I’ve been thinking a lot about cruelty versus love. What a peaceful life looks like. Whether a peaceful life is a realistic goal in today’s world. As I’m writing this, I’ve just learned that the Ayatollah Khamenei is probably dead. This morning, I woke to the news that Israel and the U.S. launched an attackContinue reading “Notes from Minnesota for March 1”
Tag Archives: Minnesota
On Valentine’s Day Weekend, Take Care of Your Heart
Sometimes, taking care means noticing small pieces of beauty and pockets of kindness, even when we are surrounded by immense cruelty.
Minnesotans Keep Going
I struggled with what to write in this space this week. Since my last post, Alex Pretti was murdered, Greg Bovino left Minnesota, protests have gotten larger and louder and more insistent. The tear gas keeps flying, people keep getting detained, and neighbors keep helping neighbors. Journalists are now getting arrested. Clergy are getting arrested.Continue reading “Minnesotans Keep Going”
Notes from Minnesota
My friends, I am at a loss for words so much of the time right now. The fear that gnaws at my stomach, that clenches my heart, pushes language out of the way so something more primal erupts. There is sorrow, deep sorrow, over the state of our country in this moment.
On Vacation in My Own City
On vacation in my hometown. Fun is good!
Labor Day Weekend 2023
I grew up in a union household. My father was a union member and civil servant, running the motor pool at Fort Snelling in Minnesota. He instilled in me the understanding that when people band together for the good of all, the results include reasonable hours of work, holidays, health insurance, a life outside ofContinue reading “Labor Day Weekend 2023”
Under Lake Superior’s Spell
A summer weekend in northern Minnesota is a time-honored tradition. There is always a lake nearby, with Minnesota’s more than 10,000 lakes. Lake Superior is my favorite, its water never completely still, its laps against the shore the best kind of late night lullaby. Loons call to each other, their eerie songs blending in withContinue reading “Under Lake Superior’s Spell”
Of Birds and Warm Weather
By the time this post is public, it’ll be chilly again here in Minnesota. We are in the midst of a heatwave as I write this on a Thursday afternoon, temperatures in the 80s with small piles of snow lingering in shady, hidden places. Two weeks ago, family from Wisconsin arrived on our doorstep; whenContinue reading “Of Birds and Warm Weather”
Hello, Winter
I love winter in spite of its challenges…. It’s time for all the thoughts I carried in my head all summer to be put into writing or poured into a painting. It’s time to think about creative projects I put on the back burner while I hiked in the woods, pulled weeds, photographed birds. And it’s time to rest: early nightfall, cozy blankets, red wine, good books, and a simple delight in that fairy-tale falling snow.