planet.

I didn’t stop to give the store manager a piece of my mind on this issue, but I am thinking of sending him this link to a YouTube link that is a real eye opener on the topic.

The Story of Bottled Water is a short (8-minute) video, done in an entertaining cartoon style, that presents multiple arguments against bottled water. My favorite line in it says, “Carrying bottled water around is becoming as uncool as smoking while pregnant”. I hope so, and think I will tell the grocery store manager, too.

Today, I plan to spend the whole day getting ready for two Seders. I have already thought about the connection between water and Passover. If you are interested you can see an article I wrote for the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle this month called Passover Water and Wine. It explores the symbolism of water in our Passover rituals. What I didn’t think about when I wrote that was how much water I use in preparation for the holiday. Between cleaning and cooking, I am sure my water consumption increases this week, and it’s one use of water I am not yet ready to give up. Well, on second thought, maybe I could cut back on the cleaning part.

I don’t know much about the connection between water and Easter but I am sure there is one. Water is essential for life, and that means it is also essential for the celebrations of our lives. Happy Holiday season to all.

Water: Bottled or Bubbled?

2010-03-25T09:44:00.007-05:00

It is blustery today, typical late March weather for this part of the country. But we have had a few nice days already and so even today’s strong winds hold the promise of warmer days. With better weather comes more outdoor activities, which means more people walking around with water bottles in hand. In my neighborhood, close to walking paths and parks, unfortunately that also means more litter from plastic bottles and cans.

But trash is only one reason to be concerned about bottled water. I was reminded of others last week in an email from Noah Hall. Hall is an environmental attorney who has a blog called Great Lakes Law. Hall's emails are always relevant and timely – he doesn’t post on his website just to post.

Last week Hall announced that an article he had written was chosen as the lead story in the University of Denver’s Water Law Review. It is called “Protecting Freshwater Resources in the Era of Global Water Markets: Lessons Learned from Bottled Water

Quoting from the announcement -

The article covers a brief history of bottled water, the business of bottled water, and opposition to bottled water, along with a short summary of international trade law and federal food law as applied to the bottled water market. It then provides a detailed analysis of bottled water issues in the courts, legislatures, and politics – providing case studies of the good, the bad, and the ugly results of bottled water controversies. The article concludes with an analysis of two recent strategies for addressing bottled water – expansion of the public trust doctrine and taxing water bottlers, strategies with significant legal and political weaknesses.

Hall goes on to explain two reasons for opposing bottled water – one legal and environmental, the other social. To learn more you can read what Hall says on his website or in the article, but even if you don’t read it, I think you get the idea. If you want to pursue the topic even further you could also read Bottled and Sold by Peter H. Gleick. The subtitle of this book is The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water. I guess that tell you where the author stands on the issue right up front.

I encourage you to stop buying bottled water. If you need to carry water, buy a refillable bottle, or even better, encourage your parks to activate water fountains. It’s frustrating to see a water fountain (or what Wisconsin natives call bubblers*) and want to drink from it only to find that it doesn’t work, or that it’s gunked up with garbage. Yuk.

I have never understood the attraction of bottled water anyway. In most places, it doesn’t taste any better than tap water, and why pay for water. I realize that shows that I am not just concerned about water but also that I am frugal (a better word than cheap), but in this case it’s a good thing. Read Hall’s review if you don’t believe me.

* I told you why folks in Wisconsin call it a bubbler in a post about a year ago on Wisconsin Trivia

Clean Water for a Healthy World

2010-03-22T07:00:00.007-05:00

March has many special days on the calendar. Maybe the best known is St Patrick’s Day, but there are others, including the ominous Ides of March. March also has a day set aside for National Pig Day (March 1), Dentist’s Day (March 6), National Napping Day (March 9) and Save the Florida Panther Day (March 21). School calendars delight in having these days for craft projects and the like.

I wonder if the schools will also acknowledge that March 22 is World Water Day, a day sponsored by the United Nations Water Group that has been set aside since 1993 to celebrate and raise awareness about water in our world. The theme of World Water Day 2010 is Clean Water for a Healthy World, and many organizations are planning events around this day. I checked to see if there were any local ones that I could attend, and I didn’t see one close by although I would have loved to attend one of the ones planned in San Diego, Sacramento, or Mexico. Check out the list of places that are having events – and maybe next year Kenosha Wisconsin will be added to the list (Yes, I understand that might mean me).

It is never my intention just to repeat here what others are saying, so I won't do a "rewrite" on this important topic either. You can read what's on line as well as I can, but the highlighted text in this post will provide links so that you will be able to learn more for yourself. I hope you will click on a few of them to better understand the importance of this day set aside to think about water. If you check out the FAQ here are a few of the questions that will be answered in a brief and informative way.

What defines the quality of water?
What is the state of water quality on our planet?
How does water quality affect human health?
How does climate change influence water quality?
How can water quality be sustained?

A Vanished Sea

2010-03-17T10:23:00.009-05:00

Three hundred million years ago is a long time ago. A long, long time ago. Living here in the Midwest, I don’t often have reminders that our planet has been around that long. The geological features that form my daily landscape are not that old. The Great Lakes, according to most experts, were formed about 13,000 years ago following the last Ice Age. As the ice retreated, it left the bodies of water that we know as the Great Lakes.

I was out west this past weekend, in Nevada, where the landscape is much more dramatic and reminders of the age and history of our planet are all around. I visited Valley of Fire State Park, about an hour outside of Las Vegas, where the red sandstone that gives the park its name is an amazing – and very dry - site.

As you gaze out over the landscape from the park’s Visitors Center, you are reminded that millions of years ago there was a vast inland sea here. You can imagine it. Mountains and rocks rim a valley where the shallow sea contained all kinds of ancient plant and animal life, remnants of which still remain.

I came back to my own inland sea, and gazed out at it, trying to imagine what this land will look like if the water retreats and leaves behind only the dry, flat bottom. Will that happen? I could prophesize that it will, if we don’t take care of our lakes, but the truth may be that even if we do, they will vanish in a hundred million years or so anyway. Change is constant on this planet.

Still, like the arguments about climate change, we have to ask what the effect of our modern civilization is on this change. Three hundred million years ago when the Nevada inland sea was warm and teeming with life, there were no human beings to accelerate the demise of that sea. Maybe that's why it survived as long as it did.

Water and Me

2010-03-11T17:09:00.004-06:00

This post isn’t about invasive species, sick lakes, or the lack of drinking water in earthquake zones. It is not about the climate or the weather. It is not about how people in the Great Lakes think or talk or behave, nor about land formations in the Great Lakes Basin. Today I am not paying attention to diverted water, polluted water or the water cycle. The topic of the day is water and me.

About a year ago, I wrote about my ecosystem and reported how I watch the water near my house on a daily basis. I still do that, but recently I have added another dimension to my relationship with water. I started to swim again. Today’s thoughts about water have more to do with that immersion.

I learned to swim at summer camp when I was nine years. My greatest pleasure in the summer was that I could go swimming, either in the neighborhood pool or at Lake Erie beaches. But as I got older, I didn’t swim much, and more recently, there probably have been summers when I didn’t swim at all. Remember, Lake Michigan stays cold well into August and whereas the water doesn’t have to be Caribbean warm, I don’t like it cold, either. So swimming was relegated to brief dips in hotel pools or an occasional lake.

But our local YMCA built a new pool, and I decided to get back into the swim of things. The first time I went in, I was only able to do a quarter of a mile, but did that 17 lengths ever feel good. I felt like a kid again, and if you look at reasons that swimming is good for you, it isn’t hard to understand why. Swimming uses many muscles, but doesn’t put stress on joints and bones the way other activities do. It is good for your heart and lungs, and that it burns a fair number of calories per mile (one source I saw quoted 3cal/mile/pound of bodyweight) is a definite plus.

Here’s an odd thing. There is actually an entry in Wikipedia on swimming pools. It tells you what a swimming pool is, that a pool open to the public is called a public swimming pool and one closed to the public is called private. Imagine that! It also provides a history of the swimming pool, describes the several variations of them such as a whirlpool or infinity pool, where to find the biggest pool, and how to care for your pool. If you are interested check it out.

Me? I am more interested on how I feel after a half hour in water - a little desiccated but a lot relaxed. I feel healthier and more energetic. It doesn’t have to be the Hot Springs or Baden Baden for water to be curative. Water is restorative, whether gazing out over a body of water or immersing yourself in it. It is a joy to swim, dive, splash, or just bob up and down in it. The whirlpool that I sit in following my swim is a pleasure, too.

By the way, a Google search for “Water and Me” led me to a site with water trivia facts and a lot of other good information about water. It’s designed for kids but adults might enjoy it, too.

Another Invasive Species?

2010-03-06T17:23:00.001-06:00

When my children were young, they used to like to go to the DuPage River and catch crayfish. My recollection is that these critters were small. The kids had a good time getting their feet wet, plucking the tiny lobster-like crawlers from the water, examining them and the throwing them right back in the river. I thought they were ugly (the crayfish, not the kids) but never really thought much of them otherwise.

Today I read in the local newspaper that a non-native species of crayfish has gotten into one of the ponds in a nearby nature preserve. The Wisconsin DNR is planning to treat the pond with a toxic bleach-like chemical, which will destroy the creepy critters as well as anything else in the water. WDNR wants to rid the pond of these invaders, which are not hazardous to people but have the potential to destroy other native plants and animals.

The newspaper article said that this small pond is one of the first places in Wisconsin that the species has been found and that it may have gotten there because someone who had it as a pet dumped it there. In southern states, they are farmed as seafood, and they are also sold as pets or for educational purposes.

I did some snooping around and learned that the invaders, officially called a red swamp crayfish, were first discovered and then confirmed here in Wisconsin last summer. They are native to the Southeastern U.S, can grow to about 8 inches long, and like to eat plants, snails, and especially the eggs and young of fish and amphibians. If they move from ponds to streams and rivers, they could then get into Lake Michigan, and although I did not find much about what that would mean, they like to eat fish eggs and young fish so it cannot be good news.

Asian carp may get all the press and be the superstars of invasive species, but they are by no means the only invasive species we have to worry about. Now in addition to various mussel species and carp, we can add crayfish to the list of horrible things that can get into the lakes. Methods to contain unwelcome visitors range from electric barriers to poisoning the waters. Which is worse – the invaders or the methods to prevent the invasions? Somebody help me out here. I don’t know the answer, and although I am not suggesting we don’t try as hard as possible to maintain the ecosystem of our freshwater, it seems like there is always some creature that is smarter than we are.

Aggressive eight-inch crayfish that like to eat fish eggs probably like to eat the toes of little children, too. Why do I think we are going to hear more about them is in the future? (I mean the crayfish, but maybe the children, too.)

Waiting for Spring

2010-03-04T10:13:00.006-06:00

Sixteen days until spring. This morning when I was out at 9 AM walking the dog, it wasn’t hard to believe. The sun was shining; temperatures were already over 32 degrees. The skies were clear and blue; no winds were blowing off the lake. I took my hat off and let the sun warm my face. I could almost feel the Vitamin D percolating into my bones.

I am not the only one waiting for spring. These pictures were taken on my walk. Godot may never come, but this morning I am confident that spring will.

Healing Our Waters

2010-02-24T14:00:00.002-06:00

I had breakfast with a friend this morning at one of our favorite coffee shops. Common Grounds is located at the base of the Kenosha harbor and when I met my friend at 8AM this morning, we were able to get a table at the window overlooking the harbor. Although it was not sunny, the water was calm and it was a very peaceful place to sit.

In the course of conversation, my friend asked about my blogging and specifically about the Great Lakes.

“So how are things going for the lakes?” she asked. She lives a few blocks from the lake but isn’t quite as obsessed with it as I am. I wasn’t sure how to answer her.

“Well, you know about the carp situation, right?”

“I’ve heard something about,” she said. “What do you think?” she asked me.

If you have read this blog you know what I think and know what I answered. Briefly I did a recap of a few of my postings. I also told her how much I have learned in this past year or more of writing about the Great Lakes.

“One of the best things I have learned,” I said “is how many people care about the Great Lakes and are actively working to protect them.”

One of these organizations is Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, a coalition of over 100 groups who care about what I care about. There are other organizations, too, and I may tell you more about them at later time, but this one is on my mind today because I had thought about attending HOW’s Great Lakes Day in Washington D.C. The conference began yesterday with briefings on critical issues and continues today with lobbying government officials. You can read more about this at their website.

However, there are other major events going on in Washington this week, too. The President’s Health Care Summit. Congressional hearings about Toyoto. Votes on the Jobs Bill. Washington is very busy with critical issues. My concern is that the Great Lakes issues will get lost under all these others, and as they say, timing is everything. You want to lobby on a day when your Senator or Representative has nothing else to think about but your visit.

Still, Asian carp have been big news, too, so I hope the people from HOW can be effective in their lobbying. As for me, I am petitioning myself to go to the Sixth Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference in the fall. It’s in Buffalo, NY, my hometown, so I can probably find a bed to sleep in while I am there, making it cheaper for me than a trip to D.C.

Where's the Water Crisis?

2010-02-18T19:09:00.003-06:00

In India, where water shortages are already being felt, there were over 50 reported acts of violence over water during the month of May alone.

Experts estimate 2.5 gallons per person per day is a sustainable amount to use, the average American consumes 100 gallons per day.

Even if you don’t believe these two statistics entirely, they should still make you sit up and take notice. I saw them in an article on Treehugger.com , a reliable website for environmental issues. Other sources state American per capita water consumption is between 60-70 gallons per day, so maybe the numbers are a bit exaggerated. They might be off as much as 50%. That would mean that in India there were 25 acts of violence about water in one month. That’s still astounding. It also might mean that Americans use 40 or 50 gallons of water a day. Also still astounding. What is clear is that Americans use a lot of water and people in India, and other countries as well, don’t have enough.

Another way to look at water usage is water footprint. A water footprint, like a carbon footprint, takes into account all the water a nations uses, including for drinking, personal use, agriculture, industry and more. The Water Footprint Network has a calculator that shows the relative footprints of many countries. The measure is in cubic meters/capita/year and it gets complicated when you look at all the components of the measurement.

Even if you don’t take the time to thoroughly understand the numbers, take a moment to look at the water footprint of a few countries. Way up at the top is the United States at 2,483. France is 1,875 and Germany is 1,545. Israel is 1,391 and India, the country where violence over water has taken, is at 980. Wow. No wonder fights are breaking out.

If this did make you sit up and notice, check out the Treehugger and the Water Footprint Network. There are some good articles about the water crisis and water usage. I will try very hard to keep these numbers in mind when I stand under my morning shower. I’ve have finally learned to turn the water off while I am brushing my teeth but I still like a long, hot shower. I’m working on making it shorter.

A Barrier of a Different Kind

2010-02-15T06:46:00.010-06:00

I have been remiss in not reporting that the White House Summit on Asian carp did take place last week. My life has not focused on carp this week, but you can read about the results of that meeting and the proposals made by the White House at the links below.

But on my Saturday afternoon walk, I did wonder if the solution to the carp problem might be as simple as showing them the ice buildup along the lake. That wall of ice could be one heck of a barrier, although the ice did not stop this father and son from visiting the lighthouse that day. I was there, too, but didn't walk all the way out as these two did.

The carp question will continue for quite a while and so I am sure I will have more to say. Public meetings were held last week in Chicago where I heard that there were over 250 people present. You can guess what side of the argument they were on. This coming week the public meeting will be held on the other side of Lake Michigan and it will probably be dominated by opinons on the other side, too. That meeting will be held in Ypsalanti, Michigan.

http://www.greatlakestownhall.com/

http://www.healthylakes.org/

e-DNA: The Answer

2010-02-08T14:44:00.006-06:00

I have an answer. Well, I don’t have the complete answer yet but that’s only because I haven’t read all the information that was sent to me by Thomas Cmar of the Natural Resources Defense Council in response to my last post. Here’s an excerpt from Thom’s email:

Probably the best source for an answer to your question is Professor David Lodge of the University of Notre Dame, the invasive species expert who has been hired by the Army Corps of Engineers to perform the e-DNA testing for Asian carp in the Chicago waterway system.

In support of the brief filed by the U.S. Solicitor General with the Supreme Court (in opposition to Michigan’s first motion for a preliminary injunction), the U.S. filed an affidavit by Dr. Lodge explaining e-DNA. I am attaching a copy of the affidavit. Although the affidavit was filed by the U.S. Government, it provides information about the reliability of e-DNA a monitoring tool that, if anything, actually supports Michigan’s arguments about the urgency of the Asian carp threat.

On page 3 of the 25-page declaration prepared by Lodge for the Supreme Court, following Professor Lodge’s credentials is this statement:

In early 2009, we developed and tested a novel DNA-based surveillance tool for fishes, using both laboratory experiments and field observations. In early spring 2009, we first proposed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that this tool could be useful in their efforts to learn the locations of the invasion fronts for the silverhead and bighead carps in the Chicago are waterway. Beginning in summer 2009, the Army Corps of Engineers began to financially support our use of the environmental DNA (e-DNA) tool as potentially the best available technology to detect the presence of silver carp and bighead carp where they exist in low abundance.

Now I know what e-DNA is. I suspected that it stood for environmental but now I know for sure. I will read the rest of the affidavit to learn more. My own background is in clinical diagnostics, and I know a little about DNA based laboratory testing, so I expect to read the paper and understand it. But even if you don’t read it or understand it, it sure helps to know that the argument as presented to the Supreme Court is based on solid science.

Now my next question is what will happen today at the White House Summit. We are all waiting to hear about that later today, although in a more recent email from Thom, he wondered whether the summit would actually take place today because of the humongous snowstorm. The meeting might become what someone I know would call a “weather interrupted event”.

What is e-DNA?

2010-02-06T14:38:00.001-06:00

I have a question. I have not been able to find an answer so I thought I would ask my readers to see if someone knows. The question is this: What is e-DNA?

I know m-DNA and mt-DNA, which is mitochondrial DNA. I know r-DNA, which can be either ribosomal or recombinant, depending on your interpretation. I know about ss-DNA (single-stranded) and ds-DNA (double stranded), too.

There is right handed DNA and left-handed DNA, also known as A DNA and Z DNA. I think there is even a B-DNA. And there is E. coli DNA, but I cannot find any references to e-DNA, except on the discussion about the genetic material of Asian Carp being found in Lake Michigan.

Please understand that I do not doubt the urgency of the carp question, but if we are going back to the Supreme Court arguing that they didn’t know the first time around that DNA was present in Lake Michigan, the justices may ask for more of an explanation on what this new information means. How was this e-DNA detected, they might ask. I would if I were a judge.

Can someone help me on this?

It's Better Than Nothing

2010-02-02T11:37:00.001-06:00

I’ve had to watch my spending this year. Haven’t you? Is there anyone who hasn’t, except for those on Wall Street who still got big bonuses, but that’s a topic for another blog.

So I was not surprised to learn this morning that the $475M set aside in President Obama’s 2010 budget for Great Lakes Restoration projects has been reduced to $300M for 2011. At least the project wasn’t entirely chopped and the $300M can still go a long way to cleaning up our waters. EPA still cites invasive species including the dreaded Asian carp as a top priority for the project.

