Lately, when I tell friends and family I'm working on a story about natural burials they usually reply with, "What's that?" Natural burials are an example of what's old is new again. Basically, it's a more environmentally friendly way to return to the earth. Dust to dust.

The questions and emotions raised by this type of a discussion are endless. I hope to answer some of them in my report which will air this fall on In Wisconsin. In the meantime take a cruise around the internet. It's fascinating to see who's doing this and where it's being done, especially when combined with conserving vast tracts of green space.

Monday will mark the end of an era here at Wisconsin Public Television. Our new HD-equipped remote truck is arriving. The old one will most likely become a museum exhibit.

My involvement with this "facility" has been confined to music productions like Concerts on the Square. I've had an HD production sneak preview, of sorts, on each of our Final Forte productions over the last few years. The programs are really quite stunning visually. Until this year we've worked with Milwaukee Public Televisions' HD remote truck on this production. This March we'll be using our very own.

The new HD remote truck will also be used for the University sports coverage we've been doing for many years. And will now travel the state more often to bring viewers arts events and public affairs programming.

It is the end of an era but very much the beginning of what could be an interesting new chapter of the WPT story. Stay tuned.

Forget the grocery store, head to the back 40. Shot an update last week on famed Wisconsin forager, Sam Thayer. Thayer is one of the country's biggest names in finding, identifying, and cooking with "wild edibles". He's written two books on foraging, "Nature's Garden" and "The Forager's Harvest".

The goal on this shoot was to walk a trail with Thayer, the Standish Price Wild Food Interpretive Trail in Price County. This trail is truly unique; it's the only interpretive trail in the country (as far as Thayer knows) dedicated to edible wild plants. It was an amazing hike. Over 100 edible wild plants are ID'd. Most amazing to me: Solomon seal, mayapples, and trout lily are featured plants. They are also plants that I've got growing in my own backyard. Dinner!

Check out Thayer's website for more info on his books, wild foods, and the Standish Price Trail.

I used to laugh at the joke: "Did you know there are only 2 seasons in Wisconsin: winter and road construction?" This summer I've lost my sense of humor. The street below my office window has been a beehive of activity for months. Today they're breaking up concrete (again). I'm trying hard to concentrate on writing a cohesive storyline for an upcoming edit session. Don't be surprised if it turns out to be an escapist fantasy about a world where roads are magically renewed each time a vehicle passes by.

Oh yeah, next week road rip-up begins in front of my house. Perhaps there is only one season in Wisconsin.

I'm plotting a shoot for the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage. Much water, gorgeous place. We plan to look at the world of "adaptive kayaking"; kayaking in boats that have been specifically adapted for people with disabilities. To get a better idea of what this entails, check out this link to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

That man in the boat, Andy Janicki, will be our interview subject. Pray for clear skies and smooth paddling as we try to keep up with Andy and his kayak. !!

It's pretty cool to work at a place where people call in to support what you do. I staffed the phone lines one day this week during WPT's pledge drive to cover the pledge break during the PBS NewsHour.

The NewsHour is not what you call a pledge blockbuster, but it has its loyal followers. One of them, Denis, called in to pledge $120. I was happy to take his call.

I don't really know much about Denis, but he really wanted to make sure he would get his NewsHour hat pledge premium. That struck me even more than his generous pledge, that he was that eager to show the world his taste in television programming and journalism.

Thanks, Denis, wear your new hat in peace, knowing you've done your part to support what you find worthwhile.

I'm beginning to realize that I've become a slave to technology. I was down for the count this week because of computer problems at work, most of my own making. Begging and pleading did not restore full function but a skillful and persistent IT staffer named Peter Sobol did. The problem is I have even more issues with my home computers.

Who's in charge here anyway?

We're all feeling a little lonely this week; two long-time collaborators at the station are moving on. Both have worked here for decades. Both are brilliant artists. Steve Lukes is WPT's long-time lighting director. His wife, Shirwil Lukes, is one of WPT's scenic designers. Shirwil created so many gorgeous sets over the years: WEEKEND, Auction, Sewing with Nancy, Here and Now, Pledge, Democracy It Is!, 30 Minute Music Hour, and on and on. And Steve lit them. Wonderfully.

Their visual genius is there on tape for all to see. But what I'll remember most is their style of working: creative, industrious, and fun. There is a poem written every day by the way we work with others. Every day, Steve and Shirwil gave us something beautiful.

This poem by Marge Piercy describes them well.

To Be of Use

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Marge Piercy

I've covered numerous prairie burns during my time at WPT but this summer I covered my first piano burning. Say what? Yes, every year The Roxbury Tavern, in the small town of Roxbury, sets a piano aflame. It's an event: well attended and well-loved. The "why" of this yearly ritual will be explored in a story for the upcoming season of "In Wisconsin", I can tell you the visuals were spectacular. Mesmerizing.

Was I working through my feelings re: years of forced piano lessons in elementary school? No matter, neat story. I will add that my dear childhood friend Gwen was mortified at the thought of burning a piano. Her thoughts? "If you're going to set fire to a musical instrument, why not bagpipes?"

So I leave you with the question, if you had to set a music instrument on fire, which one would you choose?