"I, who cannot stay in my chamber for a single day without acquiring some rust, and when sometimes I have stolen forth for a walk at the eleventh hour of four o'clock in the afternoon, too late to redeem the day, when the shades of night were already beginning to be mingled with the daylight, have felt as if I had committed some sin to be atoned for."

-Henry David Thoreau

"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."

Henry David Thoreau

"More and more do we realize that quiet is important to our happiness."

Sigurd Olson, The Singing Wilderness

"How much more one enjoys a countryside when walking through it!"

Sigurd Olson, The Singing Wilderness

"I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements."

-Henry David Thoreau

"Life consists with wildness. The most alive is the wildest...Hope and the future for me are not in lawns and cultivated fields, not in towns or cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps."

Henry David Thoreau, Walking

"If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish."

-Charles Dickens

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it."

~Soren Kierkegaard

Past lake news columns

January 2007: The snowstorm on New Year's Eve has saved what has turned out to be a dismal winter. Ice fishing events and other winter activities are being cancelled because of the unusually warm temperatures. Residents are actually complaining about the winter, or lack thereof.

The lake is opening up in some places, making parts of it dangerous for any activity. The guys are still ice fishing where they can. A DNR officer made an interesting observation the other day, commenting how only in Minnesota would he be checking on the ice fisherman and seeing a guy water skiing on the same day. No lie. Those water skiers are a dedicated bunch.

It's odd though. There appears to be buds forming on our trees. With the warmer weather, it almost feels like spring on the horizon as I listen to the birds in the bushes flanking my usual walking path. I don't think it has been below zero at all this winter, most unusual.

When it did snow last week, it truly was a grand sight. I stared out the window, taking in the moment. A strong wind carried the big, white flakes in horizontal paths. And when it came time to venture out, I didn't even mind having to clean off the car and fight a bit to get it moving.

Take the time and enjoy it, I say. It's what I love most about living in the Midwest--the change of seasons.

November 2006: It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. Finally, some more seasonal weather, with a dusting of snow for good measure. Deer are very active now. On the trail where I rarely see them, a small four-point buck crossed the path in front of me. Over the weekend we spooked a doe and a yearling on a different trail.

We had a unusual occurrence happen on the lake, unusual for this area. A male moose with a full rack was spotted several times in the lake area. Unfortunately, I couldn't count myself one of the lucky ones to have seen it. The only time I ever had was while in Sweden. A huge bull moose came out of the fog one evening. I remember thinking how strange it was that such a large animal could move so silently. As far as our local moose goes, his fate was sealed when he was spotted near the expressway during rush hour. A sharpshooter did the deed.

How strange that a single moose is such an event when years and years ago, they were common. A similar hysteria captured the area when a black bear was sited near St. Paul. Can't have a wild animal running loose. While I'll concede that a bear can be dangerous as can a bull moose, it's a sad state when the very wildlife that people drives miles and miles to see is considered a nuisance in another place.

Like the geese our neighbors chase off. This time of year the number of geese increases dramatically as the birds stage and head south. I have to shake my head every time I see these people chase off geese on their golf carts. These are migrants. They're not "teaching" them to stay away. The geese that will be there tomorrow are different geese. Besides, what's next? Chase off all the squirrels and blue jays and juncos and sparrows and deer too because they poop in their lawns? The very thing that attracted people to this area--the trees and seclusion--are the very things that are being destroyed. How sad. Like the neighborhood kids who we never see outside playing or fishing or swimming. Holed up playing video games, no doubt. The lake is such a beautiful place. It is meant to be cherished and enjoyed. I'm going to enjoy a bit of Nature today and walk long and far into the woods. The world is a wonderful place for those that seek its many treasures.

October 2006: Last night we had our first frost. Along with it came the juncos. Winter will soon follow. The fall colors turned out especially brilliant this year. It's hard not to be thunderstruck by the intensity of the colors. With the frost, I fear the show will be ending soon.

There's lots of activity on the trails these days. Small migrating groups of finches were fluttering around today, dotting back and forth across my path. I'm going to miss the migrating birds when they're all gone. The silence that follows their departure is almost deafening.

We've been treated to some amazing sights this fall. The eagles are passing through, along with the coots. We don't see a lot of coots on our bay, but they're easy to spot, forming such tight clusters. A raft of them were on the water the other day, tight as could be. Two eagles were soaring overhead. One by one the eagles swooped down on the coots in a dramatic show. The coots waited until the very last second before diving under. The eagles didn't dive into the water, but slapped the water with their wings. Again and again, they tried their luck, but the coots evaded them every time. I'm reminded of how coots like other birds that are prey of raptors instinctively know the shape of their nemesis. They often don't have an opportunity to learn it, so they must be hardwired, as it were, to spot danger.

We've been enjoying a few warm days. It's nice for some late season boat rides. We don what we refer to affectionately as the "Door County look", wearing shorts with a polar fleece pullover. Though it seems so practical, we used to find that we only dressed this way when were were up in Door County, Wisconsin on vacation. We've experienced temperatures into the 30s in the middle of June, so a warm pullover is just the thing.

