Geocachers

Here is an idea we used that sort of fits into your theme for gifts: A geocache tracking device. We purchased Geomate, Jr. for our young teen grandkids and then spent a few hours here and there looking for geocaches. It was fun for all ages. The one we purchased is available at Amazon.com and is about $70. There are a number of other geo tracking devices available (all for more $), but this one seemed to work fine for what we wanted to do. There is also a website, www.geocaching.com, that interacts with the whole program. This appealed to our techno teens as well. There has been some mention of geocaches in the Territory (property owner Frank Dugan was mentioned in the recent Territory Times) although we have not contacted him nor researched this yet.
— Judy Reid

[Editor's note] Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

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Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada

by France Royer & Richard Dickinson, fourth printing, 2004, The University of Alberta Press, ISBN 1-55105-221-0, $21.95 purchased at Borders

This is an easy-to-use guide that will help you identify more that 175 weed species, many of which are found in Jo Daviess County. The color photos, showing weeds at every stage of growth along with the detailed descriptions, are wonderful in identifying plants in the field. Technical information is also helpful. This is an essential reference for home gardeners, farmers, foresters, weed control specialists, and anyone interested in plants of our region.
—Chris Millenacker

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Murder at Galena Mansion

The new book in the Karen Prince mystery series features the Indian Effigy Mounds at Casper Bluff and skiing at Chestnut Mountain. This series is set in our area and written by our member Sandra Principe. Books are $15.50 and are available at Piggly Wiggly, Book World, River Lights, the General Store, and directly from Sandra. She can personalize them for your gift recipient. Contact Sandra at skprincipe@aol.com or order through her website at: www.sandraprincipe.com For phone orders or questions, call Sandra at: 815-541-0068.
— Sandra Principe

Give an Art Experience!

Give a Gift Certificate for a Create a Painting Event. Member Artist Sandra Principe is holding 3-hour workshops called: Create a Painting. In that time, she guides participants through creating an acrylic painting from start to finish. No prior painting experience required. Great way to try painting or a new medium in a risk-free environment. Class Fees are $30, with an optional materials fee of $15. Sandra will provide all supplies so you can literally walk in the door and leave with a painting in three hours! She will work with your gift recipient to find a class time that is convenient. No expiration date on certificates. Classes are held at the Guild Galley and benefit the Galena Artist Guild as well. To purchase a gift certificate or to register call Sandra Principe at 815-541-0068, or email her at: skprincipe@aol.com
— Sandra Principe

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Get Yourself to Baraboo

I visited the Leopold Center near Baraboo and was quite impressed. The center is about a mile up the road from the Leopold shack. The website is www.aldoleopold.org
— Kent Borcherding

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The Wilderness Warrior

By author David Brinkley, this title is my selection to share with those interested in the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt. Are you aware that Roosevelt set aside 234 million acres of American wilderness for our enjoyment? He fought the plume hunters (the millinery industry) and forest desecration by the logging industry. Under Roosevelt, a 'wildlife creed became national policy.' This is a witty, factual account of those early years (1901-1909) when the country had a 'naturalist president' in charge.
— Barbara Baird

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Three must-reads for conservationists

The Worst Hard Time. An untold story of those people who survived the Great American Dust Bowl and the beginnings of the soil conservation movement in the U.S. By Timothy Egan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, this National Book Award winner is a must-read and cautionary tale for any student of conservation.

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire That Saved America. Also by Timothy Egan, this New York Times bestseller tells the remarkable story of the battle to save the newly established drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho and Montana from hundreds of small forest fires that were whipped into a roaring inferno by a battering ram of wind, and the fight by Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester Gifford Pinchot to create a system of public forest land owned by and preserved for every citizen.

Correction Lines. Essays on Land, Leopold and Conservation, by Curt Meine, a writer and conservation biologist and author of the biography of Aldo Leopold. This book of essays is a valuable synthesis of the evolution of conservation from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to the present, capturing the ever-changing social values and progression of scientific knowledge that influence conservation today.
— Jerry Paulson

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The Gulf oil spill: two books to help explain what's at stake

Both books are fascinating, easy to read and chock full of important info for anyone, including land-locked Midwesterners. If you want to appreciate the vastness of the oceans, the key role they play in our biosphere, their challenges and yet how little we really know about them, read The World is Blue, by Sylvia Earle. The author, also known as "Her Deepness" because of her years of exploring the oceans of the world, is eminently qualified to speak on their behalf. This eye-opening book is a marine version of Rachel Carson's iconic “Silent Spring.”

