General

The Fox and the Owl

For this month’s edition of my Reflections on the Fox blog, I thought I’d relate a couple of incidents that occurred this past weekend (January 21-23), on a couple of my Snowy Owl safaris, that I found truly amazing.  It was a cold and snowy weekend that I thought would be perfect for Snowy Owl … Read more

Observing the Night Sky

December marks the Christmas season, the onset of winter, and the shortest day of the year.  Despite it being “the most wonderful time of the year” according to a favorite holiday song, December provides challenges for those of us who enjoy exploring the outdoors in our Fox River Valley.  The cold and sometimes snowy weather … Read more

A Year in the Rearview Mirror

If hindsight is 20-20, we can see we could have managed a few things differently in the year 2020. Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) executed necessary pivots, operational adaptations, and reassessed goals when they became a moving target. We made only a few mistakes. Since we  couldn’t go to the schools, we developed a … Read more

Let’s Talk Turkey

November is a month of change in the Fox River Valley.  The days grow shorter and colder, many of the migratory birds have left or are well into the process of leaving for warmer southern climes, and the growing season (and mosquito season!) have come to an end with the arrival of the Fall’s first … Read more

November is a Time for Memories and Giving

Many of us in this region have fond memories of our childhood in November. For me, they include big piles of leaves in the yard seemingly created for jumping in, the smell of burning leaves, sitting under giant oak trees listening to the roar of the wind through the canopy, and kicking through knee deep … Read more

Featured Friend: Don Purn is the Bee’s Knees

By Jenni Schiavone Meet Don Purn, our Featured Friend for this month. Don has spearheaded the Schweitzer Woods Bee Sanctuary, a large native pollinator garden at the Schweitzer Environmental Center, headquarters of the Friends of the Fox River.  He has devoted thousands of personal volunteer hours and funds to support it and the human structures … Read more