Outside Of Time

I have been gone. A small group of us canoed and portaged lakes and rivers away from knowing what time it is, internet wrangling, home, warm showers, soft beds, cars and most forms of communication to the rest of the world. Do smoke signals from the camp fire count? The wilderness is it’s own entityContinue reading “Outside Of Time”

Swan Thoughts

I admit to feeling foolish when I looked at this picture. With the camera I had captured swans sitting on the ice while some were taking off from their ice flow. Good job Gary. I didn’t even notice that two of them were Canadian Honkers(geese) and two bald eagles had snuck into the background ofContinue reading “Swan Thoughts”

Hummingbird Picture Problems

I have spent part of the summer figuring out how to take a good photo of the hummingbirds that haunt the flowers and feeder. Aside from some easy still shots and a couple lucky flying fotos, I am being humbled into rookie status (again). I have come up with one main conspiracy theory about thoseContinue reading “Hummingbird Picture Problems”

BWCAW Adventure Expectations

Being it was not my first wilderness canoe adventure trip, I had some expectation baggage. Being human I pretend to have no baggage. I no sooner stepped out of the vehicle and said in my best drawl “well aaawl be, there’s mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies and black flies here.” I slapped and flailed tillContinue reading “BWCAW Adventure Expectations”

Raging Waters Rescue

Sue separated herself from our group and sat above the small cliff on a bold mossy rock. Drenched and weak from her own capsized canoe experience, she began to weep as she watched a life and death drama unfold. Sue knew the big man, a total stranger yelling “I can’t swim,” was going to die.Continue reading “Raging Waters Rescue”

Really Living

I saw the bear coming in the almost dark wilderness campsite. The small band of teenagers I was leading through a long canoe route in the BWCA Wilderness had been exploring the lake shore. They spotted the bear in the woods and ran back for camp. I ran and grabbed the camera turning on theContinue reading “Really Living”

Picturesque Spring Easter Walk

Spring, with the excitement of warmer weather and a fresh new growth coming, is a season of revealing what once was. The squirrels are out finding their lost seeds and acorns. Animals that didn’t make it through the winter feed the crows, bald eagles, mice and bear awaking from hibernation. Yesterdays woods walk reminded meContinue reading “Picturesque Spring Easter Walk”

Stunt Double

One of my dad’s sayings when I was young was “If you pull another stunt like that…” then some type of age-appropriate consequence was named. The bad part was he often didn’t mention which stunt he was talking about. Throughout my life, my risk/reward analysis system of decision making has been lopsided. I will admitContinue reading “Stunt Double”

Invasive Maneuvers

Yesterday I wanted to invade another world. I meticulously planned it out (that means I finally found my go pro camera) and gathered my ice fishing stuff together for the invasion. I needed drilling equipment (ice auger) to penetrate the barrier to the underworld. I needed a stick(I cut a thick willow stick), line (veryContinue reading “Invasive Maneuvers”

Tell Me a Good Story

Life has changed, I retired and moved from a somewhat remote area in Wisconsin to a much more remote area of Minnesota. Very little television or news is allowed to frame our lives. There is no sense in being goaded to be scared or mad as plenty of good news is out there. Plenty ofContinue reading “Tell Me a Good Story”