If I Could Turn Back Time

 In my high school we had one student of Japanese descent. I didn't know her well. We talked once in a while. One day she told me that the United States government put her family in a detention camp.

 I said, "No."

She said, "Yes."

I said I never heard about that in history class. We left it at that.

If I could turn back time I would change my response. The person who I am now, who knows more now, would have said, "The government put your family in a detention camp? How terrible for you and your family. I would love to learn more about that. Can we get together and I can ask you more questions?"

 

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Replaceable You

 Mary Roach is a medical/humor writer and one of my favorites. She wrote Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, Grunt, Fuzz and others. This time I read Replaceable You: Adventures In Human Anatomy.  Having had a few parts replaced myself (lenses, hips) I felt weird reading about myself. She travels to a burn  unit where they use frog skin to cover burns. She travels to China to explore genetically modified pigs to replace human parts. She writes about amputee replacements. Through her work she gets to sit in on surgeries and autopsies and other interesting places that the general public doesn't get to visit. Her book is very entertaining and informative.

 

 

The Fox And I

Catherine Raven has a PhD in biology. She worked as a National Park ranger in Washington and Montana. She bought a small isolated cabin in Montana. She taught classes remotely and also at Yellowstone National Park. One day she noticed a mangy looking fox hanging around her cabin. She thought garlic would cure the mange so she started feeding the fox raw eggs and garlic in half an egg shell. She and the fox developed a relationship. She read books to the fox. She used her relationship with the fox in her classes. She wrote the book The Fox and I. I enjoyed the book but I think the same story could have been told in half as many pages.  

 

 

Dingley Falls

 Dingley Falls is a literary novel first published in 1980. The author is Michael Malone. The book is long. I spent a little over 9 hours reading it. The author starts out introducing the characters. And there are a lot of characters. That part was a little hard to get through. After 20+ characters are introduced the book moves chronologically. The author describes a morning in Dingley Falls by talking about the weather. After that he tells us what all the characters are doing. We learn about what time they woke up, what they had for breakfast, and where they were headed for the day. The characters range from teenagers to senior citizens. One lady works at the post office and her husband is the sheriff. One guy is a banker. His wife is the town gossip. His two teenage daughters are getting into trouble. One guy, the owner of an antique store, has got to be a psychopath. The story telling is great. Many of the scenes are humorous.

 

 

Memorial Day

 This morning I traveled to lakeside park in Winona for the Memorial Day festivities. We started with the pledge of allegiance. The municipal band played the national anthem while the big crowd sang along. Two kids from a local high school read poems about Flanders Field (about a location in Belgium during world war one). The band played the song from all four branches of the military. People who served in each branch stood up while the song from their branch of the military was played. An English teacher from a local parochial school gave a speech. A man from a Quaker congregation gave one too. We heard four veterans shoot their rifles three times. The crowd moved over to the lake to honor those lost at sea. Then the crowd moved over to the gazebo. Before the gazebo were 200+ white crosses in the turf. As each name of a Winona resident killed in action was read aloud a boy scout (including girls) laid a wreath on that white cross. While this was happening a man playing a bagpipe played Amazing Grace over and over until all the crosses had wreaths on them. We had another volley of gun fire followed by a mournful/jazzy rendition of Taps.  We had a very nice ceremony.

 

 

Trempelau

Today I went to Trempelau National Wildlife Refuge. This is a 15 minute drive from my house and across the Mississippi into Wisconsin. Black locust trees were in bloom and the air smelled so sweet.

I saw sandhill cranes, Baltimore Orioles, Northern mockingbird, Northern Waterthrush, common yelowthroat, scarlet tanager, yellow warblers, gray catbirds, house wrens, song sparrow, field sparrow, red-eyed vireos, Canadian geese, American robins, blue jays, red winged black birds, tree sparrows and great blue herons. Someone else reported seeing a nighthawk here yesterday but I didn't see any.

This is spiderwort.

This is white campion. I loved pulling these flowers apart when I was young.

Slender leafy spurge

Yellow salsify

Driving on the wildlife loop I saw more lupine than I have ever seen before. These are native lupine. Some hills were covered in beautiful purple lupine.

I would have guessed false Solomon seal but my phone app says it is Solomon's plume.

I like the name of this one - mouse eared chickweeds.

I walked out on an isthmus on the Pine Creek nature trail. Minnesota is far is the distance. I only got 3 woodticks today. I found two of them crawling up my leg while I was parked with the door open reading on my phone.