The one bad thing though about these warm days are the box elder bugs. We've been fortunate not to be especially plagued, but some have. It's been declared an especially bad year because of drier weather earlier in the year. Not only the box elder bugs, but the bees have been horrible. We may be sitting in our boat in the middle of the lake. No sooner than we have a glass of wine poured and the bees appear. I know, desperate people (or in this case, bees) do desperate things like flying across open water. No matter. It'll soon be time to cozy up by the fire and enjoy that glass of wine in peace.

August 2006: What a lovely summer it's been! Our August weather has been more like September. I'm not complaining. I love it, even if it does mean that the swimming in the lake is a wee bit chillier and less refreshing than it may have been. The cool breezes are absolute bliss. This is my kind of summer.

Everything has a season and the grasshoppers are no exception. In fact, the summer has been a progression of different insects at different times. First we had the gnats, then the mosquitoes, then the dreaded deer flies, and now the grasshoppers. Walk on any sunny trail these days and you'll disturb hordes of grasshoppers jumping out of harm's way. The goldenrod is in bloom now too as are many of the flowers in our prairie garden.

My coneflowers and blazing star have multiplied since last year, I'm happy to report. Can anything be more lovely than a prairie in full bloom? And virtually maintenance free. Despite the scorching weather we had earlier in the summer, the plants did fine with no watering. They're perfectly adapted for long, hot summers.

The geese have also come back. More and more of them gather on the lawn near the lakeshore, much to the chagrin of the neighbors who take every opportunity to shoo them away. I've also been seeing huge flocks of blackbirds. Migration is imminent. Seeing the birds gather in the air and watching the flock morph into weird shapes does appear a bit eerie, I must admit.

I'm going to hate to see the summer end, but there are those wonderful treasures of fall to look forward to: the splendid foliage, ripe apples, the smell of the woods. Since I'm out walking most days, I feel closer to the seasonal changes, both subtle and abrupt. I've noticed when different plants bloom or when migrants arrive. I wouldn't give up the opportunity to experience the change of seasons for anything.

February 2006: I must have been lamenting too loud about winter for it did return with a vengeance. We woke up to -12 the other day. My house is making noises that I’ve never heard it make before. Despite the cold, I did make it out to walk. If it hadn’t been sunny, it might have been a dismal day. Yet, the birds were still fluttering about and it looked almost cheerful outside. Just like my house, the trail was noisy too, the snow pack reluctantly giving way to my weight. Nobody else was on the trail naturally. I proceeded alone that day.

Near the middle of the trail, I came across what was left of a deer, just the spine, one hind leg, and its skull. A victim of the winter? A deer that had been hit yet managed to make its way from the road? Hard to say because this animal wasn’t here yesterday. A coyote or one of the farm dogs must have dragged it here. I felt a little sad for the deer who struggled to make a living. Judging by its teeth, it was an adult deer in its prime. A little farther down the trail there was another skeleton only this one was of a very small deer. Perhaps the adult was a pregnant doe who met her end last fall in which case the summer could have been the culprit.

How well an animal is going to fare the winter depends upon how well it has eaten in the summer and into the fall, building up the stores that will be needed to carry an animal through the harsh winter months. Perhaps things were a bit scarce for this particular deer. There was only one fawn, at least only one that I found. Deer will have twins or even triplets if conditions are well and she has enough stores to accommodate an additional fetus developing. If not, the extra fetus is reabsorbed into the doe’s body and only one fawn is born. If anything is for certain, the area surrounding the trail has a large deer population if the number of tracks are any indication. However, there will be two less deer this spring when the snow and ice give away to the verdure.

The sun was still shining bright as I turned to head back on the trail. I wondered how the other animals I’ve seen on the trail were doing this cold, cold day. Hopefully Nature had equipped them well enough to get through this latest cold streak.

January 2006: According to the weather man, the Twin Cities area was in the midst of its 3rd longest cloudy day streak, with 12 days. No wonder I’ve been moody lately. The sun was oh, so welcome this morning on my walk. The birds seemed happy too. Chickadees, juncos, starlings, nuthatches, and cedar waxwings fluttered in and out of the trees today, singing merrily and chattering up a storm. Now and then a flash of red crossed my path, the male cardinal then taking up a perch to chip at me as I walked by. What a wonderful day it was to be out! My goal on this walk was to focus on the here and now. I was to take in my surroundings and experience it completely, rather than letting my mind be clogged by random thoughts. I was happily rewarded.

Though I didn’t see it, I heard a broad-winged hawk shrieking. The woods flanking the trail were good habitat for this predator. Farther along the trail, I saw my own tracks from the previous day. A deer had taken my path too, its tracks in my own. I made it a point to really observe my surroundings as I continued. I noticed an abandoned farmhouse that I hadn’t seen before. An old truck was parked next to it, completing this romantic country scene.

At one point, birches flanked the trail. The creamy greenish-gray color of their bark had me thinking of what watercolors I could use to capture this elegant color. A few remaining rust-colored oak leaves hung from a branch in front of the birch. In the background stood a dark green cedar. I loved the color combination and took a mental picture of the scene to take back with me to the studio.

I have the book MindWalks by Mary H. Frakes to thank for nudging me into a new awareness on my walks. Frakes creates themes, if you will, for daily walks. Some walks are time s to think and muse over things, others for taking in the environment with new eyes. I’ve been walking regularly for over 3 months now. I certainly didn’t want to get bored with it. MindWalks was just the thing I needed.