Binoculars Available to Borrow While Exploring at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Hospitality Leave a Comment

Friends of Wisdom Prairie is pleased to share a new opportunity: Holy Wisdom now has binoculars available for all to borrow. Bird watching is a lovely activity that perfectly complements Benedictine spirituality. It invites you to appreciate the beauty of creation. It pairs well with silence, stillness and contemplation, and connects you to the many birds flourishing here as a result of our work caring for the earth. To borrow a pair of binoculars, visit the front desk in the Monastery building and speak with the porter (front desk volunteer). Binoculars are available Monday-Friday starting at 10:00 am and must …

Wisdom Barn Stabilization Update

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth Leave a Comment

Greeting Friends of Wisdom Barn, First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your gifts to support the renewal of Wisdom Barn. Some of you may have been watching the slow deterioration of this old barn for decades. Others have learned about Wisdom Barn in the last few months. All of you, I believe, have been able to see not just an old barn rotting away, but also the architectural and cultural treasure that has been with us all along, and the possibilities for what Wisdom Barn could be for the communities of Holy Wisdom Monastery. …

reSTORYation

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Justice, reSTORYation Leave a Comment

“Words and names are the ways we human build relationships” -Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss In this installment of reSTORYation, we invite you to deepen your connection to the land by exploring the place names given by others who have tended and honored this place. Phonetically spelled, Deyo-ha-waunee is the Ho-Chunk name for Lost Lake.  Lake Mendota is called Wonk-sheck-ho-mikla. These names derive from Ho-Chunk oral traditions which can be further explored in the 1927 publication Lake Mendota Indian Legends. (attached) The map below animates some of the oral tradition behind the local Ho-Chunk place names, as relayed to Charles …

New Electric Vehicle for Land Management

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Natural Resources Leave a Comment

Caring for the Earth gets one step cleaner, one step greener On December 10th, we purchased an electric Polaris Ranger UTV.  This electric vehicle will be used almost daily on the trails and grounds at Holy Wisdom for numerous land care tasks. It replaces our previous diesel-powered UTV.  The biggest appeal of switching to electric is having the ability to power the vehicle entirely from electricity produced on-site by our solar panels.  Additional benefits include lower maintenance costs and particulate emissions, as well as much lower noise pollution to promote a contemplative atmosphere and the Benedictine value of silence. Thank …

Holy Wisdom Monastery Creating Interactive Meditation Trail

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Hospitality Leave a Comment

Holy Wisdom Monastery is known by mindfulness and meditation practitioners for its quiet, contemplative retreat center. It is also known by outdoors enthusiasts for its walking trails through 130 acres of restored prairie, wetland and oak savanna. Soon Holy Wisdom might be known for its one of a kind meditation trail which brings meditation and land restoration together. Holy Wisdom Monastery is installing small decks for meditation in different restored plant communities around their property, all connected with a walking trail. Toby Grabs, director of operations, elaborated, “There will be six platforms total, one in a pine woods, another in …

The bird is entirely black aside from an orange and cream colored patch on its shoulder.

2021 Bird Migration

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Natural Resources, Prairie Notes Leave a Comment

September is the peak month for bird migration in our area. Some species including early migrators like Baltimore Orioles and Yellow Warblers are already mostly departed. Many species who spent the summer in our area now gather in mixed flocks in large numbers to feast on berries, insects and seeds as they store energy for their journey. They are joined by other species who pass through WI on their migration down from their northern breeding grounds. Soaring birds like hawks, eagles, pelicans and swallows usually migrate during the day. Songbirds often migrate at night when the wind subsides, and spend …

Endangered Butterfly, Regal Fritillary Spotted on Wisdom Prairie

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Natural Resources, Prairie Notes Leave a Comment

We were thrilled to learn that a sharp-eyed visitor to Wisdom Prairie spotted a Regal Fritillary last month. Regal Fritillaries are a state-endangered species. There have only been a handful of confirmed sightings in Dane County in the past 20 years. Regal Fritillaries are famous for being fussy about their habitat; the fact that one came to visit Holy Wisdom is a wonderful endorsement of the quality of our prairie. This sighting, which we learned about after it was reported to Wisconsin Butterflies, also serves as a strong endorsement for the importance and role of citizen science programs. It is a …

Kids On the Prairie Is Growing

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Children's Ministry, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Kids on the Prairie, Sunday Assembly Leave a Comment

By Julie Melton, Sunday Assembly, Friends of Wisdom Prairie Click on images to watch slideshow After a year-long break due to Covid-19, Kids On the Prairie returned in April and May. What a great return it has been! More than 20 adults and children participated each month. Care for the Earth is a Benedictine value enacted at Holy Wisdom Monastery by the Friends of Wisdom Prairie and many others. Kids On the Prairie is one of the environmental education activities that we support to promote this value because Earth’s future depends on children respecting the environment. We want to nurture …

Woodchuck family makes Holy Wisdom home

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Weekly Wisdom 1 Comment

By Howard Fenton, Friends of Wisdom Prairie Council At this time of the year a lot of different kinds of families are calling Holy Wisdom home. And there’s one in particular I’d like to tell you about; the woodchuck, or the groundhog to some, or the whistle pig to others. The woodchuck, which doesn’t actually chuck wood, or eat it, is in the Order of Rodents, a member (the largest in fact) of the squirrel family. It’s scientific name is Marmota monax. The genus name gives you a clue that the woodchuck is related to marmots, while the species name …

In May, queen bumble bees are buzzing

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie Leave a Comment

By Julie Melton, Friends of Wisdom Prairie Council That large, flying insect you that just buzzed by you was likely a queen bumble bee on a survival mission. She might be the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee looking for a suitable nest site, finding flowers to feed herself, and constructing a nest. She is the original single parent. Last fall she mated with a male bumble bee. Then she fortified herself with nectar and pollen so that she could survive the winter. Everyone else in her colony and all the males died. She and other potential queens were left to form …