 

The Jump Off Creek

 The Jump Off Creek is a historical fiction novel written by a lady from Oregon named Molly Gloss. A woman named Lydia decides to homestead on her own in the mountains of Oregon in the 1890's. Why anyone would choose such a difficult life is beyond me. She arrives at her cabin to find a couple of men squatting there. They move along and she starts to clean the cabin. She brought a couple of goats and a pair of mules. Her goal is to raise cattle on her land. Her nearest neighbors are a pair of bachelor brothers who lend her a hand and offer advice. Most of the book is about the weather and the hard work.

 

 

Culpability

 Culpability was published in 2025 by Bruce Holsinger. This literary novel is about a family of five. Noah is the father and he is married to Lorelei. Their son, Charlie, is driving the car when the accident happened. Charlie's sisters, Isabel and Alice are injured. The car was on automatic pilot when it crashed into a Honda killing an elderly married couple. Once everyone is released from the hospital, they rent a house on the Chesapeake Bay for a few weeks. At their vacation  home it comes out that everyone in the family thinks the accident was their fault. This book has drones, chat bots, artificial intelligence and self driving cars that lead to new discussions about ethics. I could hardly put it down. I read it in one sitting.

 

 

Top Notch Food

 Today was the final day of the nature convention in Saint Peter, Minnesota. I was up early. I checked out of my hotel and was the first one ready for bird watching. We saw blue birds. We saw a blue bird chasing a squirrel that approached his nest box. That squirrel was running away lickety split. We saw a hummingbird perched on a branch. We saw wood ducks, mallards, and great blue herons flying. We saw robins, field sparrows, chipping sparrows, and clay colored sparrows. We saw downy wood peckers and Tennessee warblers. In total we saw 24 species of birds. Later we had classes. I took one on harvesting fiddle head ferns (ostrich ferns). I took another on plant pressing. I made a greeting card and a book mark. I also made my own small plant press into which I put lilac flowers and fern leaves. Those should be dry in about 3 weeks. My last class was incorporating Indigenous culture into presentations. After that we had lunch and a wrap up session. Food at Gustavus Adolphus College was top notch. One of the servers knew I was a vegetarian and went out of her way to make sure I had enough to eat. Next year the conference will be at the arboretum at Saint John's University.

Nest Construction

This morning I went on a bird hike at the Gustavus Adolphus arboretum. We saw a Swainson's thrush, a black and white warbler, robins, downy woodpeckers, gold finches, Tennessee warblers, yellow warbler, Harris sparrow and a great blue  heron. But the best thing we saw was super tiny and far away from the path. One young woman spotted a hummingbird nest on an oak tree. We watched as the hummingbird came in and out of the nest. She was building a nest for her young ones. This was astonishing. A group of ten of us watched for at least ten minutes. I had other classes today. One was on nature journaling and sketching. One was on moths. That guy had thousands of pictures of moths. I had another class on plant medicine. The teacher is Native and she has a store in Mankato. She studied plant medicine from her grandparents on both sides. She studied at the Rosebud reservation and the Pine Ridge reservation. She made each of us a bag of tea. I chose the sleeping/calming tea. Any day where I can learn something is a good day.

 

Saint Peter

This weekend the MN Master Naturalist conference is at Gustavus Adolphus College. The campus is very attractive. I enjoyed seeing people that I usually see once a year. Dinner was great. We had caeser salad, wild rice, green beans, bread and butter. For protein they had steak and salmon. I had a Gardien patty that looked and tasted like chicken. I even brought it back to the kitchen to ask and they assured me it was vegetarian. I thought it tasted like chicken. But what do I know? I haven't had chicken for 40 years. For dessert they had chocolate cake, cheese cake and carrot cake. Tomorrow I am scheduled to go bird watching at 7 a.m. I hope I can get up that early.

 

 

Braver Than You Think

Braver Than You Think was written by Maggie Downs. This book is a mixture of a travel adventure story and a memoir about grief. Maggie's mother has Alzheimer disease and no longer recognizes her. This is hard for Maggie so she handles it by going on a year long adventure. Her adventure starts by hiking to Machu Picchu. From there she travels through Peru and Bolivia and South Africa. She doesn't have much money so she sleeps in hostels or tents most of the trip. She volunteers at an ape rescue place where she gets attacked and bitten by an ape. Then it's on to Uganda where she thinks she will be volunteering to plant rice or possibly teach English to children. Instead she anchors a radio show for several weeks. Volunteering is another way for her to travel cheaply. Along the way she runs into a few dicey situations. Some people try to take advantage of a woman traveling alone. The author rationalizes her trip by the fact her mother wanted to travel to most of these places but never did. I enjoyed the travel parts of the story. Regarding the grief I thought the author was a bit selfish. 

