There is nothing like the first snowstorm of the season, especially when it’s a big one. Read more

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling entirely unsettled. Read more

This week has been a journey down rabbit holes. Read more

Woke up this morning feeling good with where we’re at after a second accumulated snow in the past three days, starting our winter early. It’s Friday, Oct. 23, six in the morning. It’s pitch dark out, low light inside with the white ash and red oak fire, bonfire-like, lighting and warming the… Read more

The internet can certainly provide a lot of entertainment. Read more

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone. Turned on some music to start my day, I lost myself in a familiar song. I closed my eyes and I slipped away. Read more

“What if?” can be an incredibly powerful question. Read more

A forlorn, decrepit statue sits unmarked in a small, unremarkable chamber, water dripping down from the ceiling above. Up ahead, you find a small bin of umbrellas, appropriate, as a downpour has now started. However, there’s no reason you can’t backtrack. The statue is only 10 seconds behind… Read more

It’s been interesting to watch what’s rolling through local movie theaters lately. Read more

A coworker commented to me last week that “people are so mean.” She was referring specifically to people on social media, but there is some evidence that the phenomenon goes beyond social media to interactions in general. Read more

Looking back at childhood, it’s so easy to find funny stories to tell. Read more

Because I can’t fall asleep without a good doomscrolling, Twitter memes end up pre-occupying my time in ways that could be better spent. I’m always eager to drop a hot take about how I’m not the most pretentious person in the world for putting Mamoru Oshii’s “Angel’s Egg” among my top five f… Read more

On Sept. 23, the world lost a sports legend. Read more

In May 1980, a Miami, Fla., court acquited four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, provoking three days of race riots. Jimmy Carter was the president of the United States. Read more

As I stepped outside Tuesday morning on my way to work, I marveled at the haze in the sky. Read more

‘Mary’ is an essential worker in rural Minnesota. She operates a farm with her husband, who does not have another job. Mary also has a part-time job with no health benefits and no paid time off or sick leave. She is one of those classified as ‘the working poor’ because she has too much incom… Read more

You are failing. Read more

Empty stands, no fans. Read more

So today Kathy and I are on the North Shore, lodging a couple miles south of Gooseberry Falls and a couple miles north of Two Harbors. Lodging in the evening, eating high, glass of wine, bonfire, go to bed late, visit, enjoy, get up early, have a black coffee outdoors in sweats, three course… Read more

“Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat...” Read more

Do you ever listen to a song and remember exactly what life was like when you first heard it? Read more

So, to start where I ended last week, it can be really comfortable to sit down with a book you’ve read before. Read more

Celestial events like meteor showers and comet sightings tend to make a lot of people aware of how much they miss by living in places with street lights, car dealerships and other sources of night light. Where I live it is completely dark at night, so I have a nightly front-row view of the c… Read more

Raise your hand if you like rereading books. Read more

The other day, biding my time walking down a familiar woods trail, I thought back to when there wasn’t a trail where I’m walking, only woods; woods with trees, saplings, ground cover, dense brush, scenery; deadfall hiding behind and beneath the brush so thick sometimes I wouldn’t see it, it’… Read more

There’s nothing like a visit from mom. Read more

I am holding Emma right now. Emma is crying and so am I. Read more

The score this week: Gracie 9, Jennifer 0. Read more

Just listen. Read more

Are we creating a two-class food system? If a family has the means to purchase organic or naturally grown food and another does not, is it ok for the less affluent child to be exposed to myriad farm chemicals while others are able to grow free from that exposure? Read more

I went comet hunting last week. Read more

Not long ago me and a friend were out walking a woods trail, one of us mentioned we was good pals, agreed, walked on and talked and made humor. Talked about growing up on the farm, playing, putting up hay, swimming and skating the river, milking by hand and machine. We agreed wood walks prim… Read more

December seems both so long ago – and still so close. Read more

I have been in the newspaper industry since I was 11 years old, thanks to my stepdad. Read more

I’m not sure about anyone else, but I rather enjoyed the Fourth of July in spite of the heat. Read more

My father taught me many, many important things growing up. Read more

When the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles rolled around, I was just a child. Read more

There is nothing like coming close to losing something that makes you appreciate what you have. Read more

So many people are talking right now, but so few are listening. Read more

The Times They Are A Changin is a Bob Dylan protest song he did in the ’60s, a time like now when some folks, a lot of folks, didn’t think things were right, marched and protested and wanted change. Read more

You know it’s a good day when you get to sit down and listen to the music you own. Read more

Living in a small town provides an opportunity to see first-hand the values that make it a good place to live and raise a family. The big box stores are within an hour’s drive, but as we carry out our daily work and run our errands, we come to value our small, locally owned businesses. Those… Read more

It seems like it was just yesterday that spring entered stage right. Read more

My current 45-year-old self has an amazing way of forgetting how important everything was to my 17-year-old self. Read more

So last weekend we had seven yards of “clean” pulverized black dirt delivered. Choice dirt! Some of the garden said last year it could use a boost. Agreed! By coincidence, an inch and a half of heavy wet snow got here the same time as the dirt. Pretty! The dirt cost money, the snow came free… Read more

There’s an old adage out there: if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one. Read more

Since March, it’s been hard not to hear people wishing for normal. Read more

Sometimes it can be important to compare and contrast, especially when it comes to honoring friends. Read more