Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the prairie, wetlands and woodlands at Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Road M in Middleton from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17th when you join the free monthly Habitrek walk. All ages are welcome.
According to its website, “Holy Wisdom Monastery (formerly Saint Benedict Center) includes 130 acres with a 10,000-year-old glacial lake, wooded nature trails, restored prairie, gardens and orchards.”
Each Habitek walk features a different theme and is led by conservation biologist, Susan Foote-Martin and other experts. There are two additional walks scheduled this year:
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Indian Mounds, Geology and History
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
“Fall is in the Air ”
You are invited to “Explore the restored grounds, connect with the land and learn about nature and how it can enrich your spirit and life.”
For additional information, contact Jan at (608) 836-1631, ext. 123
Refreshments and an evening fire will be provided for your enjoyment. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on, a flashlight, insect repellent, and marshmallows for roasting.
Donald Park is located at 1945 Highway 92 Mount Horeb in southwestern Dane County between Mount Horeb and Mount Vernon.
In the event of rain or overcast sky, organizers will announce a cancellation on their websites by 4 p.m. on Thursday. The alternate date is Friday, August 13th.
Take a free walking tour of the UW-Madison Arboretum Wingra Oak Savanna Restoration and Monroe Street Environs at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 1st. You’ll be exploring a part of the Arboretum you may have driven by hundreds of time without knowing what lies beyond the sidewalk.
The tour will visit the restoration and the Wheeler Council Ring, designed by Jens Jensen, as well as two of the springs that made this area a living site for native Americans for at least the last 4,000 years.
If you want to participate in this tour, meet at the parking lot at the corner of Monroe Street and Arbor Drive. We visited the Wheeler Council Ring last week to take a photograph for this post and, based on our experience, would recommend you wear sturdy walking shoes and pants that cover your legs.
According to the SNAKES ALIVE! website, “Since his youth, Tom has been a ‘hands-on’ herpetologist, exploring the fields and streams near his home is southern Wisconsin. Fascinated by all nature had to offer, he continued to expand his knowledge, collection and territory. From local pet stores and nature centers to traveling to other states, his interests lead him to Wisconsin Dells where he became the Head Zookeeper at the renowned Serpent Safari Reptile Zoo from 1996-1998.”
The Olbrich Botanical Gardens annual Blooming Butterflies event, running this year from July 14th-August 8th, 2010, fills the Bolz Conservatory with winged butterflies emerging from the chrysalis stage and flying free throughout the Conservatory. Adult tickets to the event are $5, but if you participate in Olbrich’s “Website Scavenger Hunt,” and submit your answers to five questions by July 29th, you could win one of 500 free tickets to be used during the event.
Be warned: A couple of the questions are a bit tricky: Make certain you read them carefully before setting off in search of the correct answer.
Located at 3330 Atwood Avenue on Madison’s East Side, Olbrich Botanical Gardens offers free parking for visitors. If you’d rather travel by bicycle, you’ll be pleased to learn that Olbrich Gardens is located on the Capital City Bike Trail, about three miles from Downtown Madison.
Sunday, June 6th is State Park Open House Day in Wisconsin. During State Park Open House Day, admission stickers are not required on vehicles entering state parks, forests and recreation areas, and trail passes are also not required for state trails.
Take advantage of this opportunity to explore a state park near Madison such as Governor Nelson State Park, which has a 358-foot panther effigy mound Or visit Mirror Lake State Park (near Wisconsin Dells) and enjoy a FREE guided tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Seth Peterson Cottage.
Saturday, June 5th and Sunday, June 6th are also the dates of the 2010 Free Fishing Weekend. All the waters of the state are open, including state waters of the Great Lakes and rivers bordering Wisconsin. Residents and nonresidents of all ages can fish without a fishing license (or trout or salmon stamps) on these two days.
Bonsai (pronounced “bone-sigh”) is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees by growing them in containers. Cultivation includes techniques for shaping, watering, and re-potting in various styles of containers. There will be demonstrations of these techniques each day of the show at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
On Sunday, May 2nd, the Arboretum will offer free narrated tours aboard the Badger Trolley. See what’s in bloom in Longenecker Gardens, view the Arboretum’s prairies and woodlands in spring color and learn more about the Arboretum’s history and purpose. Tours begin at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. and last approximately 45 minutes.