If you read the comments on some of the websites from newspapers around the Great Lakes, the responses range from those similar to mine to those who think the entire budget should have been cut and all the money put into jobs for Great Lakers. If I were out of work, I might say the same, but it seems that it should not have to be a choice between jobs and Great Lakes cleanup. Restoration projects employ workers. FDR knew that back in the 30’s. How about creating jobs and restoring the lakes?

$475M would have been nice but $300M is way better than nothing.

An Adventure: The Full Circle Tour

2010-01-29T10:41:00.002-06:00

Shortly after the first of the year, a time when people make New Year’s resolutions, I considered making some for myself. I turned 64 at the end of December and I feel like I should do something significant in preparation for my Medicare years. I have begun a new blog, When I’m 64, which will document my thoughts as I become a woman of a “certain age”. But in one of my recent posts, I decided that I would rather present myself with a challenge rather than make resolutions I probably wouldn’t keep anyway.

I still have not come up with exactly what my challenge will be, but this morning I learned about someone else’s challenge and want to share it with you.

At the end of April, Mike Link and Kate Crowley are beginning what they are calling the Full Circle Tour around Lake Superior. They will walk the entire 1,826 miles and take five months to do it. Along the way, they will record their observations, while raising awareness of freshwater issues and conservation. Both are professional naturalists with a passion for the lake, nature, and adventure.

I could tell you more about their proposed adventure but their wonderful website says it all much better than I can. When you read it, you too will be hooked and I am sure you will want to follow their adventure. I am still going to search for my own challenge but I will closely follow Mike and Kate’s adventure when they get started. Maybe I can figure out a way to get up to at least one section of Lake Superior this summer to meet them, too. The picture and bio of Mike Link and Kate Crowley tell me that they are my age – they are retired and have grandchildren. All the more reason for me to support and follow their efforts.

Following someone else’s adventure may not qualify as a challenge for me but I am sure it will be interesting to watch, even from a distance. As for me, the only lake I have walked around recently is the 2.3 mile paved path around Lake Andrea, in nearby Pleasant Prairie, and that doesn’t qualify as a “challenge”.

I wonder if anyone has hiked around Lake Erie yet. Can I call it a challenge if I just drive?

Water for Haiti

2010-01-26T12:14:00.002-06:00

We have all been watching the news from Haiti for days now, and although the initial shock of the crisis has passed, there is still an overwhelming need for aid. We are told that the best thing we can do is send money to a reputable organization that will then be able to purchase goods and provide services. Many of us have already done this and will continue to do so.

Last night I watched as the TV showed gallon jugs of water being unloaded from a ship that is unable to dock. People passed the jugs from one person to the other. Other photos focused on the distribution of small bottles of water – the ones so many of us carry around and think nothing of the cost of that water.

The cost of water can be identified. Sure we have all been told that bottled water costs more than oil; depending on where you shop or where you buy it, a 16 ounce bottle can be 89 cents at the grocery store or $5.00 at a rock concert. Tap water costs a whole lot less. According to the American Water Works Association, the average price of tap water is $1.50 per 1,000 gallons, which is less than a penny a gallon.

But those are all costs in the United States, where both bottled and good tap water are readily available. What are the costs of getting any water to Haiti? Given the extreme need, the extreme destruction and the extreme everything else there, I can’t even begin to calculate it. I don’t even know how to begin the research.

Clean water is needed for drinking, but it is also essential to public health, fire protection, and economic development. We may be able to calculate the cost of water, but its value is priceless.

I may never get the opportunity to stand hand in hand with George Clooney (alas) or any of the other superstars who are active raising money for Haiti, but I can support their efforts. So can you, if you haven't already. My hope is that you already have. The need is enormous.

Tail 1 - Dog 0

2010-01-19T15:21:00.004-06:00

It looks like the tail has won this time around. Today, The US Supreme Court sided with the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, and the United States Government and US Army Corps of Engineers not to close the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal as an effort to stop Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan.

I could repeat what is being written elsewhere in the blogosphere, but I won’t. The best summary of what happened and what might happen is at Noah Hall’s Great Lakes Law blog. I urge you to read it, including the referenced article from the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal on the political fallout of the decision for the President Obama. I have been an Obama supporter right along, but this decision does not make me happy with our present administration.

My dog has a little tail, but when he wags it, his whole body moves. If the State of Michigan is the body, I think we will see a lot more body moving to come, but as Noah Hall and others ask, will it be too late?

(If this dog reference doesn't make sense to you, just look back at my previous post.)

Is The Tail Wagging the Dog?

2010-01-16T17:05:00.001-06:00

I heard a statistic the other day that really got me thinking. It was in a discussion on a Chicago TV station about Asian Carp (OK, so I’m obsessed). Senator Dick Durbin (D, IL) pointed out that although Illinois has only 63 miles of Great Lakes shore land, Lake Michigan is a major natural resource in the area. 63 miles? At first, I couldn’t believe it, but I checked it out on an NPS Great Lakes Shoreline Recreation Area Survey and of course, it is true. Senator Durbin did not lie or even exaggerate. Only Indiana and Pennsylvania have less coastline (46 and 51, respectively) and in fact, people often forget that those two states are actually Great Lakes States.

Michigan has a whopping 3,222 miles of shore land. Wow, they really do get to be called the Great Lakes State. But here comes the problem. You start looking at other statistics and the situation becomes complex. How many people live in the part of Illinois that borders Lake Michigan? How many live in the Detroit area? And what about Cleveland, Buffalo and Toronto; Sandusky, Marquette and Dunkirk? What is the dollar volume of shipping through Chicago to the Mississippi River? How big an industry is sport fishing on The Great Lakes? And what about the tourism and recreation dollars?

The answer to some of those questions can be found in the Great Lakes; An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book put out by US-EPA, but the latest edition from 2003 contains statistics from 1990, so its value only goes so far. And can you put a dollar amount on a healthy ecosystem, anyway?

I am not saying that Illinois’s position is wrong, but just given the basic numbers, Michigan has a very good point. Senator Durbin’s remarks brought to mind the “tail wagging the dog”. I wonder why.

Life's a Clean Beach

2010-01-14T09:56:00.004-06:00

The sun is warm on my face and the sand soothes my feet. I set my blanket in a spot a few yards from the water’s edge, slip off my sandals, and I am ready to dip my toes into the lake, but as I approach, a green gooey mass stops me. Unless I am willing to wade through the thick algae bloom there will be no swimming for me.

Okay, so that scenario is months away. It’s frigid cold and the beach on Simmons Island where I usually swim is white with icy peaks preventing anyone, even Polar Plungers, from taking a dip. But an announcement on the website of the Alliance for the Great Lakes told me that now is the time to do something about the algae on Wisconsin beaches. Now, in January.

The Alliance is encouraging people to tell the Wisconsin DNR that you want our beaches to be considered “impaired waters”. Then they can tell the US-EPA so these beaches can included in a list of targeted for improvement under the Federal Clean Water Act. Okay, I can do that – the Alliance makes it easy by posting a direct link to the DNR on their website, although beyond just telling them, which beaches are polluted, I am not sure what they want me to do.
My local beaches at Simmons Island and Eichelman Park aren’t among the worse waters, but occasionally they do have an unpleasant algae buildup.

A few years ago, my husband and I visited the Lake Erie Islands and stayed in Port Clinton Ohio. The weather was beautiful, warm, and sunny and we thought we would go for a swim in the lake, but when we got to the beach, it was disgusting. A barrier of green gunk prevented us from going into the water, to say nothing of the foul odor. We went back and swam in the motel pool, but we were disappointed. Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, is particularly vulnerable to these algae blooms, technically eutrophication, but the scenario happens all over the Great Lakes.

I also learned that the EPA is making almost $10M in grants available to 37 eligible coastal and Great Lakes states to monitor beach water quality and notify the public of unsafe swimming conditions. The funds are made available under BEACH (Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health) Act of 2000. Again, I would be happy to help but I am not sure what I can do.

Keeping beaches clean and safe for swimming is a public health issue. It is also a good for recreation and tourism and just plain smart. So is dreaming about warm, summer days as a way to get through what is becoming a long winter. Tell me what I can do to make sure that life this summer will be a beach. A clean beach.

What's in a Name?

2010-01-11T12:27:00.002-06:00

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Is a rose is a rose is a rose? When is an Asian carp just a fish?

I really want to get away from writing about Asian carp but it doesn’t seem that I can right now. Articles about them seem to be jumping out into my face, much the same way these huge fish jump out of the water. As a follow up to my last posting about carp in the court, I was looking for information about the Supreme Court case trying to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes when I came across an article in the Chicago Tribune entitled Asian Carp: Take That and Fry it.

The article describes how the fish is cooked in coconut milk with lemon grass and chili peppers to make a Vietnamese dish and that deep-fried carp has been a staple on the menu at an Omaha restaurant for decades. Apparently, many ethnic groups view the carp as a food fish, and perhaps that gefilte fish that my Bubbie made did use a variety of Asian carp, too.

Of course, as the article suggests, if Asian carp starts appearing on menus instead of Coho salmon or trout, it may have to get a name change to get out from under its bad reputation. It won’t be the first food to have an AKA. For example, did you know that canola oil is actually rapeseed? When the oil was introduced as an alternative to higher fat oils by a Canadian company it was given the designation CAN. O. L.A. and the name sounded so much better than rapeseed, it was used commercially. Mahi-mahi, another fish name change, is actually dolphin-fish but there was concern that it would not sell with that name, even though this fish is not the same as the dolphins that accompany cruise ships, entertaining passengers, and who are actually marine mammals.

I am by no means suggesting that the invasion of carp would be a good thing. These aggressive fish would destroy other fish in the Great Lakes and the entire ecosystem will change if they become permanent residents. Still, it helps to look at things in a different way.

Now I am wondering what kind of name change would be good for the Asian carp. Maybe lemon fish – for if they come to the Great Lakes we may have to make lemonade from them. Bouillabaisse, too, perhaps. What would that mean for a Door County fish boil?

Carp in the Courts

2010-01-07T10:02:00.008-06:00

There’s a children’s book called A Carp in the Bathtub. It is a story about how Jewish women would put carp in the bathtub to keep them fresh until they were ready to make gefilte fish for holidays. The story always resonated with me because my mother used to tell the same story about her mother. The fish in the book took up temporary residency in a Brooklyn apartment bathtub. My bubbie’s fish came out of Lake Ontario and went into a bathtub in Hamilton Ontario. I don’t think it was an Asian carp, the kind getting all the publicity around the Great Lakes these days.

Perhaps the authors of the children’s should write a sequel. They could call it Carp in the Courts, because that’s where carp are these days, along with the people who are trying to prevent them from getting into the Great Lakes.

Wisconsin has joined Michigan, and other Great Lakes States in a lawsuit trying to close the locks and canals that would bring the fish into Lake Michigan and then the other lakes. The impact on the environment, to say nothing of the huge fishing industry, would be enormous. The Supreme Court is hearing the case this week.

Here on the Illinois-Wisconsin border, we hear both sides of the story. Illinois officials claim that closing the canal would endanger public safety and disrupt the flow of cargo. Shipping, I can understand. It is estimated that 14.6 million tons of commodities, including and iron and steel move through the channel every year, and it is a $1.65B industry, but I couldn’t find any data on how closing the canal would endanger public safety. If someone can explain that to me, I’d appreciate it.

Illinois is also questioning whether finding a small amount of carp DNA in the lake really means that an invasion is imminent. Not surprisingly, President Obama, previously Senator from Illinois, and the Feds oppose closing the channel.

The thing that I find so interesting is that aspects of the legal case are not new. Wisconsin and other states have taken issue with the reversal of the Chicago River for decades. That Lake Michigan is linked to the Mississippi River in an unnatural way through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and has been for over 100 years, is partly the reason for the current invasion of these monster fish. In 1929, several states filed complaints and the courts ruled that the reversal was illegal but nothing was ever done about it.

If you want to know more about this ongoing dispute, read The Great Lakes Water Wars by Peter Annin. I know I have mentioned this book before (February 20, 2009) but it is worth mentioning again. Chapter 5 of Annin’s book is called Reversing A River. It reads like a novel about politics in Illinois, always a fascinating topic.

Maybe I am wrong about a book on Asian Carp. Instead, perhaps someone should make a movie. It could be modeled after the movie Chinatown. Remember that one? It a classic and it is also about water and politics based in parts of real life events in what has been called the California Water Wars. Politics and water are great topics for books and movies - and blogs - these days.

Great Photos of Lake Michigan

2010-01-04T10:03:00.003-06:00

The pictures I post on this blog are taken to help me make my story. They fill in where words are not sufficient, but they are not award winning photos. That’s okay because someone in my neighborhood is taking high quality photos of places I love. If you haven’t clicked on the link at the left that say lakemichiblog, you have been missing some great pictures. Do it now, and make sure you see the ones from the past few days, back to New Year’s Eve. Great work.

Plunging Into A New Year

2010-01-01T12:18:00.009-06:00

I missed seeing the ball drop down in Times Square ushering in 2010. I was indulging in a different New Year’s Eve tradition. For the past few years, we have stayed at home, cooked a nice dinner, and then watched a movie in our own living room. Our selection this year was an exciting, fast-paced adventure and 11 AM Eastern Time came and went before we realized it. At midnight Central Time, I think we were already in bed.

We have another tradition for New Year’s Day. For the past few years, except for last year, we have watched the Polar Plunge in Lake Michigan. Last year the event was cancelled because the ice build up along the beach on Simmons Island was too thick. You can see pictures that I posted about the non-event on my entry from the beginning of January, 2009.

Today, in spite of temperatures in the mid-teens and winds of 20 mph or greater, making the wind-chill factor below zero, the event took place, and we were there to watch. It seemed to me that there were fewer people this year and I think those who did go in the water, stayed shorter times than in the past. The three boys at the right were the first in the water – first out, too, I think.

In order to get the Tee shirt that says you took the plunge, you have to get your head wet, so participants did and then ran out very quickly back to shore to wrap up in warm blankets and don sweat suits. The whole event took under five minutes, and I can’t say I was sorry. My feet were getting cold, but not as cold as those who left their flip-flops in the water.

After watching the plunge, I was ready to get back inside to spend the day doing not much of anything – yet another New Year’s Day tradition. I tip my ski cap to those who entered Polar Plunges everywhere today. I hope they are sitting in front of a warm fire now, sipping hot cocoa, and telling tales of their adventure. Happy New Year to them – and to all.

Great Lakes Views Top Ten List

2009-12-29T14:20:00.001-06:00

With only three days to go until the beginning of New Year, lists abound. Everyone seems to be joining David Letterman by composing Top Ten lists, and this year its even worse because not only are the lists for the past year, they are being composed for the entire first decade of the Third Millennium. Although I am not usually a slave to fashion and do not usually feel the need to follow trends, I have been thinking about what would be Great Lakes Views Top 10 for this year.

Should I pick which posting were most important? If I did, Number One would probably be about Asian Carp, which I wrote about at least three times. Running a close second would be posting about the $475M set aside by the EPA for Great Lakes Restoration projects and third might about The Great Lakes Compact.

Should I pick which posting I enjoyed writing most? I would be very hard pressed to do that but up at the top would be the week I was guest writer on Great Lakes Town Hall or my meeting with Loreen Niewenhuis, the 1,00 Mile Lake Trekker. But I also loved writing about my trip to Point Pelee on the Canadian Side of Lake Erie and my excursion to a few spots on Lake Huron. Boy, now that I think about it, I had fun writing all my posts – if I didn’t I wouldn’t have written them, so there is no top ten here.

Maybe I should include a category of which postings got the most hits. I use a meter from Site Meter which gives me some basic statistics about visits (individual hits) and page views. It also tells me if my readers got there via a search engine and if so what they asked for in their search. Using those statistics, it surprised me to learn that one of my most accessed pages was found by asking “Is Water Alive?” Another popular search was “Great Lakes Shipwrecks” and yet another was “Niagara Escarpment”. Anything with Kenosha in the search, like fishing, the harbor, or the Chrysler plant, got a fair number of hits, too. I realize that many of these brought readers who wanted something other than my blog, but still, they got to me, and so they count in my statistics.

My absolute peak day for readers was the day I posted about Governor Doyle closing the all University of Wisconsin campuses early this month because of the blizzard in Central Wisconsin, even though several of the other campuses could have easily operated. That posting was picked up by a Wisconsin newspaper service and that’s why it got so many hits. That made this month, December 2009, my top month for page views, followed closely by February 2009.

Site Meter tells me the location of my readers, too, and it is fun to see where they are located. Most are as close as Milwaukee and Chicago; the furthest have been from New Zealand, Norway, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. A few were from places I had never heard of and had to look up in the atlas.

The more I think about this Top Ten List thing, the more I think I won’t bother to make one. What I really need is a Top 109 List. That’s how many posts I made this year and for me each one was a winner, each one deserving of special mention. But then again, I am not exactly an objective judge, am I?

A Few More Pictures

2009-12-27T19:23:00.011-06:00

Not much to say today, but here's a few more pictures of winter in my neighborhood. Hope everyone is safe and warm.

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful

2009-12-24T15:27:00.006-06:00

Actually, the weather is not all that frightful, but it is windy. Gusts are about 25-30 mph and expected to pick up even more later tonight. But with the temperature about 35 degrees F, we have rain, not snow. It’s a lot worse in other places.

I snapped a few pictures of the lakefront this afternoon, but photos don’t tell you what it feels like or sounds like to be out there. It feels – well, wet. And windy. And, it sounds – well, loud. I have to ask myself how it is I could not get up to see the sunrise earlier this week at the winter solstice, but I could stand in the rain and take these pictures today. The answer probably has more to do with the time of day than the weather. I readily admit, I am not a morning person.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, have a happy and safe holiday. For those of us who don’t, have a dry and snuggly stay-at-home day.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

2009-12-21T15:28:00.001-06:00

What do Asian Carp and the Salahis have in common? Well for one thing, they are both gate crashers. In truth, only carp DNA has crossed the barrier erected to keep the fish from invading the Great Lakes, but the carp and the crashing couple had their 15 minutes of fame this month and for a few days both were headline news.

Then there was Copenhagen – another 15 minutes of headlines. Did anything real come of all the talk over there? Maybe, maybe not, but like the Asian carp, climate change is more than a media event. It’s an ongoing problem. It’s not going to be solved with one, or even a series of meetings and neither is the problem of invasive species. It’s easier to deal with the immediacy of the White House party invaders – security will be beefed up and a few people may be fired, or put on administrative leave, but then the problem will be solved. However, we will probably still be arguing about carp and carbon emissions long after the Salahi’s are just another playing card in Trivial Pursuit. (Do people still play that game?)

There is no headline news about the Great Lakes today- unless you want to count the $13M the EPA allocated for fighting those carp late last week. There are no beautiful sunsets to write about either, and even if I had gotten up to the sunrise on this day of the Winter Solstice, I wouldn’t have seen anything. Thick clouds masked the annual event, and so I don’t feel bad that I was still in bed at 7:20 AM. It’s gray, cloudy, and very dull around here, not a great time to be writing about the Great Lakes. However, I have confidence that will change, maybe even tomorrow.

