Category: Essay

  • Words and Actions – Revisited for 04/18/17

    Rugged facial features and expressions, like that of mountain men in history books and legends standing atop the highest peaks and planting a flag for their country, shaped by the endless sun and arctic winds. He handled life and the people around him with the ease and care of a seasoned glass maker. It was…

  • Mountains and Ice

    Recently resurrected the domain and website at http://www.mountainsandice.com that will focus on stories, poetry, photography and anything related to Alaska. Two poems were posted today for your reading pleasure.

  • Nature – Stones

    Do the stones we find on the shoreline, inspected closely before placing in a pocket for safe keeping, care that millions of years of effort have vanished? We may live in nature, within its surroundings the forests’ cradling hands, but we must remember the cradling hands found us as they were here first, before we…

  • Time’s Plan

    Another year on the calendar has passed and we celebrate. A celebration of accomplishments and of moving beyond events and moments we wish to forget and gain distance between. But time has a plan for us. In the day-to-day scheme of life and the normal cycle, time is always moving forward. Ticking away at the…

  • Nature – Water, A Winter Perspective

    Standing upon the rocky ledge overlooking the crashing waves of the superior waters, I am taken away from here, while my physical body stays. The soundscape is filled with water, seagulls and tributary rivers. The landscape is gray and cold with whitecaps pushed inward. I kneel with hands clasped behind my back and focus my…

  • Nature – Land, a Fall Perspective

    Evening approaches the valley shielded under the canopy of oak. The colors change from green began a week ago and today the carpet has become red. A southerly wind rattles the dense forest, shaking loose leaves and small branches. Other than nature it is quiet and calm. I come here for the quiet and calm.…

  • Nature – Delicate Relationship

    There is something dramatic and something many times larger than us. What surrounds and embraces us with reluctance because we are there within its midst. The thrill of venturing into unknown and undiscovered lands, into unnamed glaciers, lakes with undisturbed shorelines, trails and elevations unknown to maps, lives within us. I desire to truly experience…

  • John Haines is Calling – Fables and Distances

    As nature becomes essential to daily life and getting through the chaos, I have been thinking about John Haines.  Some of my most-often used quotes come his book “Fables and Distances” and so I have started reading it again and am reminded the impact his writing has had on my outlook in life. Fables and…

  • Trees and the True Home

    The solitude and calm of a northern MN forest is an inviting and welcome break from the city. Pine trees gently sway in the autumn wind and the sun casts tall shadows beneath the crystal blue. This place is a refuge for animals and people and a delicate balance plays out each day. We are…

  • My religion is the open empty field

    (1) I passed through the window looking for the outside and landed back here in my mind. When did I find this scene? I have never been here before but with closed eyes I smell the trees and summer afternoon. I can easily recall sepia-toned memories of the rusted red swing set surrounded by a…