Just me and my dogs, alone, on the Lake Superior Hiking Trail. I’ve hiked portions of this trail many times in my life, but never alone with my dogs, and never this particular segment. Early in the afternoon on Saturday, August 18th, I drove the short 2.5 miles up the gravel road from the location […]
Get Outside
When Bird Feathers Rain Down on Me
When bird feathers rain down on me I get excited. Not because the bird feathers are falling on me, but because this is something that never happens. “What in the world is going on?” I wonder. “What am I going to see?”
- At Home
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Treating Lily – Our Sick Chicken: Out of My Comfort Zone
“Mom, something is wrong with Lily.” I remember my daughter notifying me about Lily, one of our Easter Egger chickens, last week. Unfortunately, I had brushed it off at that moment. Last fall we lost one of our friendly chickens, Jazzy, to some sort of illness. One day she was breathing funny – the next […]
Rio Grande Valley: From MN to Texas and Back Again
On The Road Again During the arctic winter of 2014, my family decided to pack up and head south. A few weeks ago I shared the first part of our road trip when we explored Port Aransas, Texas. Today we continue our road trip from Minnesota to Texas as we drive south from Port Aransas, […]
Accomplishment, Cooperation, and Love: A Day of Working Together
My family arrived at Westfalcon Farm just after noon – the sun was shining, a slight breeze was blowing across the open fields, but not hard enough to turn Mr. Squeaky (the 103-yr. old windmill that my children named), and temperatures were holding steady at 70F. The day had come – 2,000 three-year old Christmas […]
- At Home
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The Earth Day Lesson: Inspiration Through Kindness
My son has enjoyed picking things up outside since the day he began to walk. He’d fill his arms full of sticks at the family cabin – clearing the grass of debris. My son’s hands, pockets, and stroller cups would be full of pine cones, stones – anything he’d find in his path when we […]
Port Aransas, Texas: From Minnesota to Texas and Back Again
I’m happy to report that since my last post, almost all of the snow (18″) that was dumped on us here in Minnesota on April 15th has melted away. Mother Nature gave us what seemed to be an epic ending to our winter weather as spring has finally arrived. The scilla in the garden have […]
- At Home
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From Minnesota to Texas and Back Again: I Blame the Snow
I’m sitting at my desk staring out of the window as the soft white snowflakes continue to blanket the landscape. My little plot in Minnesota has amassed over 18-inches of snow in the last 24 hours, and there is no sign of it stopping. I usually love snowstorms as there’s a quiet peace about them, […]
- Get Outside
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Watercolor Wednesday: Rainbow Trout
Due to my new-found love of watercolor painting, I have decided to devote more blogging posts to my paintings, so on the first Wednesday of every month I will feature a new painting along with the story behind the painting. Without further ado, today I am featuring a painting that my son requested as part of his ninth birthday gift – a rainbow trout.
“Jessie Diggins Coming Through!”: The Best Cross-Country Ski Trip Ever
“Jessie Diggins coming through!” my daughter exclaimed. “Go Jessie go!” I played along as I heard the rhythmic swish, swish, swish of my 7-year old daughter’s cross-country skis passing me on my left. “Do you think I could be in the Olympics one day, Mom?” she yelled over her shoulder as she continued to pull […]