Chris Hardie

I will simply state that the opening weekend of the 2025 Wisconsin gun deer hunting season sucked.

As we head into another Thanksgiving, I have to admit that I am having a difficult time this year getting myself into a thankful frame of mind.

My visit to the woods was to find a location and build a new deer hunting stand. I needed to find a spot overlooking the natural crossings of deer that also provided a wide vista.

For the past five-plus years I have dealt with vertigo, which is the sensation that the world around me is spinning. It hit me hard in February of 2020 when I suddenly couldn’t walk because of the spinning and was violently ill like I had the world’s case of food poisoning.

The shortening days and the changing colors of autumn are visual reminders to me that another year is coming to a close.

It’s been a strange fall season as we head into mid-October.

The towering bluffs were shrouded with fog and ribbons of lightning flicked across the dark sky as I said goodbye to the waning hours of the summer.

I’ve had a fascination with caves as far back as I can remember. My first recollection was when I was maybe 4 years old living near Milwaukee.

My descendants and their lives were on my mind recently when my wife Sherry and I visited the Norskedalen Nature and Heritage Center near Coon Valley.

Technically Labor Day is a holiday to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers and not meant as a day for extra work. I get confused about such things as the years slip by, as I celebrated early with some extreme labor.