Running with Stella

Running with Stella

The weather has been perfect this autumn, it seems that just 

about everyone has a smile on their face.

Stella and I have been running on the trails around town.  When 

we enter the woods, it feels like stepping into a dream.  The 

evening sun filters down; the leaves slowly twirl from their 

branches to the forest floor.  It feels so great just to move along 

the trail drinking in the delicious warm air.

On this afternoon, Stella stopped to listen to the sound of a 

squirrel rustling under the dry fallen leaves.  I took a moment 

to soak it in.

~ Hal

Summer Reading

Summer Reading

This summer I’ve been walking to a small neighborhood park 

on the east side of  St. Paul.  Once a week I take my lunch, I sit 

and read, I watch people come and go.

There is an old woman in a wheelchair, and a man some years 

younger who sits beside her, reading aloud from a very long book.  

In the heat of summer, they sat in the shade of the trees on the 

lawn.  As autumn has drawn near, they have moved to a sunny 

bench.

She leans toward him in her chair, head angled so that her ear is 

close to his voice.  His finger is tracing the words on the page.  

I think about the intimacy that comes with reading in that way 

over the course of a summer.  I wonder what world they are sharing 

together in this moment.

I finish my lunch and notice these milkweed seeds quivering in 

the breeze at the edge of the park.  Before heading back to work 

I take a few minutes to consider them as well.

~ Hal

Kinni River Barn Dance

Kinni River Barn Dance

This is the second year I’ve had the pleasure of dancing 

in this barn with friends and a great band.  The occasion?  

A party to celebrate our local river and those who love it.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful early autumn 

night.  The stars were out, the dew was on the grass, and 

the barn was fairly pulsing with the energy of the band and 

dancers moving together.

The folks at the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust have done 

a spectacular job this year.  My thanks you, and to everyone 

else who takes the time to care for our river.  

~ Hal

Life’s Unquiet Dream

Life’s Unquiet Dream

“Thy light alone... gives grace and truth to life’s unquiet dream”
     ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”

                                --------------------------

I lost my creative rhythm toward the end of this summer.  In mid- 

August I somehow fell out of sync with the regular activity of my 

own life.

Not even our annual canoe trip to the Boundary Waters could bring 

me around.  The photos I wanted to take, among other things, 

seemed just beyond my reach.

It took me the better part of a month to recognize my predicament, 

and then some patience before life’s cadence began to reveal itself 

again.  Up north over the Labor Day weekend, Beauty offered this 

glimpse into the heart of it all.

~ Hal

In the Garden

In the Garden

It’s been a great summer for exploring gardens.  For various 

reasons, our own garden has gone more than a little bit wild 

this year; but one thing I’ve noticed is that even in an untended 

garden, the love that went into the original sewing and planting 

isn’t difficult to discern.

This past weekend we returned from a family vacation, visiting 

with my parents in Asheville, North Carolina.  One of the moments 

I enjoyed most was sitting on their back patio watching the edge 

of evening glide silently across the yard.  Afterward, I stood up to 

take a closer look at the flowers growing in the cool stillness of 

their water garden.  I brought the memory home in this photograph.

~ Hal

The Lilies of the Black Ponds

The Lilies of the Black Ponds

for Susan Deborah King

In a moment between getting dressed
and my morning commute
I sat at the edge of my bed

And for some reason my hand
reached to the bedside table and drew out
Mary Oliver's book from the stack.

The page opened to this verse:

        "Who doesn't love
        roses, and who
        doesn't love the lilies
        of the black ponds"

In an instant my mind flew
open to a place I know
where lilies grow in wild, still water

And several days later, not long after dawn
I sat unhurried, drifting through wild lilies.

Their pads were tethered by slack tapers
to the rich, soft, soil
and all that lies below it.

~ Hal

When the World Comes Alive

When the World Comes Alive

Over this past weekend I was lucky enough to spend the fishing 

season opener with a few friends on a trip in the Boundary Waters.

We put in off the Gunflint Trail in the pouring rain, and after 4 

hours of paddling and portaging we arrived at camp soaked and 

hungry.  Oh well, we survived.  Another day of wet and very cold 

weather followed, but thankfully the sun did eventually reappear.

On Saturday evening we took a break from fishing to spend some 

time hiking just south of Winchell Lake.  This area was burnt in 

2006 by the Redeye Lake fire.  The terrain is terribly charred, and 

aside from my curiosity about how forests regenerate, I was not 

feeling a real connection to the place.

Then as we turned back toward the canoes, the light caught hold 

of the new-grown shrubs and the entire hillside came alive.  I 

stopped to take it in, then captured this moment as I followed my 

friend Jim down the slope.

~ Hal