"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.

At least when I was a teenager with a day off school, my parents left the house for work so they weren't forced to face my sloth. Nothing like working away the morning but trying to be quiet because a 13-year-old has plans to sleep until noon.

Fog filter this morning.

This is much good news.

This is much good news.

Denham, Minnesota Pop: 34 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denham,_Minnesota Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110679078 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46133175 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85161523

"We live not alone in the present but also in the past and future. The radius that circumscribes our lives must necessarily extend back indefinitely and forward infinitely." - George Warner, History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley, 1881

Today, thanks to funding approved by President Joe Biden, the Minnesota legislature, and Midco, we joined the 21st century.

Stillwater #NoKings

Getting ready to embark on a river voyage of film and music with my friends at the Square Lake Festival, the Cactus Blossoms, and the kickoff of a St. Croix River film contest.

New cell tower in Marine on St Croix visible from a long stretch of river. It's needed for the town and the banks are already lined by houses on that side, so I can't get super worked up. But it's another blemish. And certainly not great for the many birds that migrate up and down the river.

Missing Miskobineshii: The legacy of a St. Croix tribal elder www.stcroix360.com/2025/09/miss...

You think you know oak trees by their bark? Here are two >200 year old bur oaks I sampled in Northern Wisconsin, a St Croix River flood plain/terrace.

"Just like children sleepin' We could dream this night away"

I'm at a cabin on the St. Croix River. A little while ago, a cop at the landing across the river got on a loudspeaker and addressed a fugitive who he believed to be within earshot. He urged them to surrender and informed them a K-9 unit *would* find them.

Goodness.

When I was in college ca. the turn of the millennium, I stumbled into a project scanning in Jane Goodall's slide collection. I handled the page of her notebook where she first wrote of observing chimp tool use. She visited once and I got to say a brief hello. It remains a highlight of my life.

Saddened by news that Jane Goodall had died at the age of 91. She was truly an inspirational leader.

Jane Goodall, ethologist and conservationist, has died. She was 91

See any trout? Me neither.