Friends are important components in our lives. They help us in times of need, whether for emotional support or for giving us a hand. Friends are sought to share our joy and join us for fun experiences. Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) was created to help a friend in need – the Fox River. … Read more
The Fox River has abundant outdoor play areas. Thanks to visionaries in land preservation and tax dollar support, public open spaces are locally plentiful.
By Gary Swick, FOFR President Returning to familiar but different landscapes is commonplace for life in the natural world. Most bird species migrate in the fall; their return in the spring is both an investment in what was there last fall and a gamble that what is needed for survival will still be accessible. The … Read more
By Gary Swick, President Resilience and Hope In nature, winter is a time of conserving resources, relying upon storage, and enduring scarcity and hardship. Surviving winter requires physical resilience and hope. We have just emerged from a natural and cultural winter like none of us have ever experienced. As we travel the long crossover from … Read more
By Gary Swick, FOFR President Spring emergence During a Midwestern winter, nature is not dead but merely conserving energy. It is challenging for humans experiencing frigid temperatures and deep snow cover to understand that soon signs of life will vigorously emerge from the roots of plants and the insect eggs lying in the soil. Likewise, … Read more
By Gary Swick, President July is a time for celebration because July 4th is Independence Day for the United States of America. This holiday is not religion-oriented, nor a family-centered time for gathering. It doesn’t involve greeting cards or dressing up. But it does involve decorations with flags and some extravagant performances in the form … Read more
