Month: November 2019

Years ago, shortly after I moved to Minnesota, I discovered the state’s North Shore, and immediately fell in love. I’ve tried to make regular visits to Duluth, Grand Marais, Gooseberry Falls, Tettegouche State Park, the Gunflint Trail, Sax Zim Bog, and the many other wondrous areas along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Until this year, I believe about three had passed since my previous trip north, and I was feeling the yearning to go back. When my sister came for a visit, she provided the excuse I needed for a short trip to Duluth – a day and a half is better than nothing!

If you have never been, I strongly encourage you to visit Hawk Ridge, located on the ridge above Duluth, providing expansive and breathtaking views of the town and Lake Superior. If you go in the autumn you’ll have the double benefits of brilliant fall foliage and the awe inducing sight of hundreds, sometimes thousands of migrating birds flying by. Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory maintains an observation site there, and they are always happy to answer questions. The Ridge is well worth the trip to Duluth, even if you go nowhere else… but of course there are plenty of other great spots to visit!

This trip, as I mentioned, was a short one. We did stop for a while at Hawk Ridge, and were rewarded with the sights of Broad-winged and Cooper’s Hawks, a couple of American Kestrels, Bald Eagles, and a silent V of around 50 Pelicans. The day was cool, but the lake sparkled in the warmth of the sunlight. So we decided to make Brighton Beach Park our next stop.

We didn’t walk far, but it isn’t often I have the chance to walk along a beach, so we took our time… watching gulls, looking for agates and driftwood, climbing rock outcroppings to get better views along the shoreline. It was peaceful and energizing at the same time.

I’m actually not sure how long we walked – we were so enjoying ourselves, and time seemed not to matter. The summer was not a relaxing one for me, as I had worked nearly every day from mid-May through mid-September, with virtually no time for wandering or taking it easy. So the time we spent at this beach, walking, gazing over the lake, watching the waves rolling in… it was just too delicious to rush through. We savored every single minute.

The park above the beach was grassy, cool, and inviting, and had attracted a few people jogging or picnicking. But they were few, and we really didn’t see many other people while we were there, and only one or two along the beach, which only added to the sense of peace. I certainly don’t mean to be selfish, but it’s always nice to not have to share special spots like this!

On one of the paths I took, leading from the grassy park down to the beach, I noticed a brightly colored caterpillar slowly moving up a stem beside the trail. Upon taking a closer look, I found it was a Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar. I only had my phone, so none of the photos I took were anything to write home about, but I did get a fairly good shot of this handsome, fuzzy guy!

Alas, all good things finally come to an end. Our time around Duluth went by far too quickly, but we definitely enjoyed it! If you have the chance to go – I encourage you to experience the area for yourself.

Some might have noticed I haven’t posted for a while… a long eight months, to be exact. I could chalk this absence up to a busy work schedule, short bouts of illness, preparing for presentations, caring for family members, etc. And while all of these might technically be true, they aren’t the real reason I haven’t posted. As difficult as it is to put into words, I’ve come to realize that I will be better off just getting it out, rather than continuing to internalize it. So… the fact is that I’ve been trying (sometimes successfully, other times less so) to deal with depression. I have dealt with depression on and off throughout my life, and with me it has always been situational. This time, however, it’s been going on for much longer than ever before. Much of it has to do with the state of the earth. I recently read an article written by an environmentalist who outlined, painfully, the difficulty he has had maintaining equilibrium in a world where our planet seems to be, quite literally, dying, because of us. Battles have always had to be fought, but wins used to be much more frequent. These days most of what I learn, what I see from day to day is more destruction, more death, more greed, and more hatred. All too often I find myself thinking how much I don’t want to be a part of this. I would never actually try to end my life, but these days I very much despair of my own species. Whenever I read about poaching, or animal trafficking, or any sort of abuse, or forests being burned and indigenous people being marginalized and even murdered for the sake of greed… some days it’s just too much for me to take. Even the thoughts of so many species dwindling to extinction feels like someone is slicing away pieces of me, bit by bit. The things I do to try to turn the tide seem so woefully inadequate, but I continue to try. And I continue to look for additional ways to make a difference.

I have been walking, whenever I’ve had the chance. But my work schedule actually has been quite heavy, so my opportunities have not been as frequent. I do realize, though, that one of the best ways for me to overcome these feelings of hopelessness, despair, depression, is to get out and spend more quality time with nature. To that end, I will try harder to get outside, and to post about it. My owl banding season is coming to a close soon, which will free up more of my time as well. So… I will write again, and I promise I will make future posts more upbeat and in line with the goals of this site!

Please bear with me as I try to ditch this weight.