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Caledonia, WI is a nice place to live. I want to celebrate the things I like about our Village, and cheer on the things we do to make us better. I also know that our Village is connected to other people outside our boundaries. I want to cheer on people - ourselves and 'outsiders' - when they help make Caledonia better, and call them out when they try to take us the other way. I have lived in Caledonia since 1990; in Wisconsin since 1979.What a month! I’m just about to settle down to watch spring arrive, when Wal-Mart proposes to build a “small” store near Highway 31 and 4 Mile Road, on a parcel zoned “low density residential.” This would dramatically change Caledonia. People filled a Board meeting, a few hundred people came to an informational meeting hosted by Wal-Mart, an information filled web site appeared, a Facebook page aired opinions, and Caledoniapatch.com posted long discussions. Plus a write-in effort appeared. Putting on my “I love Caledonia” hat, I see two major points of issue, the location Wal-Mart …
The weather was warm and sunny last week, so I pulled on my "serious" boots and tapped nine of my sugar maple trees. It was a little early, but the weather was so warm and the snow was melting fast. Those two feet of snow we got in January? The open areas were already well under a foot. I documented tapping a maple tree for sap in 2007. None of the clothes, boots, or tools has changed since. When it works well, …. You might ask why I wander around my backyard now since Caledonia in February and March is not the most pleasant weather. I grew up in New England – Western Massachusetts – …
