My Minnesota

 From time to time I mention that I’m proud to “be of Irish extraction.” Here’s one reason why: The Littlest Christmas Tree By Amy Peterson ...

Druids celebrate today as Alban Arthan . Joni Mitchell has written beautifully about an aspect of the solstice cycle in The Circle Game . Ma...

More and more acorns are dropping from the bur oaks, and being joined on the ground by ripened fruits and berries. Signs of impending autumn...

 This morning I tumbled into a wonderful resource that I want to share. The essay,  Doorways to Our Childhood Selves , introduced me to the...

This is a good time of year to honor my Irish ancestry and let the history of the day speak for itself. Samhain Merges With Halloween Neithe...

Five days from today, on December 22, we will gain 2 seconds of daylight. By Christmas we will have gained 17 seconds. Based on our experien...

The longest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere) is but ten days away. Locally it occurs at 10:32 pm CDT. Father's Day for US is...

 Happy 80th Mr. Zimmerman. (Dylan, himself, is ageless.) Bob Dylan at 80: in praise of a mighty and unbowed singer-songwriter 80 things you...

Christmas is, and should be, a celebration of and for children. Sharing Christmas with our two children and new grandchild made Christmas th...

Today's weather, from late morning on, was near perfect. The Better Half served as navigator while we poked around some nooks and cranni...

I am remiss by a couple of days reporting that a couple of branches on the forsythia in the back yard have blossoms. That bush gets way more...

Today we enjoy the full wolf moon (although I prefer the phrase wolf full moon). It's January's full moon. We watched one version ea...

One of the ways I find poetry most full of life is that, as often as not, poets surprise me with their poems. I've enjoyed many Christma...

After Lewis Carroll's  Alice's Adventures In Wonderland was published, he wrote a "sequel," Through the Looking Glass . A...

While we were headed to Minneapolis this morning, a thought occurred to me that I intend to play with a little bit here over the next day or...

We're back to 100% cloud covered skies. Sigh! Rain is forecast to start within the next hour. Deep Sigh! At least we now have some jack-...

I carved a jack-o'-lantern this morning. The last time I carved one is lost in the mists of time long gone. Shortly after I finished, t...