May 18, 2024 I missed both of the recent appearances of the Northern Lights. On the first night, while others posted gorgeous photos, the aurora by my house was doing its best impression of clouds. The next night, I was so excited to see it that I went to my viewing spot far too earlyContinue reading “Night Light”
Author Archives: Driftless Grace
Letter to the Editor
Mismanagement would be the only force at work in Northland closure March 12, 2024 When I was a student at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, I heard a rumor that our professors were the lowest-paid college faculty in the state. The claim was repeated less as a complaint than a badge of honor: these professionals,Continue reading “Letter to the Editor”
Growing Excitement
February 17, 2024 Let it be known: the stereotype of gardeners fawning over seed catalogs in the dead of winter is entirely true. This year, I broke some kind of record by putting in my order before Christmas. My previous gardening endeavors have been a corner of my dad’s community garden plot, half of aContinue reading “Growing Excitement”
Coffeeland Elegy
December 30, 2023 It’s no secret that I love coffee and coffee shops. In the nearly four years since I started this blog, I’ve mentioned (or included a photo of) coffee 35 times. There is even a coffee musical in my recent past. For some reason, the subject is endlessly fascinating to me. I alsoContinue reading “Coffeeland Elegy”
Ten Years Later
“Sauk Prairie Remembered” painting by Victor Bakhtin August 6, 2023 My attempt to type up my old journals has long fallen to the wayside. But I still occasionally dust them off to see what I was doing and thinking on a certain date in past years. This might not warrant a blog post, except thatContinue reading “Ten Years Later”
Pretty Good Kitty
©2021 Jen Salt June 18, 2023 Today’s post is more personal than usual despite not being about a person. Unless you’ve known me for a long time – or unless you’re a cat owner – it’s hard to convey how much of a role my family’s cat has played in my life. Suffice it toContinue reading “Pretty Good Kitty”
Illumination
May 16, 2023 It recently came about that my modest outdoor seating area got an upgrade in the form of lighting. I’ve never been against such a thing, but I admit it also never occurred to me before now. It wasn’t until the lights were up and running that I realized what a spartan existenceContinue reading “Illumination”
Caffeine Routine
April 10, 2023 While I’m more than happy to frequent my local coffee shops, I’ve also spent an inordinate amount of time and money creating my own “coffee station.” Call it a relic of COVID, or an adaptation to working from home. Or maybe I just like to stay in some mornings. All told, theseContinue reading “Caffeine Routine”
Marching On
March 21, 2023 Happy third birthday to this very blog! I started Driftless Grace in the first week of COVID lockdowns. It was a way of creating something positive from the chaos while also finally making good on my threats to start a blog. Since then, it has developed into a crucial part of myContinue reading “Marching On”
As the Snow Flies
March 10, 2023 “The beauty of being warm,” I once wrote in a class assignment, “is that at some point beforehand you were cold.” We were in the midst of a frigid Wisconsin winter. I wanted to capture the idea that experiencing bad weather makes taking refuge in a warm house that much sweeter. ThisContinue reading “As the Snow Flies”
Driftless Grace 