 

 

In The Time Of Butterflies

 Julia Alverez is the author of In The Time Of Butterflies. This is a historical fiction novel based on the murder of three sisters in the Dominican Republic in 1960. The dictator at the time was Rafael Trujillo. Every house in the nation had to have his picture on display. The story starts when the four sisters are young and living with their parents on a cocoa farm. The farm is prosperous. Trujillo, also known as "El Jefe", ruled from 1930 until 1961. The daughters grew up and got married. Some of their husbands were in the opposition party. One sister and her husband refused to get involved in politics. In the end, she was the only sister who survived. This was a heartbreaking tale due in part because of the excellent writing but also because it really happened.

 

 

The Bear And The Nightingale

 In the fiction novel The Bear And The Nightingale, the bear is not really a bear and the nightingale is not really a nightingale. Katherine Arden is the author of the novel, the first of three in a trilogy. Set in Russia during Medieval times the heroine of the story is Vasilisa. Her name is spelled several different ways but she is the daughter of Petrov. Her mother died soon after she was born. Her mother had special powers and Vasilisa has them too. She can see mythical creatures and communicate with them. One year Petrov goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife, Anna. Anna can also see mythical creatures but she is frightened of them and clings to a rigid faith. She spends much time in the church because the creatures don't go in the church. Russian fairy tales are much darker than Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. The fairy tales in this book are not suitable for young readers. I am not sure that I will read the rest of this trilogy.

 

 

Joy For Beginners

 Erica Bauermeister is the author of the fiction novel called Joy For Beginners.  At a posh dinner party in Seattle, five friends gather to celebrate Kate's recovery from breast cancer. To celebrate her achievement Kate decides to take a camping trip down the Grand Canyon. She urges her friends to do something out of their comfort zone. She offers to choose their "out of the comfort zone" action for them. For one, it's to get a tattoo. For another, it's  not to care whether her mother disapproves of her anymore. For another it's to get rid of her ex-husband's stuff in her house. For another it's to landscape her yard. I know this sounds like Kate must be some kind of controlling freak but she's really not. It's a delightful book written for women.

 

 

Lawn Boy

 Lawn Boy is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Jonathan Evision. Set in Wahington state, a young man named Mike Monuz, just a couple years out of high school, lives with his mother and his older brother with behavioral problems. He works for a landscaping crew run by a cheating boss. His specialty is carving plants and hedges into topiaries. He has artistic talent. His truck breaks down. His lawnmower gets stolen. Nothing is going right for him and he knows he has to shake things up. Seems like he can't get one foot on the ladder to success. Slowly things start to change for him. With another landscaper he starts their own landscaping business and they run it honestly. This book is a cute coming of age story about a kid who keeps on trying.

 

 

The Sugar Queen

Sarah Addison Allen is the author of The Sugar Queen. This novel is set in the south in contemporary times. The main character, Josey, is 27 and lives at home with her hyper critical mother. Her mother is never satisfied no matter how hard Josey tries. Josey keeps a closet full of sweets which she sneaks in after her mother has gone to bed. One day she is surprised to see a woman in her closet. Della is a local waitress who climbed in Josey's window during the night. Della gives Josey advice. Although Josey is angry with Della she takes some of her advice and starts branching out into the world instead of focusing on her mother. I didn't like that there was some magic in the book but the story was compelling.

 

 

 

 

Endangered Ancient Snails

Yesterday I attended a showing of a movie put on by a non-profit organization called Sustainable Driftless. The name of the movie was Spirit Of The Driftless; Preserving Our Legacy. Driftless refers to a landscape from Hastings, MN to south of Dubuque, Iowa, including parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, that wasn't covered by the latest glacier. I watched the movie with 40 other people at a local lodge. The movie talks about the unique and beautiful landscape that is the driftless region. Here we have unique land forms. One speaker told us about endangered ancient snails. Their first record of them was in fossils. But then one live snail was found in Iowa. They kept looking and eventually found 37 groups of these rare snails. The snails, about as big as your pinky fingernail, are found on the north facing slopes. Here the rocky ledges of limestone, marble, and gypsum break apart and fall down the bluff piling up on itself. This is the karst region. When a sinkhole forms in the flat land on top of the bluff, moisture and air gather in the sinkhole. In winter ice forms in big sheaths. In summer the ice recedes but does not disappear keeping the area cool. That is where these Iowa Pleistocene snails live. They like it cold. They like this rare habitat. Not all 37 of the snails habitats are protected by the Driftless Area National Refuge but 21 are.  I thought it was bizarre to first learn about a creature by studying fossils and then finding a live one.