So, what about that Tiger Woods, anyhow?

Happy Anniversary to Me

2009-12-15T11:50:00.001-06:00

December has always been a month with significant dates for me. Besides holidays, there are birthdays, including my own, and other life cycle events. This year I add a new milestone to my December calendar. Today marks the first anniversary of Great Lakes Views.

When I began this blog a year ago, I set out to educate myself about the Great Lakes, and I did. Besides learning facts of this region, including geology, ecology, and biology, I learned about all the organizations, institutions, and associations that care deeply about it. I also met some great people, on-line and in person, who share their expertise and passion. However, mostly what I learned, which is so often the case when you start to really study a topic, is that there is so much more to learn. So for now, I plan to continue writing and studying about the Great Lakes.

Some of my readers have been with me from the beginning, when I put my literal toe into the blogging waters with It’s Day One. Others are new readers and may want to check out my explanation of why I write this blog. It was from my second posting and is called Great Lakes Gal. And if you don’t want to see where I was a year ago, that’s okay, too. I tabulated this morning that I recorded 162 pages (not including photos) and over 50,000 words. That’s a lot to go back and read, but if you want to – fine by me.

By the way, today marks another anniversary. 218 years ago, The Bill of Rights, the first Ten Amendments to the US Constitution, went into effect. Among those rights are Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. Our forefathers could not have imagined the Internet and the challenges it would present to those freedoms, but they knew in a free country you should be able to express yourself without censure and suppression. You may or may not like what I write here but I am grateful for the freedom to write it.

This and That Again

2009-12-13T11:31:00.004-06:00

Temperatures were back up to normal range for mid-December again yesterday. The sun was shining and this flock of geese decided that they didn’t need to fly further south yet, so they held a convention on the harbor yesterday afternoon. I watched them for a while. The reason I think it was a convention is that at first they were all gathered in one spot, as if for the opening address, then they swam around before breaking up into smaller groups. Eventually some of the geese flew off. I wonder if they told their boss that they stayed for the whole meeting.

A few days ago, I wanted to take a good picture of our dog Burlee. I wanted to use it to make some tee shirts for some little girls I know who love our dog. They don’t have a dog of their own at home, but they think of Burlee as their dog so I wanted to give them something with his picture on it. Where does one go to take picture if you live where I live? You go to the water, of course.

Burlee was nice enough to sit still for a few minutes instead of exhibiting his perpetual sniffing behavior. Quite majestic looking for a pug, don’t you think?

Last, about this weather thing. I commented the other day how the snowfall here was so different here than it was in Madison WI. Well, my friend in Buffalo reminded me that that’s what happens there, too. In North Buffalo, where she lives and where I grew up, this past blizzard left two inches of snow, as compared to the two feet south of the city. Someone else reminded me of phenomenon of microclimates in other areas, too.

Perhaps my mention of politics and weather can be taken a step further. I could say that like politics, all weather is local. We all try to look at the bigger picture but when it comes right down to it, it’s what happens in our neighborhood that counts most.

Snow Covers Wisconsin- Mostly

2009-12-10T17:07:00.002-06:00

“Are you socked in?” That was the question I had from friends and family this week following the snowstorm that hit the Midwest.

“No, we weren’t,” I answered. Here along the lakefront we did not have more than an inch of snow. Winds, yes. Bitter cold, yes. But not much snow.

Why? The answer is the same reason that we are cooler by the lake in the summer. That great big body of water out my window has a major impact on weather. Right now water temperatures are in the high 30’s or lower 40’s, and the heat emanating from the water warms the air. Okay, not too much as it has been in the single digits all day but just a mile or two west of here, its even colder and they had much more snow. For those of you who don’t know Wisconsin geography, Madison is about 75 miles west of Lake Michigan. That’s why they were hit with 18 inches of snow and we got one inch.

Even if you don’t know the geography of our state, you would think our governor would. Yesterday Gov. Doyle closed all state offices, including all branches of the state university, because of the weather. So UWM in Milwaukee and UWP in Kenosha/Racine were closed even though we didn’t have a blizzard. Hmm. Things like this make for political fodder. Elections are won and lost by such decisions. Remember Chicago in the winter of 1978-79? Michael Bilandic lost his position as mayor because of how he handled (actually didn’t handle) the snow and cold that winter. Snow in the Midwest equals politics. But it doesn’t matter for Jim Doyle. He’s not running for governor again anyway.

Back to water temperatures. When I went out about 10 AM – in the car, not walking – the harbor looked like a giant cup of hot tea. It was steaming. I didn’t get a picture a) because I didn’t have my camera with me and b) because even if I did, it was 3 degrees outside. But if I see it again, I’ll try to get a picture. It’s pretty cool.

Wisconsin Scientists on Climate Change

2009-12-09T12:13:00.002-06:00

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) meetings in Copenhagen this week, and "climate-gate," global warming and climate change are in the news all over the world and Wisconsin is no exception. Yesterday a group of 113 Wisconsin scientists delivered a letter to Wisconsin Senators Feingold and Kohl and Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation urging them to support federal policies to combat climate change. The opening section of letter states “The science now convinces us that calls for immediate action are warranted to avoid the consequences of global warming on Wisconsin’s economy and environment, including the Great Lakes.” The four-page letter goes on to explain ways that global warming will have social, economic, and ecological impact on Wisconsin.

The full text and a list of signatures can be seen on the website of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

Both our senators have expressed concern about the so-called “cap and trade” bill, the Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill. Several of our representatives are strongly against it. They are concerned about how it will affect industry and jobs here.

I can understand Senator Feingold’s concerns that the United States cannot reduce carbon emissions without the support of other countries, but other countries can’t do it without the support of the United States. The concern about jobs is valid but a study called Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations That will Gain from Green Investments, which says that over 100,000 jobs would be added to Wisconsin payrolls in what are considered green jobs.

Because I usually agree with Senator Feingold, I wanted to understand his position better and so I spent a few hours this morning reading the pros and cons of this bill. I wish I could say I understood it better; it really is a complicated issue.

But I also read the text of the letter by the Wisconsin scientists and when it comes down to a position statement, I have to go with the scientists. Although my two senators still have my vote, so do these informed scientists of my state. Read the letter, do some research of your own, and then decide for yourself. Then, let your representatives in Washington know where you stand.

By the way, here in Wisconsin burning coal is not the only emission that increases carbon dioxide in our air. Those cows add a lot, too. As a lover of cheese, milk, and ice cream, I am not sure where I would vote if it comes down to reducing carbon emissions from dairy cows.

Great Lakes Cyberspace

2009-12-07T13:59:00.002-06:00

When I started this blog about a year ago, I knew I wasn’t the only person interested in the Great Lakes, but I had no idea of the vast network and numbers of people who care about it, too. Over the course of this year, I have learned about the politics, ecology, and culture of this wide area. I have learned about the issues, organizations, and people who care about preserving and protecting it.

This morning I learned that one of the best blogs about the Great Lakes would be ending. In today’s posting on Great Lakes Blogger, Dave Dempsey tells us he will be shutting down his blog, probably permanently. This saddens me because I will miss Dave’s posts. He has kept me informed about the issues facing the Great Lakes. He has steered me in the direction of Great Lakes art and culture. Without it, I am not sure I would have read Jerry Dennis’s wonderful book The Living Great Lakes and it is because of a posting of Dave’s that I have a book about (and by) Women of the Great Lakes on my holiday wish list.

Writing a blog is a weird thing. Unless someone posts a comment to what you write, you don’t really know who is reading your work. Is your post just going out in the vast cyberspace never to be seen again? Or is someone looking forward to your every word and just not saying so? Who knows? Yes, I have a meter on my site and yes, I check the statistics, but I am not sure how meaningful they are. When it tells me someone has been on my site for 5 minutes and read 5 pages, have they really read it, just looked at the pictures or did their finger accidentally hit the arrow key to scroll through five pages and then got called away to the telephone for five minutes?

Maybe Dave feels the same. I am not sure why he will not be writing his blog anymore (he doesn’t say) but I hope we will still be reading him on Great Lakes Town Hall. That is another wonderful site that I check frequently. Dave is one of the founders of that group and now one of its moderators. His posts are always worth reading – whether on his own site, the Town Hall forum or in the books he has written. Thanks, Dave for a good run.

By the way, any and all comments are appreciated on this site. It lets me know you are out there. If you want to comment just click on “Comment” at the end of the post. If you want to send me an email through this site, click on my profile, and under my picture (which my husband took last winter at the Florida Keys) you will see a link to send an email.

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Fine Kettle of Fish

2009-12-03T09:22:00.009-06:00

I don't mean to harp (carp?) on Asian carp, but everyone else is so why not? You can read about it everywhere. Check out Great Lakes Blogger for example. Dave Dempsey is always right on top of Great Lakes issues and has a lot to say on this one.

But I did want to tell you about a statistic I just heard on the radio. You may know that officials are dumping a poison into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to kill the carp while the US Army Corps of Engineers fixes the electric barrier put up to prevent the carp from getting into the Great Lakes. So far the poison, which is theoretically not toxic to humans, has killed only fish other than carp. But it is estimated that up to 200,000 pounds of fish could be killed by the poison. The fish will be removed from the canal and sent to landfills.

What a fine kettle of fish this is. Can you imagine the aroma wafting from the landfill that gets the haul? And why do I think this is just another futile effort to stop the carp from entering the Great Lakes, at the expense of other fish and perhaps people, too. And poisoning any water at any time with any type of lethal agent seems like a bad idea for any reason.

I also wish the Army Corp of Engineers had a better reputation for solving problems instead of creating them. But alas, my wish list for the Great Lakes just continues to get longer.

At 100 and Approaching 32

2009-12-01T16:50:00.004-06:00

What does that cryptic title mean? It means that this is my 100th posting for 2009. In a little less than three weeks, I will have been writing this blog for a year.

Approaching 32 means that it is almost winter and lake temperatures are approaching 32 degrees F. Although water temperatures in the Southern Lake Michigan region today average in the mid-40’s, and we still have a long way to go before ice forms, there are reminders that winter is coming. Here in Kenosha we are part of two media markets and get both Chicago and Milwaukee TV and radio stations. Last night in both markets, with all the important news that could have been reported, winter parking restrictions were the lead stories. Prepare for winter, that’s the media message.

Another reminder is that at 4 o’clock in the afternoon it is starting to get dark. The picture above was taken at sunset today, which is 4:19 PM. The one to the right was taken at 4:29 PM.

Sunrise today was at 7:01 AM and I was actually up, but not out, before it got light. Perhaps some morning before December 21 I will manage to get out to take a picture of the sun coming up over the lake, but that will also depend on cloud cover, wind speed and air temperature. Perhaps seeing the sunrise will be my personal challenge for the month of December. Perhaps. If so, that would be a first.

Great Lakes Accent

2009-11-25T10:24:00.003-06:00

“She was ready for his voice by that time, too: the flat, metallic nasal sound of the Great Lakes with its clear hard r’s and its absence of theatricality. Dull normal. The speech of her people.”

My people, too. That line comes from Hairball, a short story by Canadian author Margret Atwood. I never thought of such a thing as a Great Lakes accent, yet Atwood described what people from Buffalo to Chicago to Green Bay, Wisconsin sound like. I’ve lived a few places other than the Midwest so my accent is not quite that bad, but when I was growing up in Buffalo I had friends who went to the baynk, said thaynk you and ate cayandy. I had a dog but some of my friends had kyats.

I googled “regional accents in the US” and learned indeed there is such as thing as a Great Lakes accent. Phonologists define the accent as Inland North dialect of American English. It is essentially "standard Midwestern" speech. According to Wikipedia, if you speak that way, you are in the company of some notable personalities including Jim Belushi, Dennis Franz, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Suze Orman, Bob Seger and my brother-in-law Jerry.

When I was younger, my Canadian cousins would tease me about my “American” accent. They, like Atwood, are from southeastern Ontario, also in the Great Lakes. But I guess Canadians have their own sub-variety of the accent. It’s usually pretty easy to tell a Canadian by the way they talk, eh?

You can learn a lot more about the accent, including its Northern cities vowel shift if you are interested. For me, I will just say I know a Great Lakes accent when I hear it, thanyk you very much. It’s not exactly music to my ear but it does feel like home.

Happy Thaynksgiving to all. I am thaynkful for friends, family, food, and many other things, including diversity. Life would be boring if we all sounded the same.

Where's Waldo's Boat?

2009-11-23T19:38:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was sunny and warm for November and I took this picture in the morning. You can see that all the boats are out of the marina. Today, temperatures were still a little above normal but skies were once again grey and cloudy. I haven’t looked at the statistics but I am going to guess that November in our area has the lowest amount of sunshine of any month except perhaps March. And even though sunset is technically close to 4:30 PM, it is dark before four. No wonder people have started to put up their holiday lights already. We need some brightness.

So where are the boats?

Here’s where they are, wrapped in their finest shrink wrap, waiting for spring. Seems like they’re all dressed up with no where to go.

Everyone is Talking About Asian Carp

2009-11-21T17:10:00.002-06:00

As the Asian carp get close to the barrier erected to keep them out of Lake Michigan, the story of their migration has also moved from amusing You Tube videos to serious NPR reports. In the last few weeks, these ugly invaders have been making headlines in newspapers, magazine and on TV. I even found myself having a conversation about them at a social gathering this weekend. Were it only true that increasing the public’s knowledge about these ugly fish could stop them from getting into our precious Great Lakes water and eating all the other fish.

I saw a poll on the blog Great Lakes Echo asking what you think about DNA from Asian Carp being found beyond the electrical barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is supposed to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes. The fish aren’t there yet, but apparently, their DNA is. I cast my vote for “ Unsurpised. It was inevitable they would get in”. Other responses were angry, saying that the invasion could have been stopped by earlier action. There are a variety of responses to choose from, but so far at least no one has checked the box that say, “What’s an Asian carp?” But then again the readers of this blog are not a random sample of the population.

By the way, on the same blog you will find another quiz that you may find more amusing. The title of that one is: Which Great Lakes Invasive Species Is Your Former Significant Other?

It’s been so long since I have had a Significant Other other than my current significant other (aka my husband of 40 plus years) I won’t bother to take that quiz, but some of the choices might be quagga or zebra mussels, sea lampreys, and alewives. Do you think there is such a thing as an ale husband, too?

Fly Me To The Moon

2009-11-15T11:03:00.000-06:00

The Sea of Tranquility may be a sea after all. It’s been all over the news this week that contrary to previous reports, there is water on the moon. Indications from LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite), the satellite that was deliberately smashed into the moon a few weeks ago, are that there is a significant amount of water underlying those lunar craters.

In response to the findings, astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, “This is a welcome confirmation of what we have long and confidently suspected, but it does not suggest a commercial Gold Rush, or make that a Water Rush, to the moon." Maybe not, but I can’t help but wonder how long it will take the people of the water-poor Southwest to contact NASA. That may be good news for us in the Great Lakes region as developers can now look toward the moon for water to keep lawns green and swimming pools filled instead of using our Great Lakes water.

That is said a bit tongue in cheek (although it is a tongue that thirsts for water and a cheek in need of continual moisture). More importantly, the presence of water on the moon opens up the possibility of further exploration of the moon and the rest of the solar system. As stated on the NASA website:

Just like on Earth, water will be a crucial resource on the moon. Transporting water and other goods from Earth to the moon’s surface is expensive. Finding natural resources, such as water ice, on the moon could help expedite lunar exploration. The LCROSS mission will search for water, using information learned from the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.

In time we will discover about the moon’s water- how much there is, what kinds of impurities it contains, what it tastes like, and more, but it is fascinating to learn this about that big ball that floats above our earth. Will they also discover that the moon is really made of cheese? That would mean one less thing to transport across 93,000 miles, and one can easily live on water and cheese. I wonder what effect that would have on the Wisconsin dairy industry?

Water and Evolution

2009-11-11T16:53:00.009-06:00

I look out at the expanse of water in front of me and try to imagine it gone. Seems impossible, doesn’t it, and yet vast bodies of water have disappeared from the earth, or at least have been substantially diminished in size. It can happen.

What makes me think of this today is the PBS Nova Series, Becoming Human. The three part series, two of which have already been aired, reports on recent findings about the evolution of primates to Homo sapiens. They ask the question why did our ancestors start to walk upright and what caused their brains to grow.

Anthropologists concentrate their searches in eastern Africa, in the Great Rift Valley. What I learned is that millions of years ago there used to be a huge freshwater lake in this now arid part of the African continent. The water levels of that body of water fluctuated, due to periods of excess rain and drought. This is proven in the geological layers by the presence of diatoms, unicellular organisms that only exist in water. Scientists think that one of the ways that mammals adapted to this climate instability was by increasing the size of their brain.

The water levels of the lake outside my window fluctuate, too, but not that dramatically. Here’s an excerpt from the November 6 report on Great Lakes Water Levels as posted at Great Lakes Observing System website:

Water Level Conditions: All of the Great Lakes remain higher than their levels of a year ago. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are 3, 12, 8, 6, and 1 inches, respectively, higher than their levels last year at this time. The water levels of Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron and St. Clair are expected to decline by 2 inches over the next month. Lake Erie and Ontario are expected to decline 1 and 2 inches, respectively, over the next 30 days. Over the next several months, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan-Huron and Lake St. Clair are forecasted to be above their water levels of a year ago. Lakes Erie and Ontario are forecasted to remain near or below last year's levels over the same time period

Still, it makes me wonder what changes will take place in our species as our own climate instability progresses. And yes, I do believe our climate is changing, although I also believe climate has always changed. But the rate of change has increased and been influenced by us Homo sapiens and our larger brains, as well as our cars, our factories, our plastic bottles and myriad other modern inventions.

Evolution is an ongoing process, but how will humans change in response to an unstable climate? How will we adapt? Will we have bigger brains instead of bigger cars? Will be go back to walking on two feet instead of driving on four wheels? Will our feet be bigger? Our arms longer? Our skin thicker? What do you think?

The picture at the right has nothing to do with evolution, but I wanted to share it. It was taken last weekend at the Japanese Garden in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens , which I think is a highly evolved and beautiful place.

Sal, The Erie Canal and Me

2009-11-05T10:40:00.002-06:00

I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.
She’s a good old worker and a good old pal,
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

We’ve hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal and hay
And we know every inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo*.

Do you know that song – or is it only known by people who grew up in New York State?

I am still reading Jerry Dennis’s book, The Living Great Lakes. For several chapters Dennis wrote about places on the Great Lakes that I do not know much about, but now I am back to reading about familiar territory as he sails the eastern basin of Lake Erie, through the Welland Canal, into Lake Ontario. He is writing about what I used to call home. I have never seen it from the perspective that Dennis and his crewmates were seeing it - sort of from the inside out, that is from the water to the shore. I have seen all these places from the shore to the water. I don’t know “every inch of the way” but I do know a heck of a lot the places he is seeing from the ship. Buffalo, The Niagara Peninsula, Toronto, Rochester, even the Welland Canal all are an integral part of the first 23 years of my life.

