Gather 'round…
Gunflint Trail, USA When your 88-year-old friend and his youthful 81-year-old wife reach out to tell you that they've been cooped up in their tiny apartment for seven months, and furthermore there is a decent amount of failing health to contend with and worry over, and that really, all said friend would like is one... Continue Reading →
The youngest and I trucked up to Grand Marais last weekend, to check in on her older sisters. 'Twas a glorious trip, on the verge of peak season for the North Shore. This weekend was full-on peak, and we will be up there again next weekend. So we're missing it by a week on BOTH... Continue Reading →
So anyway, back to that Boundary Waters trip… Most notable, with the exception of the mutilated lip, was the marked absence of mosquitoes. I dunno if y’all have spent any time up there, but if you have, at least in the summer, you might note how remarkable that statement is. In point of fact, our... Continue Reading →
Eight days ago we took out of the Boundary Waters. I have been out of commission ever since. You probably didn’t even know we were IN the BW, what with all my negligence in keeping you informed on the day to day around here, but nevertheless we were, and last Friday we emerged from our... Continue Reading →
Nabs, in her favorite spot. In 2010, we took our first trip into the Boundary Waters with kids in tow. Two years prior, we ventured in for our honeymoon, and resolved to somehow figure a way to get all the kids into the wilderness with us. Spoiler Alert: Careful readers will note that the Annual... Continue Reading →
Sometimes they pay off. We're packed up and ready to rock. The vehicles are all running. The trailer has lights. The concussion victim is up for adventure. And the patriarch is back in the land of the living, not a moment too soon. Boundary Waters, here we come... If you need me... never mind... KJ
The Feels Like temperature, or if you will, the Wind Chill, has broken 102. I am hot. I wouldn't be quite so hot if the air conditioner was working, but it seems that the blower motor, or the control panel, or some integral part of the furnace, has succumbed to the lightning strike back in... Continue Reading →
It's been a wild ride. But here I am, settling back into a normal, albeit new routine, and it feels good. Two weeks ago, we took kiddo #3 to Madison for the State National History Day event. We toured the Capitol. We ate Nepalese. And she, with her intrepid partner, did great, and had the 5th... Continue Reading →
I feel a latecomer to Lent this year. The 11th hour worker. I've been Orthodox for fifteen years this year. This is my fifteenth Lent. And somehow every one is still different. I don't know that I truly came late to the Lenten spirit this year, but the differences were not subtle, and it didn't... Continue Reading →
We are sacked in, once again, with frigid temperatures in Wisconsin. I wish to be that hearty soul that walks to their evening meeting, even when the mercury is dropping well below zero. I wish to be the one who gets myself out there despite the cold, just for the sheer joy of being out... Continue Reading →
And, on the heels of the Standing Rock ruling in the right direction, we have a similar decision on the Twin Metals Mining proposals on the shores of the Boundary Waters. The Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture pulled the plug on Twin Metal's leases, possibly ending the argument on whether highly... 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 →
Tales From the Nexus 