 

 

If The Creek Don't Rise

 If The Creek Don't Rise is an historical fiction book set in North Carolina. The author is Leah Weiss. Characters are introduced by chapters as they tell their side of the story. The first character is Sadie, a young pregnant bride who is being abused by her husband of just a few months. The second is Gladys who is Sadie's grandmother. Gladys acts angry at Sadie for marrying Roy against her advice. Next is the pastor, Eli, who hires a new teacher for the town school. Next is his angry, spiteful little sister who hates change of any kind. Next is Kate, the teacher who is hired by Eli. This is an honest and gritty tale that does have some hopeful moments.

 

 

Sisterland

 I always thought Curtis was a boy's name but Curtis Sittenfeld is the female author of Sisterland. Twins Violet and Kate are middle aged and living in Saint Louis, Missouri with their father. As youngsters they both had a special sense. Kate tried to downplay her special sense. Violet embraced her talents and made money as a psychic. While Kate is trying to raise her two young children Violet predicts an earthquake will shake Saint Louis on October 16th. While reading about the two sisters was interesting I thought the book was too detailed and overly long.

 

 

 

Moon Of The Crusted Snow

 Waubgeshig Rice is the author of Moon Of The Crusted Snow. Do you know crusted snow? Where the icy layer of somewhat firm and the powdery snow is underneath. I once walked through a field of crusted snow with bare legs and cam out with tiny cuts bleeding down my leg. Would have been smarter to stick to the streets. In this dystopian novel the author writes about an Anishanaabi group in northern Canada. Some members of the group stick to the old ways of speaking the language and hunting for moose and deer and geese to eat. Others prefer playing video games. One day, before Thanksgiviing, the internet and cell phone and electricity go out in the area. Food supply dwindles. Band leadership tries hard but eventually looses control over the community. A skeezy white guy moves in to help or so he says. The author grew up north of Toronto and wrote a very moving yet horrible story about a fictional community struggling to survive.

 

 

Furiously Happy; A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Watson is the author of Furiously Happy; A Funny Book About Horrible Things. Jenny is quite open about her mental health. She has labels like anxiety, depression, and ADD. Her mother said she is just quirky and quirky is the right word.  ADD is very apparent in her writing. Sometimes she writes discussions she has with her husband. He is loving and tolerant. I have worked with people who have untreated ADD and I find it to be a real struggle. Also, her dad is a taxidermist. She is into taxidermy which is the reason the stuffed, furiously happy raccoon is on the cover.  She actually owns 2 stuffed raccoons and one bear head. This book is not for everyone. I enjoyed it but was not disappointed to come to the ending.

 

 

Happy May Day

 Today I attended the Winona Indivisible rally at Windom Park. Part of the reason I went is because they had a maypole. I always wanted to try a maypole. Unfortunately I walked .7 miles to get there and left my phone at home. I didn't have time to walk and come back. So I got no pictures of the maypole. I did do the maypole with another guy. Was it fun?  Yes, it was fun until the final three trips around the maypole when dizziness set in. I think I looked inebriated. They had a food drive for immigrants. A couple people running for office spoke. Another lady spoke who wasn't running for office and she was the best speaker. She was a teacher at Winona High School for many years. She became a union representative. She was part of the negotiation team. Once a group of Winona business men asked to meet with the negotiation team. All of the business owners were millionaires. All the negotiators salaries combined did not reach even one of those guy's salary. This happened when Tim Pawlenty was in office. Pawlenty liked slashing budgets and taxes. The negotiation they were working on was a two year negotiation. The businessmen asked the negotiators to stop asking for an increase in salary for two years. None of the businessmen were willing not to get a salary increase for two years. Anyway, the teachers got their salary increase with the help of the negotiators. I think there were about 100 people in attendance. I saw people of all ages. They had a drumming circle of 7 drummers which was fun to hear. They had popcorn and apples and candy. This was a good night. Here is one photo I snagged off their FB page.