But when I got to the part about the Erie Canal, I admit I was stumped and had to look up some information about it on Wikipedia. I learned in grade school that the canal connected Albany at the Hudson River end to Buffalo at Lake Erie, making it possible for ships to go from the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes. Yet Dennis and his crew enter into the canal, which is rarely used anymore by commercial vessels, at Oswego, New York. What I found out was that almost a hundred years ago the Erie Canal became part of what is now called the New York State Canal System, which includes other canals such as the Oswego Canal, which connect to the Erie Canal at Syracuse. The whole thing is now part of the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor – which is part of my favorite government agency, the National Park Service.

The Erie Canal today is probably a lot like the I & M Canal which connected Chicago to the Mississippi River. Both are primarily recreational areas now. I have walked and biked the I & M several times and yes, have the stamp in my Parks Passport. Along the path are historic houses, trading posts and other remnants of a bygone era. When I walk it, I think that a mule named Sal would soon be poking her head out from behind the thick trees that now line the canal. But Sal was a New Yorker, so probably not.

And I am a New Yorker too – no, not the kind that inhabits the pages of the famous magazine by the same name, but rather the kind that had to remind people that there is more to New York State than Manhattan and Brooklyn. And that there are lots of trees in the state. It’s not all sidewalks.

Later this afternoon my husband, also a New Yorker of the same variety as I am, and I are flying to New York – both the city and the state - to spend a few days and to attend a wedding. I will not see the Erie Canal, but I will probably see Canal Street. Does any one remember the old song about walking down Canal Street? Actually, it’s probably best if you don’t, at least not the version I learned in grade school.

By the way, the official name of Erie Canal song is *Low Bridge and it was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen. Thank you, Wikipedia. I guess I have to send you another donation.

No Silver Lining?

2009-11-03T20:22:00.004-06:00

I just finished knitting socks for my husband that are made of an Icelandic wool and alpaca blend. These socks are special because I think I may have met the sheep that produced the wool. I bought the yarn at a Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival earlier this fall. The socks are going to be really, really warm this winter, which is good because my husband's feet get really, really cold. However, his feet don’t sweat, so I don’t expect the socks to get smelly, but if they did, I learned this morning in the NYT Science Section that adding silver to fibers like those used in socks can keep them odor free.

I suppose I knew that silver was an antimicrobial – after all, I do have a degree in Microbiology, but I never thought about socks and silver together. It appears that by adding a few nanoparticles of silver to textiles, the bacteria that cause unpleasant odors are eliminated. Nanoparticles, in case you don’t know, are very, very small. Picture a hair’s breadth and divide it into a trillion pieces, and you have a nanoparticle.

However, you might want to think twice about those odor-free socks because silver is not only toxic to bacteria – it’s pretty much toxic to every living thing. And remember that things like socks and clothing have to get clean. What happens to the silver when those items go through the wash? Does it go down our drains, out into our streams and our lakes, into our fish? How will effect our environment?

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, a program developed by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Pew Charitable Trusts has issued a 72-page report called Silver Nanotechnologies and the Environment: Old Problems or New Challenge? The report says there are now over 235 products ranging from toothpaste to towels, cosmetics to clothes, appliances and paint that contain silver. It may be that some silver containing products are environmentally safe but it may also be that we just don’t know enough yet to say. Fortunately, there are people a lot smarter than I am who are thinking about this.

So here we are worried about invasive species like zebra and quaaga mussels, sea lampreys and alewives when sweet smelling socks may present just as much of a problem to our water. It seems that even smart new ideas come with a cloud. And does that cloud have as silver lining – a silver lining that’s safe for our environment? That’s the question.

Shipwrecks and Skies

2009-11-01T10:59:00.008-06:00

I couldn’t sleep last night so I picked up my book and began to read. I found it a little spooky that here I was, just after midnight on November 1, beginning a chapter that was subtitled “The Gales of November”. It is part of Chapter 7 of Jerry Dennis’s book, The Living Great Lakes. Dennis is a wonderful writer and in this book, he primarily tells about a trip he took through the Great Lakes on a sailboat, but weaves many other stories about the Lakes into the volume as well. He does indeed bring the lakes alive with his excellent storytelling and vivid descriptions.

This morning when I took our dog out for his morning walk, although the clock said 9 AM, my body felt like it was later. I guess even though I hadn’t gotten to sleep until well after 2 AM, the change to standard time was in my favor and I woke up refreshed. But it was still quiet outside and except for a few other walkers, Burlee and I had the marina pretty much to ourselves.

I snapped a few pictures of the emptying marina. Most of the boats are out of the water and by next week, even more will be gone. The geese are probably happy as they now have the water to themselves. As I was walking, I noticed that the sun, which had been shining earlier in the morning, was already waning and clouds were coming in from the southwest. So much for a sunny beginning to November. But it reminded me of something I had read last night in Dennis’s book that had to do with November, changing weather, and ships. I will quote the beginning of Chapter 7:

November is the deadliest month. Ask any sailor. It’s when the lakes still embrace some of the summer’s heat, but the air above has turned to winter. A meteorologist for the National Weather Service once calculated that on average the greatest difference between the temperature of the lakes and the temperature of the air above them occurs on November 10. That differential causes the remaining warmth in the lakes to be sucked into the air, releasing energy and creating wind.

Dennis goes on the tell of huge number of ships that have sunk in the Great Lakes on or around November 10 – the most famous but by far not the only one being the Edmund Fitzgerald. So it is a good thing that all those boats are coming out of the water. I wouldn’t want there to be a local version of The Tempest (remember that Shakespearean shipwreck tale?).

Fortunately the winds of November did not come a night early and Halloween here in Kenosha was clear and dry. The night before I took this picture of the sky from my balcony. It seemed that the sky was turning orange in preparation of the Halloween.

Fading October

2009-10-29T10:57:00.005-05:00

October is usually one of my favorite months, but this year, October forgot to come. Well, actually it did come, but it brought with it an abnormal amounts of rain and cooler than normal temperatures. More often than not, the jeweled colors of autumn, gold, ruby and jade, were displayed on a backdrop of gray skies and rain.

It was no different in North Central Texas where I spent most of last week. Several evenings during my six-day stay were spent listening to thunder and watching the radar to see if we would get five inches, or five tenths of an inch, of rain.

The day after I came home, I took a walk, hoping to catch the last of the fall color. I walked past the old Southport Lighthouse and snapped a few pictures of bare trees. Closer to the beach, the trees still had some color, but somehow an image kept coming to mind. It was that of an old woman, who in an attempt to keep up appearances, dabs bright red lipstick on a pale face. Somehow, both the image of the old woman, and the half-naked trees, made me a little sad and sorry that October had flown by so quickly.

After my walk, I spent some time catching up on the blogs I follow. I saw that Loreen, the 1,000 Mile Beach Treker, will be spending a week in the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Cool. The restoration at the Southport Lighthouse is almost complete and I have heard that in the spring will be open for visitors. Maybe they will also have a visitor/volunteer program as the one at Grand Traverse that Loreen is doing, but I won’t apply. Too close too home. Maybe they have one at the Key West Lighthouse. If they do, I’ll apply for February. Why do I think I won’t be the only one?

Changing Seasons; Changing Topics

2009-10-20T14:44:00.008-05:00

This morning at the YMCA where I exercise, the gym was unavailable because they were holding the Third Annual Disability Resource Fair. The participants could partake in yoga demonstrations, chair massage, and a variety of physical activities. Those who were able could try the rock-climbing wall. A Championship Wheelchair Basketball Team from UW-Whitewater was scheduled to perform later in the afternoon.

As I watched the attendees, some with their own attendants, from my view on the treadmill I marveled at the good cheer in the building today. The crowd seemed to be mostly teenagers and young adults and their disabilities covered a wide range. But almost to a one they had big smiles on their faces and seemed so happy to partake in this outing. And so did the people who accompanied them. I saw several people with digital cameras taking pictures of the various activities, especially those attempting the rock climbing.

I had thought I would write today about the change of seasons. The leaves are almost at their peak color in this part of Southeastern Wisconsin and yesterday I took some pictures of trees in my neighborhood. I am posting a few but the truth is they are not nearly as inspiring as the people I saw this morning – those with disabilities and those that were there to help them.

Several of the houses I passed on my walk yesterday are decorated for Halloween. Here’s one of my favorites.

A Hydrological Highway?

2009-10-14T10:29:00.005-05:00

Is Hydrologic Highway too much of a mouthful? Does Water Wonderland sound too much like a water park? How about the Aquatic Escarpment? And why speculate about what to call the Great Lakes Basin other than the Great Lakes Basin anyway?

My brain storming for a clever name was prompted by a report of a presentation yesterday at University of Wisconsin Parkside. The speaker at the Executive in Residence Series of the UW-P School of Business and Technology was Richard Meeusen, CEO of Badger Meter. Meeusen, commenting that Wisconsin is becoming a leader world wide in fresh water science, said that, "Wisconsin has the opportunity to be the Silicon Valley of water technology".

Meuseen is not alone in recognizing the role that Wisconsin has come to play in the water sciences. Last week Gary Wilson wrote an editorial for The Great Lakes Town Hall called “Milwaukee Rising?” Here’s an excerpt of what Wilson said:

The University of Wisconsin's Milwaukee campus is home to the Great Lakes Water Institute which bills itself as "the largest academic freshwater research facility on the Great Lakes." Research and education are its prime focus, both critical disciplines in the water age.

The International Joint Commission, the U.S. and Canadian body that advises the two governments on boundary water issues, just cited Milwaukee (and Toronto) as a "success story" for its wastewater management and acknowledged its "well-designed and long-term plans."

Milwaukee's daily newspaper, the Journal-Sentinel, has dedicated significant resources to Great Lakes coverage. This in a difficult period where most papers are scaling back on environmental reporting.

You can read the entire editorial and the comments it prompted on the Town Hall website. I would have included a note about the exhibits at Milwaukee’s newest museum, Discovery World, which make learning about water fun. I would also have cited Governors Doyle’s proposal to allocate for establishment of a School of Freshwater Science at UW-M. $240M.

Fortune for all, it’s not just in Wisconsin that water issues are finally taking a front seat. It’s happening all over the Great Lakes, and although I would like to see Wisconsin prosper from water technology, the truth is that the more Great Lakes cities and states involved in the effort, the more the effort will succeed. Maybe my old hometown, Buffalo, could reap some benefit. From what I hear, they could really use it.

If you can think of catchy name for our area, which can summarize in a slogan the high-tech efforts in freshwater science, let me know. But whatever that name is, it certainly is better than The Rust Belt, our previous title. How about Aqua Fresh? Oops, I think that is already taken by a toothpaste. Sorry.

Saving Treasures on American Samoa

2009-10-11T17:42:00.002-05:00

The other day in my posting about the National Parks, I asked the question of how the National Park of American Samoa had fared during the recent tsunami wave that struck the South Pacific. Today, in an article on the National Parks Traveler, I learned that it did fairly well. The headline reads “Restoration Efforts Show National Park of American Samoa Artifacts in Better-Than-Expected Condition” .The article explains that many of the artifacts were rescued from the water that inundated the Visitor Center and removed to safer locations.

As a novice weaver, I was particularly interested to learn that some of what was saved is examples of traditional Samoan weaving. Over the past two years, I have a developed a greater appreciation for the craft of weaving as I slowly learn to weave myself. I would really like to see the restored pieces some day – and add another stamp to my National Parks Passport.

Simmons Island Beach and Art

2009-10-08T14:16:00.004-05:00

The only way that Simmons Island Beach and Art are related is that I read articles about them both this morning. I am still a newspaper reader, and although I find lots of good information on the internet, I still like to read the newspaper.

The second topic first. Art. A few days ago, I wrote about ArtPrize, the art competition currently taking place in Grand Rapids, MI. The Arts section of the New York Times had a story about the exhibit and although Mary Gillis, the artist I was featuring was not included in the piece, it is still worth looking at slide show of some of the other installations. In addition, it’s always nice see something in the NYT about art in a Great Lakes State. Art does happen west of the Hudson River.

The other article was one of local interest. The headline in the Kenosha News read, “City Looks to Enhance Lakefront.” The City of Kenosha wants to draw more people to the lakefront, especially because so much of the current commercial development is in the western part of the city. Some suggestions for increasing the number of visitors, which is estimated to be about 20,000 per month now, are to improve the railroad station ( I am not sure that will do anything toward this goal but I agree it should be done), streetscape designs along the main thoroughfares entering the lakefront area, and better marketing.

Mayor Keith Bosman would like to see more traffic on Simmons Island and its beach. As a frequenter of that beach, I know it is under utilized, although in the past few years, the number of beach goers has increased. This year doesn’t count because the weather was cool, but I think there are ways to improve use of the beach.

For one, it could be cleaned more often, and more waste containers provided. The city has fixed up the historic bathhouse a little and there are now restroom facilities and a foot washing station – but I am not sure how many people know about it. The city has also made it difficult for anyone interested in opening a concession stand. The one year that one was open, people purchased snacks there, but this year it wasn’t there.

Why is North Beach in Racine so popular? Could it be that it is clean, has concessions, washrooms, has adequate parking and a great children’s playground? Granted, the sand beach at Simmons Island is smaller, but the park is not. I don’t think it would take much to improve attendance but you have to give people a reason to go there. On a hot summer afternoon, a significant number of cars in the Simmons Island parking lot sport Illinois license plates. What do the people of Illinois know that the people of Kenosha don’t? Or are the people of Kenosha all up at the Racine beach?

By the way, the Simmons Bedding, for whom the island was named, also made the New York Times this week. The company, which has changed hands many times since leaving Kenosha, has declared bankruptcy. The NYT article is a good analysis of how this happened to Simmons as well as many other companies. It’s not a pretty picture.

After and Before the Rain

2009-10-06T16:54:00.008-05:00

Today started out gray and cloudy and it went downhill from there. Midmorning, as I ran errands, it was drizzling – just enough to put the intermittent wipers on (After seeing the movie about the guy who invented them, I don’t take them for granted any more). I came home and felt like the weather – chilly, gray, and dripping in my throat. So when it was getting to be 4 PM and I still hadn’t given Burlee the Pug his afternoon walk, I grumbled but put my fleece and my raincoat on and figured it would be a short walk.

Just as I got outside, the clouds opened up and the sun shone through. The winds were calm. I went back inside and took off the raincoat, but something told me to grab my camera (one of my errands today had been to get the 2G memory card to go with it). I was so glad I did.

As Burlee and I walked toward the harbor, I saw blue sky above me. However, to the west were more storm clouds – and the ones that had been overhead all day were still out on the lake. Of course, there were a few fishermen by the harbor. Even in the rain, there is always someone dangling a pole out there.

I took pictures in both directions, and to the north, too. Great clouds. As I walked back, the reflection of the clouds on the huge windows of the Kenosha Public Museum were worthy of a picture, too.

By the time I got back to my house, which probably wasn’t more than 15 or 20 minutes, the wind had picked up. Strong gusts, which according to the Weather Channel are between 25-35 miles per hour, were blowing those clouds right over my head, so I expect to see more rain today. No cemetery tour for me tonight. We’ll see what the weather is tomorrow and if it’s a good night for visiting graves in the dark. In a way, I almost hope its raining again. I am a little bit of a coward, I admit.

If you want to see some more beautiful pictures of Lake Michigan, check out the blog, http://lakemichiblog.blogspot.com/, which I recently came across. I don’t know who writes this blog except that he or she has an office at Carthage College with a full view of the lake, and has posted some wonderful pictures.

Maritime History in the Cemetery

2009-10-04T16:23:00.016-05:00

It’s October, the time of year for pumpkins, falling leaves, and cemetery tours. For the past few years, the Kenosha History Center has sponsored historic tours of Green Ridge Cemetery. The walk this year, which was yesterday afternoon, emphasized Kenosha’s Maritime history. The walk highlighted four historical figures with ties to ships and the shipping industry as well as the gravesites of six Lighthouse Keepers of the Kenosha Lighthouse, dating between 1836 and 1871.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t take the tour this year for reasons I won’t go into, but I did pick up a copy of the guide booklet. This afternoon, a cool, partly cloudy, but still pleasant afternoon, I walked over to the cemetery, which is about a fifteen-minute walk from my house. Using the map provided in the booklet, I tried to find the gravesites of these significant figures from yesterday’s walk. I was able to find only a few of the gravesites, but I did find one that I had been especially interested in seeing.

Stephen A. Jackson was born in England and came to America in 1839. He began his career as a steamer captain in Buffalo N.Y. before coming to Kenosha in 1867. Now you see why I was particularly interested in this man. If you have been a reader, or know me, you know that I too began in Buffalo, N.Y. and then came to Kenosha.

The marker to his grave is one of the more interesting ones in the cemetery – it’s the one up at the top. Jackson was one of the figures with a reenactor and again I was sorry not to see my neighbor, alderman, and knitting friend’s spouse, Don Moldenhauer, portray Captain Jackson. This morning’s Kenosha News had a nice picture of Don as Jackson.

Charles O’Neill, lighthouse keeper in the mid 1800’s, has a large marker. That’s probably because O’Neill was politically connected and did not spend most of his career as a lighthouse keeper. He was a farmer – and probably a pretty prosperous one at that. George Kimball, whose worn marker is shown above at the right, is credited with building the first beacon to light the port in 1836. One of the markers I couldn’t find was that of Lorinda Merrill, who was the first female keeper, when she took over the position after her husband died in 1871. She kept the light for just one year, but the walk’s brochure poses the question of what it was like to walk up and down the narrow spiral staircase, which is about the height of a five-story building, several times a day in the long bulky skirt Mrs. Merrill must have worn in the mid 1800’s.

Two evenings this week, the history center will host a Cemetery Lantern Tour. It will not emphasize maritime figures as did the walk yesterday but my husband and I may go one evening. After all, even though the center says this is not a haunted tour, being in a cemetery on a chilly October evening after dark is spooky and this is October, isn’t it?

On my walk back home, I shot this picture of people enjoying the nice afternoon on their bikes. Not everyone wants to stroll in the cemetery in October. Can you see the four bikes in the background?

Great Lakes National Park?

2009-10-02T10:32:00.003-05:00

I have been enjoying Ken Burn’s series on the National Parks and if you haven’t seen it, you are really missing some great TV. As someone who has visited 21 National Parks (out of 58 according to Burns and 60 according to the National Parks Conservation Association) and whose Passport to the National Parks has a total of 102 stamps, I have been waiting to see this program for a long time.

When I started collecting stamps in 1997 there were, if I recall, about 360 units of the parks service and my goal then was to see them all. Besides the national parks, the units include National Monuments, Lakeshores, Historic Sites, Trails, Parkways, Rivers and so forth. You can see a whole list of the types of units and how they are defined on the website of the NPCA. Over the years, the number has changed and now my target is 391, but I fear that this is an elusive goal and I may have to be content to visit just a large percentage of the total number.

Living in the Midwest, achieving my goal has been a challenge. My passport thrived the one year we lived in Northern California when my husband did interim work in Sacramento. Winter and summer vacations have helped, too, but if you look at a map of National Parks in the Great Lakes Basin, you will only see Cuyahoga Valley near Cleveland, Ohio, and yes, I have been there.

