Diaries, journals, manuals, ledgers, newspapers, magazines…a world of human science that documents knowledge, history, and the memorializing of the social commentary of the day.
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“When the loaves are finally baked, I slide them with the peel onto a table to cool. I listen closely for the final notes: the crust, blistered and deeply browned, crackles and whistles in those first special moments out of the oven.
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Long ago Scandinavian immigrants, hungry for their own piece of dirt and the American promise of a better life, helped shape the culture of Minnesota. The vast, wind-swept prairies and dense woodlands felt
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I wonder if because our state license plates declare we’re the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”
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Living off the land is more than a dalliance—it’s not glamorous or romantic. But the devotion invested in growing food and raising livestock is the engine of human endeavor. Ken and Minnie Apel nurtured their land and their family, caretakers of the acres passed on to them. An investment in the original American dream.
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For me, referring to finding mushrooms in their natural setting as a hunt gives the impression of elusiveness. But we’ve all experienced discovering fascinating fungi that suddenly appear at the edge of our yards, in local parks, or along a rural pathway. During an end of summer rain-sogged hike through the deep cool mossy forest in the far north woods of Minnesota,
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Just one brief month. As the temperatures rise and the sun moves higher in the sky, the sharp winter edges fall off of each day. The promise of spring sweetness is underscored by the flow of sap in the sugar bush. What better reason to gather and party?
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Prairie hoarfrost reveals itself in the early midwinter morning while driving into the foreverness of a hazy, horizonless landscape in Nobles County, Minnesota.
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I stand corrected. My somewhat ignorant reference to “raising bees” was met with a raised eyebrow and immediate correction. It’s “bee keeping” or essentially being good stewards of these tiny creatures. And we learned that bees clearly need no help from humans establishing thriving communities.
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This first story comes by way of family tradition. Dennis, a native of southwestern Minnesota, recently relived a late spring ritual in the wide-open spaces near his family home. In a bittersweet role reversal, he led his aging father on a hunt for spring asparagus.
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