Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JUNE 29, 2020 – Time for (another) time-out from the headlines . . . and expletives. Time to re-engage with nature to remind ourselves that forces greater than ourselves are in control. The pandemic should’ve told us, but way too many folks still think it’s a Democratic hoax. So, back to nature . . . …
MARCH 8, 2020 – Yesterday one of our sons said to my wife and me, “You have to quit looking at the news.” Sound advice—after reading that one more article by an infectious disease physician or one more report about a statistician’s explanation of risk algorithms, either of which article/report seems to leave me with …
FEBRUARY 11, 2020 – As the sun rose yesterday morning, it revealed a spectacular display of mid-winter hoarfrost. When I rushed out the back doorway to catch my bus, the beauty was at its peak. An inner voice urged me to return, change into ski clothes and head for “Little Switzerland” to take “Ooo, Ahhh!” …
JANUARY 21, 2020 – In ancient times I used to ski the American Birkebeiner Race, a 50-kilometer x-c ski marathon from Mt. Telemark to Hayward, Wisconsin. (For more about the race and its history, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Birkebeiner) My best race qualified me the next year for the second of ten waves totaling 10,000 skiers. Theoretically, my …
OCTOBER 7, 2019 – For today’s topic, I wrestled between trees and Trump. Sorry to disappoint, but trees won. A few years ago, we sold logging rights to back acreage of Björnholm, our family’s woodland retreat next to The Red Cabin. The loggers—two Mennonites—worked with remarkable efficiency, felling and piling hardwoods for sale to the …
OCTOBER 5, 2019 – Yesterday my wife and I hiked through a boreal forest in northern Wisconsin to a precipice overlooking Lake Superior. Along the way I wondered how long I’d survive in those woods—or any northern woods—if I were equipped only with tools of early humans. Not long, I guessed. Maybe I’d catch some …
JULY 29, 2019 – At midnight Saturday I’d just turned off the downstairs lights. The faint glow of an upstairs nightlight was all that guided my way to the steps. My wife had retired earlier and was fast asleep in the second floor bedroom overlooking the open space below where I’d been reading. Suddenly appeared …
JULY 24, 2019 – In these parts, winter can be brutally long. Some people would say brutally wrong, especially last winter, when heavy snow and cold temps slammed us repeatedly all the way into April. We took it on the chin—or wrist, rib, elbow or ankle. When spring finally arrived, it did so reluctantly. Trees, …
JULY 22, 2019 – What is Nature? Webster’s defines it broadly as “the physical world and everything in it that is not made by people.” Religionists might define it as “creation.” Spiritualists might define it as “God” (or “god”) itself. For now, I’ll go with Webster’s. But what exactly is the nature of Nature? Beautiful? …
JULY 16, 2019 – For today’s post I had several topics in mind. One was another (yawn) political diatribe against the president whose name I will not mention, because it feeds into his sole three purposes in life: 1. Publicity; 2. Publicity; and 3. Publicity. Another subject was sailing and how in a very real …
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 …