In a similar vein, in Four Fishes author Paul Greenberg examines the state of the world's fisheries through the fate of four representative species; salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. He points out that fish are the last major food that is still basically hunted, making the case for international cooperation in limiting catches and weighing the pros and cons of fish farming. Clearly we need to drastically change current practices soon while there are still some nutritious, tasty fish left to eat!
— Laurie Mattas

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The Wild Ones

Give yourself or a friend a gift membership to the Wild Ones organization, www.for-wild.org. The Wild Ones is a national organization with local chapters (Rock Valley Chapter in Rockford is the nearest local chapter). Their Mission statement reads - "Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization."

Their goals are very similar to the Guardians and TPE, but with more of a "landscaping your property using native plants instead of lawns" focus. I find their publications very interesting and readable. I participate in their Spring and Fall native plant sales (forbs, trees, shrubs) on occasion. You have to drive to Rockford for plant pickup, but if, like me, you are a fan of Possibility Place Nursery (their usual source) it sure beats driving to Monee.
— Randy Downing

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Bats Sing, Mice Giggle: The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives

By Karen Shanor, Ph.D. and Jagmeet Kanwal, Ph.D. I heard an interview of one of the authors on NPR and knew I had to get this book and share it with my older grandkids.

If you are inquisitive about how things occur in nature I think you'll love this book. It is the result of many years of research into the inner lives of animals. Have you ever wondered how frogs can transform from a frogsicle to a lustily singing spring peeper? Have you watched a spider detect the slightest vibration of its web? Did you know that rats and mice really do like to be tickled?

Of interest, of course, is the chapter on Flirting, Courting and Coupling. Some of the subtopics sound a lot like what goes on with the humans — Couples: finding, choosing, engaging and Coupling for life — or at least until the children leave the nest.

For everyone who has experienced the wonder of dawn, the chapter on the group dynamics of the dawn chorus ends with this: "The rhythms of nature explode in dance and song, creating further emotion and effect. When in harmony, all goes well. Discord feels wrong and incomplete. Dissonance disturbs. In the very deepest way, all of life responds to the rhythms around—by growing or dying."

For all who enjoy the wonder of nature, I recommend this book, available through Amazon.
— Linda Weeder

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Prints from the website of Les Zigurski

Photos include those of bald eagles, deer, fox, and many other species living in the Northwest Illinois area. www.wildlifeimagesbyles.net

Prices range from about $50 for an unframed 8x10 print to about $90 for an unframed 13x17 print. Framed and matted prints are also available with prices varying depending on the size of the print and the frame and mat chosen. Contact Les Zigurski at 815-845-9039 or at les@wildlifeimagesbyles.net.
— Les Zigurski

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Watercolor landscapes by Brian McCormick

I’m an artist who does watercolor landscapes mostly based on property I own in the Driftless region of northern Jo Daviess County.

I offer these paintings and also Giclee print reproductions at my website at brianmccormick.artspan.com In my work I attempt to convey the area’s character: its rolling hills, narrow valleys, woods and prairies. In fact, I’m trying to restore some old fields to prairie on my property and have got to know the native plants well. You will note some place names that you may recognize in the painting titles.

My paintings will be featured at the Stone House Pottery and Gallery in Galena from May to September in 2011. Please feel free to contact me at brianmc52@yahoo.com, at my website or at 608-255-6769 with questions. I live primarily in Madison, Wisconsin, but own an 1854 stone miner’s cottage in Vinegar Hill Township, outside of Galena, which I use as a weekend retreat.
— Brian McCormick

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An offbeat thought

A British internet web site called "Sumptuosity" — http://www.sumptuosity.net/home.html — sells their own "freehand machine-embroidered pieces," small, relatively inexpensive embroidered pieces of quite charming design. I have not purchased from the site, although I'm thinking of getting a couple pieces for my daughter. They indicate prices at about four to ten UK pounds, more or less (1 pound = approximately $1.50 US), plus shipping from the UK. Their mailing costs for air small parcels to the US are in the range of 3 or 4 UK pounds.

On their home page please note the slide show, which shows such nature related items as “all creatures, great and small”, “say it with flowers” and “little things that really run the world.”
— Munn Heydorn

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Terra Brockman, The Seasons on Henry’s Farm

I read Terra Brockman in early spring. The sun, the family, the smell of newly turned soil, the thrill of the seedling popping out of the earth vibrate in Terra’s clear flowing prose.

