Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JULY 7, 2019 -I spend a lot of time in the woods around our cabin in northwest Wisconsin. Over the years, I’ve seen trees sprout, grow, get sick and recover, get sick and die, die young, die old. I’ve seen hearty trees, ailing one, lucky trees, unlucky ones; freakishly crooked, ugly trees; beautiful, towering, textbook …
JUNE 16, 2019 – Beth and I are at the lake where we go to commune with nature—when we’re not pre-occupied with projects, which is much of the time. At just past 11:00 yesterday morning, Beth was installing hostas in the garden behind the cabin, while I was working on deck repairs. Suddenly, the nature …
JUNE 8, 2019 – After a week in the rat race, we’re now enjoying the quietude of the northwoods. Here one notices the subtleties of nature and learns to appreciate the grander scheme of things. After dinner I slipped the kayak into the waters and paddled fast straight out until I was safely beyond the …
JUNE 3, 2019 – This past weekend at the cabin we entertained our three-and-a-half-year old granddaughter; or rather, she entertained us. It was her first visit of the season, and she had a blast—nature walks, rides in the kayak, watering the gardens, playing in the sandbox, picking wild flowers, throwing stones into the lake, drawing …
APRIL 20, 2019 – I am at my family’s “retreat” by Grindstone Lake in northwest Wisconsin. Through woods to the west, the next dwelling is hidden from sight. To the east lies undisturbed family-owned acreage acquired by my grandparents in 1939, when dirt was dirt cheap, and on which they built a cozy cabin—at the …