Reading and Writing Off the Trails

While I've been figuring out my bum foot, I've hiked less, more slowly and for shorter stints. That's ok though. It's given me lots more time to write, as you might have noticed with the firehose of posts I've published the past two months. 

I had time to do some other writing outside the blog too. I was thrilled to be published in the Mississippi Valley Conservancy newsletter in July. That article was recently reprinted in the online Root River Current, an online journal focusing on community building in Southeast Minnesota’s greater Root River Valley.

As an active blogger for over 25 years, I have written thousands of posts on youth librarianship, education, cooking and now the natural world. It's funny though, until I saw my writing in print in Driftless (Inspired) magazine this past year, I never thought to identify myself as a writer. Life has lots of interesting twists sometimes!

The other delightful pursuit, while my foot reined me in at home, was having the time to read. I wanted to share a couple of nonfiction nature books that fascinated me in the past few months and that I highly recommend.

Let's Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants

Ben Goulet-Scott and Jacob S. Suissa

2026

Two evolutionary biologists encourage close observation of plants with prompts that help us train our eyes, nose, ears and other senses and build our understanding of the natural world. Each short prompt opens up multiple possibilites and truly encourages a person to slow down and understand what we are seeing. Using this book has helped me slow down even more and really look and try to understand the complexities of plants. The authors also have a vibrant website and newsletter.

Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks

Bjornerud, Marcia

2024

It's easy to think of rocks as immovable, unchanging and literally "set in stone." In a personable style  - part informational and part memoir - Bjornerud, a professor of environmental studies and geosciences, reveals the eventful and ever changing life of rocks from earth's beginning over 4 billion years ago to the present. Each chapter focuses on the story of one type of rock, from sandstone, dolomite and quartizite to turbidite and granite. Woven into each story is the story of her work and life around that rock. This fascinating, beautifully written book is a page turner. Who knew rocks had this power?

On Trails: An Exploration
Robert Moor

2016

A friend mentioned this older title and I was intrigued. This fascinating, wide-ranging book explores how paths and trails began, where they lead and why. Like a wandering trail, Moor meanders through natural and cultural history, archaeology, biology, philosophy, personal experience and encounters as he traces path making, finding, and building throughout the millenia. A deft writer, this leisurely book takes it time as the author takes the reader on a global journey that can illuminate our understanding of the paths we make and what has come before. I now find myself meditating while hiking about those first far-in-our-planet's-past creatures that left trails and how we follow them in our own way, echoing through the ages.

Hope you all have time to pursue all your passions, whether on the trail or off!