Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
FEBRUARY 8, 2026 – Whenever I pick up Illiana from school on a sunny day, to get the conversation rolling, I remind her that “As I’ve mentioned before . . . between the winter solstice back in December and the summer solstice in June, the north end of the earth’s axis is leaning more and …
DECEMBER 29, 2025 – As we close in on the end of the year, Mother Nature reminds us that she is still very much in control. Witness yesterday’s weather—a veritable blizzard that interfered with countless post-holiday travel plans. I was ever so grateful that I’d dashed to and back from the Red Cabin the day …
DECEMBER 24, 2025 – The outside environment today, this day before Christmas, was “Blah, humbug!” After the blizzards and bitter cold that raged earlier in the month, an erratic mercury turned our local environs into an icy, crunchy, dirty-snow landscape. A featureless overcast matched the ugly ground cover in unattractive appearance. These black and white …
DECEMBER 13, 2025 – I knew it was cold—8F—but I hadn’t taken the stiff wind into account. Two weeks had passed since I’d gotten outside for anything that might qualify as exercise. A head cold and other distractions had forced me to into “low profile” mode. On my way home from the MRI on Tuesday …
SEPTEMBER 13, 2025 – Today I was an observer at the Chequamegon 40, the mountain trail bike race I mentioned in yesterday’s post. The experience brought back many pleasant memories that kept at bay all current woes of the world. In the first place, the race reminded me closely of the American Birkebeiner Ski Race, …
JULY 20, 2025 – “Our lake” is unusually quiet, despite its being in the middle of lacustrine cabin country[1] in northwest Wisconsin. Wide open with dimensions described in miles, Grindstone Lake has remarkably little boat traffic, even on the Fourth of July and Labor Day. This phenomenon is especially surprising given the number of serious …
MARCH 8, 2025 – With the tilt of the North Pole moving toward the spring equinox and daytime temps rising into the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit, last Tuesday’s snow is not long for this world. Given the online ski report I read last night, I decided to race up to the Red Cabin this morning …
FEBRUARY 25, 2025 – In these times especially, a person needs daily diversions that aren’t injurious to the body or soul—or more positively stated, activities that promote mental and physical health. Since the turn of the year, I’ve been hauling self and ski gear over to “Little Switzerland” every day but the four that I …
FEBRUARY 4, 2025 – This morning, I allowed a breach of discipline to get the better of me: I read/listened to more of the latest news about President Musk than was good for my blood pressure. I’d already been stewing over reports from direct witnesses—a family member and a close friend—that the all-out assault on …
JANUARY 25, 2025 – This morning I picked up on our granddaughter’s cue yesterday. I eschewed the latest news, put all woes and worries aside and plunged into a self-directed art project. Actually, it’s an arts and craft project in the form of a “gnome home,” long neglected because in theory, anyway, the longer it …
JANUARY 12, 2025 – After blowin’ smoke, as I’m doing most of the time, today I broke from the mold and blew some snow. Overnight in these parts we received our third measurable snowfall of another wimpy winter. “Measurable” is a relative term; maybe an inch and a half, if you use you an elastic …
OCTOBER 21, 2024 – This morning in these parts, the sun peeked above the distant eastern shore of the lake at precisely 7:32. A good 20 minutes before, I’d slipped the kayak into the water and paddled quietly, effortlessly along our shoreline. I still felt like a free-floating spirit in a dream, gliding magically past …