Chris Hardie

lilacs

Lilacs bring us the scent of spring

There are a few magical weeks every May when Mother Nature’s perfume fills the air. She wears essence of lilac, an intoxicating and alluring fragrance. It permeates our souls, lifts old hearts and washes away her winter cruelty. It’s the smell of spring.

Polar vortex brings dis-May

It’s a terrible incongruity to mention polar vortex in the same sentence as May. The Arctic air mass sent me grumbling back to the woodpile.

How a goat became Northfield’s biggest celebrity

Northfield’s most famous resident is not a person but rather a goat — the “Northfield Goat.” Passersby on I-94 sometimes spot the goat along the cliffs near the 100-mile marker about 2 miles southeast of town.

cows, cattle

Hardies say goodbye to cows

It was a mixture of relief and regret as I watched the cattle trailer pull out of our driveway — relief that I was able to find a good buyer for some of our last Scottish Highland cows but regret that we were essentially exiting the cow business.

chris hardie, paint, house

We’re staying busy while holding on

We have shut our inn and winery business, making us one of the millions whose income or job has been lost. We don’t know how long it will take to recover. But we have each other. Like that rope I tied around the chimney, we’re holding on the best we can.

Our world needs more people like Lisa

Our loss is that we need more empathy in this world, not less. That’s the lesson Lisa taught me and the legacy she leaves behind. She’s everything I could have wanted in a sister.

north beaver creek church, covid-19, coronavirus, hoarding

Stop hoarding, start caring

We’re all in this together. So, stop hoarding and start caring. Be strong for yourself and for your family. Be compassionate. Be generous. Be wise.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association