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Subterranean home septic system blues
Guess what, everyone? We put in a poo. That’s not a typo. Indeed, we did *not* install a heated in-ground pool. That is, unless you consider an underground reservoir where you should never, ever swim to be the same thing. No, we put in a new septic system. People like to use the term “adulting”…
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Carp 2.0: Mmm, they’re palatable
Technically speaking, you’re not supposed to eat pets. But there are work-arounds. For instance, you can reclassify your pet. That’s not my pet. That’s a chicken. I know I’ve been talking cute to the chicken for some time now. But it’s NOT a pet. It’s food. Cultural taboos prevent us from eating cats and dogs.…
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Climbing fatherhood mountain
I’m not much of a camper. In the winter I like warm beds; in the summer, cool air. I want all the kitchen stuff to be in the kitchen, not stacked like some Russian nesting doll and then wrapped in a mesh bag with a drawstring. Furthermore, I want to enter and exit my sleeping…
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The old ways are over
Everybody gets a little older each day. String a few days together and you get a lot older. As I begin my trot through middle age I’m breaking all sorts of promises I once made to myself. “Who cares about watching birds?” Well, now I do. I love birds. Can’t get enough birds. “Don’t talk…
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A ghost in the woods
I have a friend who’s into mushrooms. Not those mushrooms. Well, sometimes those mushrooms. But mostly the kind you eat. This is how we ended up going for a hike that became a walk that became a slow meander off the trail while scanning the underbrush for fungi. I learned about some mushrooms you…
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Primary colors in late summer hues
This Tuesday, Aug. 9, voters head to the polls for Minnesota’s primary election. The results will winnow down several races so that we have an easier time picking the least objectionable candidates come Nov. 8. Though there are a few interesting partisan races I’ll talk about in a moment, I’d first like to acknowledge what…
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The best and worst of times on the Range
It’s the best of times; it’s the worst of times. And, if you’re reading northern Minnesota news these days, both times seem to be happening at once. The unemployment rate hovers around historic lows. Gas prices, which spiked to record highs earlier this summer, are coming back down. Some were heartened by a new partnership…
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With great technology comes great responsibility
The other day I sat in a fast food restaurant listening to the gentle din of humanity. At one booth, a young mother struggled with a toddler. The scene brought back somewhat recent memories for me and my wife. An older woman stopped at this woman’s table to give unsolicited advice. My eyes widened, however,…
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Steel wheels turn for iron mining future
Late last month, U.S. Steel announced a $150 million direct-reduced iron pellet production facility on the Mesabi Iron Range. The news made statewide television, radio and newspapers. Unions and elected officials lauded the development. As well they should. This project will stabilize our local iron ore industry, still the largest source of economic activity in…
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From naps to thrills, baseball provides
Last weekend I watched the most excruciating eight innings of major league baseball of my life. And then I saw the most thrilling ninth inning I’ve ever seen in person. Such is the way of our strange, so-called “national pastime,” a tradition that endures despite the waning attention span of the body politic. My family…
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The restless hunger of America
Who are we, fellow Americans? Are we words printed on sacred documents? Are we a melting pot or a tossed salad? Doubtless, we are new growth on a gash in the Earth. Now, as we revel in our annual celebration of independence, we would do well to consider what that word means. In 1863, John…
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The real value in recycling
Just the word “recycling” conjures a rapid eye movement flashback to countless hours of schoolroom filmstrips, TV commercials, mediocre class presentations, and low stakes political squabbles. You can see it now, can’t you? Yes, the logo spins circular arrows. The grinning planet Earth sprouts an anthropomorphic arm to flash a thumbs up. (No one asks…
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Juneteenth: America’s freedom and future
Today is Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers informed enslaved people near Galveston, Texas, that they were now free. The date was colloquially referred to as Juneteenth. From that day forward, it became a celebrated holiday among these newly freed people. Within African-American communities, Juneteenth stood as America’s “Second Independence Day.” That’s a good way…
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Sun’s out, bugs out
Entomologists say the lives of mosquitoes consist of four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. But I posit that several additional stages of mosquito life have yet to be documented in scientific papers. Allow me to elaborate. It’s true; egg, larva and pupa stages take place in water. And yes, adult mosquitoes then emerge…
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When the storm comes
Every storm begins not with a gust of wind or a raindrop, but rather with a premonition of change. The air thickens. At once the songbirds fall silent. Busy squirrels disappear from the corner of the yard. Deer find shelter out of the wind despite their desperate instinctual desire to graze on freshly greened grass. …