As 2014 draws to a close and winter sets in, we here at Notes from the River recall the immortal words of Jimmy Buffett from Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes:  “I took off for a weekend last month, just to try and recall the whole year.” So we did. This week, Notes from the River takes a look back […]

After spending hours carefully creating that etch-a-sketch masterpiece, I give it a brisk shake and the masterpiece is gone, never to return. And there before me is a blank slate. Tabula rasa. As much as people complain about Black Friday, having to find that perfect gift for their in-laws, or the general materialistic crush and crunch of the holiday season, […]

“Sangamon” translates loosely from the native Potowatomie language as “the place where there is plenty to eat.” And indeed, our little neck of the woods is a land of plenty. Surrounded by farms, we live in one of the most productive agricultural regions of the world by some measures. And the Sangamon River runs through it all, at the bottom […]

Friday October  4, 8:45pm, front porch. New moon. I sit on the front porch at our home on the Sangamon River, listening to the rain and enjoying a dark stout at week’s end. In the darkness, I ponder the beginning of the “moonth”,  the 29-day lunar cycle, thirteen of which make up a year. Today is the New Moon, the […]

Author’s note: I’m taking a short Fall break so this week’s guest column is written by my friend Rocky. It’s a local park review of the Sangamon River Forest Preserve. I’ve run into Rocky frequently while hiking there and asked if he’d like to write a review. He was excited and happy to do it! Thanks Rocky! I really like […]