In Wisconsin, we have no park but we do have the Apostle Islands and the St Croix River sites (and yes, I have been to both) and some scenic trails. Michigan does better with Isle Royale which is a National Park and, Pictured Rock and Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshores (no, none of these yet) as well as several historic sites. Indiana has the wonderful Indiana Dunes Lakeshore, which I have visited often. Illinois. Ohio and New York’s sites, at least the ones near the Great Lakes, are mostly historical (and yes, I’ve been to several of them).

What has been interesting about Burn’s series, besides the fabulous photos, which make me wish for the very first time I had HDTV, has been the historical perspective on the development of the parks. Often just one determined person was influential in convincing our government to preserve parts of our country for the masses, regions that for other individuals could have been sources of great wealth in mining and forestry rights. Even today, these fights go on and I frequently get email requests from NPCA or the Sierra Club asking me to tell my Senator or Congressman what I want him to do to preserve our natural heritage.

Imagine if someone were to create a Great Lakes National Park. What would it include? It would be bigger than France and the United Kingdom combined, and would be both above ground and underwater. It would include sand dunes, Carolinian and Boreal forest, wetlands, and a variety of geological formations. It would be rich in fresh water, minerals, plants, and animals. I can only imagine what controversy such a proposal would create. Just look how hard it was to pass the Great Lakes Compact. No, I don’t expect that to ever happen. Still, just imagine having that stamp in my passport.

By the way, the National Park of American Samoa is one of the 58 (or 60) national parks. I wonder how it has fared following the earthquake this week. Well, I hope.

Journey's End

2009-09-30T13:57:00.002-05:00

I had no doubt that my new friend Loreen would successfully complete her 1,000 mile beach walk. She is now posting about Segment 10, the walk from Milwaukee to Navy Pier in Chicago. I was delighted to see it this morning, and to see that Burlee and I were included in her journal. Calling the report of her trek a blog doesn't seem to be adequate. She took the journey of a lifetime. Her writing, her journal, is the record of her experiences and observations, and that, according to Webster, is the definition of a journal.

Check out Burlee and me as well as the rest of Loreen's trip at http://laketrek.blogspot.com/

940 Miles Down - 60 To Go

2009-09-23T20:20:00.008-05:00

This afternoon I met Loreen Niewenhuis who has spent the last six months walking 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan. She didn’t do it all at once, but rather in ten smaller segments. She started in March at Navy Pier in Chicago and plans to end at the same spot this coming Saturday afternoon. Today she walked from Racine through Kenosha on her way to Zion. I had the pleasure of spending some time – and a very small portion of the walk – with her. You can see the route she followed and the segments on her blog Lake Trek.

I met Loreen about a mile north of where I live. She was easy to spot – a lone figure sporting a walking stick that she told me has been with her from the beginning. I asked her why she was doing this hike. She said she has always loved Lake Michigan and that was part of the draw. The other part is that she wanted to do something “big” and something for herself. Loreen is the mother of two almost grown boys; the mother within me understood what she was saying.

As we walked back toward my house, I filled her in on Kenosha. When she learned that I had lived here in the 80's, then left and came back in 2004, she asked if things were different now. I told her a little about the economy here, the loss of auto industry jobs, a story that as a Michigander she was all too familiar with, and how Kenosha has been dealing with that loss. I also told her about the influx of “Illinois folk” and its impact on the city, and that Kenosha’s major employer now is the Illinois-based Abbott Labs.

“But your interest is in Lake Michigan, I said, “So I will tell you one thing that is different. Thirty years ago, no one seemed to even notice that Lake Michigan was here. I would walk our kids or our dog in the parks along the lake and often would be the only one around. It was a greatly undervalued resource. Perhaps that was an indication of the times everywhere – we took our natural resources for granted.”

‘What I see now is an ever-increasing appreciation of the wonderful resource we have. The lake shore has been developed for recreation and people are down here all the time.”

“So now that I have told you about Kenosha,” I said after I felt I was monopolizing the conversation, “tell me more about your trip.”

Loreen has gone though three pair of boots on the trip, often walks alone, although at various points family or friends have joined her, and she travels light. Today she was carrying a backpack which she said weighs about 25 pounds.

Her overnight accommodations have been varied. She has camped (and on those treks carried a heavier backpack), stayed in motels, and with people she knows along the way. The cool summer was to her advantage, but there were times when she walked into strong gale force winds and in the rain. She notifies communities that she will be passing through – some respond, others don’t. The Sheboyan Press wrote a nice article about her – check it out.

We got to my house and Loreen sat for about an hour. When she got up to leave all she wanted was to refill her water bottle – although the bottle she carried has a fancy filtration systems so she can drink right from the lake. I walked her as far Eichelmann Beach, where she continued south and I turned back toward home.

I enjoyed the brief time we had together and hope our paths meet again. As we parted, I started to give her some advice about what she would encounter between here and Zion, her next stop. Then I stopped myself.

“You’ve made it 940 miles without me. I guess you can make the next 60 miles without me, too.” She laughed – and pulled out her GPS – then went on her way.

Loreen isn’t posting on her blog while she is walking, but will when she gets back home. Next week I will check out her blog. She plans to write a book about her trek. Next year, I will watch for it. I will also think about what I might do for myself that’s “big”.

How about a 10,000 mile trek around all the Great Lakes?

Fabulous Photos and Art Inspired by the Great Lakes

2009-09-22T10:44:00.005-05:00

I bought a new camera but have yet to take any pictures with it, other than a few tests inside my house. After viewing the photos of the winners of The Great Lakes Forever 2009 Photo Contest, I may never take any. Take a look at these fabulous photos. Magnificent. Awe-inspiring. What talent. (Click on the highlighted text to see them.)

Other art worth looking at is the work of Mary Gillis and in particular her Great Lakes Series. The series is currently on display in Grand Rapids, MI and is contending for the coveted ArtPrize. I would vote for Mary to win the prize but you actually have to be in Grand Rapids to vote. So if you are anywhere near there, please check out the exhibit. Maybe you can help Mary – and the Great Lakes – win this award. Even if you don’t get to vote, when you look at her website be sure to read the explanation of the Great Lakes series, especially about how the colors come from various automotive colors- how Michigan!

These are just two examples of art that draws inspiration from the Great Lakes. I know there are many more. And even if my amateur pictures are not art, I am inspired by nature and the Great Lakes and when I take a picture, it is to tell a story that my words cannot. Maybe that does make me an artist. Who knows?

All art is but imitation of nature.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Cleanup Day for Shores and Sins

2009-09-17T09:50:00.004-05:00

Saturday is International Coastal Cleanup Day sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. The day is set aside to remove trash and debris from all beaches and waterways, not just those at the ocean. In the past, my husband and I have participated in this annual event at one of our local beaches, but we will not be collecting trash this year because the day coincides with the observance of Rosh Hashanah, The Jewish New Year. I guess I am used to events coinciding with Jewish holidays but I was pleased to see a note on the website of the California Coastal Commission explaining that unlike Jewish holidays, which roam around the calendar, the cleanup day is always the third Saturday in September. Regrettably, many people who would otherwise participate will not be able to do so this year.

However, that doesn’t mean they can’t pick up trash on the beach at another time. There is always trash on the beach – what it means is that it just won’t be counted. On Cleanup Day, trash collectors keep track of what they collect so that officials can see what kinds of garbage gets into the water. I have counted endless numbers of cigarette butts, plastic bottles, soda cans, candy wrappers, and even old socks. Every year I hope I will find something “interesting” – it’s not that I want to see the trash on the beach, but I want to be able to check off the box that says “Other” and insert the description of a noteworthy piece of garbage in it.

The coincidence of Rosh Hashanah and Cleanup Day make me think of one aspect of our holiday observance, the traditional ritual of Tashlich. For Jews, Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the New Year but it is also the start of a ten-day period of reflection and repentance. Tashlich is a powerful ceremony where we symbolically cast our sins unto the water. Our congregation gathers at Eichelmann Beach, which is one of the beaches I have cleaned in the past, to toss pieces of bread into Lake Michigan to represent our sins. Every year, the seagulls hover around us, too, waiting to take those “sins” away from us.

This year we will be cleaning our souls while my fellow beach lovers are cleaning the beach. Both are noble efforts, and both need to be thought about not just on the third Saturday in September but all year long. The consequences of both sins and trash stick around longer than we care to admit.

Pictures Without A Camera

2009-09-10T17:10:00.005-05:00

Because my camera is broken (and too expensive to repair), I did not have a way to capture the scenes I saw on my morning walk. However, I thought I would test my writing skills and try to describe what I saw.

When I walked out of the house, the sun was shining but the air was hazy. It felt more like August than September and I wondered if the winter months would be a little off schedule too. I don’t mind January’s zero temperatures being delayed, but I would hate to think in April it will feel like mid-February.

Anyway, the air this morning was damp and my skin felt clammy. The flags at the waterfront moved listlessly in the slight breeze off the lake. They seemed tired already, even though it was only 9AM. Perhaps they were conserving their energy for later in the day.

The harbor wall was lined with fisher people – I have to say that because there seemed to be almost as many women as there were men. In fact, as I approached the end of the harbor, I recognized a friend of mine.

“I thought that was you”, I greeted her.

“Yup, it’s me.”

“I didn’t know you fished,” I commented.

“Well, I don’t. At least not often. We did the first year we lived here,” she told me. “We bought all the gear and came down here regularly. But after that, well, we just never did it.” That was five years ago.

I could relate. That’s exactly what happened to us when we moved here, also five years ago. My husband bought the gear and the license, and now the reels and net make nice wall decorations in our garage.

“Not working today?” I asked my friend.

“No. My sister is here from West Virginia, and I took the day off.” She pointed to a woman sprawled out on the harbor wall, soaking up the sun. The woman opened one eye and said, “Hi”.

We chatted for a few more minutes and then I continued. I walked past the small boat harbor, over the bridge, past the Coast Guard station and History Center to the end of the road, then down the pier to the lighthouse.

There were no cars parked at the beach. That’s the spot the teenagers congregate at in the summer, and they are all back at school now. But I did notice, as I have on other occasions, cars driving slowly down the beach road, across Simmons Island, and along the lakefront drive. As before, I noticed that the drivers were almost exclusively men in their sixties and seventies. They drive late model American made cars (remember this town has been an auto manufacturer for years). Chryslers. Buicks. Cadillacs. I wondered how many of them were retired American Motors workers. I also wondered how many of them were told this morning by their wives to stop sitting around the house, and get out while they cleaned or shopped or just talked to a friend on the phone. I wonder what these old guys do in the winter. Drive around Fort Meyers Florida?

When I reached the base of the lighthouse, I saw that some young lovers had left their mark on the base of the lighthouse. Nickie and Debbie 9/09/09. I hate graffiti and I hate what it does to my lighthouse, but somehow that Nickie and Debbie acknowledged a significant date (we won’t see one like it again until 10/10/10) was less troublesome to me than usual.

Looking back at the beach, I realized it was empty, except for a gaggle of seagulls (Do seagulls gather in a gaggle like geese?) who were probably happy to finally have the beach all to themselves.

By this time, I was hot, but my sweat had nowhere to go. I was glad that the water fountain (okay, here in Wisconsin it’s a bubbler) in front of the water treatment plant was still running and I took a long drink. I then went back down the road, along the beach, and across the park toward home.

Across the street from the foot of the harbor is Memorial Fountain. This morning the small maple tree in front of the fountain (no, this is a real fountain, a two story high globe surrounded by spouting water) was wearing a gold and red cap of turning leaves, the first sign I have seen of approaching autumn.

When I realized that it would only be a few more weeks until all the trees would be decked out in their fall finery, and that would be followed by winter, I decided to enjoy my sweaty skin and the warm sun beating on my legs. It won’t be long before I will trade my baseball cap for a woolen hat and my sneakers for boots. By then, I hope to have purchased another camera.

Things I Learned Today

2009-09-08T17:09:00.001-05:00

A few days ago, I mentioned that the portion of the Niagara Escarpment running through Hamilton Ontario has always been called “The Mountain”. It’s not really a mountain – it only rises about 300 feet above the city. But you can definitely see the sudden elevation in the landscape and know it is different from the rest of the city. In the past, the culture of the people, that is, the ethnic and economic mix of the population, was also different although that is not true anymore and I am told the area is as diverse as the rest of the city.

Today I learned there is a similar demarcation in Fond du Lac Wisconsin – and for the same reason. Fond du Lac is at the very edge of the Niagara Escarpment (look at on a map if you don’t believe me). In Fond du Lac there is a neighborhood referred to by the locals as the “The Ledge. It’s even less of a mountain than the Hamilton elevation, but the person who told me about it also said that the people who live there are of a different social-economic status than the rest of the city. More elevated, perhaps?

That is one thing I learned today. Another is that the five mile long Mackinac Bridge, across the Straits of Mackinac, is only open to pedestrians one day a year and that day is Labor Day. I read this on a blog I have been following. In addition to this piece of trivia (especially trivial for those of you who live in Texas, California and other places my readers reside) if you check out this blog you will read some interesting stuff about a woman who has made a 1,000 mile trek around Lake Michigan. She didn’t do it all at once but in bits and pieces and she has been writing about her adventures since she started in March 2009. Loreen Niewenhaus is about to complete her walk soon and I am hoping to meet her when she comes through Kenosha on September 23. Check out her blog – she has some great photographs on it.

And the third thing I learned today is that it will cost me $162 to fix my camera, plus the $20 I already paid to get the estimate.(Notice there are no pictures here – that’s because my camera got dropped and the auto focus no longer works.) Over the weekend, I learned what it would cost me to replace it and so I am not paying to have the old one fixed.

I was happy to learn the first two facts – not so much the last one, but such is life. If my budget allows it, I will replace my camera this week and post some pictures soon. After I look at my checkbook, I will know the answer to that, too.

Great Lakes Rescue?

2009-09-01T10:05:00.002-05:00

The headline of the editorial in the New York Times today read Great Lakes Rescue. Of course, I read it. It briefly describes recovery programs like the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for which President Obama asked and received from the House $475 to be EPA efforts to help the lakes.

It also acknowledges that invasive species, like zebra and quagga mussels and other invasives like Asian Carp pose an enormous threat to the ecosystem and that there has not yet been a good answer to how to keep these out of the lakes. The article goes on to suggest that overseas freighters, which bring these invasives into the lakes in their ballast water, be required to sterilize that water before enter the Great Lakes. An even more radical proposal would ban the lakes to foreign shipping altogether. The article concludes by saying, “it seems increasingly clear that the economic damage from exotic species outweighs the benefits of allowing polluting ocean ships in the Great Lakes.’’

That’s the line that got me thinking and wondering about its validity. So commercial and sport fishing are more vital to the Great Lakes Basin economy that whatever else it is that shipping brings to the economy? Could be. But I also wonder how effective banning foreign ships could be on invasive species that are already here. Seems like closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out, doesn’t it?

Parks and Peaches

2009-08-30T11:14:00.010-05:00

I have been back from my trip to Canada for almost a week and have moved on to other things, but scenes from my trip still keep popping into my head. I glimpsed Lake Michigan through a clump of trees just south of Milwaukee yesterday and remembered the beaches at Lake Huron. When I saw butterflies hovering over tall purple stalks of liatris at the gardens near my house, I was reminded of the butterfly exhibit at Point Pelee National Park at Lake Erie.

I stopped at Point Pelee on my way home. I drove south off Highway 401 about 20 miles through fertile fields, several of which sported signs identifying them with large agricultural conglomerates. In Leamington, Ontario, there is a H.J. Heinz production facility and although it did not specifically say it made ketchup or pickle relish, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did because the fields outside the city grow tomatoes, cucumbers and many other vegetables.

At the entry to Point Pelee Park (I should tell you the fee was much less than that to enter the provincial park at Lake Huron), I learned that the park is at the southern most tip of Canada, and is a major site for migrating birds and butterflies. The park has several beaches, a significant marsh and more of the Carolinian Forest that is unique in Canada to this part of southern Ontario.

I walked a section of the marsh, and then drove to the Visitor Center, where I hopped on the shuttle that takes visitors to the tip of the point. You can’t drive down there on your own, although you can walk or bike. At the tip, you can see the Lake Erie Islands, although I could not identify which one was which. Two summers ago, Michael and I took the ferry from Port Clinton Ohio to South Bass Island and Put-in-Bay. I am not sure if that’s what I was looking at as I stood on the southern most tip of Canada, but it was a pretty picture.

I walked around the tip, then got the shuttle back to my car and proceeded on to Windsor, where I crossed the Ambassador Bridge with hardly any delay. I decided to stop for the night in Jackson MI. The next morning, I drove west and as I got close to the Michigan-Indiana border, I saw a crude handwritten sign advertising a blueberry farm just a mile off the interstate. I followed the directions which took me down a dirt road to an outdoor stand, where workers where sorting freshly picked blueberries. You could pick your own but I didn’t. I bought two pounds of berries and now I wish I had bought more. Those are already gone and they were delicious.

I asked the woman at the stand where I could get peaches and she directed me about ten miles south. It was a little out of my way, but still in the general direction I was going, so I stopped and bought peaches, too. Is there anything that tastes as good as a sun-ripened peach?

As of this morning, the large bag of peaches I bought is almost gone, too. Summer fruit – peaches, plums, grapes, and cherries – is another great thing about the Great Lakes. I may just have to take another road trip to see - and eat – more of both.

Healthcare Reform and the Great Lakes. Are they related?

2009-08-27T17:35:00.004-05:00

I was trying to figure out how I could tie in healthcare reform issues with the Great Lakes. I wanted to do this because I attended a Town Hall Meeting put on by Congressman Paul Ryan the other day and I did not have the opportunity to express my opinions at that meeting. Of course, I really do not have to make any tie at all. The wonderful thing about a blog is that I can say what I want to say, but to be true to myself I had to connect these two issues.

One way I can make this connection is to compare healthcare in the two countries that bound the Great Lakes. That’s easy, as healthcare was a frequent topic of conversation with my Canadian relatives last week. This is not the first time we have had these conversations and I always come away from them feeling like the “poor American cousin – she and her family pay so much for healthcare. What kind of a country does she live in, anyway?”

To a one, my Canadian cousins are satisfied with their healthcare system. They are aware of its limitations but still see it as better than the current system in the United States. One of my cousins, who is single and approaching 60 years old, recently lost her job. She is a bit concerned about finances, wondering whether she will be able to stay in her house, or if she will need to downsize. But she is not a bit concerned about her healthcare, and that is a definite load off her shoulders. As someone who pays for private healthcare insurance because I have no employer, and it is a significant expense even for a healthy person, I wish I had that load off my shoulders. In so many ways, Canada is a conservative country but not when it comes to healthcare. I wish my conservative congressman would remember that point.

Congressman Ryan spoke a lot about rationing at that town hall meeting and is concerned, as were so many in the crowd, that government control means that some bureaucrat will decide how their doctors will practice medicine. Who do they think decides it now? Insurance companies may call it cost containment but they have a great deal of influence on how doctors practice medicine and how the rest of us receive it.

Today, I came across a second way to tie in these two issues when I opened my email and found a referral to an article on the website Great Lakes Echo. The headline reads: Federal agency proposes to study urine and blood of residents to evaluate effectiveness of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The article describes a proposal to check on Great Lakes contaminants by measuring the level of these substances in Great Lakes residents. If the Great Lakes are healthier, the residents in the Great Lakes Basin should be healthier, too, right? Stands to reason. As a former medical technologist, I think it’s a great idea – not only would it provide some solid data, it would also employ a few med techs. All in all a good proposal, I think.

