IN A QUIET LITTLE BAY on the back side of Fawn Island has long rested a goodsized boulder. By “long rested” I mean about 10,000 years. Since the last glacier grew tired of carrying it and dropped it off here. When we acquired the island about 30 years ago we noticed it had a crack in it, starting at the
A Multiply Decorated WW2 Veteran
MY UNCLE WILBUR WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. A multiply decorated WW2 veteran, with extraordinary service at Monte Cassini and Anzio, he was a small, lively man with a warm heart and a great sense of humor, who loved to tease. And to fish. When he passed away some years ago his son Terry and I placed a small plaque
The First Peace
THE FIRST PEACE, and the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers. And that in the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
My Uncle Wilbur
MY UNCLE WILBUR WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. A multiply decorated WW2 veteran, with extraordinary service at Monte Cassini and Anzio, he was a small, lively man with a warm heart and a great sense of humor, who loved to tease. And to fish. When he passed away some years ago his son Terry and I placed a small plaque
If We Are To Rescue Our Planet
IF WE ARE TO RESCUE OUR PLANET and save our place within the circle of life, then we must live in an honorable and mindful way. In a spiritual way. There is no other path. We must act as though a sunrise MEANS something. Act as though a sunset means something. As though a growing tree means something. As though
A Northwest Breeze Stirs
AT THE CHURCH O’ THE ISLAND it is a fine and pleasant morning. A northwest breeze stirs the water and tosses the balsam branches around. The sky and water compete for the deeper shade of blue. The white-throated sparrows sing their song, “Oh, sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada.” Loquacious crows fling sarcasms back and forth from the pine tops. Simon the
After A Day Of Big Rollers Cruising
AND SO, AFTER A DAY OF BIG ROLLERS CRUISING IN FROM THE EAST AND WASHING OUR ROCKY SHORE, after swimming from the dock in the lee of the island, and two fishing expeditions, and a fine meal at Rainy Lake Grill, including lemon-raspberry mousse for dessert, after a wonderful week with grandchildren and grand dog and one flustered cat, the
An Old Turtle
AT FAWN ISLAND, WE HAVE—OF COURSE—AN OLD TURTLE. Very old. And very large. She hangs around the dock, and enjoys the occasional dead minnow, or scrap of fish. This evening the grandchildren were startled, then awestruck, then delighted, when she made her appearance by the gangplank to the dock, staying for 15 minutes, breathing through her nose and blowing bubbles,
A Day Of Blueberry Pancakes
ON RAINY LAKE, A DAY OF BLUEBERRY PANCAKES AND FISHING, swimming, diving off the dock with front flips, a little tubing, more swimming, (the best way to stay cool on a hot day) then a boat ride to dinner (French onion soup, fresh bread, corn dogs and burgers and chocolate sundaes). Then back across the lake, past sailboats and pelicans
The Sunset Sky Is A Strange And Eerie
THE SUNSET SKY IS A STRANGE AND EERIE sight tonight, as a smoky haze covers the Border Country. The Northwoods needs rain. The pines need it. The blueberries and pipsissewa and harebells need it. The lichens and mosses need it. We all need rain. I have seen skies like this before, on canoe trips in the far North, with fires