ON THIS BLUE-SKY, warm-wind Earth day, I wish you beauty. I wish you the secret space between two pines, there to wander through and discover a new world. Perhaps to discover the very first bloodroot blossom of spring, or the very last scarlet cup of late winter. The shiny rabbit-ear leaves of the early wild leeks, or the tender, spotted
AT THE OLD CABIN in the Church O The Pines by the Mississippi, an April breeze tosses the pine tops. But not enough to deter an eager paddler from slipping the Bluebird II into the water, for the first Spring outing. It was a long, hard winter in Minnesota. And it is always a thrill to feel the first pull
GOOD SUNDAY MORNING FROM THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES! You know, here in our humble green chapel there are many things we don’t have. That other fine churches do have. Sometimes we are able to replace these missing ingredients with something almost as good. Or, just as good. Or, even better! For instance, we don’t have stained glass windows. But
FROM THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES: A Little Peace…. It is not always a peaceful world. In fact, it seems it seldom is. And sometimes it gets worse. Sometimes, a force comes along, a storm, a movement, a person, that upsets the delicate equilibrium needed for peace to thrive–the delicate equilibrium required for even life itself to exist, on a
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL winter morning at the Church O’ The Pines. Usually I post morning pictures, and today is a fine one, but this photo is from last night at sunset over the Mississippi. Out walking on the river. The Great Horned Owls were hooting, their deep, chesty challenge echoing through the woods. The sky seemed to signal clearing,
AT THE CHURCH O’ THE PINES, today–the Winter Solstice–is the shortest day of the year. This is true in all the neighboring fields and woods and rivers as well. And all over the Northern Hemisphere. So one could say the phenomenon is rather widespread. But do you know what that means? That means that tomorrow isn’t. The shortest day. Not
THE TEMPERATURE AT The Church O’ The Pines this morning is 147 degrees below zero. Which is cold, but of course we’ve seen colder. The birds and squirrels and deer are fed, the river is booming, the trees are cracking, and a few snow bombs still falling. It is winter, and a different world in the woods from summer. We
THE RESULTS OF last night’s snow and ice storm at the Church O’ The Pines. Some huge limbs fell on the roof and the deck, shaking the whole cabin, and causing the inhabitants a fair amount of anxiety. No heat or power for nine hours. Cold kitties. Now, as the northwest wind blows and the temps drop there are still
OF ALL THE TREES in our Church O’ The Pines forest, this White Pine is the champion. Seemingly touching the sky, with a nearly arrow-straight trunk, it is nine-and-a-half feet in circumference at chest height. Estimated age, 181 years. Experts say the percentage of White Pines over 180 years of age is very small, likely less than 1% of the
ON A COLD NOVEMBER DAY at the Church O The Pines, as ice skins over the shallow places and errant snowflakes dance across the deck, the time has arrived. Time to bring the little bonsai trees into their winter home, the small greenhouse in the old carriage-house garage. They look happy there and I will enjoy them through the long,