I’M OLD FASHIONED. I live in a log cabin. I paddle a canoe and camp in the wilderness. I ride an old motorcycle. I read old books. I’ve written a bunch of books with just a yellow legal tablet and a pen. I was raised in an old fashioned way. Lying was a bad thing. A really bad thing. So
SOMETIMES you just feel like sharing. Especially around a campfire. (Even a virtual one.) Feelings, impressions, a good story. Especially on a long and arduous journey. And most especially when you find a really good place to stop, and rest, and share what needs sharing. So… I’m feeling that way now. Perhaps you are, too. And I know just the
FRIENDS: Each year at about this time, for several years now, I have shared this little Christmas essay. Last year I included it in my memoir, ‘A Wild Path,’ as well. The essay expresses some of my thoughts, wonderings, and some river-woods wanderings… that seem appropriate to the season. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share. Or to
FB FRIEND Ann Iijima sends me my own words this morning. Which is a clever and ingenious thing to do. She says she finds ‘great comfort’ in them. The words in question are from my book, ‘Deep Woods, Wild Waters,’ a passage in which I describe my favorite Northwoods wildflower, the Pale Pink Corydalis. I wrote: “Here, on the exposed
WHEN I DID a literary tour of China several years ago, my kind and generous hosts (King-in Publishing) gave me a lovely gift—well, more than one—as mementos of that special time. The other day I was puttering absentmindedly through my Winnie-the-Pooh books. And as I puttered, I found this beautiful silk scarf, which Mr. Ao and Lucia had presented to
THEY COME unexpectedly, unbidden. At night, perhaps. The doubts, the fears, the anxieties and sadness that are a part of living. But they are not all of it, not by a long shot. We are still called to enjoy the present moment. A sunset. A sunrise. The sound of beautiful music. The smell of a rose. The laughter of a
I’M SO VERY PLEASED to share the news that my memoir, ‘A Wild Path,’ has been honored as a ‘notable book’ by the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Awards. As you may know, Sig Olson was my author-hero as a young man, a true mentor, and to be included on this very short list of fine books—and those of past
OF ALL THE TEACHERS I have known, I have found none greater than trees. So many teachers and teachings have enriched my life that I wrote a book about them, accompanied by drawings of favorite scenes. A few of the things trees can teach us: Reach for the light. Grow from the bottom up, and from the inside out. Be
WHEN I WAS A BOY, every summer had a 2 week slice of heaven built into it. That was the time our entire family gathered in a cabin on the shores of a beautiful northern Minnesota lake called Kabetogama. Time away from important jobs and studies and school and stuff that I hated, and close to lakes and loons and
TODAY I SPENT the day at the Twin Cities Young Authors Conference (YAC) on the beautiful campus of Bethel University. About 500 middle school students especially interested in writing are bused from all over the metro area to spend time with professional authors, get tips on the writing process, and simply get inspired. I’ve been invited many times and it’s