The truth is that healthcare ties into everything. It doesn’t take much to make connections. Right now, I like the idea of healthier people living near healthier lakes on both sides of the Great Lakes. Now that would be something, wouldn’t it?

Lake Huron; Then the Niagara Escarpment

2009-08-25T12:29:00.018-05:00

Some languages have limited vowels. So did my trip. I managed to touch Lakes Huron and Erie, started and ended my trip at Lake Michigan, but I never made it to Lake Ontario, although I caught a glimpse of it near Burlington Ontario from a bridge. I was compensated for not touching the waters of Ontario by touching my family, so in that sense I was home and I am satisfied with only touching HME.

I touched Lake Huron in two places, at Port Huron on the American side and then further east on the Canadian side. Port Huron reminded me a lot of Kenosha, although for a city less than half the size, Port Huron has a bustling downtown. It does not suffer as Kenosha does from being in between two major metropolitan areas and it is the center of industry and commerce for a wide region. However, I did speak to a few residents of Port Huron and it, as so much of the state of Michigan, has high unemployment and is economically depressed. The parts of the city I saw did not show this, but like home, I am sure if I had gone a short distance away from the waterfront I would have seen it. It does look like the city is trying to build up the waterfront as I noticed new buildings, including the YMCA and office parks.

I drove north along St. Clair River to where it enters Lake Huron, making several stops along the way. Like my city, that neighborhood has some beautiful homes, at least south of the bridge to Canada. On the north side, where I drove to see the lighthouse (I go out of my way for a lighthouse), the houses were smaller, older and reminded me very much of the north side of Kenosha and Racine. I stopped at the Huron Lightship Museum and the Thomas Edison Depot Museum, where I learned that Edison spent several years as a child in this border city. The museum also highlights Port Huron’s importance in Great Lakes shipping, as well as a center for immigration and its role in the Underground Railroad. Actually, Port Huron has a lot of history.

I crossed the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia Ontario and drove along the lake shore to Pinery Provincial Park about 40 km north east of the bridge. At the park entrance, the hefty $15 fee to enter almost deterred me from going, but I was so glad the frugal side of me lost that afternoon, as the Pinery is a beautiful park. As soon as I started the drive down the main road, I felt the outside world disappear. The canopy of dense trees and the smell of pines instantly brought back wonderful memories of camping trips and I wondered why it has been so long since we’ve pitched a tent in the woods.

I drove the 12 km road through the park, stopping at one of the many beaches to touch the lake. I went several kilometers off the main route to get to another area of the shore just because it was called Burley Beach (you may remember my dog’s name is Burlee). When I got there, I was disappointed to learn that dogs are not allowed on Burley Beach – but there is one section of beach in the park where they are allowed. It’s the one shown to the right.

I walked on a small section of a trail called the Carolinian Trail. Although much of the northern part of the United States, especially along the Great Lakes is Carolinian Forest, made up of deciduous trees like maple, beech and oak, this type of forest only exists in Canada in the southern part of Ontario. I was reminded that although Canada is my mother’s birthplace and home to a slew of my relatives, it is a foreign country and a huge one at that. It is different in many ways from the United States and the predominant forest type is only one of those ways.

I left the park, drove to my cousin’s house which is half way between London and Stratford, near the Thames River, and spent the night. The next morning, as I left for Toronto, my cousin gave me a route taking back roads to Highway 401. I drove several kilometers through farm country. As I drove, I wondered if I was in Iowa or southern Illinois. The land was flat and fertile.

As I got on the 401, at Kitchener, I noticed a sign that said, You are now entering the Niagara Escarpment and at that point the terrain changed dramatically, becoming rocky and covered with trees. The escarpment is a huge ridge extending through the United States and Canada, the most famous portion being Niagara Falls. I was amazed. I have driven this route dozens, if not hundreds of times. Had I never noticed this before?

I had the same reaction on my way home, when I left the outskirts of Hamilton on Highway 403. A sign told me I was leaving the escarpment. As a kid, we just called this part of Hamilton, The Mountain. Who knew it was a significant geological formation that defines an entire region? Live and learn.

I spent four days in Toronto visiting family. On the way home, I took the southern route, crossing at Windsor, so that I could make a stop somewhere to touch Lake Erie. I will tell you more about where I did that tomorrow.

Touching HOMES

2009-08-17T13:47:00.001-05:00

Earlier in the summer, I had thought I would see more of the Great Lakes this year, but that isn’t happening for several reasons. Mostly it is because my husband and son started a business this summer and almost all our resources – financial and physical – have gone into that effort.

I am now thinking that if I can’t make some kind of circle tour this summer, I can at least try to “touch” of the other four lakes, and I am trying to figure out when and where.

I am leaving tomorrow on a road trip that will take me across Michigan and Ontario to Toronto, making stops in eastern Michigan and near London Ontario. The purpose of the trip is to see family but I am thinking of how I could at least a little time at the other Great Lakes. I plan to cross the border in at least one direction at Sarnia or maybe Windsor. We always used to cross at Windsor, either by bridge or tunnel, but in the past few years crossing anywhere can be an ordeal and its a crap shoot which way is better.

Perhaps on my way to London I can touch Lake Huron. In Toronto, my family live far from Lake Ontario shores, so if I want to “touch” it, I will have to make a little side trip. I can come back home via northern edge of Lake Erie and detour off the 401, or I could drive back via Western New York, touching parts of Lake Erie I knew as a child. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, there are plenty of places I could stop.

At best, this trip will be a HOME trip, starting with Lake Michigan and touching Huron, Erie, and Ontario. That’s okay because these are the lakes that are HOME for me anyway, where I have family and history. Maybe later this summer or fall, I can get up to Lake Superior and truly touch HOMES this year.

Asian Carp Too Close to Home

2009-08-13T13:52:00.030-05:00

Last night when we went out for a stroll after dinner, the streets alongside the harbor were lined with cars. I know that on Thursday when the city municipal center at the corner hosts the Peanut Butter and Jam music series, cars line the streets but I knew of nothing happening last night.

“Looks like someone is having a party,” I commented to my husband.

“I think it’s the fish,” he responded as he pointed toward the harbor wall, which was lined with anglers of all ages.

This is an active time of year for fishing. Fishing is a big deal here, both along the harbor and out on the lake. This morning on my bike ride I rode past the Salmon and Trout Rearing Pond sponsored by the Kenosha SportFishing And Conservation Association in conjunction with
Wisconsin DNR which stocks the lake with Chinook salmon, another sign of how important fishing is to this city. You can see it on the sign for Pennoyer Park, which is adjacent to the pond, too.

Yesterday I heard on the radio that Asian carp, those huge jumping fish that are funny in videos but are not so funny in reality, are very close to the Lake Michigan. This invasive species, which have been swimming up the Mississippi River and through the Illinois River for several years, could devastate sport and commercial fishing as well as the entire Great Lakes ecosystem. A few year ago the Army Corp of Engineers built an electric fence at the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to keep them out of Lake Michigan and now these aggressive fish are close to testing that fence. As with so many other projects of the Corps, this one has its controversies, too, and whether it will really work remains to be seen.

I learned this morning that these fish like cold water better than the warmer waters they have been in and would love to get their fins into our lakes, eat their way into the food chain and destroy all the salmon, trout and other fish at the top of the chain as well as the little stuff at the bottom. I also learned that according to Chinese legend Asian Carp are good luck and so people have intentionally released them into Lake Ontario. Ontario has already outlawed this practice, but one wonders if it is too late.

In an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this week, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) said that the EPA and government officials were aware of the Asian Carp problem, but she added that she didn't expect any immediate action from Congress to prod federal authorities because members of the House are on recess. It seems to me that our representatives have a few things on their minds during their recess. Now they can add Asian Carp to the list.

You can see these jumping fish as well as learn more about them on You Tube . On a gentler note, this heron was sitting at the mouth of the Pike River when I rode by on my way home this morning. He (or she) is not an invader to our ecosystem but a part of it and a welcome addition to the scene.

The Fog Rolls In - And Out Again

2009-08-11T19:38:00.013-05:00

It is cool tonight, only in the mid 60’s, but the sky is clear and crisp. However, these pictures were taken about 4 PM, when the fog rolled in. You could hardly see our landmark lighthouse. It was eerie ( not Erie – I am still here on Lake Michigan). An hour later the fog rolled out. Such is life on the lakeshore.

Should Our Efforts Be Broad or Deep?

2009-08-11T10:48:00.002-05:00

I have seen that question raised at least three times in the past week, albeit on different topics.

One place was at a focus group for the City of Kenosha, Department of City Development on Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). I was asked to attend one of these sessions because the original recipient of the invitation could not go. It was an eye-opening session about the city’s efforts to use available money to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunity in Kenosha. The CDBG national objectives must meet three criteria. The funds are to be used to 1) benefit low and moderate income persons, 2) prevention of slum and blight and 3) respond to an urgent need.

The focus group, one of several being held by the city, was given an overview of past efforts and had the chance to comment on its strengths and weakness. We then were asked to identify future needs, and of course, several were named. Finally, we were asked to rank the future projects and that is where the question of broad or deep came up. Should the city continue to focus in depth on programs that already exist or broaden its efforts into new areas?

I saw the same question, phrased almost the same way, about the $475M set aside for Great Lakes Restoration projects. In clicking around today, I found this question and a poll on the website Great Lakes Echo, which was the first time I saw this website. Great Lakes Echo is a project of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University. Org.

Check out the poll. Place your vote. The question is whether the $475M should be spent for many small projects, several big projects, or one huge project. In the tally this morning, the majority of the vote was for deep rather than broad. Almost half the voters said fewer than 10 projects should be funded, and there were two votes for funding only one big project. That, by the way, pretty much parallels the response at the city focus group. Let’s keep doing what we’re doing and not dilute our efforts, most people said.

The third place the question was raised for me this week had to do with personal finances. And there were only two of us voting. And we agreed to do deep rather than broad. So three out of three scenarios agreed that deep is better than broad. What do you say?

Actually, in the ideal world I would say broad with deep pockets.

Summer Fun

2009-08-09T15:49:00.010-05:00

Maybe it's because it is a Sunday. Maybe it’s because we finally have summer weather. Whatever the reason, the parks along the lakefront here in Kenosha were swarming with people this afternoon. Here’s a look at what some of them were doing. Isn’t that a great fountain?

What they don’t seem to be doing is riding bikes. That’s understandable with the heat index over 90. But I took this picture of Kenosha Bike Rentals anyway because a few weeks ago I posted a picture of Jeff’s bike rental business before he had the logo on his trailer.

When I saw Jeff this morning, he said, “Hey, Susan, anytime you want to update your picture, feel free to do so.” I took the hint and so this afternoon I went back with my camera and shot this. I was glad I had the camera with me so I could get these other shots of people having summer fun, too.

By the way, by the time I wrote this and uploaded the photos, the National Weather Service had issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and flash floods. So much for a nice summer afternoon. I hope these people enjoyed their time outdoors before the storm.

This and That

2009-07-23T15:14:00.006-05:00

I knew that there were people who live on their boats in the summer in the marina near our house. I figured that most of them were on vacation or retired. But yesterday when I was out walking the dog about 8:30 AM, I saw a middle aged man, dressed in business casual attire, get off his boat, and head toward the marina gates. As he left the boat, he turned around and waved at someone inside the boat, and called out, “Have a nice day, hon.” I guess I am wrong about the work status of some marina residents.

On the other side of our peninsula, the dredging a continues although reports are that they are almost finished. It looks that way this morning because the backhoe has been moved from the barge to land. See the pile of sand on the shore? That’s about a day’s worth of dredging. The dump trucks come and take the sand away to fill in a sink hole a little ways from here. This has been going on since the middle of June, over a month. That’s a lot of sand to move – and yet when I look at the sink hole site that’s being filled it looks like nothing. I guess a lot of sand goes only a little way.

I wrote the other day that I hadn’t read much about the $475 earmarked in the 2010 Budget for the Great Lakes, but I learned that there have been some TV news programs highlighting the Great Lakes. NBC Nightly News did one on July 17, one of the few evenings that I didn’t watch the program. I am pleased to have been wrong about the lack of publicity on the issue.

How to Spend $475M

2009-07-20T13:00:00.003-05:00

I noticed today that more than half of a year has gone by since I started posting and I have not run out of “musings”. More often, I just run out of time.

When I began to write this blog, I wasn’t sure exactly where it would take me. My initial intention was to reflect on the small part of the world around me but I quickly realized I had to do more. It’s that interconnected thing – one thing leads to another leads to another. I found myself clicking around on websites I never knew existed; my list of bookmarks is extensive and I have learned so much. My favorite sites are those of other bloggers. From them I learn not only what the issues are, I also can see that I am not alone in my feeling for these five Great Lakes and the area they encompass.

And that brings me to what I want to tell you today. If I didn’t read these blogs, I would not know about the $475M earmarked for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that is part of the President Obama’s 2010 Budget. If it did appear in my local newspaper, it was buried between the local events and recipes or the obituaries. If it was in The New York Times, I missed it. Somehow, having lived in New York City and New York State for many years, I think that even if the Great Lakes money had gotten some coverage, it would have been miniscule at best. There is the New York perspective on the rest of this country and it does not often include the Great Lakes. It is only because of my fellow bloggers that I know of the $475M and have read discussions of what should be done with it.

The EPA is holding public hearings starting this week in all the Great Lakes States. The one in Wisconsin is tomorrow in Milwaukee. The one in Chicago will be webcast live from 6- 8 PM Wednesday evening, July 22. Check out some of the sites on My Blog List (to the left) if you want to read more about what my fellow bloggers are saying about the initiative.

Climate Change and the Rhythms of Our Life

2009-07-15T14:21:00.005-05:00

The Second Annual Paddle the Pike was canceled because of low water levels in the river this year. As this was only the second time for the event, we shouldn’t read too much into it and blame climate change. However, when I hear that the sun melted the ice blocks in February during an ice sculpting contest in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin or that a winter carnival in Minnesota was cancelled due to warm temperatures and insufficient snow, I do have to think, “Ah, global warming.”

Amy Seidl in her book Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World, would agree. In beautiful prose, Seidl describes changes in her world that confirm that climate change is real. With careful observation and intelligent reflection, she describes and explains some of these changes. Hers is the first book I have read that talks about the effect of climate change on the rhythms of our life and culture.

What does this mean? In Seidl’s own words, “… our memory of what the weather once was is our strongest indication of change. And not only the weather but the events in our lives that lined up with it: strawberries, once ripe in early July are now picked before the school year ends; a child’s birthday no longer coincides with the batches of Amish peaches in the store; sledding is no longer assured at Christmas.”

Plants are particularly sensitive to even slight temperature change. Seidl explains that this has to do with the narrow range for optimal operation of their enzymes, but I can see it myself. When we moved into our first house here in Wisconsin, we inherited about 40 rose bushes, irises ranging in color from white to salmon to deep purple and many other horticultural delights. The eighty-some year old man who had tended the garden for 40 years gave me a few lessons on how to take care of my purchase- not the house, the garden. Among other things he told me when each plant bloomed.

“The peonies always bloom the third week in June,” he said.

I noticed this year that by that time the peonies in our neighborhood had bloomed and gone. Seidl gives several other examples such as maple trees and lilac bushes. I am sure those who grew up going to Rochester New York’s Lilac Festival around Mother’s Day appreciate what climate change might mean for that event, which has been held for over 100 years.

You probably have examples of your own. If you do, I would like to hear them. Perhaps we can share them with Ms. Seidl – not that she needs more to prove her point. Unfortunately, she has plenty of her own.

You can find a review of this book at the website of Orion Magazine, where you can read more thoughtful and thought provoking writing on nature and the environment.

Kenosha's Pike River

2009-07-13T09:50:00.011-05:00

This past weekend, the weather was perfect – warm sunshine, clear skies and cooling lake breezes. In recent days, I finally have managed to get in a few bike rides along some of our local bike paths. One of my favorite routes takes me north from my house along the harbor, across Simmons Island, along the lake to Carthage College. One day last week, I stopped at the bridge at the mouth of the Pike River and took a few pictures. It was about 9 AM and there were only a few people on the beach but several seagulls were relaxing in the sun. One gull did not pay attention to the sign that said Danger. No Swimming. No Wading. Swift Currents.

The Pike River is only one of many rivers in the Great Lakes Watershed, and a small one at that. It winds its way through Kenosha Country before spilling into Lake Michigan at this scenic spot. I am told it is not a good river for paddling but there are trails along its bank that are good for hiking.

As I ride by the place where the Pike empties into Lake Michigan, I am aware of its role and the role of the other water components in this ecosystem – wetlands, creeks, streams, and rivers. I know many of the larger rivers, like the Cuyahoga, Detroit, and the Niagara Rivers, have been defined for many by their pollution. I hear Cuyahoga River and I remember that the river that was so polluted it actually caught fire. Fortunately, many of these rivers have been cleaned up and although not perfect, they are much better than they were a generation ago.

I wanted to learn a little more about the Pike River so I clicked and scrolled my way through some of my bookmarked websites. What I learned is that the US Geological Survey lets me monitor daily streamflow conditions. On the Lake Michigan Angler site, I could find out what kind of fishing is allowed there as well as what kind of fish at different times of the year and even recipes for cooking those fish.

I also found a report on Healthy Harbors, Restored Rivers: A Community Guide to Cleaning Up Our Waterways. This document, put out by the Sierra Club in 2001, is not for the faint of heart. It is a 70 page in-depth look at cleaning up our water waterways and explores everything from causes of pollution to methods of cleanup. Remember the harbor dredging pictures I posted a week or so ago? The same type of dredging is done to clean up rivers. The report not only tells me what kind of equipment can be used for dredging (mechanical, hydraulic or hybrid), it provides diagrams and pictures and tells me what to do with the sediment that is dredged up. All this is way more than this casual observer wants to know!

The River Alliance of Wisconsin site told me that everyone deserves healthy rivers, and what we can do to preserve and restore them. When I did a search on their website for the Pike River, I also learned there is more than one Pike River in Wisconsin – according to them the Pike River is in Marinette County. Apparently, that Pike River is better for paddling than Kenosha’s Pike River –usually, anyway, but not this year. In June, the Second Annual Paddle the Pike was cancelled due to low water levels. Maybe participants should have come down and hiked the banks of our Pike River, or at least taken a bike ride over a few of its bridges. I am sure they would have enjoyed the views from this part of the watershed.

By the way, if you click to enlarge the middle picture looking back at the bridge, notice the tall white structure protruding out above the trees. I suppose if you have to make a phone call, you might be glad it's there, but it otherwise you have to admit, it does nothing for the scenery.

Wind Point Lighthouse

2009-07-11T18:02:00.007-05:00

Friends of ours have a house on a small lake in central Wisconsin that you can ride your bike around in about 40 minutes. I have taken the ride, or walked it, several times and am always struck by the number of lighthouse decorations outside of the houses on this inland lake, where this isn’t much need for a real lighthouse.

