Inspired By Nature

My family’s road trip continues with an auto tour down U.S. Route 56 in Southwest Kansas.

Driving to the Southwestern U.S., we stopped in Salina, Kansas for a night and were delighted to find the Central Kansas Flywheels Yesteryear Museum.

Pond hockey. It was a way of life during the winter for my family when I was young. We lived on a pond that froze somewhere between November and December. I also had a brother that played hockey through high…

New Year’s Eve, 2018 The kids and I went out early today to get chores done around the homestead because brutal winds were due to arrive this afternoon bringing in light snow and frigid temps. When we walked out of…

Black ice – no, not the type that forms on the roads from car exhaust on frigid winter days. It’s the kind that forms on lakes with very few impurities. So few that the ice is clear and appears black because…

We had a final electrical inspection for our basement that we have been working on for the past year – almost done! But, the basement is a story for another day as this post is about finding joy in unexpected…

My family likes walks. We walk almost every day – sometimes multiple times per day. The fresh air, exercise, time we get to spend chatting with each other, and the exciting things we see make every walk enjoyable and interesting.…

Just me and my dogs, alone, on the Lake Superior Hiking Trail. I’ve hiked portions of this trail many times in my life, but never alone with my dogs, and never this particular segment. Early in the afternoon on Saturday,…

When bird feathers rain down on me I get excited. Not because the bird feathers are falling on me, but because this is something that never happens. “What in the world is going on?” I wonder. “What am I going…

On The Road Again During the arctic winter of 2014, my family decided to pack up and head south. A few weeks ago I shared the first part of our road trip when we explored Port Aransas, Texas. Today we…

My son has enjoyed picking things up outside since the day he began to walk. He’d fill his arms full of sticks at the family cabin – clearing the grass of debris. My son’s hands, pockets, and stroller cups would…

I’m happy to report that since my last post, almost all of the snow (18″) that was dumped on us here in Minnesota on April 15th has melted away. Mother Nature gave us what seemed to be an epic ending…

I’m sitting at my desk staring out of the window as the soft white snowflakes continue to blanket the landscape. My little plot in Minnesota has amassed over 18-inches of snow in the last 24 hours, and there is no…

“Jessie Diggins coming through!” my daughter exclaimed. “Go Jessie go!” I played along as I heard the rhythmic swish, swish, swish of my 7-year old daughter’s cross-country skis passing me on my left. “Do you think I could be in…

The birth of Minnesota’s North Shore was a dramatic fire and ice event – the end resulted in the world’s best playground. Stephanie Pearson, from Outside Online, discusses the Lake Superior area and writes: “All ­together it’s a giant, world-class…

Lake Superior attracts thousands of visitors from around the world each year. What many don’t see is how quickly the lake can transform from a sleeping kitten with glassy waters to a raging tiger with 30-foot waves when a storm…

Time To Head Out My husband and I roll down the car windows and turn up the radio as the heat of the day creeps up. We turn onto the back country roads that run parallel to the river, and…

A few days ago I walked out on my back deck to find this: A little human footprint among the puppy prints in the snow. That would be my daughter. She is the only one in the house who would…

“Mom, will you write a story about fishing this week?” asked my son as we were sitting at the dinner table earlier in the week. “What made you ask that? I asked him. “Well, you like to write about nature,…

The beginning was a dramatic fire and ice event – the end resulted in a world-class lake.

Think back to your childhood and recall some of your happiest moments. What were you doing? Where were you? Who were you with (if anyone)? Last evening, my family was out on a late evening walk to go look at…

As the kids and I took a walk down our road to the lake, the intoxicating smell of sweet clover, vanilla mixed with fresh-cut hay, permeated the air. Late June in Minnesota is when the summer wildflowers awaken and adorn…

Have you ever been on a walk with a child and noted that they find coins on the ground quite often (coins that you passed right by without seeing), or that children can easily spot a bird far off in…

My son asked me last weekend, as we were all helping to put the dock in the lake up at the family cabin, “Mom, why does Brook [our dog], love being at the cabin so much?” I answered, “Well, I…