Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
OCTOBER 26, 2025 – Today our crew drove home from the Red Cabin so that our son Byron and his entertaining two-year-old could catch an evening flight back to Connecticut. I decided to leave the driving to him and sit in back, allowing my wife to sit up front to visit with the Connecticut Yankee. …
OCTOBER 25, 2025 – When you spend lots of time outdoors, especially at the beginning and end of the day, you become attuned to the tilt of Earth’s axis and its effect on the duration and intensity of sun-generated heat and light. At this time of year, especially in more northern latitudes, you become acutely …
OCTOBER 24, 2025 – Life on earth is fleeting, and it has to be. If it were otherwise, ages ago life would’ve overwhelmed itself and its planetary host. Within this fleeting phenomenon we call “life” are fleeting moments—scenes, motions, encounters, conversations—that last but a flash. Like precious stones, these moments are special because they are …
OCTOBER 23, 2025 – No person alive knows for sure when and why Mother developed her “nervous tic,” as my sisters and I learned to call it, because that’s what Mother herself called it. Given her glamorous appearance in her high school yearbook picture and the photos that graced her and Dad’s wedding album—not to …
OCTOBER 22, 2025 – I’ve always enjoyed the study of history, but inevitably my principal areas of inquiry—American, European, Russian, Mediterranean, and to some extent, Middle Eastern—have been rather narrow, not to mention shallow. Comparatively speaking, my knowledge of India, China and East Asia is rather abysmal. Several years ago I caught myself remarking to …
OCTOBER 21, 2025 – When it comes to “big news,” we live in a world that’s skewed more than ever toward the transactional as opposed to the strategic. This phenomenon is driven largely by the most prominent personality in our collective long-running (ironically) short-term attention span, the current president of the United States. Everything about …
OCTOBER 20, 2025 – Over the past several days I’ve made major progress on the Pergola-on-a-Platform. Completion is within sight, though some details, such as touch-ups with a paintbrush and an attractive sign (“Mt. Orray[1] – Elev. 1,391’”) will have to wait till spring. I will miss making mistakes—and the satisfaction I derived from corrections …
OCTOBER 19, 2025 – (Cont.) I’m sure I could’ve coaxed some meaningful cash out of Timothy in exchange for what was a work of shop art. In the moment, however, I decided to let him have it, gratis. In the first place, no one in the family would ever use the bulky machine, and eventually, …
OCTOBER 18, 2025 – Blogger’s note: The third and final installment of the series, “Seeing the Past in the Present” will be posted tomorrow. I’ve heard it said that we live in news and information silos in which we’re fed a steady diet of our own unwavering opinions; that we need to step out of …
OCTOBER 17, 2025 – (Cont.) At exactly the appointed time, an older burgundy RAM-Tough pick-up pulling a small trailer pulled up to the cabin. Out stepped a couple of guys from the reservation. The driver introduced himself as “Timothy,” with whom I’d spoken twice by phone to make arrangements. His handshake exuded confidence and character. …
OCTOBER 16, 2025 – Today the past was the present. By way of background, late this morning I drove up to the Red Cabin/Björnholm to meet a prospective buyer of miscellaneous old equipment that has been parked/stored at Björnholm for years beyond accurate count by anyone in the family. My brother-in-law Chuck had tentatively sold …
OCTOBER 15, 2025 – Recently, a friend with years of observing and participating in the world, told me that the two things she worries about most for her children and grandchildren are (a) climate change; and (b) our democracy. I would put those same two concerns at the top of the list. Nearly all other …
OCTOBER 14, 2025 – In litigation a conflict of interest can arise between the lawyer and the lawyer’s own client. It works something like this: in the spirit of “zealous advocacy,” a standard to which every lawyer is ethically bound, but more pragmatically, in the interest of racking up billable hours, the lawyer convinces the …
OCTOBER 13, 2025 – Today on the evening news, I watched the emotional reunion of Israeli hostages with their loved ones. No one with a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a spouse, or any other loved one and who isn’t devoid of all emotion would not be moved by the images. As I …
OCTOBER 12, 2025 – As I ponder current events, I wonder how to understand matters via some metaphor; that is, what imagery best describes our circumstances? Aside from amusement value, how might a metaphorical examination of our era open doors, windows, perspectives that would allow us to grasp our predicament with greater clarity? I imagine …
OCTOBER 11, 2025 – Our favorite (at least until the next one arrives) granddaughter is a regular reminder that however we might feel about the prospects—for the health of the earth’s biosphere, the survival of democracy in America (such as it has been), global peace and security in the short run, intermediate term or long …
OCTOBER 10, 2025 – Yesterday I wrote about perfection. Today while working on the pergola I focused on details. Details can be quite apart from perfection, but perfection inevitably comprises details. As my dad said of musical performance, a “wobble” here or a “warble” there—details—might not matter, but the cumulative effect of too many such …
OCTOBER 9, 2025 – Yesterday and today I continued work on the Pergola-on-a-Platform project and made considerable headway. The second railing on the front of the structure is now mostly in place. I should be able to complete it (the railing, not the structure) before I leave the Northwoods tomorrow for a few days. The …
OCTOBER 8, 2025 – Back in the day I used darts, not dice, to decide when to take the boat(s) out of the lake at the end of the season. Beginning in mid-September I’d simply keep my eye on the weekend weather forecast and a few days in advance of a Saturday or Sunday with …
OCTOBER 7, 2025 – Over the years I’ve met numerous interesting people who live along my walking route to and from “Little Switzerland.”[1] With some of these folks I’ve enjoyed extensive conversations about a host of subjects. One standout is a fellow, Phillip, eight years my senior, whose house is on the “Matterhorn” overlooking the …
OCTOBER 6, 2025 – Today in accordance with our Monday routine, our fourth grader granddaughter came to our house after school for her weekly online (Zoom) drawing class, followed by a simple supper before her dad picked her up on his way home from work. She’s always such delightful company. As we enjoyed our meal …
OCTOBER 5, 2025 – Over supper this evening back home, my wife and I watched some cable TV news. Big mistake. Giving us a bad case of indigestion were Trump’s weekend speech touting a trillion-dollar military budget and Hegseth’s “warrior talk” about using the military against American civilians in blue cities. These reports were chased …
OCTOBER 4, 2025 – Today we and our Red Cabin guests awoke to unseasonably warm weather and a stiff breeze sweeping out of the south across the lake. Beth served from a large pot of coffee, while I fixed a breakfast of oatmeal and side dishes of fruit, nuts, and an assortment of natural sweeteners. …
OCTOBER 3, 2025 – This season the water level of Grindstone Lake has taken a hit. Although rainfall has been slack, and additional problem has been DNR control of a small dam way downstream from our spring-fed lake, which forms the headwaters. The condition triggered a major local political re-action, which prompted the town board …
OCTOBER 2, 2025 – (Cont.) Our family’s weekend routine back in those days was to leave for the lake as soon as I arrived home from work and changed out of my “lawsuit,” as our older son, Corydon, called my sartorial norm. To hasten our departure, Beth would have the car packed and ready to …