But people think that bodies of water of any kind go together with lighthouses. I understand the attraction and the romance associated with these interesting and varied structures. I have been known to go out of my way to see lighthouses and have visited them in such places as Maine, Nova Scotia and Florida as well as the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior and several along the shores of Lake Erie.

Although there are two lighthouses within a short walk of my house – the Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse (the red one) and the Old Southport Lighthouse across the harbor, I decided today to go check out the one on north side of Racine. The Wind Point Lighthouse is no longer a working lighthouse but it is one of the tallest and oldest on Lake Michigan. Unlike the Kenosha North Pier lighthouse, this one sits on a sandy point that juts out into the lake. Today the area around it is a quiet residential neighborhood, with a golf course directly to the south. Visitors can tour the grounds, which include a museum, the old and new fog horn buildings and other remnants of a bygone era. On designated days during the summer, you can climb to the top of the 108-foot tower. A small garden overlooking the lake provides a pleasant place to sit and imagine what this place was like in 1880 when the lighthouse was first built.

There is a website that rates lighthouses based on historic significance, majesty, preservation, water view, accessibility and a few other factors and Wind Point rates a 27, which places it in the Gold Category. The top lighthouses in the country are in the Platinum Category (30-35). 27’s not bad for a local landmark.

This past winter when Michael and I were in the Florida Keys, we struck up a conversation with a couple at the Key West Light. We both collect National Parks Passport Stamps, but they told us that the United States Lighthouse Society has a similar passport for lighthouses. I don’t remember how many lighthouses they had visited but I do remember that we were ahead of them on National Park visits. Michael and I decided not to get the lighthouse passport, which now includes over 300 stamps. Today, I checked the list and Wind Point is one of them but Kenosha isn’t. Maybe when Kenosha’s lighthouses make the list I will get one. Then again, maybe not.

Sunset Worth Sharing

2009-07-07T16:47:00.014-05:00

Sunrise over Lake Michigan can be beautiful but I rarely see it. I am not an early riser and the sun comes up quite early in the summer. In the winter, when it rises late, it is often hidden behind the clouds. The only picture I have of sunrise over the lighthouse is one I bought from someone else.

Sunsets from the eastern side of lake are spectacular. I have watched the daily event several times from the top of Mt Baldy at the edge of Indiana Dunes National Park. Crowds gather there every summer night for the show and the finale is always met with applause. It's worth the climb up the steep dune.

Living on the western edge of the lake means the sun sets over the land, behind buildings. However, when the clouds are just right, as they were last night, the display is still a beautiful sight. No one watching at the Kenosha harbor clapped, but I snapped a few pictures, and I think they are worth of sharing.

Great Fireworks Views

2009-07-04T13:15:00.006-05:00

On July 4th Great Lakes Views means great fireworks views. The lakefront is where everything is happening today. Although it is only noon, people are already setting up their spots and then enjoying the scenery and activities in the area before tonight’s big fireworks show at 9:30 PM. Tonight there will be two concerts, vendors selling everything from ice cream to fluorescent hats, necklaces and other celebratory paraphernalia and a blanket to blanket crowd of people.

We live right in the middle of it all, and except for the fact that the fireworks and people passing by drive our dog Burlee crazy, we really enjoy it. Kenosha’s lakefront provides real hometown entertainment, although in walking in the neighborhood this morning I noticed as many Illinois license plates as Wisconsin.

These folks must have set up their chairs quite early this morning as they were already there on my morning walk. They have the best seat in the house for the fireworks, which are shot off at the end of the channel. (The view from the front of our house is good, too, and I have a private bathroom for my guests!).

I love the fact that whoever set the chairs up is confident that they will still be there when they come back hours later. Somehow, there is a different feeling in the air on July 4th as we all celebrate our nation’s independence. Today we are all in agreement that freedom is something to really celebrate.

Dredging Continues

2009-06-23T21:02:00.004-05:00

It was a beautiful morning, this second full day of summer. With temperatures predicted to be summer time hot, I decided to take an early morning bike ride- early for me, anyway, which was about 8:30 AM. I rode north about three miles along the lake, then back. When I got back to the harbor, I stopped to watch the dredging at the end of the channel. I wasn’t the only one. Many of the watchers were holding

fishing poles. Here’s two pictures of what we saw.

A Weekend to Celebrate

2009-06-22T21:46:00.004-05:00

This was a busy weekend at my lakefront. Besides, Harbor Market, a European style Farmer’s Market that happens every Saturday and in the summer is literally steps away from my house, there was a big yard sale, plus people biking, walking, flying kites, getting married and just enjoying the beautiful weather.

On Saturday morning, my husband and I attended an Open House at the Southport Beach House for CEDAR – the Center for Environmental Education, Development and Applied Research. It was a day-long event promoting the lakefront, the environment and conservation of natural resources. In the evening they had a soiree called Solstice Celebration. You can learn more about CEDAR on their website.

I didn’t get any pictures of any of these events as I had my own big one going on. My husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary (which is actually today) with family and friends. It was a wonderful weekend for us, but I cannot just write about my anniversary without tying it into the Great Lakes, for if this blog has a mission statement, it is to tie everything in, one way or another, to the Great Lakes. However, I can easily do that in two ways.

The first is that in the 40 years of our marriage, there are many, many memories of the Great Lakes. An early one that immediately comes to mind is an afternoon walk in the winter of 1969 at a frozen beach on Lake Erie. Michael and I like beaches – and haven’t always cared whether we visit them in summer or winter. Then there was camping on the shores of Lake Superior in the UP and visiting Mackinac Island as young marrieds. As parents, our young children grew up walking the rocks along Lake Michigan and playing on parks along its western shores and camping along the sand dunes on its eastern shores. In recent years, there are memories of driving from one lake to another to visit family and friends. And even though during those 40 years we didn’t always live in sight of a Great Lake, we have always been “Great Lakers.”

The second thing about the lake is that there were people who came to our house for the first time for a celebration brunch on Sunday. We are always proud to open our house to them and extend our hospitality but its especially fun when they say, “Wow. You have a view of the lake. How cool.”

Yes. How cool.

So the local events of the weekend took second place over our personal ones, but in sense they are part of our personal life. They are a part of where and how we live. And I hope to do so for many, many more years with my husband, my best friend, and my fellow “Great Laker.”

Lakefront Activity of a Different Kind

2009-06-18T14:37:00.011-05:00

Want to ride this cool bike? And feel the cool lakes breezes at the same time? And ride past marinas, museums, beaches and more? You can, for a very small price. You can rent it from Bike Kenosha Rentals, which is housed in a trailer near the Southport Marina on the Kenosha lakefront.

I first noticed the trailer a few weeks ago and have walked by it several times. Today I stopped to talk to Jeff Shipley, the proprietor.

“How’s business?” I asked

“Not bad,” was the answer, “although the rain and cooler than normal temperatures haven’t been very helpful.”

Jeff is an entrepreneur who saw a need, and because he is currently not working elsewhere, decided to give the bike rental business a try. He set up in a parking lot next to an open field. So did the Pita Shack and occasionally a Ben and Jerry’s vendor is there, too. They all pull trailers, pack up and leave with them at night and are not there on rainy days.

The open field next to where they park was originally slated to be developed as retail shops as part of the Harbor Park Redev e lopment . That was changed a few years ago to residential development and last year the whole project, a victim of the economy and perhaps poor planning as well, was either canceled or delayed ( I am not sure which).

But the field does get used. On any given day you can see dogs catching Frisbees, kids flying kites, or an impromptu baseball game. For me , that’s much better than stores anyway, but it will be interesting to see how successful these temporary business will be this summer.

Jeff told me the vendors have gotten some flack from people who think their businesses are taking away from the downtown, a few blocks away, which is struggling to survive. But I think the two areas are different. People strolling at the lakefront want something different than those strolling downtown. They want bikes and the kind of food you can eat while walking.

Besides there are signs of hope downtown, too – two kid-oriented businesses, a child’s play place and a do-it-yourself pottery place are slated to open next month, in addition to the already open and successful toy store and ice cream places. All these business can be good for each other. And good for my neighborhood. And when people use the lakefront for businesses and recreation, they will see how beautiful it is here and come often, so that should be good for the lake, too.

The open field may not exactly be a "field of dreams" but I do believe there is a bit of a “Build it and they will come” effect. I am not much of an economist, but I am sure some economic guru would have something to day about this literally “grass roots” movement. It can only be better for all of us.

By the way, there are many good bike paths in Kenosha, my favorite of them is along the lakefront. Jeff has maps at his bike rental stand if you are interested. Jeff is at the red flag at the far upper corner of the field picture.

Activity at the Kenosha Harbor

2009-06-15T19:28:00.006-05:00

This is what I saw this morning when I was out walking the dog. I figured they were dredging the harbor and I wanted to learn more about what they were doing and why. But I didn’t really know who was “in charge” of the Kenosha Harbor, so I had to do some snooping around. Of course, the first thing I did was go to my trusty search engine and that lead me to the Kenosha Public Works Department. When I called their office, I spoke to a perplexed person who didn’t know who took care of the harbor either. She put me on hold for a minute or so, and then came back to transfer me to the Parks Department. There, the person was also perplexed but she transferred me to someone, who it turned out was exactly the right person for me to speak with. All in all, not too painful of a process.

I spoke with Jeff Warnock, Park Superintendent, who gave me the information I needed plus much more. First of all, about the dredging in the harbor. That is being done by the US Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with the city. The dredging is necessary because of the buildup of silt that settles in the harbor. When that happens not only does the harbor become shallower (in some places barely three feet, according to Jeff), it also plugs up the water intake pipe for the water used by the north side of the city. In order to keep the port open, the government requires this dredging, which on average takes place every 5 years. Although there will not be a Tall Ships Festival here this summer (a victim of the economy), we all look forward to seeing the ships here in the future and the dredging will make that possible.

The process involves a type of drilling that forces air down under the silt to push the water up. The water is then screened to remove the solids and the return the cleaner water to the harbor. The solid material is hauled away and will end up on the north side of Simmons Island where it will become part of the beach – a good example of recycling and a win-win situation.

During my conversation, I also learned about another project that will be taking place in the harbor, perhaps as early as this week. This involves some changes to the dock near the Kenosha Yacht Club. I will watch for it and try to get some pictures of that, too, but I have satisfied my need to know more about the activity along the harbor and will leave it at that for today.

During our conversation, Jeff and I both agreed that most people here in Kenosha undervalue the harbor and lakefront. I do believe that is slowly changing, as evidence by the numbers of people who were out enjoying it over the weekend. When I was on the home page of the Park Department, I read their Mission Statement. It is this: To advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people. I want them to know that it is “mission accomplished” for me.

Keep the Kenosha Engine Plant Open!

2009-06-14T15:37:00.008-05:00

Years ago, I am told, when a resident of Kenosha traveled outside Wisconsin and was asked where he or she lived, when the city was identified, the response was often, “Oh, that’s a big auto town, isn’t it?”

“Yup, that’s the place”, was the proud response.

They have been making cars in Kenosha since the early days of cars. First, it was Ramblers, then Nash Ramblers, then American Motors cars. During its heyday, AMC employed over 17,000 people here. In the 1970’s things started to decline, and Renault, a French carmaker, was here for a while. After that, Renault was sold to Chrysler, who ended auto production here in the 1980’s. Now all that is left is the Daimler Chrysler Engine plant and that may soon change, too. The remaining vestige of Kenosha’s long standing auto industry is scheduled to close because of the auto industry bailout and the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, an Italian auto maker.

Everyone in town is concerned about the proposed closing of the engine plant because even those who are not current or retired auto workers will be affected. There isn’t anyone in town, from merchants to doctors, who won’t feeling this closing if it happens.
I attended a meeting the other night where representatives from the UAW spoke about the situation. I found it interesting that their attitude was not one of anger about the plant closing, for they said if Chrysler is not selling cars, they don’t need engines and there isn’t much the workers here can do about that. What angers them, though, is that these job are not scheduled to disappear – they are scheduled to move to Mexico.

It angers me, too. It is not right. One can argue whether the shift away from auto manufacturing has been good or bad for the city. In the 1970’s and 1980’s when American Motors was headquartered in Detroit, there were many who at that time wanted to say goodbye to the absentee landlords. After they did leave, the land on which the lakeshore auto production plant stood was cleaned up and turned into Harbor Park, a piece of land that now houses residences (where I live), museums, marinas, and parks. I suppose if you had asked the people seen here enjoying the perfect June afternoon we had today, they would agree that the city turned this old industrial site into beautiful public property.

There is no question that this is an auto town. It seems there isn’t a summer evening or weekend without some kind of car show. There’s the big one at Simmons Island or the one in downtown Kenosha. There are smaller ones in fast food parking lots and city parks. There are shows with all kinds of cars and those that specialize in everything from Ramblers and AMC models to Corvettes, muscle cars and who knows what else.

But beyond the love of cars in K-town, the engine plant employs over 800 workers. They should not loose their jobs without very, very good reason, and those jobs certainly should not be exported to Mexico. Our government officials need to know we feel about this, and not just UAW member or people who live in Kenosha. They also need to hear from people all over Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, and the United States. They need to hear from all of us – car lovers and those of us who don’t care whether a car has much more than four tires and an engine and gets us where we want to go.

By the way, if you want to know more about the history of the automobile industry in Kenosha, visit the Kenosha History Center, which just happens to be across the harbor from where the American Motors plant used to be.

A Short Shoreline

2009-06-11T09:48:00.003-05:00

Last week I was in Pittsburgh, one of my favorite cities. I was delighted when I heard the G20 will be meeting there in September. Pittsburgh was chosen because it is rust belt city that has successfully re-invented itself. I only wish my hometown of Buffalo had done better but it seems to lack the vision of the Pittsburgh’s leaders. I hope my current hometown of Kenosha takes note of the transition in Pittsburgh and uses it as a role model.

While in Pittsburgh we visited three wonderful gardens. The city has the right climate for lush, urban gardens and everyone seems to have a green thumb. Contributing to the success of these backyard beauties is the ample annual rainfall. The city is green and moist - especially this year - and the gardens were flourishing. There is no need to divert water from the Great Lakes here.

My husband and I lived in Pittsburgh for a year and we were back visiting with some of the people we met that year. As is usually the case with people you don’t see often and don’t keep in touch with, there is a lot of catching up to do.

“What are you doing these days,” they would ask me.

My answer is usually “Odds and ends. I write, I weave, I knit, I do some volunteer work and I have a blog.”

“A blog? What’s it about?”

“The Great Lakes.”

Inevitably, in Pittsburgh that was met with almost dead silence or a perplexed look and a brief comment like, “That’s interesting.”

I wanted to pursue the topic, but they usually didn’t. However, in one case, a couple we had dinner with pushed a little further. These are folks in their seventies who are curious, interesting and very, very bright. Yet when I spoke briefly about my love of the Great Lakes and the need to protect it, or about water diversion or invasive species, this was all new to them. I didn’t tell them about the Great Lakes Compact and that their state had to sign it order for it to pass. The conversation we did have about my passion was brief - they were much more interested in my weaving.

I was remind of this yesterday as I listened WUWM , the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s NPR station. The program Lake Effect was on when turned on the car radio on my way to the store. I heard an interview with Rebecca Klaper from the Great Lakes Water Institute. Dr. Klaper was one of the speakers at the series I attended earlier in the spring at the Discovery Museum. In the radio interview she responded to questions about the decision to allow New Berlin to divert water, the proposal of the same by Waukesha and spoke about the Great Lakes Compact in general. Later in the morning, after I ran my errands, I got back in the car the program featured the musical initiative to combat invasive species that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

Somehow, although I love Pittsburgh, I don’t think I would have heard either of these two programs on their local radio station. It’s just not a priority for them but here in Wisconsin both featured topics are very important. I guess it’s a matter of perspective and 50 or so miles of shoreline on Lake Erie just doesn’t give enough of it. I would guess the residents of Erie, PA are more aware of the issues. After all, its what they see in their backyard.

Is Water Alive?

2009-06-09T12:51:00.002-05:00

It has not been because of a lack of passion or purpose that I have not written recently, but more because of a lack of time, coupled with more mundane reasons relating to my idiosyncratic computer. Plus, daily writing, or even tri-weekly, is a habit easily broken. I needed something to jolt me back into my musings and it was a Mary Oliver poem that did it.

A few years ago, I received a gift of a volume of Oliver’s poems called “Why I Wake Early”. It was a treasured gift (even though I hardly ever wake early) but I loaned it to a friend. This friend was a lover of poetry and had taught me how to better read a poem, and because she was very sick, I wanted to share these poems with her. She died shortly after I gave her the book, and although I could have asked her family for it back, somehow I felt it needed to stay wherever it was. Last week I finally got around to replacing the small volume.

If you don’t know Mary Oliver, she is an award-wining poet who often writes about nature. Here are a few lines from the poem that brought me back to my writing. The poem is called Some Things, Say the Wise Ones. In it, Oliver contemplates what makes something alive. She writes:

About cows, and starfishes, and roses, there is no
argument. They die, after all

But water is a question, so many living thing in it,
but what is it, itself, living or not? Oh, gleaming

generosity how can they write you out?

When I first studied biology many years ago, I learned the activities required to qualify an entity as living. Among them, if I can remember, were reproduction, growth, metabolism, respiration, adaptation, response to stimuli and maybe death. Even though the study of biology has changed in the past four decades, I think the definitions still hold.

Perhaps water falls in a special category of life – sort of like viruses – although I do not imply they are alike, but viruses are quasi-alive. They grow and reproduce, but not without a host. Water doesn’t metabolize, grow, or reproduce – theoretically, there is the same amount of water on earth today as there was when the planet was created, but it does respond to stimuli and I guess it can die, or at least bodies of water can die. What else would you call what has happened to the Aral Sea?

There is no question for me that the water beyond my windows is alive. It changes, sometimes seemingly in an instant. It exchanges oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases. It responds to stimuli such as wind and temperatures. It moves. It has moods and sports different colors to indicate those moods. It can be angry or docile, comforting or fearsome. It speaks, sometimes in roars, sometimes in whispers, but it always has a presence and a voice.

There is also no question for me, or anyone else, that life requires water. Mine certainly does, and not just to dissolve my enzymes, electrolytes, and carry my vital chemicals. I have chosen to live near water and I need to continue to explore it, protect it, learn about it, and enjoy it. And I suppose, write about it, so here I am again.

Shipwrecks in Book, Song, and Legend

2009-05-15T16:42:00.003-05:00

I am still thinking about The Highwaymen concert a few nights ago. Shipwrecks seem to be a popular topic for folk songs. In the hour and half concert The Highwaymen sang about two, the Reuben James, the first ship to be sunk in World War II, and the Stan Roger’s song, The Mary Ellen Carter. I have not been able to determine if Mary Ellen Carter was a real ship but the song certainly is real.

There were many shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, the most well known being the one in the song sung by Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Who, upon hearing either the name of the ship or the singer, does not start to sing the haunting opening lines to that song?

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee".
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.

