The edge

Door County, Wisconsin got its name from the turbulent currents and submerged shoals located at the northern tip of this peninsula that separates Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The sailors who first encountered this treacherous waterway named it “Death’s Door.” Early settlers to this shelf of rock struggled to wrest a living from its rocky soils and harsh climate. Choosing to live in Door County was to choose to live life on the edge.

The edge is not as sharp as it once was, being blunted by human ingenuity and technology. Travel is safer, the currents and rocky ledges safely marked by GPS and small farms produce thriving crops of fruit and vegetables.

But every so often, the edge returns with a reminder that it’s still there, as when temperatures dipped to dangerous levels recently. This is a photo taken where one family’s homestead meets the wooded landscape around them. The edge is no longer feared, just something pretty to take a picture of.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2007 James Jordan.

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