Spring Migration 2015

Before church on Sunday, a parishioner ran in and asked me, “Did you see the flock of robins in your yard?”Yes, I had. The day before, sometime between lunch and dinnertime, about a dozen robins arrived in my front yard. The berries on the tree that fed the Cedar Waxwings all winter was the lure.…

1st North Dakota Camping Adventure

Flying Cloud and Half-Moon Ride Again! My camper Half-Moon has been in the garage all winter. The garage ceiling is so tall that I can fully set up the camper. This has made getting ready to roll much easier.   Been rounding up all the gear: dishes, food, clothes, electronics, reading material, chair, bedding, campfire…

Forest Bathing

Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that means “forest bathing.” Those who regularly sit out in nature claim that spending time in forests and other natural areas is a form of preventative medicine. How?  Forest bathing reduces stress, which in turn promotes better health. Apparently the positive effects of forest bathing have a scientific explanation. Trees…

Chair

During my sabbatical trip last summer, I bought a zero-gravity lounge chair from Cabelas (Billings, MT). My other chair was uncomfortable, the bed in my camper was awful, and I ached from head-to-toe. I needed to solve those problems so I could sleep in the camper and lounge outdoors during the day,  for 6 weeks.…

Consumers Make a Difference

Some headlines from my morning news feed: “Coca-Cola is removing a chemical linked with fire retardants from all its drinks by the end of the year” “Dunkin’ Donuts to remove titanium dioxide from donuts” Yesterday I wrote about Ringling Brothers agreeing to eliminate elephants from its show. Truthfully, every day, I read encouraging stories about…

Circus Elephants Now Only a Memory

As a child I often visited my Dad in NYC. One of our favorite outings was to see the Ringling Brothers Circus at Madison Square Garden. I remember the lumbering elephants, foo-foo dogs, clowns in tiny cars and sparkly acrobats swinging on ropes and walking the tightrope. Tigers in cages! Bears in tutus! Hot dogs,…

Adventure Season 2015 Begins with Ice Fishing

A few weeks ago I felt bogged down in an endless, long, northern winter. I managed to escape to Denver for 4 days but encountered a snow storm the last day and flew home to minus 20 degrees.   My Denver sweet-ums Cooked a favorite dinner: Cuban pork, yellow rice, and black beans In an…