Peggy Otis and I maintained a football-field-sized vegetable garden for many years. When most of our eaters went away to college, we gradually gave up the pains and joys of garden work.

After reading Terra’s book filled with family tales, practical knowledge, recipes, and most important, the love of the process, both its personal rewards as well as the clear-eyed description of the physical and mental challenges, I dashed to the seed store to delve once again into the fascination of growing food.

For armchair gardeners, for revitalizing amateur gardeners, for inspiring the movement to growing and/or eating the zesty produce of our mid-western soil, this is a must and fun read. As a result, Stevensons are still harvesting eggplants and tomatoes in our long, globally warmed fall, and garlic spouts have just been mulched for next July’s harvest. Thank you, Terra.

A Surrey Book, Agate, Chicago, $25
— Nancy Stevenson

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Elaine Weiss, Fruits of Victory: The Woman’s Land Army of America in the Great War

Elaine Weiss’s well researched history tells a story lost to history, of women who volunteered to grow food when male farmers went off to fight in World War I. After publication of her lively book, many people have discovered that their own grandmothers had been members of this land army.

Fruits of Victory describes an all-volunteer force of over twenty thousand women in twenty-five states. They defied convention by designing uniforms with “bifurcated skirts,” i.e. trousers, demanding equal pay and eight hour workdays. Jane Addams was an enthusiastic supporter of the Woman’s Land Army in spite of her anti-war beliefs.

This book is more than a nostalgic history of another era of American history. It lays a foundation for food security issues today. Men and women are now banding together to insure safe, affordable and healthy locally grown food, a land army of another kind. Check Elaine Weiss’s web site for WLA photos, posters and more details.

Potomac Books, Washington, D.C. $29.95
— Nancy Stevenson

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A Walk in the Woods

By Bill Bryson. Having always been fascinated by hiking in true wilderness, I enjoyed and laughed through Bill Bryson’s account of walking the Appalachian Trail, a 2,100 mile trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine. He looks for a friend to join him in this endeavor and ends up hiking with a childhood acquaintance from Iowa — out of shape and strange but funny. Along with Bryson’s narrative of his adventure, he provides a history of the trail as well as a plea to preserve America’s last great wilderness.
— Kay Day

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Out of the Woods — A Bird Watcher’s Year

By Ora E. Anderson. This book is a series of essays, poems and observations by Anderson of his beloved southeastern Ohio. His memories are not just of a single year but a compilation of a lifetime immersed in the natural world. It takes you through the seasons accompanied by wonderful illustrations by Julie Zickefoose. It’s a book that I enjoyed in small snippets, I would take it up in between other books I was reading. Very enjoyable! — Kay Day

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Life Afloat

Don Miller, Executive Director of Severson Dells Nature Preserve, has written a new book. Don has been writing essays in the Dells newsletter for over twenty years about the connections we have to the land, people and places. Born and raised in the four rivers region, Don enjoys nothing more than canoeing in its rivers, hiking its natural areas or sitting under a big, dark sky filled with stars, thinking how lucky we are to have such a great place to call home. — Chuck Wemstrom

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Paperbacks of Ingersoll

The birders stopped into Ingersoll Learning Center Thursday and I purchased the following books. I read them and think they would be great for your list, especially for kids: Bats, Creatures of the Night by Joyce Milton 1995 (for Grades 1-3), Beginning Birdwatcher's Book with 48 Stickers by Sy Barlowe 2000 (for any child and/or adult interested in bird ID), Watching Nature: a Beginner's Field Guide, by Monica Russo 2002 (I loved this book; great to use with any age and covers many categories). All these are paperbacks. — Jane Yoder

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2011 Galena Generals 50th Anniversary Calendar

You may purchase calendars for $20 at the Galena History Museum gift shop or through select retailers on Main St. You can also have calendars sent to you by sending $20 to: The Galena - Jo Daviess Historical Society, C/O The Galena Generals, 211 S. Bench Street, Galena, IL 61036.

This limited edition calendar is full of images of current and former lineups, biographies of each General, the history of “The Galena Generals” as written by Cory Ritterbusch and important dates in Galena’s Civil War history. It is guaranteed to keep you interested throughout the year. Help "The Generals" raise funds for new uniforms as they get busy honoring the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011 throughout the area.
— Cory Ritterbusch

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The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest

The best guide for the science of prairie restoration ever written. University of Iowa Press, 2010. Read a full review on the Prairie Works blog: www.prairieworksinc.com
— Cory Ritterbusch