Gather 'round…
It was one of those few and far-between epiphanies. The forehead-to-palm moments. In Quiet, Susan Cain was pontificating on the need for solitude in concentration and creation. The basic need for peace and quiet when embarking upon any creative - or deep thinking - process. She wasn't writing about writing, per se, but she did quote a... Continue Reading →
That retreat, that last post about the seedlings needing tending, they both ushered in something I've never previously managed. Something I've never really even tried. Not for fear. Well, maybe a little for fear. But mostly because I have some very specific priorities, and while writing ranks pretty high on the list, it does not... Continue Reading →
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby My rating: 4 of 5 stars Huh. I'm not sure what to say about this one. I heard about it somewhere, maybe in a writing book, so I picked it up. Turns out it is from the same author as About a Boy and High Fidelity so I... Continue Reading →
We're coming up on a critical juncture in the fight to protect the Boundary Waters from mining interests that threaten to pollute and compromise the watershed. The Star Tribune just did an article on Becky Rom, a driving force behind the Save the Boundary Waters Campaign. My husband forwarded me the link this evening, and... Continue Reading →
I've been wondering why it is that flashes of brilliance - or at least flashes of our best selves - manifest themselves while we're in no position to act on them. Creative juices, spiritual prods, humanitarian urges. They all arrive when we are somehow incapacitated. I'm sure I'm not alone. You are resolved (and possibly... Continue Reading →
Well, I finally got my bonfire last night. I don't know what's going on with the weather this fine Wisconsin November, but you won't hear me complaining. Nothing short of gorgeous. So, just as Scott was finishing filling out the woodpile for winter, we dipped into the stores for a little evening blaze. An evening... Continue Reading →
A little follow up on yesterday's post... It took me a while to find it, as the much-coveted book has already been surrendered to the library, but I thought it worth reposting Mike Perry's closing essay from Roughneck Grace. Kind of sums up those times around the fire, no matter how they're spent. A bit... Continue Reading →
Well, we're home. OK, we've been home for over a week. But alas, the only writing I've gotten done since landing is the boring kind that meets a deadline. Boring, but lucrative, as long as your vocabulary is equipped with a vivid imagination. The North Shore was gorgeous, as always. There was that rocky start,... Continue Reading →
It's 1am. I am supposed to be diving into my thirty-seven degree sleeping bag on the shores of Lake Superior after a mad midnight setup spree right about now. But instead I am pit-stopped on my couch, typing my way to bed. We can debate the sanity of the midnight arrival plan later. 45 minutes... Continue Reading →
Fall is arriving, on the backs of the wind, breaking through the sunlight and scattering it more and more every day. The cool is exhilarating. The dry is refreshing. The breeze and the crispness of the evening make me pine for the North Shore. How is it that such a place can become so precious?... Continue Reading →
The children are unhappy that they have to mow around one more thing in our vast and rambling yard. It is only two inches in diameter, but apparently it is still enough to warrant grumbling. The intruder has been on Scott's to-do list for months, years even. All winter long, for at least two winters,... Continue Reading →
I picked some ragweed today. All along the driveway. Species Ambrosia confertiflora, the carpet that greens up the roadside, masquerading as some pretty little tea leaf. I picked some ragweed yesterday, too. Same little tea leaf. And I pulled some serious ragweed this weekend. Ambrosia trifida, the giant stuff as tall as me that has... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 