Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
APRIL 12, 2021 – Sunday here in the Twin Cities was 53F, heavily overcast, with a north gust now and again. When I reached Little Switzerland for my daily routine of “hill climbs,” the place was crawling with golfers. My first reaction was, “What in the world?! Do they think this is some kind of …
APRIL 6, 2021 – I’d planned to resume writing about The Trial, but yesterday I stumbled into a large pile of scrap lumber. (See yesterday’s blog post.) More precisely, I encountered thousands of dollars’ worth of weathered but still perfectly serviceable cedar in the form of a grand “treehouse” in our small town. At the …
APRIL 3, 2021 – For today’s post I’d prepared a commentary on the world’s woes; another feverish snarl, drooling with invective, and reverberating with righteous indignation. It was all set to go, ready to cut, paste, and publish. But then a morning stroll disrupted my plans. Before breakfast I slipped outside to inspect the morning—morning …
MARCH 29, 2021 – In the spring of second grade my teacher told us to look out for signs that the interminable winter wasn’t so. Every Monday, first thing, she’d ask us to cite the most recent harbingers of a more hospitable season. There were the usual things—disappearing snowbanks, green blades of grass, a robin …
MARCH 23, 2021 – Forty years ago this month I embarked on a solo trek around the world. Traveling alone, I was never lonely. Without today’s technology, I navigated via guidebooks, paper maps, and total strangers, whom I learned to size-up quickly by their eyes, posture, and corners of the mouth. Though I chose destinations—such …
MARCH 21, 2021 – On the first day of spring, I skied my 88th day of the 2020-2021 season (northern hemisphere). In 28 years of record-keeping, that’s nine days above average; three days above median. In the process, I set three records: 1. Skiing every day of January; 2. Every day of February; and 3. …
FEBRUARY 7, 2021 – It happened once when I was in college—so much snow fell, my skiing buddies and I couldn’t get to the ski area where we’d planned to play hooky. This was doubly ironic given that our school mascot was a polar bear. Yesterday, I faced another winter irony—air too cold for skiing. …
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 – If for no other reason, this blog serves as a mental exercise—for the writer, as well as the reader. Each day I must think of a topic, assemble thoughts about it, organize those them into sentences, then pare them down to 500 words. You the reader must then exercise your mind …
JANUARY 27, 2021 – Yesterday was crowded with work-related demands, routines of daily existence, and more “breaking news.” I couldn’t enjoy the sun-filled outdoors until it was no longer sun-filled. Not until 9:30 in the evening did I grab skis and escape. In the dark, the “banana-peel” ice on alley and sidewalks was too treacherous …
JANUARY 3, 2021 – An essential trait for survival is adaptability. At the bank where I worked years ago, we were told, “Adapt or die.” I wasn’t sure if that was a dictate or an observation, but either way, I figured the outcome would be the same. I tried to adapt. I quit thinking like …
JANUARY 1, 2021 – This morning I took an early walk through the “tree garden” in the woods adjacent to the Red Cabin. My wife, our son and daughter-in-law remained back at the cabin—lounging, making coffee and waiting for the outside temperature to rise from 12F to a level more conducive to going . . …
DECEMBER 15, 2020 – The overnight low reached a low for this season thus far: 11F. That’s officially . . . cold. Growing up in Minnesota I had plenty of exposure to extreme cold. I didn’t mind it, mainly because it was always a precursor to hot chocolate, which I loved—and still do. In seventh …
DECEMBER 14, 2020 – Christmas trees are now the shortage item that T.P. was in March. The local Lions Club, which has a large stock (trees, not T.P.) right through Big Star Day, had already closed two weeks ago. The nearby University of Minnesota Forestry Club had never opened in the first place. The Men’s …
DECEMBER 10, 2020 – As I dig deeper into my “tree garden” project, I’m reminded of my reaction to Black Lives Matter. How in the world could these two matters—trees and racial justice—be connected? Read on. As revealed in prior posts, our older son’s community activism prompted my wife and me to learn more about …
DECEMBER 9, 2020 – As I departed city life for country life, my wife said, “Be sure you always have your phone and that it’s charged.” She knows I spend lots of time working in the woods, where there are a million ways to get into trouble, many exceedingly dumb. In addition to taking the …
DECEMBER 6, 2020 – Here in the Northwoods, nature’s beauty of longest duration is mostly visual. Extended periods of silence, however, can be just as edifying as the scenery. When I mention our surrounding quietude, my wife reminds me that these parts aren’t as quiet as they seem. She reminds me of the time on …
DECEMBER 5, 2020 – Yesterday afternoon I split town for the Red Cabin to take advantage of some unusually mild weather over the next several days. Because of the pandemic, I’ve spent more time in the woods this year than ever before. I call it—the woods, not the pandemic—“imagination paradise,” a place where nature stirs …
DECEMBER 2, 2020 – Recently, I launched a new project: studying Korean. I’m working from a beginner’s book given to me by our younger son’s birth mother, whom we’ve gotten to know quite well. So far, I’ve tackled, if not mastered, the letters (Hangul)—10 vowels, 14 consonants. This effort is akin to that of an …
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 – With our world in turmoil (besides this being the anniversary of JFK’s assassination), there’s no dearth of topics for today’s post. For respite, therefore, I turn to something out of this world. I spent the past several days (and nights) at the Red Cabin. Whenever I’m there I see one wonder …
NOVEMBER 20, 2020 – (Cont.) Dad liked shattering clay pigeons, but neither that experience nor the shooting of the woodchuck turned him into a gun person; certainly not a hunter. Dad was counter-culture. I didn’t know a single boy (I didn’t ask the girls) in my class who didn’t hunt with his dad. During duck- …
NOVEMBER 19, 2020 – Dad wasn’t a hunter or a gun owner, but a day arrived when he needed to borrow a gun. A short while later arrived the day when he fired the gun. I wasn’t directly on hand when he pulled the trigger. I was nine years old and riding my oversized bike …
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 – Jeff Oppenheim, my close friend and college roommate, and I share many common interests—history, politics, travel, worldview, lawyering, community service, the great outdoors, and . . . Appalachia. I don’t mean to offend readers who possess prideful attachment to the aforesaid region of our great land. Appalachia is replete with natural …
NOVEMBER 7, 2020 – I woke just before the sun, slipped outside, and walked along the shoreline of Björnholm. Weather was splendid—perfect for posting trail signs in the “tree garden.” Biden’s ahead by the thinnest of margins. Will he prevail? That won’t end the drama. Consider Trump’s tirade Wednesday night—one so departed from truth, several …
NOVEMBER 5, 2020 – I was angry all day yesterday, despite Biden’s chance of winning by a hair, or more precisely, because of his chance of winning only by a hair. With effort I assumed a happy face for our five-year old granddaughter, who was happily oblivious to the impact that the election will have …
OCTOBER 20, 2020 – Yesterday I launched my annual “bud-cap” operation in the tree garden. The work protects pine sapling leaders from foraging deer once the snow flies. The bud-caps are 4 x 6 paper folded over the leader and stapled in place. Conditions were perfect, and I bud-capped 292 trees. The operation continues today—before …