The free tours start at the Arboretum Visitor Center, 1207 Seminole Highway. Pick up tickets at the Visitor Center the day of the tour—first come, first served.
The Whomping Willows and Justin Finch Fletchley, two big stars of the Wizard Rock circuit, and a special guest artist: Snidget! will perform live at the Monona Public Library, 1000 Nichols Road, at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, April 19th.
According to the library, “This brain-boggling event is free, but you have to register, ’cause space is limited. Bring your library card or sign up at the event.” There will also be giveaways and T-shirts, CDs, a return of the famous Beedle the Bard, and a bake sale (proceeds to benefit teen programs).
This event is hosted by Monona Public Library’s Teen Advisory Board and The Monona Grove High School Library Club… and lots of other dedicated Muggles who love Wizard Rock!
Join a tour of the UW -Madison Arboretum from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 27th that will introduce you to the American woodcock, “a funny-looking bird that has an amazing spring ritual for attracting mates.”
Arboretum naturalists say that while they can never guarantee that wildlife will appear on cue, “we can usually hear and see woodcock performances near the Arboretum Visitor Center.”
Join a tour of the UW -Madison Arboretum from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 7th that will show you “the places where Aldo Leopold, the Arboretum’s first director, conducted wildlife research and helped to establish the first-ever restoration of Wisconsin’s natural ecosystems.”
Participants will hear brief excerpts from his writings at appropriate points along the way.
If you’d like to learn more about Aldo Leopold, considered by many people to have been the most influential conservation thinker of the 20th Century, visit The Aldo Leopold Archives online at the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
Shakey, a Neil Young cover band, will perform in the Overture Hall Lobby at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10th as part of the free Overture After Work series.
The Overture After Work program is now in its 5th year. All shows are from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Happy hour food and drink are available for purchase. The Overture Center for the Arts is located at 201 State Street. For additional information, call (608) 258-4177.
If you want to spot bald eagles in their natural habitats, instead of staring at some sulky bird at the zoo, you may want to head up Highway 12 to Sauk City and Prairie du Sac this weekend to participate in Sauk Prairie’s 23rd Bald Eagle Watching Days on Friday evening, January 15th and Saturday, January 16th.
Each winter, bald eagles gather in the Sauk Prairie area near the Wisconsin River because of a unique combination of factors: For winter survival, eagles need open water for fishing, undeveloped shoreline with large trees for perching, and sheltered valleys for night time roosting.
According to The Ferry Bluffs Eagle Council, which is co-hosting this event with the Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce and the DNR Bureau of Endangered resources, the best eagle watching is in the morning, when the birds are actively fishing.
Spotting scopes are available for use at the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council’s Overlook in on Water Street in Prairie du Sac (not far from the Blue Spoon Cafe).
On January 16th, eagle watching bus tours will leave hourly from the River Arts Center at the Sauk Prairie High School, 105 Ninth Street in Sauk City. To reserve a spot, call 1-800-68EAGLE. There is a $5 per person fee/donation (children 5 and under are free).
In addition to eagle spotting, there are many other related activities, including kids activities and a White Eagle Wine Tasting at the Wollersheim Winery. A full schedule of events is available on The Ferry Bluff Eagle Council website.
In the midst of a cold, snowy January — when the fragile glass Christmas ornaments were safely tucked away and the Valentine’s chocolates were still a distant promise — my grandmother knew what to do to bring sunlight and summer into the house: She sat down and began pouring through the myriad FREE seed and nursery catalogues that started to arrive in her mailbox after the New Year.
Whether you have a couple of acres, a plot in a community garden, or a few of pots on the balcony of your apartment, you, too can escape to summer by leafing through FREE gardening catalogues and making selections from the dizzying array of fruits and vegetable seeds they offer.
