UNCOMMONLY FINE WRITING
Soaking Up the Summer in Fish Creek
Submitted by Visit Fish Creek We’re not quite sure how we got to August already, but here we are! The dog days of summer are upon us, and so is squeezing in that one last summer vacation before the season […]
Read MoreWeeding Out Your Words
So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads. – Dr. Seuss Contributed by Write On, Door County If you live with an avid gardener – or if you are one […]
Read MoreAn Overlooked Tradition: Looking back at the History of the Door County Fair
Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (August 4, 2023) – The Door County Historical Society will host its August Dinner Program, on Monday, August 28, 2023, at 6:00 PM. The event will take place at Birmingham’s, located on Bay Shore Drive in Sturgeon […]
Read MoreMeteor Shower Party
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads is excited to host the Bear Clan Dancers and Singers as the First Friday Event in August. It is an honor to host these Ho Chunk performers who will […]
Read MoreCelebrate Plum Bottom Gallery’s Plein Air Artists in Honor of Door County Plein Air Festival
Tom Smith began to paint in 2012 when he stopped teaching. He is now a member of the League of Milwaukee Artists, the Wauwatosa Artists Workshop, the Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association, Fine Art Montage, and The Rogues Artists Group. […]
Read MoreWe Love Honeybees
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Thanks to the Beekeepers of Door County, we have several demonstration hives at Crossroads. Thanks to our restoration efforts, our preserves also are home to native wild bees – probably […]
Read MoreEric Lewis Meets Will Healy
By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director, Midsummer’s Music 7-6-23 I imagine the title of our upcoming program creates a few questions among our followers. Who are these guys? And why? Those quite familiar with Midsummer’s Music know that Will Healy is […]
Read MoreSummer Memories
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads at Big Creek is the perfect place to make summer memories, and this week, the opportunities for making childhood memories abound. Aside from, say, Christmas, most of my childhood […]
Read MoreBooks Beat Boredom
You’re never bored if you have the desire to write. The writer’s curse is that even in solitude, no matter its duration, he never grows lonely or bored. – Criss Jami By Jerod Santek, Founding & Artistic Director, Write On […]
Read MoreOpen Door Bird Sanctuary Presentation at Crossroads
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. As a part of the First Friday Series, Crossroads at Big Creek will host a family-friendly presentation by representatives from the Open Door Bird Sanctuary. They promise an up-close and […]
Read MoreEmotional Vibrations
By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director, Midsummer’s Music Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was born 150 years ago. We are celebrating this anniversary by playing one of his few chamber music works, Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 9, which contains the inscription, “In Memory […]
Read MoreMidsummer’s Music: Women to be Heard
By Allyson Fleck, Executive Director and Assistant Artistic Director, Midsummer’s Music “Too long denied sufficient hearings, these three women present contrasting styles and convincingly moving musical statements, full of power and élan, demanding that they be heard.” A coveted text […]
Read MoreMidsummer’s Music: Flair Fare
By Jim Berkenstock, Artistic Director, June 10, 2023 “Opening with a Flair!” the program book reads. Okay, Great! “But Bartók and Fauré?” you say. So, let me explain. I understand that putting those two composers on the same program may […]
Read MoreComing Out as a Writer
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. –Audre Lorde Recently, a member of one of our writing groups said, “You know, it was hard coming out as gay. […]
Read MorePlan Your Next Trip To Door County
By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. Waves crashing, your Adirondack perfectly positioned so the water barely touches your toes and your cup full of Cold Brew coffee….ahhh.. The time to start planning your yearly trip to Door County is […]
Read MoreWisconsin had the second-best 10-year small business survival rate over the last decade
Originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio (wpr.org) Wisconsin had the second-best 10-year small business survival rate in the nation over the last decade. Only Iowa had a better ranking. That’s according to a recent analysis from The Southern Bank Company, a […]
Read MoreWriting as Medicine: Mental Health Awareness Month
Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change. –Julia Cameron May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We often talk about how difficult it is to write, how satisfying it is […]
Read MoreWhat is a Mushroom?
