May 31st, 2010    To the Northlands

As we did last year, we were honored with an adventure into northern Minnesota. One of our first sights was a beautiful dock spider, who posed for an up-close photo opportunity.

The cabin where we stay is owned by Carl, Rebecca's mother's fiancé. He has a true love of the outdoors, and loves to cook over the campfire, which is just our sort of thing.

Carl watches Mom learning how to play Kenton's shakuhachi.

It's interesting to note our connection with different environments. The lake country up there is a tangle of undergrowth -- a veritable jungle where visibility is reduced to a few paces, and mysterious lowlands let one's bare feet sink into two feet of sphagnum carpet, where pitcher plants seduce insects into their carnivorous mouths, and where unfamiliar species hide in every shadow.

Each night was a symphony of loon calls, starlight, and dark reflections on the lake water. We smelled the cedar and listened to the night air, hoping for the distant howl of the wolves.

Now we're back to the land of oaks. It feels like home, and we're glad to be back, but it's easy to miss the haunting loon-music that filled the night.