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 RosieWe missed […]
Category: Essays
Elizabeth G Fagan is an artist who resides on Lake Michigan’s shoreline in southeastern Wisconsin—a place she calls Lake Michigan’s Left Coast. She was a professional writer for much of a professional career that spanned more than 25 years.
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. […]
My Ulterior Motive
My Ulterior Motive As mid-winter snows blanket Lake Michigan’s Left Coast, deer in groups of two, three, five travel up and down, back and forth, seeking woody browse (food). At my place, they look for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. See more essays September 14 Today is your birthday. Years ago, we celebrated at our Chicago 3-flat. It was a beautiful day. It was […]
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 Canadian Shield is a collage of rock categories. One type […]
Milkweeds & Monarchs
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> September Landscaping with Wisconsin […]
Paramount Blues
Elizabeth G Fagan’s experience as a professional writer spans more than 30 years. See more essays Paramount Blues The founders of Paramount Records knew nothing about the music business. Launched in 1917, the label was […]
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. […]
Get Outside, Feel Better
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> August New research points […]
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 […]
Amazingly Graceful Cranes
July 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 […]
Head Up, Shoulders Back
Head Up, Shoulders Back It’s circa 2000s, I am circa 40s, and I’m learning how to walk again. My physical therapist has a keen eye for a hanging head, slouching shoulders, weak abs, a protruding […]
Outdoor Edibles
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> June Little stirs our […]
Good News for Swearing, Messy, Night Owls
Good News for Swearing, Messy, Night Owls Were you annoyed as a kid when your parents told you to clean your room, sent you to bed early, and scolded you for cursing? There might be […]
6 Word Novel
Hemingway’s Six-Word Novel Ernest Hemingway’s terse, economical writing style was revolutionary when it appeared in such novels as 1926’s The Sun Also Rises. One of the legends about Hemingway is the six-word novel. It’s said […]
Horseshoe Crabs on Memorial Day
Horseshoe Crabs on Memorial Day As a child summer-vacationing at an Atlantic beach, I discovered horseshoe crabs. They washed up on Maryland’s barrier spit and created spectacles for screeching toddlers. Their bodies were sleek, green, […]
Extinction is Forever
Extinction is Forever Lake Michigan’s Left Coast reveals Paleozoic limestone and dolomite dating to the Devonian Period (420–350 million years ago). Abundant in rocks from the Paleozoic are fossilized brachiopods, marine animals with upper and lower […]
Earth Day
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> April “It was a […]
Meteorites & Earth’s Age
Meteorites & Earth’s Age Meteorites are fascinating relics of a universe in transition. They are also the most important clues in determining Earth’s exact age. It’s not hard to find meteorites along Lake Michigan’s Left […]
Invaders from Other Ecosystems
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> March More than two […]
February @ Lake Michigan’s Left Coast
February @ Lake Michigan’s Left Coast The Great Lakes of North America contain 20 percent of the world’s fresh water. Seventy percent is locked in the ice of Antarctica. All other lakes and ponds and […]
Maple Taps, Sugar Shacks
Elizabeth G Fagan volunteered to write the monthly column “Green Talk” for the News Graphic in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This essay is from the column’s archives. See more “Green Talk” >>> February By the time […]
Lake Michigan's Left Coast 