A few years ago, I took a writing class from Michael Schumacher. No, not the racecar driver- the Kenosha author of the book “The Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. It is a detailed description of the November 1975 shipwreck on Lake Superior. Mike has another book now, also about a Great Lakes shipwreck, called “The Wreck of the Carter D: The True Story of Loss, Survival and Rescue at Sea” I have not read this yet, but it tells the story of the 1958 wreckage of the Carl D. Bradley that sank in 1958 in northern Lake Michigan.

As for me, I am in another writing class – this one on what is called The Art of Creative Non-fiction. The instructor spent the first two hours trying to get across the concept of what that means. Basically, it means writing non-fiction using techniques more common in fiction such as description, detail, drama, and dialogue. Some of the folks in the class had a problem understanding what that meant. Perhaps I should have referred them to Mike’s book. It has all the elements needed to create a great read.

There are several books about Great Lakes shipwrecks as well as maps for divers who want to explore them. There are several websites, too – all you have to do is google Great Lakes shipwrecks, and you’ll find them. I know my son-in-law Dan would enjoy diving around some of those sites, but that may have to wait until he finishes the MBA program he just began. Still, if he wants he can check out the sites and E-dive. I know it’s not the same, but it may have to do for now. Or maybe we can make the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point in the UP a destination for a family trip. My son and his S.O. could come, too. She is a Yupper and still has close family there.

The more I think of it, a road trip sounds like a good idea. Sounds like a song, too. Maybe Gypsy Rover?

Under the Influence of a Song

2009-05-13T10:50:00.004-05:00

As a kid, I didn’t know who wrote " This land is your land, this land is my land." I only knew it as a summer camp song, one of my favorites. I recently learned that Woody Guthrie wrote it, and he wrote this strong but gentle song as a response to Kate Smith’s version of God Bless America. My source for this information called her singing bombastic, and to avoid plagiarism, I tried to find another word for her militaristic style, but none of the choices the thesaurus gave me was quite right, so I will stick with bombastic. Kate’s patriotic rendition of that song was part of my childhood, too.

I was reminded of Guthrie’s famous song last night at a concert where the folk group from the 1960’s, The Highwaymen, performed here in Kenosha. They sang the song, along with some of their other hits (Michael, Row the Boat Ashore, Cottonfields and the one I was courted to – Gypsy Rover).

Although folk music was popular in the 60’s, my husband introduced me to much more of it than just what hit the airwaves. It was because of him – and Pete Seeger, and many others – that I learned about the influence of music on politics and culture and about the strong stories told through folk music.

Perhaps because of last night’s concert, or perhaps because I just wrote about invasive species and VHS, I paid special attention to a small blurb in this morning’s newspaper about “musical messages” that have been written about invasive species. Weird connection, right, but why not? If we can sing about war, labor unions, and bad government, why can’t we sing about zebra mussels and their war on our waters?

So check this out. You can listen to songs called “One Bait, One Lake” and “The Ballad of Invasive Species” and others, as well as get more information, at this University of Wisconsin Extension website. It’s a great resource and will link you to others as well.

If music can make a difference, and I think it can, invasive species beware. You are about to be attacked by a strumming guitar and well-chosen words.

STANT Kenosha of the USCG

2009-05-10T17:17:00.016-05:00

One of our neighbors had an open house yesterday so we went. They live across the harbor in a white building with a red roof, which I think of as the original Red Roof Inn. These neighbors have three boats, which I often see them maneuvering out in the harbor or on the lake. Their home accommodates 22 active people. During the summer, at sunset I can hear them play taps and in the distance see them lowering the flag. I am never up to see them raise it in the morning.

Our neighbors are STANT Kenosha of the Ninth District of the United States Coast Guard. The Ninth District, headquartered in Cleveland, is responsible for all operations on the Great Lakes. STANT stands for Station Aid to Navigation Team. This unit is responsible for numerous duties but their primary mission is Search and Rescue. If you saw the 2006 movie The Guardian, with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, you learned a lot about the training and mission of the USCG and got to watch an exciting movie as well.

The Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, may be the least known of the Armed Forces. Among its many duties are the enforcement of maritime law, the protection of coastal waters and shores, protection of maritime environment and search and rescue. I didn’t know until yesterday that the USCG serves overseas, too. Currently, we were told by one of our hosts, USCG are involved in operations in the Middle East protecting naval vessels and also participating in training of Iraqi military.

The Kenosha unit has been here since 1879. On our visit we went inside the red roofed main building, saw a movie, learned a little of the history of this base, and perused a big scrapbook filled with clippings about the people that have been rescued in recent years by this unit. If you read the 9th District’s blog you can a read a letter from someone who was recently rescued by them. Heroic stuff – although these young men all seemed to take rescuing people all in a day’s work.

Michael and I were impressed with the people we talked to and were glad we walked over there to meet them. They are more than our neighbors. They protect our waters, shorelines, and beaches. Today when I was out walking the dog, there were strong winds off the lake and temperatures only about 50 degrees. I don’t know for sure but I would guess there were small craft warnings out, yet I saw a sailboat bobbing out on the lake. I hope whoever was in that boat doesn’t meet my neighbors until the next time they have an open house. If they don’t visit, at least they should acknowledge that the USCG is a good neighbor, helping protect our waters and sometimes boaters from themselves.

By the way, the little boat Michael is standing by is NOT one of the three boats the unit maintains, but it's cute isn't it? ( As is Michael!).

Icky and Pretty

2009-05-07T10:03:00.004-05:00

I can’t tell you how many times I have passed the sign that says VHS Alert. Boats and Anglers. Do not move water or live fish (including baitfish) from these waters. It then says that VHS is viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a virus that infects fish not people. The sign shows some gross pictures of fish with swollen eyes, red, bloody organs, and splotchy skin. It goes on to tell anglers how to prevent the spread of this disease by making sure all fish and bait are dead before leaving the fishing area, cleaning out ballast water, and taking other precautions.

Why all of a sudden did I pay attention to this sign? Could the reason have something to do with the current scare about swine flu? Maybe, maybe not, but it is true that we have all been a lot more aware of viruses in the past few weeks.

VHS is not related to swine flu – or H1N1 Type A Influenza as we are now supposed to call it. Although they are both RNA viruses (which refers to the icky reproducing parts inside the virus), flu viruses have additional proteins on their surface. Those are the H’s and N’s from which the flu virus gets its more politically correct name.

Should I believe the literature about VHS that says it does not infect humans? Sure – for now. I am not suggesting that the next pandemic will be fish flu. However, VHS is an invader, which was first seen in 2003 in Lakes Erie and Huron. It is much smaller than the smallest zebra or quagga mussel and therefore may be much harder to control, and it can cause massive fish kills.

I read the sign carefully, and when I got home I checked a few facts about VHS on the web, which as we all know is the ultimate source of all good information. (I am not sure how to portray skepticism in writing – maybe it’s a smiley face winking). If you want to learn more, the Wisconsin DNR has a lot of information, as do the websites of affected states, US Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service, and of course Wikipedia. No lack of information – let’s hope that the anglers read at least some of it. And if they don’t, that they, unlike me, at least read the signs posted near the water and cleaning stations. But then, I am not an angler, only an angler-watcher.

A better part of my walk was passing the flower gardens. One of my neighbors was weeding a small patch of it and she seemed very happy to be sitting on the stone path, pulling weeds form the section of garden she maintains. Even though this is public property, volunteers keep it looking good. Here’s proof. Aren’t these daffodils beautiful? Further inland away from the cooling air of the lake, the spring flowers are already starting to fade, but not these. They are out in all their glory and it is much more pleasant to think about them than the organs of fish invaded by icky little clumps of RNA.

Marathon Morning

2009-05-02T13:42:00.008-05:00

Most Saturday mornings are somewhat sleepy around here. Sure, there are people walking along the harbor, and runners, too, but not like this morning. Today was the first ever-Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha. Two thousand runners crowded into the neighborhood before 7 AM (no, I was not there to greet them) and began either a full marathon or a half marathon run. By 9 AM when we went out, some of the half marathon runners had already passed the finish line.

I don’t have the exact time of the winner of the marathon or his name (I am sure it will be in tomorrow morning’s newspaper) but he finished far ahead of his competitors. A lithe young man, he easily went through the yellow tape, seemingly not even breathing hard. Kudos to him, whoever he is. But kudos to everyone who ran- including those who now, almost five hours later are still coming up the final mile. I give them as much credit as the winner for finishing - and for trying.

It was a perfect day for showing off the lakefront with blue skies dotted by a few fluffy clouds, light breeze off the lake and morning temperatures in the fifties. The race started at Celebration Plaza the other side of the Kenosha Museums, ran north to Carthage College along the lake, then back south to the state line, then back to the plaza area. Almost the entire way, there were views of Lake Michigan. And some of the better neighborhoods of Kenosha, too.

But for some, this was just another Saturday morning in May. The owner of this well equipped fishing boat might have been doing what he does every Saturday morning. I hope the owner of the large sailboat that was tacking back and forth across the narrow harbor inlet wasn’t doing what he does every Saturday morning. I watched as he tacked in front of small fishing boats, showing off his sleek boat. He was probably in perfect control but it still looked kind of reckless.

Once again kudos to those who ran this first time ever Kenosha Marathon and to the organizers of it as well. I hope we see many more such events in the future. They were smart to limit the number of entrants this first time. Judging from the fact that the event was sold out, and that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, I think it was a success. If they want to up the number to 3,000 entrants next year, I think Kenosha can handle it. I won’t run, but I sure will be there to cheer them all on.

Live Like You Mean it in Pure Michigan?

2009-04-29T13:54:00.003-05:00

I am not sure who does the ad campaign for Michigan tourism, but I have to stay they do a great job. Every time I hear an ad for Pure Michigan, I want to hop in the car and drive there. This morning I heard one that really got to me. It’s the one that says, “Realize water’s true potential”. I heard it on the radio and could only imagine the pictures, so I checked it out. The visuals are stunning, as are some of the other short videos at Pure Michigan – Michigan’s Official Travel and Tourism site.

By comparison, Wisconsin’s new ad makes me yawn. The theme for Wisconsin Tourism 2009 is Live Like You Mean It. There has been a lot written about the fact that the theme is not original, but for me that’s not the problem. The theme is - well, so ho hum. The first time I heard it I wondered, “What does that mean?” It doesn’t exactly entice me to visit all the wonderful spots in Wisconsin. Whatever happened to Escape to Wisconsin? That was popular when I was still living in Illinois, and only thinking of returning to Wisconsin. I loved seeing all the Illinois cars sporting that bumper sticker as they crossed the state line.

According to state officials, Wisconsin chose the 2009 based on more than tourism. They thought it would distinguish the state from its competitors in areas such as agriculture and commerce, too. I think it distinguishes us – but not in the way they wanted. I guess I am not the only one who doesn’t like the theme. Neither do 78% of the people who participated in the Business Journal (Milwaukee) poll a few weeks ago.

Michigan and Wisconsin are both states that are hurting in this economy – maybe Michigan even has us beat in this area. Tourism is an important business for both states and summer is a critical time. If ad campaigns matter, I think Michigan is going to win. And I am going to be one of those who head over to the Michigan side of my home lake.

Sure, part of the reason is that my son lives on the shores of Lake St. Clair and I will be visiting him Memorial Day weekend, but it’s more than that. I want to “realize water’s true potential” although I guess I could also ask the same question about this slogan – what does that mean? But it sounds so good. And I feel like I always live like I mean it – or should I say as if I mean it - whether I am in Illinois, New York, Michigan, or Wisconsin. How else should I live?

Urinetown

2009-04-26T12:35:00.003-05:00

As a professed water watcher, I cannot help but comment on the play I saw last night. It is called Urinetown: the Musical. Odd name, right? Odd play, too, but it was thoroughly delightful. It was performed at Bradford High School here in Kenosha, and they did a wonderful job, as they always do with their performances.

Even though Urinetown won three Tony awards and was on Broadway for almost three years, it is not among the best known of musicals. The story, which is told in an unusual way with reverse pantomime style (whatever that is), is a satire on many themes. One of those themes is water shortage. Because of a long drought, the use of toilets has been severely limited in order to conserve water. I love the name of the corrupt company that controls the toilets – Urine Good Company. The play is also filled with good vs. evil, rebellion – and love. Of course, I particularly paid attention to the water parts, and as in any good satire, there is a grain of truth.

A synopsis can be found on-line so I won’t rehash it. And if you are reading this and live in Southeastern Wisconsin, I strongly encourage you to catch the play next week. It will be here in K-town for one more week.

Guilt-free Eating?

2009-04-22T16:46:00.008-05:00

That wonderful dinner we had last weekend to celebrate my son-in-law’s birthday keeps playing back to me. Not the conversation but rather the menu. The restaurant where we celebrated specializes in seafood. The choices in our group ranged from a seafood sampler to mahi-mahi, Chilean sea bass, and salmon. I had the steelhead trout, which was delicious.

I knew as we were placing our orders that some of those fish, like the Chilean bass, were among those that are being depleted from our oceans. I did not speak up and tell my companions this, and I guess I feel a little guilty that I didn’t. I don’t carry one of the Seafood Watch pocket guides that tell you what seafood to avoid and offers good alternatives. Even if I did, I am not sure I would have said anything. There was more that I could feel guilty about, too, besides the decadent desserts that we enjoyed. None of the fish, including mine, were local varieties and all had to be shipped to this suburb of Chicago so we could enjoy our meal.

Today as I was checking out a couple of my favorite blogs for Earth Day I came across an updated version of a way to check my Ecological Footprint. One of the questions it asks is how much of the food I eat is local. My choices were limited – all, half, a quarter or none, so I picked a quarter, knowing that’s not totally true. It might be true in the summer, but certainly not at this time of year. I do avoid buying cantaloupe and tomatoes in the off – season but admittedly that is as much because they don’t taste good and are too expensive.

I try to be careful about other things that I buy, too, with some shopping trips being more successful than others. Between counting calories, cholesterol and salt, watching the budget, and worrying about my various footprints, I wonder if it is possible to eat guilt-free anymore.

Back to fish. I eat little meat, mostly for health reasons but at this point fish, poultry and veggie meals are my preference. I would like to eat local fish, but given the cautions about Great Lakes fish, what would I eat? And where would I buy it? And how would I know if it was safe? I don’t have the answers to these questions and if someone can help me out on it, I would appreciate it.

There is one thing I do not have to feel guilty about today. I promised that I would not drive on Earth Day and I didn’t – and it was harder than I expected. My plans for the day were cancelled and I had nothing much to do. I thought about visiting a friend who lives on the other side of town, or going shopping, or taking Burlee out to a park, but all would have meant driving, so I didn’t. I didn’t do laundry either, although that was not a hardship.

Burlee and I did go for a walk close to home. Along our route, we saw a few of the sport fishermen that enjoy Lake Michigan. Some were along the harbor; others were getting their boats ready in the Small Boat Harbor, as seen above. Soon that harbor, which cannot accommodate the tall masts of sailboats, will be filled with fishing boats of all sizes. Fishermen of all sizes, too. I just wonder if they eat what they catch.

Celebrations

2009-04-19T12:27:00.003-05:00

Both Earth Day and my son-in-law’s birthday (April 22) come in the middle of the week this year, so celebrations for both took place yesterday. Although not specifically an Earth Day event, my husband and I went to Milwaukee for last of the Great Lakes Water Institute’s lectures in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the dinner for my son in law was in Cook County, Illinois later that day. Driving 40 miles north, then 60 miles south was not exactly an earth-friendly thing to do, but we wanted to attend both events, so we did. However, I will only tell you about one of the events.

The topic at the GLWI was “How the UWM Water Institute Scientists Influence Policy, Law, and Management of Our Freshwater Resources”. The two speakers, Rebecca Klaper and Peter McAvoy did a nice job of summarizing the science behind political issues, telling us about pollutants, where they come from, how they affect public health, and what we can do about it. I picked up a few facts, but in general, I am not sure I learned anything new. However, the talk was a good summary and for the newcomer to this topic, I am sure it very informative.

There were maybe 40 people in the audience (don’t quote me, I’m not good at estimation) and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of them were actually newcomers to the topic. A few people came into the lecture and then, perhaps when they realized that it was a serious presentation, quietly left via the back door. As always, one wonders if an audience like this isn’t the proverbial choir that has already heard the sermon. I would be curious to know.

Still I think these events are important and I would like to see more of them. Even if one or two people learn something – and even better are motivated to do something – the program will have been a success. And as someone who “sort of does something”, I was pushed to do more, and that’s a good thing. The series of lectures was entitled Celebrating Freshwater, and it did exactly that.

I know I wasn’t going to tell you about the birthday celebration, but I changed my mind. We had a wonderful time, with great food and great company. I am not sorry I went to both events, but I also know I will have to repent in some way. So on Wednesday, the real Earth Day, I plan not to drive anywhere. I will walk wherever I go. I will not do laundry and I will not waste water. If I walk to the store, I will carry my tote bag and not use either plastic or paper. I will make amends for my wasteful ways – but I will not say that I was wrong to go to both celebrations yesterday. Sometimes you got to do what you got to do.

Signs of Spring

2009-04-17T09:25:00.007-05:00

It was in the mid fifties yesterday, with sunny skies and light breezes. It’s also spring break for the local schools. Burlee, the pug, and I had a great walk by the lakefront and so did many other people. Along the way, I saw people strolling, playing in the park, skateboarding, and even kissing along the water. I saw people fishing and riding bikes. I saw a yacht being lowered into the marina and another out on the lake. I even saw evidence of someone not working.

Today’s is expected to be even warmer – a day to put some spring in your step. And boats into the water.

The Language of Water

2009-04-14T13:59:00.006-05:00

It’s raining again today. Although I am not happy running errands or walking my dog in the rain, I understand that this rain is necessary. It’s more than that April showers bring May flowers. It’s that rain - and water - are critical to life. All my cells and their chemical reactions need water to survive. So do those flowers, the bees that pollinate them, and the rabbits that eat them.

This has gotten me thinking about the water cycle and I spent some time this morning pondering where water goes, how long it sticks around, and other related topics. I did some research and found some cool things.

But I have to take a moment to share something else I saw on my way to learning about hydrology. One of my favorite websites is that of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which has often been a source of information for me. The section on Water Science for Schools is terrific and not just for schools. It provides tons of information, charts and graphs that everyone can use. There are games, surveys, and other activities, too.

Today I was especially struck by one of the side panels on the site – the one that lists how many languages the water cycle diagram and summaries are available in. There are over 60 languages listed – with a note that more are coming. They range from Afrikaans and Albanian to Uzbek, Wolof and Zulu (Where the heck do they speak Wolof?)

Okay, I digress. But don’t you think it's interesting that the USGS provides this information in so many languages? Talk about what I learned on the way to learning about the water cycle. I learned that the United States may have its problems, but it still seems to have a mission to educate. We may not always know how to do it effectively but there are plenty of people who are trying. And not just for our own children but for the world. We could paraphrase Emma Lazarus in her poem The New Colossus “ Give me your tired, your poor, your uneducated…”

To paraphrase someone else, “Is this a great country or what?”

And just so you know – according to Wikipedia, Wolof is spoken by 3.2 million ethnic Wolof people in Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. A quick look at the geography of these countries shows me that they differ greatly in their relationship to water, but I am sure that understanding the water cycle – in any language - is important to all of them.