Broken Dams When God’s answer is No Spring time brings a whole lot with it. Everything is in bloom, creating new growth, coming back to life after the long winter. But we also deal with the thaw, the excessive amounts of rain, and the earth unveils the damage that the ice has done during it’s[…]

Joy in the Harvest The harvest season has come to an end. Most corn fields like this are long cut down and stored for winter. Gardeners have hauled in the last of the squash and pumpkins. The work is done. The waiting is over. We have had the feast of Thanksgiving to enjoy the harvest.[…]

Maiden Grass Christians Along a local county road there are patches of this beautiful grass. It looks like normal field grass until it is full grown. At which time it grows these wispy, shiny white flowers on the top. This beautiful grass is called Maiden grass. On the surface it looks like completely ordinary grass,[…]

Tangled Peace In our backyard is a tree made up of three different types of trees. All three grow from the same conjoined trunk at the base. There is an oak tree, a maple tree and lilac bush that is so large it may as well be a tree. All three are thriving together. Maple[…]

Moments Earlier this spring our Red Maple popped out its pollination and leaves. After 4 long months of winter chill the leaves are set free to pollinate, seed and collect sunlight once again. The time between the dormant branch and the burst of leaves seems so short. In just 24 hours on one sunny day[…]

Weed Flowers Every year these weeds show up in my yard. My innocent boys collect them into tiny bouquets and bring them to me full of pride. Faces beaming, arms outstretched, presenting me with their treasures they are certain will bring me equal joy. For now I play along. I have not yet broke it[…]

Aging Beauty One of the most iconic land features of our driftless region are the gorgeous bluffs. I don’t know that any image could capture their majesty in its fullness, so here is a more close up version of the rock involved. They have been here for millions of years. Never touched by the massive[…]

Winds of Adversity   This tree showed up on a snowshoe trek one sunny winter afternoon. It looked so impossibly out of place. All the other trees around it standing tall, and here’s this one bent over in this awkward arch.The roots are completely intact. There is no evidence of trauma or breakage to the[…]

Me Own Imperturbe “Me Imperturbe, standing at ease in Nature, Master of all or mistress of all, aplomb in the midst of irrational things, Imbued as they, passive, receptive, silent as they, Finding my occupation, poverty, notoriety, foibles, crimes less important than I thought, Me toward the Mexican sea, or in the Mannahatta or the[…]

Kindred Spirits No matter how many miles I’ve gone on this trail, this first stretch is always my favorite. The first moment the seasons change, this is the part of the world I want to see first. The trees create this A shaped archway to walk/run/bike under. To be in it, is to feel a[…]