We’ve made a list of a dozen of our favorite sources for seeds (and fruit trees) and included links to their websites, as well as links to their catalogue request forms. If you’re worried about too much paper in your mailbox, most companies also have online editions of their catalogues that you may read online as flipbooks or download as PDFs.
Even if you order a paper catalogue, you may want to take a few minutes to browse each website for deals. Many had discounts and other incentives (free seeds!) for ordering early.
If you know about some terrific seed and nursery companies with free catalogues that aren’t on our list, please share your knowledge with the rest of us by leaving a comment.
If you need a respite from the icy-cold winter weather we’ve been having — and can’t afford to take off for a tropical isle — consider a visit to the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, where admission is only $1 (and FREE on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until noon).
Wonderfully warm and surprisingly humid, when we visited this afternoon the Bolz Conservatory is a tropical paradise on Madison’s East Side… “a glass pyramid filled with exotic plants and flowers, small birds, a rushing waterfall, and fragrant orchids.”
The current exhibit is “Chocolate: The Bitter and the Sweet,” but it’s very modest in scale and not nearly as interesting or relaxing as sitting and watching the birds feeding, gawking at the wide array of tropical plants, or staring down from a footbridge at the bright orange koi swimming in the sparkling waters below you.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located at 3330 Atwood Avenue. The Bolz Conservatory is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Join a naturalist-led tour at the UW Arboretum from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 27th and explore the winter wonders that abound when the ground is frozen and the air is cold. See beauty and activity in the natural world.
Warm up the winter day with festive holiday music during Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ Holiday Concert Series. At 2 p.m. Sunday, December 27th, Marcy & the Highlights perform “50’s and 60’s, country, blues, rock and standards.” A $1 donation is suggested.
Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Avenue, is owned and operated by the City of Madison Parks Division in partnership with the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society.
The Suzuki Strings, will perform at Olbrich Botantical Gardens at 2 p.m. on Sunday December 13th. The concert is free, but donations are encouraged.
While you’re there, consider visiting Olbrich’s Holiday Express: Large-scale model trains winding through festive gingerbread houses and hundreds of colorful poinsettias.
During the event, which runs through December 31st, members of the Wisconsin Garden Railway Society come from all over the state to show off their large-scale model trains. You’ll see different trains depending on the day of your visit.
The elaborate gingerbread houses have been created by an array of local bakers, including Blue Plate Catering, Sharon Payne, David Bowden and Market Street Diner Metcalfe’s Market, Clasen’s European Bakery, Lane’s Bakery, Megan Belle, and Nutshell Catering.
Admission to Olbrich’s Holiday Express is $3 for adults and $2 for children 3-12, and includes admission to the Bolz Conservatory. Admission is free to Olbrich Botanical Society members and free for everyone from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.
Please note the following message from Olbrich Gardens: “Strollers are not allowed in Olbrich’s Holiday Express. Please enjoy the show with children on foot. Stroller parking is available in Olbrich’s Lobby, and strollers are permitted in the Bolz Conservatory and outdoor gardens. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located at 3330 Atwood Avenue. Please visit its website for additional information about hours and admission, as well a dirctions.
Join Paul Zedler’s Arboretum Seminar class from the UW-Madison for free music and food as they host an open house designed to help you “Discover What the Arboretum Has to Offer!” from noon until 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 6th at the UW-Madison Arboretum.
Music will be provided by local bands: The Grasshoppers, Elf Lettuce, and Banjo Kyle T.
There will also be prize raffles throughout the event with proceeds going to the Arboretum.
Free transportation to and from the Arboretum will available at the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street. Buses will depart at 11:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.
You can search for wild turkeys like wildlife scientists do by exploring the tracks, signs, and behavior of these native birds at the UW-Madison Arboretum from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 22nd
During this free program you’ll learn why the Arboretum is such a fine habitat for wild turkeys
All events begin at the Visitor Center, 1207 Seminole Drive, unless otherwise indicated. Dress for the weather; outdoor and indoor activities are planned
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DISCLAIMER
We post deals as we find them, but schedules sometimes change and everything has an expiration date. Prices and promotions are always subject to change without notice. It's always wise to call ahead and make certain a bargain is still available or an event has not been canceled.
