Author: Sue Ahrendt

Daniel was so funny this week. Approaching fishing opener was like approaching Christmas. Every night a dinner the “high point” of the day was that we were getting a little closer to Saturday. His friends Lars and Jammer came to do the fishing opener sleepover on Friday night, and Shelby and I left them to get to sleep before 9pm…they set their alarms for 5am.

We’ve had some gorgeous weather this week–and sent some early fishermen out to scout out the camping spots on Long Island, Cross Bay, Gillis, and Tuscarora. They were delighted that the parking lots were empty, it seems a little quiet out there. A couple of them were planning to fly fish for the lake trout again this season.However, this snowy morning, Zack Kotnik and his friends were lingering over their coffee a little longer…bundled in parkas.

Yet, a little snow didn’t discourage our three 12 year olds. They were out at 6am, in the back door of the dining hall kitchin for french toast at 7:30, and heading back out to catch lunch.
The 2009 angling season has begun!

Mitchell will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in a couple of weeks, and since Superior National Forest has been a part of his life since before birth—he was looking for a social action project and found a perfect match in the Gunflint Green Up.

Mitch joined approximately 350 people who planted 25000 seedlings this weekend in the upper Gunflint Trail area. (Hooray!) He brought his family–including his grandparents to plant trees. Incidentally, Mitch is also pretty good at chanting in Hebrew, which is handy for a guy heading into a Bar Mitzvah.

Mitchell’s mom, Christine, has been coming to Tuscarora all of her life. His grandma Sandy first visited over 40 years ago, but I believe this was their first time to witness ice-out on Round Lake.

Lily- (Gnome Story) is still finding fairies in the woods here. And…they left a little note for her in one of their houses, while she was planting trees! Note the hollow “fairy house” in the bottom of this tree. Apparently, they are invisibly swarming her head at all times. Lily named all of the trees she planted “Bessie.” She says some day, she’ll be bringing her grandchildren here and she’ll show them a tree and say “And here’s ol’ Bessie, I planted her back in 2009”

When I first moved to Tuscarora, 2 year old Harry would find me and give me hugs. How did he know I was a little homesick? He is a sweet boy who was adept at monitoring the alternation of red pines and white pines during the planting—only he and Aidan referred to the tree species as Fuzzies and Tall-ies.

Someday you may recognize Aidan in the major leagues. He could hit a baseball almost before he could walk. Really remarkable. He has all kinds of enthusiasm for planting trees…and for life!

Here’s Sid, who married into the Tuscarora family tradition. He and Christine keep the charm of the woods alive for these children. Incidentally, they’re parents who are particularly good at cherishing their children’s different personalities. That’s part of why it feels good to hang out with them.

This place has been part of this family’s history for 3 generations. Maybe they will never live here, but who knows what they will grow up to do and be? These are the kids who will eventually be the policy makers, the stake holders, the care-givers of this land. This is part of the magic opportunity of Gunflint Green Up.

Over 100 years ago, another boy named Teddy (far left, I think), had parents who must have also valued his individuality. They took him into the Adirondacks every summer, even though he had severe asthma. According to Seth Shteir, they allowed him to keep a snapping turtle tied to the household laundry tub, they let him feed baby squirrels with an eye dropper, and keep a tree frog in the parlor. And when Theodore Roosevelt grew up, he established Superior National Forest in 1909. This is what an individual can do.

Kudos to the Gunflint Green up committee (especially Nancy Seaton) and to the USDA Forest Service for making it all possible.

Kudos to Sid and Christine, for facilitating the experiences for their kids in the woods. Not only did the white and red pines get a jump start, but many kids also got a jump start. Here’s to the next 100 years of the Superior National Forest.

7am at the Moose Pond–Granny and the kids got an eyeful on the way to the bus.
It’s spring here!

When I asked the kids what they were going to do this weekend they said “Ice Berging.” It’s that time of year.

My friend Kelly called me yesterday, just after she talked to her husband Lonnie Dupre. He and his Peary Centennial Expedition made it to the North Pole!

Lonnie made the 2nd phone call, after one of his fellow explorers— Max, had finished talking to the president of Lebanon. Lonnie called Kelly and Kelly called me, so I figure, it was about as well connected as I get here in the middle of the woods. 2 degrees from the North Pole, 4 degrees from the President of Lebanon.

Once I asked Lonnie–“What do you think about, when you are 40 days into an expedition?” It must get a little tedius, day after day, was it actually fun? It also occurred to me that he was pretty much on an ultra-extended extreme version of a BWCA camping trip.
Lonnie was thoughtful about his answer, he talked about paddling around Greenland…he said, basically, he’d look ahead to the next point, and wonder what the wind would be like there, or what the weather will be like tomorrow, or what the cliff rocks were. The rhythm of the current minutes–and that’s about it.

I’ve been thinking about that.

About the allure of an expedition (or a canoe trip).
Well, I wouldn’t minimize the challenge and adventure. Definitely people appear to crave natural beauty, and usually find some sort of peace in that. Daniel would remind me it’s all about the fishing.

Truthfully though, canoe trips are a lot of work. After Lonnie’s response, I wondered if a hook doesn’t have to do with being forced to live in the current moment. Mindfulness is a groovy buzz word these days. The way I understand it, mindfulness is paying attention to what is happening at a specific moment, not dwelling on past events, or worrying about the future, or getting lost in thoughts about what is going on. Apparently, people are claiming there is evidence that practicing mindfulness increases the quality of life, and improves your physical and mental health. It also helps people manage stress.
Really, a canoe trip seems to force us to live in each moment as if it really matters. Are paddling, or fishing, or portaging really some sort of meditation practice?

I was listening to a little snippet on the radio the other day, and the guy was talking about “not running toward our deaths, but opening to our lives.” Maybe a canoe trip is a great facilitator of that—giving us a little dose to take home to remind us of the importance of the present moment. Maybe that accounts for the carefree part of a canoe trip. And the laughter.

Henry David Thereau, in Walden said “only that day dawns to which we are awake.” Aha! A camping expedition—or a trek to the North Pole—- could be perfect ways to wake up to life’s moments.