Mary Kluck, a 2024 graduate of Northcentral Technical College, recently became a published author, but her book, “Welcome to My Farm,” started long before it was ever printed on a page.

It began with the life she lived growing up on her family’s sixth-generation dairy farm, where every day meant caring for cows and learning firsthand that every glass of milk and block of cheese represent countless hours of hard work.

One day a while back, my husband was hauling gravel to fill in ruts on a path in our woods. We use this path to reach our sap lines, and the deluge of rain that came down a while ago did a number on it. He was in the woods with the tractor, trailer and skidder making all kinds of racket.

A notice on one of his trail cameras popped in. Stopping to glance at his phone, he wondered what it had taken a picture of. It made his jaw drop.

If you’ve been observing this year’s crop of fawns following Mama around the pastures and field edges lately, you’re probably excited to see two or even three young ones in tow.

It’s a good news/bad news story as it means plenty of opportunities for hunters this fall but potential disaster for motorists; and it’s a reflection that we still haven’t done a great job controlling herd growth to match carrying capacity.

An Oconto-based children’s book author will debut her two new books at a launch party Sunday.

Annie Frances will read excerpts and sign books from 3-5 p.m. Aug. 23 at The Sim Links, 908 Main St., Oconto.

The beach and grassy area at Shawano Lake County Park was filled with people Aug. 13 as the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department held one of its Lunch in the Park programs. Besides grilling burgers and hot dogs, law enforcement officers interacted with people and even played some games.

Shawano-area children were pouring lemonade and selling cookies and other sweet streets Aug. 13 at a stand set up on South Andrews Street. The lemonade stand was set up to raise money to purchase school supplies for Hillcrest Primary School and Olga Brener Intermediate School to help families that can’t otherwise afford to get the supplies they need.