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Mushroom Day, Bird Club and a Master Gardener Lecture featuring Door County Parks are the public educational programs this week, while out in the preserves, EarthWorks after school group, the Big Plant, […]
Read MoreCall the Fish Veterinarian
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Question: What do you do if you catch a fish with a virus? Answer: Call the fish veterinarian. (And, really, you shouldn’t use a virus to catch a fish; you […]
Read MoreSomething Fishy at Crossroads
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Construction on the new bridge at Crossroads at Big Creek is on hold until June. The reason is revealed in the name of the bridge – Pike Passage. Big Creek […]
Read MoreEGG-Stravaganza
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. After extensive review of scientific research, we at Crossroads have determined that it is highly unlikely that rabbits deliver eggs to Crossroads at Big Creek. But other creatures, large and […]
Read MoreCasting Change in Northern Sky Board: A Legacy of Leadership
On April 1, our longtime beloved board member Cyndy Stiehl will step down from the board after 26 years of service. We hope you enjoy these thoughts about Cyndy’s incredible legacy. As Cyndy Stiehl prepares for the curtain to close […]
Read MoreMy Double Life, Memoirs of a Naturalist
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. To commemorate Women’s History Month, Crossroads at Big Creek’s Book Club has selected the book, “My Double Life, Memoirs of a Naturalist,” by Frances Hamerstrom. Fran Hamerstrom was among the […]
Read MoreHow Cranes Became a Symbol of Hope and Healing
Sadako Sasaki was a young girl living in Hiroshima in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped there. Sadako was merely one-year-old at that time. Ten years later, in 1955, she was diagnosed with Leukemia caused by the bombing. Agonized […]
Read MoreDaylight Savings Time
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. This is the week we return to Daylight Saving Time, and “losing an hour” makes us more aware of photoperiod—the hours each day that a plant or animal receives light. […]
Read MoreAldo Leopold Day 2023
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads at Big Creek will honor the legacy of Aldo Leopold this weekend with two Leopold-themed hikes and a special guest lecture at our monthly Bird Club meeting. Back in […]
Read MoreFebruary 2023 News from Crossroads
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. The big news at Crossroads is that (finally) we are replacing our Pike Passage Bridge. The original structure was removed last Wednesday, and, for the next few weeks, the sounds […]
Read MoreScience of Great Lakes Fisheries
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. Crossroads at Big Creek is proud to host the kick-off event for this year’s FIRE & ICE celebration in Sturgeon Bay. A luminary-lit hike, with bonfires and hot chocolate, will […]
Read MoreSki-For-Free and More Fun at Crossroads
It’s going to be a week of fun and games at Crossroads. If we have adequate snow in which to play, Ski-for-Free will be open on Saturday and Sunday, but whatever the weather, this week our Science Saturday program will […]
Read MoreDoor County Cherry Blossoms Bloom Year Round at Plum Bottom
Blossom Time by Gail Gilson Pierce 13″ x 10″, Cherry Blossoms with Violets by Stacey Small Rupp Framed – 16″ x 20″ – Watercolor, Dangling Blossoms Earrings Sterling Silver ear wire with Sterling Silver and Gold Fill Pendant, Cherry Bowl […]
Read MoreWhat Lies Beneath the Ice?
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. During the New Year’s Eve Hike to Crossroads’ Cove Estuary Preserve, we observed ice starting to form. During the December cold snap, the whole body of water was iced over, but […]
Read More30 Years Of Door County Coffee
By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. It is truly hard to believe that we have been roasting the best coffee on the planet for 30 years. Thirty years of coffee, growth, change, memories and so much more. 30 years […]
Read MoreCelebrating Epiphany
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. All over the world, people will celebrate on January 6. In many countries, January 6 is called Epiphany or Three Kings Day. At Crossroads at Big Creek, we will celebrate the […]
Read MoreA Special End-of-Year Message for You from Jim Berkenstock
By Jim Berkenstock, Midsummer’s Music You probably know that we often refer to Midsummer’s Music in the shortened form of MM, which is also why we have the M&Ms at our concerts. But lately, I have been thinking, maybe MM […]
Read MoreDreaming of a Door County White Christmas
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. We at Crossroads are dreaming of a white Christmas so we can share the gift of walking (and maybe even skiing) in a winter wonderland. Nick’s Workshop (not to be […]
Read MoreDoor County Christmas Traditions at Crossroads
By Coggin HeeringaInterpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. “There’s is no place like home for the holidays,” and for many folks who make Door County their home or who come home for the holidays, the traditions at Crossroads are […]
Read MoreNight Tree Tradition
By Coggin Heeringa “Night Tree,” which is based on the children’s book by Eve Bunting, is a beloved tradition at Crossroads. It started years ago as a Sawyer School first grade field trip, but it has grown over the years […]
Read MoreThankful for Door County Recreation
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. This week, we are thankful for recreation, which includes a host of activities which are, according to Google’s English dictionary, “done for enjoyment when one is not working.” We at Crossroads […]
Read MoreSearching for Evidence to Indicate Prehistoric Habitation
By Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek, Inc. During Thanksgiving Week, we at Crossroads express our heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of caring for our preserves. In a way, “preserves” isn’t quite accurate. When we acquired our land, […]
Read MoreGrateful for Clean Air
We at Crossroads at Big Creek have much for which to be thankful, so we are dedicating November to celebrating the wonderful environmental services from which we benefit and which we endeavor to protect. This week (and always) we are […]
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