Middleton Wildlife photographer Kevin Munson’s presentation at a meeting of The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton was entitled “A Walk Through Wonderland - Wildlife in the Middleton Hills Wetlands Conservancy.” It was an eye opener, revealing the beauty of the creatures sharing the Walk-Through city with us. As the name of his talk suggests, most of the 50+ slides Munson showed were taken in the Middleton Hills Wetland Conservancy, although a few were photographed in Pheasant Branch Conservancy. The latter is the largest of Middleton’s conservancies.

 

 

Katherine Ryback, guest speaker at The Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton’s Friday meeting, quickly read the room. She noticed several people, like herself, wearing hearing aids. Ms. Ryback’s hearing problems were discovered, while being tested for kindergarten. Many surgeries followed that discovery. Ms. Ryback’s career included work as a special education teacher, later focusing on deaf and hearing-impaired students. A member of the Hearing Loss Association of America - Madison Chapter, Ryback talked about some problematic statistical data. She said 14% of adults aged 20-69 have a hearing loss. Some 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from using hearing aids. Yet, despite a diagnosis in hand, most people will wait 7 to 10 years before addressing the problem. Maybe that’s you! This dawdling can have a negative impact on one’s physical and emotional health. It can stress family interaction, self- esteem and the ability to work with others on the job and/or at school.

Time to Resume our Team McAdow Bike Rides! The 2024 biking season is upon us. Weather permitting, we are planning to hold our first official Team McAdow bike ride this Saturday, April 6th. The forecast for Saturday is sunny all day, with temperatures in the 30’s in the morning and 40’s in the afternoon. Let’s meet at 1:30 PM at the Odana Hills Golf Course parking lot. Tentatively, we are planning to ride through the UW Arboretum to Olin Park and back on the Southwest Path – about 12 miles. Depending on who shows up, we may modify this plan.