In Pursuit of Wonder

The first day of spring. The sun smiled down on the earth, warming it with a sweet embrace. The wind whispered secrets softly to the trees, and in response they shuddered with delight and laughter. The sparrows, robins, and juncos joined in the play, lifting their voices in song, chanting…

A desperate need to take a walk in the woods filled me; I was feeling a little downcast and needed some uplifting.  Long before I reached the woods, I delighted in the beauty around me. The buds of the silver maples seemed to be ready to burst at any moment.…

Spring. We anticipate it. Anxiously we await it, even at the start of February with our ridiculous practice of Ground Hog’s day. It officially begins with the vernal equinox on March 20. However, the weather is more of an indication. The first couple of days above freezing gives us hope…

I was in the barn as soon as I could walk. Growing up in the barn, near the cows, cats and dogs shaped my view and love for animals. There was also the occasional bat hanging upside down on the wall and a salamander meandering across the floor that allowed…

The wind whispering across the open, flatness of the pothole prairie defines Morris, MN. Sometimes it whispers like an excited child telling a secret, growing louder and harsher with the excitement. Other times it is a bobcat screeching with rage or a lone wolf howling at the moon. No matter…

  I rolled the snake skin carefully in my hand. It was dry, with a texture like paper. The soft noise it makes when rubbed against itself resemblances crinkling tissue paper but softer. If it had a color it would be white or light gray. The skin is diaphanous, even…

In the late afternoon, bundled up against the bitter cold, my friend Becky and I went on a walk, each with camera in hand. We walked past the sheds, along the fence, through the rested pasture to the fence separating the pasture and our small woods. Pushing the top wire…