I've always been aware of the moon -- its phase, its arc, its pull. Even more so here at Camp Many Moons! I gave this place its name for three reasons. 1. It was the nickname my brother gave me. 2. It suggests a Native American connection. 3. I want the retreat we've developed here … Continue reading (Many) Moons
On the south end of Camp Many Moons, the waterfront is interrupted by a small inlet. The waters of Huron Bay ebb and flow here. The sand does, too. Sand is a remarkable medium, both adaptable and resilient. It shifts as nature or humans require, never losing its elemental nature even as its appearances changes. … Continue reading Shifting Sands
June 17, 2021 - The humble rowboat ... simple, useful, and underrated. We have many types of watercraft at Camp Many Moons, but my go-to is the rowboat. This one is a "Jon boat," supposedly nick-named that by Scandinavian fishermen. Flat-bottomed and square-bowed, it is stable and light-weight. This makes it easy to launch and … Continue reading In Praise of Rowboats
May 18, 2021 - Here we come! Hello, sun! Hello, people! Like the fiddleheads (fern fronds) unfurling at Camp Many Moons after a long and chilly spring, my friends scattered throughout the U.S. are gradually emerging from a year of pandemic hibernation to reengage more directly with society. Some are uneasy. Some are hesitant. Most … Continue reading Re-Emergence
October 20, 2020. A pink dawn brings thoughts, again, of the in-between's. The halfway. The middle. Pink is a middle color, halfway between red and white. Twilight is a middle time, halfway between daylight and darkness. (It occurs in both morning and evening.) Morning twilight is referred to as dawn -- that first light before … Continue reading Twilight Pinks at Dawn
September 20, 2020. A kayak can take you places a larger vessel can't - like into the weeds. Places where noise won't penetrate - like into the marsh. Paddling in the silence can help you breathe more deeply. See more clearly. Think more calmly. Get acquainted with your core -- muscular and spiritual. At Camp … Continue reading Paddling Into Silence
September 11, 2020. We've arrived at "the in-between." In the far-north, summer exits abruptly while autumn enters hesitantly and winter awaits at the door. The skies record this jerky transition. Before the changing of leaf-color comes the changing of sky-color. Moody. Uncertain. Evolving. Kind of like me. If we're honest, like most of us. Like … Continue reading The In-Between Skies
Sept. 1, 2020. Cedar trees engage all your senses. Their fragrant needles tickle the nose. Their crooked, twisted branches confuse the eyes. Their sinewy bark agitates the fingers. Their snap-crackle-pop in the campfire delights the ear. The cedar tree stands for strength, and they live 100 years or more. I wonder why we've lost so … Continue reading The Life & Death (?) of a Cedar Tree
July 29, 2020. We lost two ducklings. Yesterday, there were seven. Today, just five. I know it's silly to personalize it that way. This is wildlife, and they succumb to the wildness of nature. Nature = natural! But still, I still feel sad. This duck family swims by our dock several times a day, and … Continue reading And Then There Were Five
June 5, 2020. The strawberry moon, so-called by American Indians to recognize the short season of that luscious fruit, rose at Camp Many Moons last night. Summer arrives soon! Strawberry season is a big deal in the U.P., where summer is so brief. The small town of Chassell, 30 miles from here, holds a strawberry … Continue reading Strawberry Moon at Many Moons
For Many Moons 