Chris Hardie

deer tick

Brazen tick attacks unmentionables

Summer hasn’t even started yet and I’ve already been to the doctor twice for imbedded ticks. The first was on my arm. I also removed several others crawling over my body. This past summer I had Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by a tick bite.

robins

Robins find unusual nesting spots

The Hardies have had robins build nests in many places through the years — including on the rear bumper of a pickup truck when it was parked for a while with the tailgate down.

dandelion

Dandelion — friend or foe?

A sure sign of spring is yellow in the green — the annual appearance of the ubiquitous dandelion. You may hate how it looks in your lawn, but the dandelion does have its benefits.

Aging comes less than gracefully

One of the insults of aging is that I still think I can do all the activities exactly the same as I did when I was younger. But I can’t.

water, feed mill

Water empowered early agriculture

The Driftless Area region of Wisconsin is blessed with abundant rivers and streams that flow through valleys. Early European settlers in our region took advantage of those water resources to build mills powered by the flowing streams.

goats

Clever goats excel at breakouts

The arrival of spring on the farm means plenty of fieldwork. But it also means goats and other livestock breaking through fences to arrive at the greenness on the other side.

chris hardie, tooth, gold crown

Gold strike not all glitter

Ever since my first newspaper column was published in 1983, I’ve always strived to craft something that readers could really sink their teeth into. But this week’s story is pure gold.

spring flowers

Spring harbingers soothe souls

Harbinger. I can’t think of a better word to describe the sights of robins, geese flying north, trees budding, and spring returning.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association