February By the time Europeans arrived in what is now New England, indigenous Americans had already discovered the lovely nectar with which we drown our breakfast pancakes. When carefully boiled, they found, maple sap turns […]
Category: Essays
Elizabeth G Fagan is an artist and writer who resides on Lake Michigan’s shoreline in southeastern Wisconsin—a place she calls Lake Michigan’s Left Coast. Her professional career in Corporate America spanned more than 35 years. She held positions such positions as:
Senior Editor (Rand McNally, Skokie, IL)
Help Author (Microsoft, Redmond, WA)
Manager of Web Development (Oprah.com, Harpo, Chicago, IL)
Fagan attended Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) and Grinnell-in-London. She completed both a BA /English and an MA/Linguistics at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She attended The University of Chicago’s copyediting program. She later got an associate degree in Web Development from DePaul University, Chicago.
The Teens Arrived on Tuesday
The Teens Arrived on Tuesday The teens arrived on Tuesday Then a deep dive To single digits German Shepherd In heart-gouging crouch Frozen pads, three nights in a row No beach walk for Rosie We […]
Precambrian Greenstone
Precambrian Greenstone The Canadian Shield constitutes the largest mass of exposed Precambrian rock on the face of the Earth. Extending into Minnesota and Wisconsin, the geological formation is a collage of rock categories. One type […]
Lake Michigan’s Rise & Fall
January Each of the Great Lakes has an annual rise and fall cycle driven by precipitation, snow melt, and evaporation. Evaporation rates vary with air and water temperatures. Annually, water levels follow a predictable pattern. […]
Extinction is Forever
Extinction is Forever The bedrock of the western coast of Lake Michigan (aka Lake Michigan’s Left Coast) is Paleozoic limestone and dolomite. It dates from the Devonian Period (420–350 million years ago). Abundant in rocks […]
The White Stuff
December Basking in the near-warmth of an early December, Ozaukee County, WI, residents wonder, “Where’s the snow?” In the Great Lakes region we know all we need to do is wait. In winter, there’s always […]
Prepare for Winter
November A lovely, warm autumn can mean armies of garden pests the following spring. To discourage them, cut back perennials and prune trees of dead wood. Leave shrubs uncut but watch for mice and voles […]
Heroes of the Back Yard
October Imagine neighbors who are nearly silent and invisible, who are dedicated to family, and who fly nightly over your yard to eat hundreds of villainous mosquitoes. Great neighbors like these can only be bats. […]
Love Was All Around
Elizabeth G Fagan wrote this essay in memory of her husband Cary Adelman. September 14 Today is your birthday. Years ago, we celebrated at our Chicago 3-flat. It was a beautiful day. It would be […]
Amazingly Graceful Cranes
September A lone motorist travels an Ozaukee County highway flanked by late-summer fields of golden oats and grasses. There, mid-field on the right, a beaked triangle swivels, seemingly unattached to neck or bird. In the […]
Get Outside, Feel Better
August Research points to specific factors supporting the claim that being in nature is good for us, a claim that most of us already know, or at least, know intuitively. Being outdoors generally means getting […]
Death on Lake Michigan’s Left Coast
Death on Lake Michigan’s Left Coast Among the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan is unique for its north-south configuration. In summer, southwesterly winds create invisible currents running parallel to sandy beaches that line the western shore. […]
Cubs Territory–or How to Become a Cubs Fan
Cubs Territory—or How to Become a Cubs Fan Until Wrigley Field became my neighbor, I abhorred professional sports. From London, England, by way of Grinnell, Iowa, by way of Connecticut’s Long Island shoreline, at age […]
Time & Deep Time
The Geologic Timeline Put aside the drumbeat of your life. Clear your mind. Gather an image in your head of planet Earth spinning in tandem with Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the giant planets around the […]
Ghosts in the Stones
Ghosts in the Stones Lake Michigan reached record low-water levels in January, 2013, creating bountiful beaches on Wisconsin’s shoreline. By Winter, 2014, however, the Lake started rising. By April, 2020, it had risen more than […]
ELIZABETH G FAGAN 