Resonant words from the archives:
Dear Calendar Owners,
As I write this it is Memorial Weekend, 2007. I have just returned from working at the Ham Lake Fire on the Gunflint Trail, where sadly we lost homes and witnessed the destruction of wild places that were special to many people. It was perhaps all the harder to accept because in two previous years we had worked to save homes and islands and other special spots from the Alpine and Cavity fires. Thankfully, there was no loss of life or serious injury. And by now, new homes will be taking the place of the burned ones, wild geraniums and fireweed will have colored the islands, and jackpine seedlings will have sprouted on the charred forest floor.
A week before the fire, we lost a good friend to a sudden death at too young an age. By now, his memory will bring more pleasure than pain; having had such a friend will be more important than having lost him.
By now, last month’s election will have given us new leadership, with the hope for healing relationships and situations gone awry.
As the year comes to an end, I will look to the resilience of the natural world and be reassured that optimism is justified. That hope is not the only thing that springs eternal — raspberries do, too. That even when everything seems all wrong, my sense of peace and the rightness of things is restored by a simple walk in the woods.
In this season of spiritual celebration, I wish for all of you a wild place to call your own, a place to renew your gratitude, to settle your worldly worries, and to share with a child so that nature and hope will remain partners in the years to come.
