Chris Hardie

Cutting to the heart of the curse

Well, I did the math and counted the dead gas trimmers I have in my possession. In the past 20 years I have purchased seven weed trimmers. No, actually it’s eight, because last year I threw away the remnants of another one that I tried to fix but was never able to successfully put back together.

Savoring a summer morning

Listening to the onomatopoeic call of the quintessential nocturnal sound of summer brought back memories of growing up on the farm.

Remembering the Bicentennial

Fifty years ago a new word entered my vocabulary as our nation celebrated our Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Sweet seasonal strawberry picking

Last year’s plantings of strawberries are now providing us the sweet taste of late spring that is always a delicious way to welcome summer.

Porch project finally done

Earthquakes in Wisconsin are pretty rare, with a mild tremor occurring once a decade or so. But if you felt a slight seismic shift recently, it was not due to tectonic activity, but rather, to me crossing off one task on my honey-do list.

Working with friendly fire 

Levi Plath, who gets to play with fire as part of his job. Plath – the land manager with the Mississippi Valley Conservancy – has overseen the land trust’s burn plan program for the past nine years.

The matter of the heart

The power and significance of the heart has been on my mind the past few months after a medical journey of appointments, tests and procedures that is a stark reminder of my mortality and the future.