THE MYSTERIOUS SIGN: In my wilderness guiding years, spanning decades and thousands of miles of ‘canoe country,’ we would sometimes come across the famous, red-tinged rock paintings of the North. Pictographs. The red color due to the ferous oxide compound used to make them. The paintings are always haunting and mysterious, their creation dating back hundreds, even thousands of years,
AT THE CHURCH O THE PINES, it is a gray, drippy, rainy, foggy, gloomy but otherwise excellent day. Still, the sort of day that indoors is rather appealing. And in the Caretakers’ Cabin indoors is not a bad place to be. Especially this time of year with all of Kathy’s Christmas decorating. One of my favorite things about living in
AND THE WEATHER-MAKER at the Church O’ The Pines decreed that on this day we should have snow. Not a lot, just a dusting, but enough that it looks like December and not November. And with the addition yesterday of the cabin Christmas tree, with grandchildren on hand to help, the season is in full swing. The winds howled in
IF ONE OWNS or inhabits a piney woods, it is incumbent upon you to go for walks in the woods. It is a sin, in fact, if you do not. At least according to the Church O’ The Pines rulebook. And when you go for a walk it is only good form to take a walking stick. An old one.
THE GREAT MUCKY MUCK was down on his luck Besides just being a jerk and a schmuck Besides wearing a poor deceased cat on his head Besides being stupid and mostly brain-dead No, these were all problems of fairly long standing, Part of his schtick and part of his branding, Part of what made him so doggoned adorable To all
AND SO, on Fawn Island, it is Silly Saturday, and time to smile at the happy fact of humor in this world. Here you go, from my 9-year-old grandson and me. And you’re welcome! Q: What do you call an elephant that just doesn’t matter? A: An irrelephant. Q: Why can’t you hear a Pterodactyl go to the bathroom? A:
APPROXIMATELY 2021 YEARS AGO an infant was born (skeptics who doubt that he ever really existed advance a weak case, with more faith in skepticism itself than in evidence) likely in a cave-like space under a simple stone dwelling, to an unwed, teen-aged mother, delivered into poverty in a troubled corner of the world. About 33 years later he died,
ON THIS SOLSTICE, it is perhaps a good time to reflect upon the dearest wishes we have for one another, on our next journey around the sun. In the spring, a brand new DW book will be published in China–our next door neighbors around the world. The book, with exquisite illustrations by Wendy Popp, is a new manifestation of an
KATHY, my wife-by-marriage, had the maiden name Sokolowski when I tumbled for her in college. Prettiest name I ever heard. As you might guess, she is of Polish ancestry. And for decades, every Christmas at her family’s farm home we were treated to a variety of traditional Polish delicacies, much to her dad’s delight. It has been a while now
KATHY AND I ARE ALWAYS proud of our two sons. And they do and are many things to make us proud. Today we are feeling extra proud of younger son, Bryan. As Executive Director of Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, he has guided the non-profit Center for most of the past decade. None of the years have been more challenging