A MAN’S GOT TO believe in something

‘A MAN’S GOT TO believe in something. I believe I’ll go fishing.’ So says the inscription on one of my coffee mugs. It’s a good inscription. So today my young friend Kent dropped by to take me fishing. I told him this is probably the first time in 5 decades someone has taken ME fishing! But this was Muskie fishing—a

IN THE FOREST

IN THE FOREST, some things glow. Even on a cloudy, drizzly evening, half an hour before dark, they glow. Not so much from the sunlight, of which there is little, but somehow from within. A red maple Kathy and I planted twenty years ago. A redbud tree like the one my grandad and I planted and watered so faithfully, one

A walk in the St. John’s University woods

YESTERDAY I TOOK KATHY for a walk in the St. John’s University woods, full of big oaks and maples and one of our favorite fall destinations. It was, as always, a tonic. The glorious colors and the stately trees, the crunch of leaves and fragrance of the forest, simply the chance to be outdoors beside a blue lake under a

OCTOBER SUNRISE

OCTOBER SUNRISE, Church O’ The Pines. The morning gossiping of chickadees. The laugh of a pileated woodpecker. The reflecting Father of Waters…. All the congregation, surrounded by beauty. We wish you beauty. We wish you Good Sabbath.

IT IS THE TIME OF YEAR

IT IS THE TIME OF YEAR, as temperatures cool, when itinerant woodland mice begin dreaming of warm cabins and changes of address. This means that Koda the Forest Kitten is on the job. Unfortunately, many of these illicit homesteading operations take place at night, under cover of darkness. That being the nature of mice. So Koda must also be abroad

THIS IS AN ANCIENT Limber Pine

THIS IS AN ANCIENT Limber Pine, perhaps 3,000 years of age. Perhaps the oldest tree in all of Canada. The glorious photo was taken by my son, Bryan, on a pilgrimage to the Canadian Rockies, far off the beaten path. The image speaks deeply to me, as he knew it would… Here is a being rooted in the high ground

WHEN THE LAND is swallowed up

WHEN THE LAND is swallowed up by cults and conspiracies; when weak men pretend to be strong and fools pretend to be wise; when all is pretense leavened with hate; then it is good to spend time among trees. Small trees or big trees, it does not matter. All that matters is that they are real. And honest. All that

Goals or concepts in the world of bonsai

THERE ARE A NUMBER of goals or concepts in the world of bonsai. Beauty. Grace. Symmetry. The interweaving between between nature and living art. And things that are harder to describe. Part of it is recreating in miniature the effect of a large, old tree. Weathered and bent, perhaps, but still strong. I rescued this little juniper, now about 10”

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL MORNING at the cabin in the piney woods. The chickadees and jays and red squirrels are all proclaiming its virtues. And their own. But today I will be traveling. Appearing at the Detroit Lakes MN Public Library at 2pm. And later at the Bagley Library at 6pm. I suspect we may talk about books! Perhaps play

OUR LITTLE GATHERING

OUR LITTLE GATHERING around a virtual campfire has expanded once again. Followers of this page now number 13,000 souls! It sounds like a lot, but I do hope it feels safe, and warm and familiar. A place to share humor and silliness and dreams and beliefs and travails, a place to pull up a rock or a stump and ponder