Daily Bread for 7.25.26: Surrounded by Nature

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:39 and sunset is 8:23 for 14 hours 44 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1897, author Jack London embarks on a sailing trip to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush, from which he wrote his first successful stories.

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We talk about our natural surroundings, and immersion into that experience is to be surrounded by nature:

This summer Wisconsin will open its first certified forest bathing trail. 

Located just south of Eagle River in Vilas County, the quarter-mile Tara Lila trail will offer self-guided mindfulness activities as people immerse themselves in nature.

But the practice of forest bathing has nothing to do with getting clean. 

[…]

The practice originated in the 1980s in Japan, where it is known as Shinrin-yoku. It has become a vital part of Japanese preventative healthcare, according to Japan’s national tourism organization.  

Walters says the practice strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure and restores energy levels. 

The global organization Walters works for helps certify forest bathing trails across the globe. There are only 51 worldwide including the one in Vilas County.

See Mackenzie Krumme, Wisconsin’s first certified ‘forest bathing’ trail opens in Vilas County (‘People can immerse themselves in nature on the quarter-mile Tara Lila trail’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 21, 2026.

The terms used to describe the experience, whether in Japanese or any other language, matter less than the experience itself.

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

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Grasslands, often overlooked:

North America’s grasslands, one of the world’s most important and diverse ecosystems, are disappearing before our eyes. Across the continent, trees like eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), pinyon (Pinus edulis), juniper (Juniperus spp.), and honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) are overtaking prairie and sagebrush ecosystems, pushing out native wildlife and impacting ranchers, recreationists, water resources, and communities. As they establish and grow, these woody species transform productive rangelands and wildlife habitat into dense forests that fuel wildfires, reduce water supplies, diminish forage production, and threaten human health and local economies. Fortunately, there are solutions. Advanced spatial technologies provide landowners and land managers with detailed information on where conservation efforts can have the greatest impact. Preventing trees from invading intact grass and shrublands, acting at the first signs of expansion, and using practices like prescribed fire help protect and restore healthy grassland and sagebrush ecosystems. Partnerships that include growing coalitions of landowners working alongside local, state, provincial, Tribal, and federal agencies are creating a sense of hope and demonstrating that collaborative conservation can make a real difference. Because most of North America’s grasslands are privately owned, working across boundaries and leveraging the best available science are critical to conserving these landscapes for future generations of people and wildlife. Learn more about how the USDA-NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife partnership is helping lead these efforts at wlfw.org/landscapes/great-plains.