It is early morning and the reflection of sound off my tin furnace chimney alerts me that the flock has grown exponentially. From it, I can hear the sounds of thousands and thousands of waterfowl. I am across the street from Worthington’s Okabena Lake. It has become the Midwest’s staging area for Birders. Thousands of …
It was 150 years ago when Joesph Muck and his brother caught their first muskrats near my community of Worthington. Since that time we have made some progress that has allowed many people to afford food, shelter and employment. There were attractions that brought notoriety to this region and community. It was fertile soil, amply …
I live in a small community in S.W. Minnesota and within our community we have a beautiful body of water called Okabena Lake. I’m a student of history and enjoy keenly the journals of historic explorers that traversed this region in the early days of expansion. The name Okabena is purported to be a Siouian …
AT LAST!!!! We have always wanted to exhibit at the largest Native American PowWow in the Americas – The Gathering of Nations – and at last we had been accepted. It was exciting, yet everything seemed wrong. It was too far (Minnesota to New Mexico) and too costly. It didn’t matter. We very much wanted …
I’ve got such thoughtful friends! I’ve received a few emails, wondering how I’m doing after the election? This is a big deal because a couple of them understand that we share a difference of political philosophy and they have happened to win big this past Tuesday. I’ve been on a self imposed blackout for the …
MEET THE GUYS THAT OWN THE SKY! They wandered into my store one day and I thought I recognized them. After I greeted them, I realized these fellows are industrial crane operators. In South Western Minnesota crane operators are the big boys! This region is home to one of the largest wind generator fields …
I phone my artist friends and ask “will we see you in Breckenridge, Co. exhibiting at the art fair?” A long hesitation…..” Our R.V. can’t make it up that steep mountain at 12,000 ft”. We set off with a devil-may-care attitude. We travel in an RV with a turbo diesel and we can do the …
On St. Patrick’s Day in Cork County, Ireland, my great-grandparents were desperate, hungry and without hope. Bishop Ireland from St. Paul, MN USA was putting together a plan to help populate a small portion of the Midwest. It was his hope to attract farmers from Ireland to break the prairie and till the fertile soil. …
A customer comes into my store and I ask him where he is from? I can tell that he is probably from Kenya or the Sudan. We visit awhile and then he offers his origins, he smiles and says “I am a lost boy from the Sudan”. His name is Chang Riang and he is …
In a curious twist this past week we find ourselves as house guests, my host is a rocket scientist. I mean really! a rocket scientist. My wife and I are just outside of Washington D.C. & realize that every major player in the technology world is represented in this city. This fellow worked with developing …