Happy Dancing Blog

It's the perfect moment to pause and reconsider our constant companionship with screens. Those endless notifications and quick scrolls can quietly steal away from the warmth of real conversations and shared laughs, leaving us feeling more scattered than serene. Intentionally setting aside our devices, creating digital distance, can help us rediscover the simple joy of being fully present.

The holiday season brings excitement, nostalgia, and stress. Stress fueled by shopping lists, clutter, and pressure to find “the perfect gift.” But many families are rediscovering what this time of year should be about. Instead of accumulating more stuff, people are prioritizing experiences, handmade gifts, sustainability, and meaningful togetherness.

When a favorite color has a dark side...

Prescribed burns, long practiced by indigenous cultures, are a means of reducing the risk of damage to natural resources by wildfire.

What disposable items that you use daily can you change to reusable items that are actually a better product and more responsibly acquired?

Fall is in the air, leaves have changed colors, days are shorter, and temperatures are dropping. All these environmental cues are a signal to birds (and even some humans!) to start preparing to head south. Despite the misconception that birds don’t like the cold, many birds can survive freezing temperatures, so it’s not necessarily the cold that drives them away. It’s our waning resources.

The holiday season is a time for joy, connection, and celebration. It’s when we gather with friends and family, share delicious meals, exchange gifts, and hopefully slow down to appreciate the year behind us. But let’s be honest, that’s not always how it feels and those “grinchy” feelings seem to keep expanding. Let's improve this.

Recently a small group of people gathered at Island Lake Farm on a cool fall evening to talk about Climate on the Farm. Sponsored by the Climate Land Leaders  and supported by Happy Dancing Turtle, the evening started with a history of the farm. We have been on our farm for thirty years and consider it to be a special place. With a half mile of shoreline on a natural wild rice lake and the headwaters for the Ripple River, we have kept conservation at the heart of our farm ope

Sitting around a campfire can be a soul-soothing experience.

Although volunteering brings a wealth of positive returns for both the cause and the volunteers themselves, the hurdles to participating are real.