My ancestors had no real right to come to America but they did, and now I'm supposed to believe the government has any ethical power to say who can be a "citizen," based on birthplace? To be a citizen is to reject such ideas.

My maps are part of an excellent exhibit opening this week in Stillwater. Please join us at the opening reception on Thursday from 6-8!

Bears are awake!

For the Twins as they start the season against the Orioles

Along with everyone else in the St. Croix Valley, I went for a walk in the woods this very warm afternoon. Saw frozen spring seeps and the first scarlet cup mushrooms.

A neighbor shared this video of a beaver seemingly chasing off a romp of river otters. I'm curious about the interspecies relationship. They don't compete for food but often occupy similar habitat. Wondering if otters prey on beaver kits?

The first few years we lived in this house were the last few years Pete Hegseth was drinking, cheating, and abusing in a house about a half-mile through the woods. He somehow found a way to go downhill from there.

Currently working on a long nonfiction book, loving this news!

March 3, 2020: CDC reports 60 cases of COVID-19 in the United States March 3, 2026: I test positive for COVID-19 for the first time

Osceola aglow.

CITY LERK.

Deep down in the ravine, the sun still managed to find us.

We just had a wonderful little love-filled Valentine's Day rally and community sing for peace and human rights in Marine on Saint Croix. Sunshine and kids and connection.

If you come to Minneapolis I’ll give you a personal tour of one of the most beautiful libraries in the country, Walter Library at the University of Minnesota.

Diane Wilson—Dakota writer, educator, and bog steward, and my friend—connected the dots between immigration, Indigenous people, the Whipple building, and attacks on the Boundary Waters and the Earth as a whole, in a brief but wise essay for @lithub.com.web.brid.gy. lithub.com/letter-from-...

Seventy-five or more folks froze their faces in a bitter wind to stand up for America in Stillwater today. Seemed like half the passing cars were honking in support.

"There is nobody more American than American Indians! We are America, how can you possibly target Native Americans? It's legally impossible!" -Chase Iron Eyes tells our @zdroberts.bsky.social about four Oglala Sioux Tribal members being taken by ICE... Three are now missing . LIVE NOW ⬇️

The St. Croix Tribe of Ojibwe in northwestern Wisconsin are offering tribal members living in the Twin Cities 14 days of free hotel lodging on the reservation and other support as part of a temporary "Return Home" program.

The only photo I took during my shift washing dishes at tonight's lutefisk dinner at Christ Lutheran Church in Marine on St. Croix: the cache of roasters and pans stashed in a pre-school classroom.

"Of the one hundred strong and stout-hearted sons of Washington county who bade farewell to home and friends at the head of Lake St. Croix on that April morning over two years before, by reason of sickness, shot and shell only thirty-five answered to the roll-call on the eve of [Gettysburg]..."

Not only does sunshine represent government transparency, it also melts ICE.

I regret to inform the good people of St. Paul that the city's reputation for nonexistent nightlife was earned 169 years ago. (The Weekly Minnesotian, December 6, 1856.)

Snowy woods.

I regret to inform the good people of St. Paul that the city's reputation for nonexistent nightlife was earned 169 years ago. (The Weekly Minnesotian, December 6, 1856.)

I was walking along, carefully watching my step on snow over ice, when I saw where a couple turkeys had slipped.

I switched back to DuckDuckGo as my default search engine. I tried a while ago but didn't think the results were as good as Google. I don't know if DDG has gotten much better, but the Big G has gotten so much worse, I think I'm going to stick with the waterfowl now.

I was walking along, carefully watching my step on snow over ice, when I saw where a couple turkeys had slipped.

"What were once bedrock aspects of daily life and spirituality increasingly appear as infrastructure, background scenery, or perhaps a vague environmental concern."

A wintry winter.

Ope, school is cancelling afternoon activities.

Lots of good stuff including an intriguing new book from my friend Ryan Rodgers.

Introducing: The St. Croix Watershed Map Our new 36″ x 24″ wall map offers a detailed view of the region defined by the St. Croix River. www.stcroix360.com/2025/12/the-...

River photo series: St. Croix Seasons, Winter The year began with the subtle beauty of ice and snow and the solitude of cold.

Watch: ‘Capturing A Sense of Place’ with Greg Seitz and Victoria Bradford Styrbicki Discussion of the unique ways two local artists use their work to connect with audiences, communicate complex issues, and inspire people to act.

Minnesota's pride Jessie Diggins, cross-country ski racer and the first American to win Olympic gold (with her relay teammate) in the sport in 2018, has announced this will be her last season of racing.

I'm giving an online presentation tomorrow night about deep mapping and my book project, please tune in if you're interested! northwoodsandwaters.org/live-from-no...

River Radio: St. Croix 360 joins conservation conversation Founder Greg Seitz and other guests interviewed about local environmental topics.

Do you see the thunderbird?

Well okay then.

A fire for the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald, swallowed by the cold waters of Lake Superior.

Stayed at a cabin on the Bayfield Peninsula last year and they casually had this life jacket on display (it had been swapped out at some point before the final voyage). #EdmundFitzgerald

Dancing in Danbury.

Consumer sentiment by income-level tells you everything. #UMich @sofiabaig.bsky.social

I missed a couple days of the #30DayMapChallenge but it was seriously because I was working on a big map project and reading academic articles about deep mapping. Anyway here's one of my favorite places.

Mark Hove always has kind words to share, time for mentoring, and an encyclopedic knowledge of mussels that can come only from having a true lifelong love of oft-ignored organisms.

Rats filmed snatching bats from air for first time www.science.org/content/arti... #RatsVsBats

Sneaking in under the wire with my first map of #30DayMapChallenge. Ugly, mostly thinking about themes for the month.

Benches clear in #WorldSeries Game 7 after Andrés Giménez is hit by a pitch by Justin Wrobleski in the 4th inning.

This baseball game is all highlights.