A Tiny Chapel
AT THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES, WE HAVE A TINY CHAPEL. An anteroom, a meditation room, or study, if you will, where one can, well, meditate or study.
The Father of Waters
OUT ON THE FATHER OF WATERS for the first paddle of the year. Skirting the ice shelves, dodging a few ‘bergs,’ unintentionally scaring the Bluebills and Goldeneyes, listening to the whistle of their wings.
A Good Day to be Alive
HERE AT THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES, IT IS NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR THAT ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION distinguish the Sabbath Day from other days. They seem to treat pretty much every day as simply a Good Day to be alive. In that spirit, we post this Church Bulletin on a Thursday and hope that you, our adjunct congregation,
Caretakers’ Cabin
HERE AT THE CARETAKERS’ CABIN AT THE CHURCH ‘O THE PINES, also known as the Log Cabin Piano Studio, things carry on. But the details are a bit different.
Bonsai of the Day: A Humble Juniper
BONSAI OF THE DAY: This little tree shares my writing space today, keeping me company.
A Wild Path: An Essay Collection
THESE DAYS I AM WORKING ON A NEW BOOK. AN ESSAY COLLECTION FOR ADULTS ENTITLED “A WILD PATH,” it’s a little over half-done. Similar in style and substance to my 2017 memoir, “Deep Woods, Wild Waters” it will contain many an outdoor story. I don’t usually do this, and my publisher would probably not be thrilled, but I thought this
Migrating Goldeneye Ducks
SO ENTRANCED WAS I BY THE BEAUTY OF THE MIGRATING GOLDENEYE DUCKS ON OUR MISSISSIPPI today, that I went down and caught one and brought it up to the office.
Promenade Day
TODAY IS PROMENADE DAY AT THE CHURCH ‘O THE PINES, as the church moat (also known as the Father of Waters) is shedding its ice and the migratory waterfowl are returning or passing through. Beauties like the Hooded Merganser pictured here gather in two’s and four’s and seven’s and float downstream on the strong spring current past the church grounds,
A Bundle of Contradictions
CHURCH O THE PINES: CHURCH BULLETIN AND A SERMON… Today the Church O’ The Pines is a bundle of contradictions. Spring is here! But although it felt like it earlier in the week, it does not today. The river is open!
An Old Story of the Omaha, People of the Plains
CHALLENGING TIMES CALL FOR STORIES. ‘SUSTAINING’ STORIES as Winnie-the-Pooh so delightfully said. Here is a sustaining story—one of the best ones I know.