Sunday, March 24, 2013

Snow banks soon will fill river banks

By David Horst   sandhill7@gmail.com

As I drive between the darkening banks mounded along Highway 15, I’m not seeing snow. I’m seeing future river water.

2010 Tall Ships paddle

The red-winged blackbirds are trilling. The sandhill cranes have returned to the sand hill we call home. Winter has held us in its grip long enough.

Already, the creviced ice is receding to narrow frozen ledges along the shore and diehards are sliding canoes and kayaks over them to get back to the water.

The small but interesting band of paddlers I keep company with spent the off-season planning year number four of the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddle series.

These about monthly paddles started in 2010 with a journey down 190 miles of the upper and lower Fox River. Not all of it -- but enough to see the river’s varied faces and the many moments in time suspended along its banks.

A highlight was cruising amid the tall ships -- wooden replicas of historic sailing ships that visited Green Bay in 2010.

For Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Paddle 2013, the tall ships are back. But that’s in August and I’m getting ahead of myself.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Climate affects small bale economics

By David Horst  sandhill7@gmail.com

Paul Robbins
Paul Robbins has an environmental institute at his disposal, with many ways to measure the impact of the Midwest drought on the economy.

I have only one.

I heard Robbins, executive director of the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute for Environmental Science, speak eloquently and convincingly to the Appleton Noon Rotary about the need to determine and communicate the impact of climate change specific to Wisconsin's businesses, farms and people.

Afterwards, I offered him my measure -- the price of hay.

Due to another poor growing season, square bales of hay that hobby farmers like me were buying for $2.50 to $3 each for years, this fall were going for $6 or $7 per bale, if you could find any.

Here’s my analysis of small bale economics.